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Sitting at the airport on the way home from a great trip. Managed to get to Cafe Pasquale's on Monday before they stopped serving lunch. Got the huevos rancheros with red chile, fell in love with the waitress, what could be better? Wanted to fish on the way up to Taos, got a tip from Solitary Angler in Taos to check out Rio Pueblo via the High Road. Got a little lost finding the stream, saw a tarantula crossing the road, found the stream, caught some fish. No one around, fun couple of late afternoon hours.
Tuesday headed up to Rio Costilla, about an hour north of Taos. Fished several places--lots of fish rising in the first spot, and though they rose to several flies, they wouldn't take. Then moved up river and had a much more productive afternoon. I'd fished the Costilla some years ago. River was higher this year, as they've been getting lots of rain. Everything that could be green was green.
Wednesday was heading over to Jemez Springs, and Solitary Angler confirmed SST's tip--try the Rio Grande around Pilar. Problem was the rain, which was steady, so I decided to just head West. Ended up fishing several places: East Fork Jemez, which was a delightful coca cola color, but there was enough clarity for the fish to see the fly. Caught a few. Saw some great hawks flying close overhead, too. Went towards Jemez Springs, saw the Rio San Antonio, figured why not? Caught a few, and saw two beavers. Several dams. Not very scenic. Then hit a small stretch of the Jemez late afternoon, and had a fun time.
Thursday I went down Highway 4 and headed up to the Rio Guadalupe. To get there you go through a canyon at Gilman and the Gilman tunnels. One of the most spectacular mindblowing geologic sites I've ever scene. Really. Fished the Guadalupe in several spots, and thought I would hit the Cebolla farther up. There was a really small stream, which I thought was it, but I don't think so now. But it was the kind of fishing SST described. Actually a lot of the fishing on this trip was like this--roll cast, roll cast, roll cast, high stick flop, roll cast, flop, jab, tug out of tree, tug out of tree, tug out of tree, fish on, roll cast, roll cast. Lots of fun, and always satisfying when the fly actually gets in the spot you want and the fish that should be there is there.
Today I hit the Jemez, from the same spot I'd accessed on Wednesday--upstream from Battleship Rock. Took a trail down, hiked a little way downstream, then fished up for four hours or so. Thought I'd gone quite a ways, but when I scrambled up the hill and walked back to my car it was only a five minute walk. Fishing was really fun once again, stimulator being the fly of choice. It was the kind of stream I really like, with one pool after another, from a couple of feet long to fifteen to twenty feet, and a fish in every pool. My favorite fish I caught was in a two-foot diameter pool, with a circular current. I managed to hold the fly in there with a decent float until the fish couldn't resist. Caught one in that hold both days.
Some photos to come.
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