Low and Bright!
Whew, the stream flows are getting low. My friend from Utah went fishing with me this past weekend, and I have to say the flows were the lowest I've seen in this drainage. Yes, I know. It's April.
Dan has been following my blog for a few years, and this was the first time we've met. A nice guy, and excellent fly fisher. How do I know. Well, I've now fished with him, and he rigs up classic Winstons when he's on the water. Add to that...he can put a fly into a thimble on the opposite bank. He's good!
The conditions were tough with low flows and bright skies, but we waded through. Dan managed some lightening-fast strikes with a few wild ones, despite the conditions. I was there last week and the flows were a bit higher...so, I was surprised to see them at this level. Let's pray for the May monsoons to save the fishing. I don't give advice and don't "hotspot" streams here on the blog, but will say, do not go fishing around Santa Fe on a weekend. The mountain was crawling with spinning and bait casting rods....the most fishers I've ever seen on that mountain.
I've read chapters from Voelker and Gierach when they had out-of-state visitors ask them to go fishing and show them some trout. Those famous authors got humbled when their friends didn't see anything flopping in the bottom of their net. Well, I now know how they felt. At least Dan fooled some with a frantic splash at his dry fly.
Did I mention how freaking bright the sky was? At 8,000 feet, the sun had its power dialed up to 10! It was so bright even fishing the shadows was futile. However, I did notice all the little kids were having a blast on the water...and, that's always fun to see. Life is good...for the old guys too.
Gear: Winston WT 7'6" 4wt fly rod (MA), Winston WT 7'6" 3wt (DB); Bauer SST3 fly reel (MA), Hardy Featherweight (DB); Wayward landing net (MA), and DB's was the most beautiful custom net I've ever seen...a gift from a bamboo maker of his.
I'm now searching the internet for any western state with decent snowpack over the winter...I'm going to give them a visit this summer.
That don't sound good. I was planning on your waters being better than mine. I hope the monsoons help in arizona, too.
ReplyDeleteThe lowest flows I've seen here were in summer of 2018. That was when I was fishing this area in July according to my records, and unless we get monsoons, this stream will fall lower than that year.
DeleteGreat visit Mike. Thank you sincerely for sharing some of your special places. I can’t wait to return, and hopefully see you and fish together again. Plus, your words are very kind. I am truly fortunate. Cheers!
ReplyDeleteJust fyi, the above “Anonymous “ is me, Dan from Utah.
ReplyDeleteHi Dan...from one Winston fan to another, it was my pleasure to meet and share a trout stream with you! Give me a call when you return to the Land of Enchantment, and we'll float a fly on new trout waters. Best Regards, Mike
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