FISH CATCHING TRAVEL

“SAVE OUR WATERS”

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The Wade Right Fishing Belt

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Check out their new CFG Madre Sling

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Our Happy Place

We have driven hundreds of miles over the years on mountain roads looking for wildlife.  We have been so lucky to see the things we have, and everyday is an adventure.  We have worked at being in the right place a the right time and finally all that effort paid off,  it happened.  There are no pictures, only the one permanently burned in my brain.

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The new Knockin Tail is available in Victoria and a tackle store near you.  

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A Bucket List Trip Day 1 – How will I ever top this?

We were headed to the Salida area to check it out by going the back way through the mountains before going to Pagosa to check in.  Much of the trip was through a really long valley surrounded by mountain ridges.  First up we saw 3 elk with a really small calf in a field, then just a minute later the Boss says there goes something “loping” along.  Before I even looked I just knew, it was a lion.  And I mean a big lion, and what looked like a yearling with it, running across an open field to the tree line along the ridge.

That lion must have known how much I have wanted to see one in the wild that it stopped and looked at me while I looked at it with the binoculars for almost a minute.  (Good optics pay off.)  She never moved except for her twitching tail.   I guess she finally decided we were not a threat.  So she just slowly walked along the tree line and we got to watch her, even moving the car twice, for almost 5 minutes.  We never saw the other one again, but words can not adequately describe just how freakin’ cool it was.  We have seen lions and cheetahs in Africa but this was a once in a lifetime moment and I want to thank the lion.  Words can not adequately convey how awesome that moment in time was.

And here is a few pictures from the first full day here in Pagosa.

Amazing how many mule deer there are here.

We were up and gone early, the key to seeing stuff.  And as usual they cooperated.

Early morning elk.

The same elk with the 600mm zoomed all the way out.

And what would the Wild West be without a herd of buffalo.  

Still some snow on the high Rockies.  This lake is on Wednesday’s schedule.

And speaking of water, this on our hike today.  

First up was our usual drive just checking things out.  After a long drive where we saw tons of deer and elk we stopped at Williams Lake for our lunch and a hike.  The water in the San Juan is still high, as was the Rio Grande,  but the Piedra River below Williams looks much more fishable.  We stopped at the fly shop and got some good advice.  I asked what to buy, buy more flies, and was surprised when he had a box on the counter and it had lots of sow bugs.  He said if you are fishing there it is dry fly time.  That has never happened at other times since we started fly fishing, but I am sure excited to see one take it off the top.  We are real beginners but we sure are willing.

The roads going on forever – and this one is headed to the Divide.

The Boss has a Zoom meeting this morning, then we are off to test our meager fly fishing abilities against the wily trout.  I will be sure to take a picture of the Boss later, she looks like a walking ad for Simms.  She loves the good stuff.  How I met that bar still is still a mystery. This will be the only morning we are at the house, otherwise we are gone at daylight.

As a side note it was elk burgers on the grill, then tonight venison steaks, always part of our trips out here.  And we stopped by SoCol, our favorite little motel and watering hole for happy hour and it was covered up with Austin folks.  The owners are from Austin, the food truck dude is from Austin, a lady we met is from Austin, and the house we are renting is owned by a lady who also has rentals in New Braunfels.  Small world.

The more we come to the mountains the more it calls to us.  We are not ready to make the move but as we watch the sun come up over the mountains it is apparent that this just might be the place.  We love wildlife, the solitude of the high mountains, and the folks here who inhabit this small slice of heaven.  There is more to come so keep stopping in and thanks for reading my stuff.

Good Luck and Tight Lines