I am originally from Albuquerque , New Mexico , and grew up in a small suburb of Albuquerque . Living in the desert Southwest wasn't quite as trout-deprived as it may seem. We had good small stream trout fishing about an hour from my house, and my dad would take me on impromptu day trips when I was young. Being a native New Mexican, I was lucky to have the world famous San Juan River only three hours away from where I grew up. However, my subtle fly fishing beginning was spent on the rivers and creeks of the Jemez Watershed where a seven-inch brown trout was a trophy.

How did you get into fly fishing and how long have you been doing it?

I was re-introduced to fly fishing by my nephew Cory, who had picked up the sport at a young age. I have been fly fishing for eight years, tying flies commercially for six, and guiding on the San Juan River for the past four years.

How long have you been guiding and how did you get started?

This will be my fifth season as a guide on the San Juan . I actually fell into guiding without ever thinking I would progress this far into the industry. I was fishing one day on the San Juan across from a guide with one client. The fish were in a feeding frenzy, and I was catching 5 for every 1 fish the guide's client caught. After an hour of this, the guide finally wades over to me, and asks me what I'm using. I showed him my tiny size 24 scud pattern, (a pattern no one was using on the Juan at that time), and gave him a couple to tie on for his client. Minutes later, his client was into fish, and everyone was happy. When it was time for the guide to leave for lunch, he waded over to me, handed me a card, and asked me if I would like to tie some flies for him. That began a season of friendship with this guide, who taught me much about the business, and landed me most of my first trips working as one of his guides. After two years of this fly fishing guide apprenticeship, I decided to take the plunge and go out on my own as an independent guide. I have loved every minute of it.

How many days a year do you spend on the water? How much of that is guiding?

Like golf pros or other athletic instructors, you'd think fly fishing guides would get many days on the water fishing for themselves. Unfortunately, this isn't the case, and many of us are lucky if we can get a few days per month in the busy season of summer and fall when we'd love to take off and fish another river. I will guide around a hundred days this year on the Juan, and I bet I will only get to fish two times a month. It's a way of life for many Rocky Mountain guides who depend on a short season for most of their income. However, to be perfectly honest, I've caught thousands of trout already, and about 65% of my overall fly fishing enjoyment now comes from watching people catch the fish of their lifetimes, or watching them grow as anglers throughout the years.

The San Juan is famous for large trout and tiny flies. What have you learned about the behavior of large trout eating small flies from your time on the Juan?

The Juan makes anglers super-sensitive to the ultra-subtle takes of trout feeding on midges and small mayflies. These “midging” trout common in many of the famed tailwaters of the West are some of the pickiest trout, and are often times some of the laziest trout you are likely to encounter. Because of the small amount of nourishment each tiny insect provides, trout can't afford to expend too much energy acquiring their prey. Instead, they hold in prime feeding lies with their mouths open letting the small insects drift to them much like whales seining plankton. This means your imitation must drift exactly like the natural insect, and in the exact feeding lane of the trout. Failing to accomplish all of this in one drift will result in your fly being ignored. This kind of precise fly fishing has made me realize just how exacting my drifts, weight, depth, and casts must be to catch large trout under these tough conditions.

What is the best tip you can give to someone who is having trouble fishing, hooking, and landing fish on a #20 or smaller hook?

Get a pair of magnifiers for your hat and/or threaders in your fly boxes to thread the small hooks more easily on your 5 and 6X tippet. Become ultra aware of the subtle strikes of trout feeding on small insects, and set the hook at the slightest movement. Remember, strikes are free! ALWAYS set the hook in the direction the water is flowing. Fish almost always face in the direction of the current, so striking down current pulls the tiny hook into the fish's mouth instead of pulling it out. Take your time when landing a trout on a small hook, within reason --you don't want to stress a trout so much that it dies. You only have a small gape in the hook, so most of the time your hook is only holding onto a small piece of skin, and the hook will pull out eventually if too much force is applied. And lastly, don't be intimidated to fish small flies. They represent the majority of a trout's diet, and most of the time, they work when other flies will not.

What is the smallest hook you've ever landed a fish on and how big was the fish?

Last month I landed a 7 pound Brown Trout on a size 20 Mysis shrimp imitation on the Frying Pan. On the Juan, I've taken a 24" rainbow on a size 26 midge larva imitation. Catching big fish on small flies is possible. Remember, elephants eat peanuts!

How many flies do you tie commercially per year?

I tie around 500 dozen flies per year. Most of the flies are size 20-26. I use A LOT of light, but no magnification for my young eyes yet!

Do you do anything else besides guide and tie in the winter?

I can't afford to do anything else!

Share a tip with our readers about tying small flies that might make things easier.

Set your tying desk up with at least two lights. I like one Ott Light or similar daylight-style lamp, and a round fluorescent lamp you find at a craft store. Keep your tying desk uncluttered and a light background behind your vise to help your eyes focus on the small hook. Keep things as simple as possible. There are times when just thread on a hook with a flash back works better than the fancy patterns that catch fly fishermen. Use 12/0 Bennechi or similar small diameter tying thread. Practice each pattern until you have memorized the recipe, and at least 6 of them look alike.

Many anglers feel that all you need for size 20 and smaller hooks is some thread to cover the hook shank. Do you agree/disagree with that comment and why?

I agree with most of that statement. Although I am a commercial tier, and a percentage of my income comes from inventing new flies that imitate the natural insects more precisely, having an ornate fly is only 30% of the equation when catching big fish is concerned. Presentation accounts for the other 70%. When you have a simple fly, you are more likely to concentrate on your drifts rather than fly selection. Fish are looking for color, size, and ribbing in small flies. If you match these characteristics well, you should be fine with fly selection. I will say that it would be wise to carry multiple colors, styles and sizes of these simple thread flies because size and color matter when the fish are keyed on a certain bug, and there are times when the fish refuse a size 22 black Zebra Midge, but hammer a size 26 black Zebra.

What advice would you give to someone who is going to fish the San Juan for the first time this year?

Take at least four hours per month before your trip to practice casting an indicator, split shot, and two flies. The casting dynamics of this type of rig are different, and casting all of that equipment requires a different cast. The Belgian or Elliptical cast is my favorite to reduce tangles. Read as much info as you can on the river itself. There are several web sites with a lot of good tips on fly selection, sections of the river, seasons, etc… Learn to tie your knots efficiently, and with size 24 hooks until you can do it without too much trouble. Carry sizes 4 through 10 split shot, and expect to use a lot of the tiny size 8 shot. Change the depth of your indicator and weight long before you change your flies. Expect to be amazed by the sheer numbers of fish in the river, but humbled by their tendency to perplex anglers.

How can our readers contact you if they are interested in your flies, guide service, or would like to get some advice on fishing the San Juan ?

My website is a good resource for fishing the San Juan , and I check my e-mail customflies@msn.com about once an hour every day I am not guiding. Even if you aren't hiring me as a guide, but would like to know about the current conditions on the Juan, please feel free to contact me through e-mail, or even on my cell phone. I am easy to approach, and haven't forgotten what it was like to be a struggling fly fisherman on the Juan who valued the advice of friendly anglers.