FISH CATCHING TRAVEL

Knockin Tail Lures by My Coast Outdoors

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The Rio Grande

As the river falls and the fishing traffic subsides it was time to check out a couple of spots on the river which turned out to be a success on several fronts.  The bite itself was fun and the average size was good.  But best of all, with the water down the wade fishing will really turn on.

The bite was on.

One thing about Brown Trout that I learned back in the 70′ on the White River, feed them a shallow running Rapala in their color and hold on.  I really was not expecting it to be that good and was only checking out the wading potential and it looks great.  Combine the hoppers that kicked up on the way back to the car and you have the makings of a cool bite.

Not bad for a couple of hours.

First up was the old sure thing honey hole, and it turned out to be a bust.  Not even a bite.  But moving to what ended up being 4 places the bite got better as the day warmed.  It was 54 degrees with a cold wind when I started but warmed up fairly quick as it does out here.  Since this was just a look and see trip I did not wear waders and even with it so shallow was still able to catch them.  While it is shallow the river is still wide but it put the fish right where they should be, at leas the ones I could reach on the cast.

The average today was a great sign.

They were smoking the Brown Trout color Rapala.

There was nobody out when I started at 7:30, it sure is not like the early rush all those years on the coast.  Of course, this time of year it may have more to do with letting the water warm some which gets the bugs moving around.  My knowledge of the bug thing leaves much to be desired but the learning curve goes on.  If they are willing to eat on top the next few weeks should be fun.  And the crowds are already declining here I am sure looking forward to the rest of the fall all the way to ice up.

This was the best of the morning.

Keep the Rapala barbless and try to not touch them for release.  It helps to hold them in the net and keep your hands off.  

The mornings trip was a success all the way around.  Waders and a flyrod should be good, and if it does not rain to hard tomorrow morning will be fun no matter how it turns out.  But if this mornings success was without waders which limited the places I could reach who knows how it might turn out.  So time to get all the sruff out and ready, like much of the fishing here, better get out while the getting is good.

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The Next Day

With the success of yesterday I was really looking forward to a serious wading adventure today, but that did not happen.  It was obvious the water had come up, and I mean way up.  As the Rio comes out of the Rio Grande Reservoir it is used for irrigation all over the valley and my intital thoughts were that they were letting it out of the lake.  That turned out to be faulty thinking.  The water was the result of rain in the mountains.  We have been getting some, but elsewhere there has been flooding.

That is the first time I have experienced that here and it will not be the last.  The punch line, I caught one on the fly rod.  That was the result of not only high water but my partial spin out.  The plan intially was to fish the best looking spots that were clear with the water down, today that was not possible as it was running to beat the band.  So right away I changed the plan to a streamer and caught one on my second cast.  As it was barbless it flopped off while I was trying to take a picture.  Everywhere I caught them the other day was completely different but I tried fishing what I could but the current was to strong.  A couple of new places produced one big bite and another fish broke my line.  It was just one of those days.

Today it will be back to the river to assess the water level.  It is just part of the learning curve.  But no big deal, the water will come back down shortly, and it will be a great fall.  Plus, where else do I have to be?  Retirement is a great thing.

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The Boss

The Silverthread Hiking Club.

Nancy joined up with these folks which are a large group of hikers.  They hike twice a week. most of it at elevation and an average hike is around 5 miles into the mountains.  Hiking is a big thing here and she has seen a lot of new places.  This group even continues in the winter though obviously a lot of the summer folks are not here then.  But she puts me to shame so I fish when she hikes, it is the same, right?

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The next few days involves money, our money going to other folks.  The recessed overhead lights in the kitchen need replacing and they are coming tomorrow to let us know when and how much that is going to be.  (I would do it myself, but it is a little too involved and has to do with regular to LED so will leave that to the pros.)  Then at 10:30 going down the street where the Amish are working on a garage to get a bid on the car/boat port.  Getting things done here can be challenging and when I stopped and talked to him he said they are covered up like every other trade in the valley.  But the good thing is what I want is maybe a couple day project for the Amish, they get in and get the job done.  And it does not hurt that they also mill their own lumber and build trusses, the only problem is getting them here.  Other than that little thing all good here in the mountains.  So keep stopping in and thanks for reading my stufff.

 Tight Lines

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