Upstream Casts

Fly fishing for trout up at high altitudes, in pristine waters, is as good as it gets for small stream anglers. I'm thinking it's an adventure that is on most of our to-do lists. My wife was hosting a meeting at our house with the officers in her sorority, and she lovingly asked me to be gone for the day. I replied, "is it okay if I'm gone for two nights?" Yup, I started packing for three days of fishing pure rocky mountain spring waters.

I packed light and was able to get away before the sun peaked over the Sandia Crest. Planned an early departure, to be out of Sylvia's way, and in time to get on the river to drift a dry fly. Originally, this week was planned for camping and fishing with my buddy, Neal. But, a last minute conflict caused him to cancel. So, I rented a cabin up at a rustic Colorado mining town. I learned of this place from Steve, and now after the trip, I'm glad I wasn't camping at that altitude. It was chilly.

The big river was slow, low, and the trout were not looking up at my dry flies. It was beautiful in that big valley between the mountain skyline. And, the satisfaction of being able to wade the river and drift a fly was enough for me, to be honest. I thoroughly enjoy being outdoors in that environment. So, have to admit I had a bit of a skunk on me that first afternoon. The owner at the cabins told me the river had been fishing slow which helped me not to blame myself too much for an empty net. I tell ya, I worked it hard this day and I crashed into a deep sleep later that night.

The alarm went off early the next morning. And, I was very excited for what was on the agenda this day. Four wheeling up into high country with a gorgeous valley and a little creek meandering through it...well, what not to like? At first I was concerned when I saw the flow. It was skinny water. However, the stream has beautiful Rio Grande Cutthroat living there, so I fished it the same way I do when home waters become skinny in late summer. It was a fabulous day to just wander, wade, and drift a dry fly. Yup, these Rio Grande Cutthroat trout were looking up for a bite and I was able to hook several of them. Just a remarkable day up in thin air, on a special trout stream. The day exceeded my expectations.

On my last day, I checked out of the cabin early. Why? Because there's a New Mexico stream I wanted to stop and fish on the way home. It's been four years since I fished this small freestone, and I didn't want to pass up the opportunity. Dang, it was good, and I was loving every minute of wading and casting a dry fly there. I have good memories of fishing here in the past. And, today, I was the only angler on the water, landing both rainbows and brown trout.

It was hard to leave, but I still had more of a journey to get back home before dinner time. I'm spoiled, because I know Sylvia will have prepared some kind of special dinner for me. So, I broke down the Winston 3wt rod, and departed for the comforts of home.

As I was leaving the area, my mind flashed back to one of my favorite books...The Painter, by Peter Heller. This river location was where the main character defended himself, from a man out for revenge to kill him. Yeah, the scene was vivid in my mind and I was scoping out the landscape to see which specific place in the narrow dirt road was the shootout scene. There were a few possible places, so I just picked one to allow my mind to focus on the music streaming from the truck's siriusxm radio....Wichita Lineman by Glenn Campbell. Yeah, I know, my mind bounces around when I'm on a road trip. I turned up the volume.

Gear: Winston WT 586, WT 486, IM6 376 quiver of fly rods; Bauer SST5, SST4, SST3 fly reels; Orvis guide sling pack; Fisknat landing net.

Trout Species: Rainbow; Rio Grande Cutthroat; Brown; and, good splashes, fights, and a few thrown hook sets. But most importantly, a great time in the outdoors doing what a man loves...fly fishing.