Some of the trout jumping this weekend could have easily been confused for salmon, I didn't know it wasn't connected to the San Juan. I also haven't really ever walked around it, boated around it, or looked at it much on a map though before last weekend like I have at Fairy Lake. I do remember camping at Lizard Lake years and years ago as a kid, this was also when I thought I saw salmon jumping lol. Must have looked way bigger as a kid. There are for sure some big ones in there though. Anybody know how long they have been stocking it for?
I ended up using barbless hooks, releasing a ton of smaller fish and landed three decent keepers on Saturday on my 5wt, two on a black wooly bugger, one on a worm. Sunday brought 3 keepers and lots of throwbacks to the yak, using my 2wt this time instead, what a blast! Same catch ratio on the buggers vs worms. My friends on the shore did terrible with powerbait and zero fish hooked. The problem I was having with using the worms was keeping the newts off them. Everyone I know or saw fishing with them was having troubles with them too.
I have camped tons of times in recent years at Fairy Lake, as well as very close to it and have definitely seen salmon jumping a few times in the late summer and early fall, usually near the end of the lake where it meets the San Juan. Have kayaked out to the river too and seen some big ones cruising in the little connecting channel between the lake and river. We were camping there a few weeks back though and nothing was jumping...