FISH CATCHING TRAVEL

Hiking near the Continental Divide.  It was way up there.

It was downright cool this morning so we made a drive up a road we had not been on yet.  On the way we saw plenty of elk and deer, though stuff did not seem to be moving like it was yesterday. At the very end of that road, and on the border of the Weminuche Wilderness, was a trail we decided to try.  The wilderness area is around a half a million acres, accessible by foot or horse, and it truly wilderness.  We hiked some of the Poison Trail and it was definite workout, as we hiked we were deeper and deeper in the real woods.  But until we were almost back after 3 hours we did not see or hear another soul.  I can not stress enough how much I like that, makes so much of life seem extraneous.  Good for the soul.  After being in several national parks that are flat crowded, here you have a chance to really get away from it all.

But the trail was great.

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The Wade Right Fishing Belt and the new Madre Sling.

For all your wading needs.

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I chased this drumming grouse down and got real close, unfortunately the rest of the pictures were really out of focus due to the undergrowth.

On they way we saw this guy and a chase ensued.  He started out on a big rock drumming to beat the band.  Crazy when they inflate their neck.  I finally got a real shot, but he was not going to let me get any closer.  We have not seen any others this trip, but they may just be starting to drum.  Cool bird.

A limit of trout headed to the pan.

We ended up stopping at Williams Lake and I caught a nice brown trout, but was to lazy to go get the camera out of the truck.  Other than a couple of half hearted bites they were not having it.  So on the way to another lake we stopped at the creek and it was running high and dirty, as everything is right now.  One little brown jumped on, but it was enough to tell me that creeks and rivers are out of the picture.  But the Boss was wanting a fish fry so the easy fix, Echo Canyon, a state lake just south of Pagosa.  It is stocked with trout and they are not all that hard to catch.  Just take a Rooster Tail, toss it as far as you can, and then a steady crank, and the smoke it.  So with 4 for the fish fry in hand we called it a day.

And they tasted even better than they looked.

After cooking tons of shore lunches on the side of the White River I can cook some trout if I do say so myself.  So trout, green beans, and slow roasted sweet potato’s hit the spot.  I do not care if it is catfish, bass, trout, or anything else, from the water into the grease is the key to great fried fish.

Tomorrow we are headed on a drive to a lake about half way to Durango, and to check out the area and a couple of small towns.  When I say this is our happy place I am not kidding.  The people, weather, and endless outdoors seem to fit us.  So we shall see.  But I will keep posting so keep stopping in and  thanks for reading my stuff.

Good Luck and Tight Lines