San Juan Quality Waters to be catch-and-release

Farmington, N.M. (AP) – The state Game Commission is restricting
the famed San Juan River Quality Waters to catch-and-release trout
fishing as of Sept. 15.

The Game Commission voted 6-1 earlier this month in favor of the
change, ending a daily limit of one trout above 20 inches from the
Quality Waters that stretch 3.75 miles below Navajo Dam.

Bait and barbed hooks also are prohibited in the area.

Groups of trout fishing advocates and other river users had
recommended catch-and-release in the trophy area just below the
dam.

Gary Jantz of the San Juan Fly Fishing Federation says people
enjoy catching big fish, and the restrictions leave them in the
river.