FISH CATCHING TRAVEL

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What is not to like about this view from our balcony?

The Boss and I really do enjoy the mountains, and one of our favorite areas is Ruiodoso New Mexico.  Great mountains, hiking, hunting, fishing, shopping, skiing, a game of chance or two, it has it all.  We have visited several times, this was our first in the spring.  It actually snowed the weekend before, but the weather was great.  40’s in the morning, and mid 70’s in the afternoon.   In fact, the Boss met a store owner, the former basketball coach at Halletsville, who moved to Ruiodoso and opened a  hiking store.  He told her they only turned on the AC one day last year, must be nice.  And of course being a walker and hiker she found a couple of things she could not live without.

One thing we really enjoy is seeing wildlife, and this trip it was antelope.  Driving into New Mexico we started seeing them, but differently from how they usually are.  They were spread out over miles in groups of 2 here, a couple there, not bunched up like usual.  I wondered if it had to do with them having babies, and on the way out it may have been exactly that.  On the way back we saw 2 really new babies.  I know squat about antelope, but looks like that was what was happening.  They are one cool animal.  And we did see several turkeys, including a Rio Grande and a Merriam, and it was easy to see the difference.  No elk this trip, but we did not take the 4Runner so no mountain road drives this trip.

It is a pretty good haul, about 11 hours, but we knock that off pretty easily.  We stay at the Inn of the Mountain Gods, which is a cool resort and casino.  They have stuff to do, zip line, kayak and small paddle boats on the lake, fishing, golf, and hunting is all available.  I had never fished there so I decided to give the lake a try.  It is a clear mountain lake stocked with trout.  That is not my thing, bank fishing for stockers, but I had a mission from my granddaughter Mia.

Flat Stanley, who happens in this case to be a girl in a dress, got flattened to a bulletin  board, and so her 2cnd grade class sent him out to their relatives to get his picture taken on adventures.  Since she loves to fish, and I was on an adventure, I needed a Flat Stanley pic for her board.

Flat Stanley catches a rainbow trout.

The lake is pretty big and stocked with 20,000 rainbows a year.  You pay a day use fee and they have bait and even pole rental if needed.  You can walk around about half of the lake and there are ample places to fish.  In a couple of hours I ended up catching 3, losing a couple, one trying to set up a Flat Stanley picture, all on a Panther Martin spinner.  But as you can see from the picture, they are stockers.  So while it was great to catch a couple in such a beautiful place, my heart was not in it.  Do not take this as a negative comment on the fishing, but for me it wasn’t a 7lb bass smashing a buzzbait or a big red swallowing a topwater, guess I am spoiled.  But if you ever go, there are trout to be caught, and if you bobber and bait fish you could catch a bunch and it would be great for the kids.  So for me it was a scratch that off the list.

We also went hiking one morning in the woods.  There is a great hiking trail there, just tough enough but nice, so I accompanied my hiking wife with an ulterior motive.  Along the way is the hunting lodge, skeet range, and guide hang out.  I wanted to check out the hunting opportunities, as they have some of the best big bull Elk hunting in the nation.

When we got there the guides were hanging out, drinking coffee and watching tv.  The trophy bulls on the walls in there are freaks, worth the stop in and of itself.  They filled me in on the hunting which is elk, bear, and turkey.  Most of it on the 360,000 reservation with native American guides.  Of course the trophy bull  hunt is way out of my price range, but a cow elk is not, and I am considering it.  Yummmm.  They only issue is only permits by draw, and the success rate in the draw is the 25% range.  He said that had a lot to do with New Mexico not permitting out of state hunters to get a cow elk permit except through them, and probably other outfitters in the state.  Suffice to say I found the rest of the prices reasonable and I just might have a go at the draw next spring.  Not a bad trip if you think about it.  Close to Texas, and if you fill your tag day one you can still fish and hang out in a great place.

Of course we did engage in a little adult entertainment.  We are cheap gamblers, we enjoy it, but we have our measly limits and stick to them.  Of course being a cheap skate like I am a .50 bet for me is a big one.  So we rarely win, and we rarely take a beating.  Well this trip I got lucky.

That would be $1260 on a .40 bet!

There is nothing like getting your whole trip paid for in one push of the button.  But that is hardly all there is to do in Ruiodoso, there is so much more.  Inn of the Mountain Gods is a great place to take a break, and still get your fill of the great outdoors.  And if you take the family they will not be bored if you decide to sneak off and be “a guy.”  I highly recommend Inn of the Mountain Gods, great resort in a great place.

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It is that time of year again, time to pay the dues for the Texas Bar.  I am still an attorney, though on inactive status.  Though I have not given any legal advice or entered a court room in 8 years, I still keep my license, law school was tough and I worked hard for that, not to mention the $$$.  Though I have no plans to ever go back to that living hell, I keep sending my money.  Who knows, it just might come in handy some day.

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Those of you who read this stuff know how much we enjoyed Australia.  It was probably my favorite trip of all time.  Well I just found out how much the  Wow I did not see that coming!  (I can not tell you how much research and reading she does in preparation for a big trip.  They almost always come off without a hitch, tough job considering some of the places we have been.  She must have been a travel agent in a past life.)  We actually heard from many folks in Australia, much less folks that have been there, it is a trip not to be missed.  And the side benefit to her planning, I spent some time looking at the fishing.  The exchange rate is great for US money, and they have some of the best big brown trout fishing in some of the greatest scenery on the planet.  It looks like I will be fishing with some guides in 4 different places on the trip.  Time to get the fly rod out and start practicing.  The fish there are no “stockers”, they are some of the wildest browns in the world.  The only problem with her early planning, I have to be excited and think about this for a year!

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That catches me up for today.  Next trip to NM, and there will be more, it will not be without the 4Runner.  There are miles and miles of backroads through the mountains, and we love the slow drive looking for wildlife, and I still have to see a big bull elk there.  And I will fish the lake again at the Inn, but will do it with the flyrod, good practice for next year.  For now it will be off to Coleto in the morning.  With the wind expected to blow up to 25mph with all day cloud cover it has buzzbait written all over it.  Probably toss in a little topwater to go along with it.  So keep stopping in and thanks for reading my stuff.

Good Luck and Tight Lines