Going For It...

You wouldn't know by the current weather, but spring is here and I'm looking at a new year of fly fishing in my beautiful New Mexico and Colorado trout streams. I've made plans to fish this year as though it will be my last...and, I have decided to go for our state's grand slam of trout species. Yeah, I've done it a few times already but that was pre-covid years and I would like to achieve that little prize once more.

I have this thing of packing a designated rod/reel for specific streams I love to fish...mostly considering the right rod length and weight for the stream conditions, but also for other reasons that seem to be more centered around sentiment with special memories from year's past. When I have a really good day on a given stream, I find myself wanting to repeat that experience with the same gear when returning in the following season. Yeah, it's never the same when returning to a stream whether a day, week, or a year has gone by. But, I still enjoy using the same gear upon return visits.

Usually when I fish a stream for the first time, I'm with a buddy as we explore the area. And, I often return to that stream for a solitary day of fishing to focus more on the environment and it's little secrets of catching the trout there. It's easier to really be in the moment and consume the details of an area when I'm alone on a stream. That way, when I return to the area with a friend, or by myself, I know some of the nuances regarding the habitat and what the trout want in the way of a simulated bug and how best to present it.

Sylvia and I are looking at taking off a few days to go south for some quality time together and for me to drift a fly for those elusive Gila trouts that live there. It's one of the road trips we love to take. And yeah, that's where the first trout species live for my New Mexico Slam. As I mentioned above, I plan to use the same rod for those leetle fellers that I used the last time in this area of Gila Wilderness...the Winston 8' 2wt fly rod with a Bauer reel locked into it.

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