It has been a while since I posted anything. It has been a lot more of the same. It is still fin but I got a little busy and decided to not post. Well a lot has changed since the last report. The snow is melting fast and the runoff is making the Pecos fairly difficult to fish.
So it was decided to head to the Jemez this weekend. the Jemez has been going through it’s runoff for a bit now and the levels are starting to go down fast. Mike has fished this area pretty extensively but there are a few places we hit this weekend that neither of us had been too.
The plan:
Me, Mike and Raven (Mike’s pup)Fish the East Fork of the Jemez on Friday morning. Then hike up the Rio San Antonio in the afternoon, and find a place to camp for the night. Wake up and hike to the Upper Cebolla and find some Native Cutthroat Trout.
The plan started out on course. We made to the Caldera around 10AM. We accessed the East Fork river through a trail on a tip from one of Mike’s colleagues who accesses this area for another sporting hobby. I will not mention the trail number because they might want to keep their little spot somewhat of a secret. It was a short half mile hike down into the canyon and the water looked great!
It took a while to get any interest from the fish but finally the caddis green gold ribbed hairs ear came through.
What a Beauty!
This was really exciting for a couple reasons; 1) I was fishing somewhere besides the Pecos 2) I was successful fishing somewhere besides the Pecos. The latter would prove to be no issue as the weekend progressed.
This is Mike and Raven working a section of the water. Raven is a pretty good fishing dog for the most part. We only had a few spots spooked and one fish mm’s away from being devoured. Raven will also have quite a few treats if he ever gats back that way. I think he probably buried about 5 or 6 dead animal parts along our hikes over the weekend.
Some of the scenery along the trail.
It is kind of neat to know you are fishing inside the crater of an ancient volcano.
So we called it a day here. It looks really nice in the photos, weather wise, but it was cold! We fished through bouts of snow and sun and the wind was always there to make things a little more difficult. We hiked and out and set our sights on the San Antonio. From the Caldera area the access point Mike took us to was not very far. I quick stop at La Cueva to get some water and check out their aquarium with some sizable cutthroats in there and we were off to the next leg.
We reached the parking area and began the short trek up the road. The San Antonio is not a very large river and it is pretty brushy but once we got the right combo of flies on the action was fairly steady. This stream is mostly wild Browns with some Rainbow.
I always love the the variations in the coloring of the Browns, I guess Raven does too.
Mike was pretty determined with the Dry/Dropper rig and after a while he found a potential clue as to what might make them rise, and a decent water bottle.
One of Mike’s students from the Labs showed up after a while and caught a very nice Rainbow, it would be the largest fish of the day.
So that would wrap up our first day in the Jemez. All in all we did good. Two rivers and we all caught fish. Now it was time to hit Los Ojos in Jemez Springs for some grub and some spirits. I had never stopped in Jemez Springs I have only rode through it so I was looking forward to this. The place was a very old building with bullet holes in the roof and I think all animals in the Norther NM region were looking down on you from the wall. It was good!
We threw down some chow, cranked the jukebox up, and enjoyed what sights they had. It was a really nice place and the staff get’s a thumbs up from us. Especially our waitress who is about to graduate from Nursing School, I don’t remember her name but she was awesome.
We found a spot to camp not too far down the road and lucked out by getting the last site available. We stoked up a pretty decent fire and hit the rack. The morning looked good! I had done my research on what the weather would be doing on the NOAA website. Friday played out just like they said and if they were right today should be warmer with less wind and a smaller chance of precipitation. Well, the sky was clear as a bell and once the sun peaked into the canyone the temps felt good.
We downed a quick Breakfast of Ramen and headed towards Rio Cebolla to hunt for some Native Cutthroat. This was my secret goal for the weekend. I have never caught a Cutty of any kind. So I talked with High Desert Angler before I left and made sure I got some tips on where to find some CT’s in the area within a reasonable distance. Rio Cebolla was the place. Rio Cebolla is a very small stream where we we accessed it above Seven Spring Hatchery. Seven Springs is the only Rio Grande Cutthroat hatchery in the state so apparently they will not let anyone in to tour the facility. I guess they are freaked about about Whirling. Which isn’t too shocking since they had found some fish from Lisboa Springs hatchery with Whirling. I think these fish were actually being transferes into the Seven Springs Facility.
So their caution is warranted I suppose. You can still drive through the hatchery to park and access the Rio Cebolla and that is what we did. We knew we were going to walk at least three miles up past a small lake which is the barrier of the river to keep the Browns out of the Upper section. On the way we passed an inpressive Beaver pond.
This pond will be revisited later on. We eventually reached the lake and started working our way up the winding mountain stream. Mike had a yellow humpy to start out with and I had on a orange bodied stimulator. We worked the first half-mile without any success. At some point Mike was attempting to cast into a really tight area between a couple trees and got a bit tangled up but his fly ended up dropping into a tiny still section and there it was! The first CT of the day. I think until this point we were both getting a bit frusterated but now we knew they were there and they would take the dries.
So we continued to work any section we could get a fly on slow water. The stream wound through a a beautiful mountain meadow.
It took me a while but I finally landed my first Cutthroat ever. Needless to say I was jacked! These fish are so beautiful.
After a couple more small guys like this I was casting into a nice slow pocket and I had one miss my fly but I could see the incredible orange color of this fish. A couple more casts and I got him. What a great fish!
We decided to start our trek back. On our way back we came up to that Beaver pond again and we started seeing some rises. The wind had kicked up at this point and these fish started going into a frenzy on the surface. Mike was over there in a heartbeat and I stayed on the other still not convinced it was worth the walk. Normal it would not be an issue but at this point I had hiked about 6 miles in my hip waders and my feet were on fire. I will have to rethink the whole hiking around in hip waders.
It didn’t take long and I had to go. Once we were on the other side we were trying to find what they were feeding on. I saw a couple different bugs and I went with a small grey bodied adams. We would wait for a rise and then cast right on top of it. I can’t remember how many casts I made but it wasn’t many and we were on!
These fish were healthy and fought well. We each caught a few and then moved out. I don’t think Mike wanted to leave but my feet dictated where I was going. I had to get out of those damn waders. In hindsight we should have kept all those fish. They have a no limit condition on Browns on this river. They want to thin them out and make this whole stretch a Cutthroat stream.
On our way back we were talking about the fish we caught so far which had been browns and CT’s. When we parked just above the hatchery their had been some kids fishing a small pond pulling out decent sized rainbows. So now we knew we had to get one. In one day we would catch Brown, CT, and Rainbow! Not bad in my book.
I wanted that Rainbow bad so I pulled no stops. I rigged up an egg sucking leech, slapped on some weight, and hit the water. First cast; strike and miss. I casted out a second time and I had him! A very good rainbow. Right at about 12 inches and good girth. The second one though, well, that was a really good fish. The biggest fish I have caught in a good while.
Mike also got his rainbow and we were both feeling pretty good about the weekend.
This is only a sliver of the fishing we can have up here so I expect to be hitting this place fairly regularly this year. It is only about an hour and a half from where I live with endless opportunity. Make it a point to stop in this area if you ever find yourself close. It is not very far from Albuquerque as well.
Out…
