FISH CATCHING TRAVEL
I am home and boy am I tired. I took it easy on the way back and stayed overnight on the way home. So it was 12 hours yesterday and then almost 6 this morning. In fact, looking at the odometer I put 2,734 miles on the truck this month. No wonder I am beat, but it was a great trip.
The Billionaires are buying out the Millionaires
The Pagosa area continues to change, and is busier than ever. Property values are still ridiculous, putting pressure on the working folks to be able to afford to live in the area. The lakes and rivers are much busier, and every business we interacted with says it has kept on rolling for almost 2 years now as a result of the pandemic.
But even then the number of places to fish and be in the woods still allows you to enjoy the outdoors, but like all cool places we have visited in the past, the rich are driving the common guy out. There is no answer unfortunately, but when business whines about no help where are they supposed to live? But in spite of that the area is still a great place to visit, for a fisherman or a family.
Great mountain streams, you just have to search them out.
The first couple of weeks it was me fishing and chasing wildlife. The last week the Boss flew in and it was more like a regular vacation, which I appreciated. We saw some new country and one of those was a big hit. We went below Navajo Dam in New Mexico to see the San Juan there, which is the tailwater below the dam. It looked fantastic and is known for big trout and consistent fishing. After cruising the area it is already on my tentative calendar for early March. According to the locals, and the fly shop we stopped at, it is one great place to fish. And being a tailwater it does not freeze, so early in the year will be the ticket.
Bugling at the wild game store. He was lonely.
The elk were not down from the high mountains due to the unseasonably warm weather combined with the hunting pressure. Not many trips to that area do we not see elk, this time not a one, other than the guy above at the elk farm store, where we stocked up on meat and had it shipped to the house. But the big bull moose and a couple of groups of bighorns helped take a little of the sting out. And of course plenty of mule deer including 3 big bucks crossing in front of us when headed to drop the Boss off at the airport and the 6 bucks I saw on day 1. Seeing animals is just as important to me as catching fish out there. Anybody can catch sea trout, but show me a moose or lion and I will be impressed.
With the Boss still recovering from knee surgery there was no big hiking so we drove roads old and new. There is a world of country in Southeast Colorado to keep you busy, and we enjoyed expanding our range. And I have a feeling the Boss does not mind flying there and back instead of the drive, so I am sure we can work that out in the future. (In fact the plan is her flying out after I am done on the San Juan and then a week in the Durango area.) Hey, anytime I can have at it for a couple of weeks on my own it is a done deal.
The Aspen were turning big time more each day, and it was stunning. There is no way my marginal photography skills can really relay how beautiful it was.
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The Wade Right Fishing Belt and the new Madre Sling.
For all your wading needs.
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But next on the fishing travel it will be the Chandeleur Islands with the Wade Right boys in a couple of weeks. We will be on a different boat this year so we shall see how that goes, but no matter what a good time will be had by all. The fishing has been different the 3 times I have been there so no telling how it will be. But fishing there is a great time no matter how the numbers go. Then once I get back it will be a little over a week and the Austin Boys will be at POC for Fishmas 2021. It was not the same last year with the pandemic, but it should be back to business this trip.
And to those of you who’s comments I did not get to, you have my thanks and my apologies. But they were appreciated, I just checked out the last week or so, and then had a vacation. It was good to take a break from lots of things, and there was no better place to do it. So keep them coming, hope to get back to caught up soon.
The Boss on her last voyage. What a place to kayak.
In a little over a week I will be flying to northern Illinois to lay the old man to rest. He will be buried in the little church down the road from the family farm where both parents are buried. It will give all those folks related, and friends, a chance to attend and it will be good to see some of them I rarely see. So the next month is really going to be busy, but as they say I will sleep when I am dead. And after all that then it is off to Moab Utah in November for some kind of park thing, not sure exactly what for, but the Boss says we need a 4 wheel drive so that is a good start. I am sure she will fill me in on the details whenever she thinks I need to know, just give me a date and I am good to go. Now that I have written this I sure will be busy. (And to illustrate just what a travel monster the Boss is she is currently finishing up the Alaska trip for June and it looks to be epic. That girl likes to go places.)
It looks like we might have rain for possibly the next week or so. Depending on the lighting, which we are currently having some big stuff, it will be back to the lake to see what that is all about. It has been exactly a month since I fished it, and checking the website it is up a a foot and a half, which is never a bad thing unless we get a bunch this week. Then it looks like there might be a friend or two here next week fishing POC, so planning on at least a day or two down there. Time to get back to regular life, if that is possible.
Good Luck and Tight Lines
