Just when you think you have seen it all, there appears a more beautiful place with more beautiful fish to enjoy. Until now I had never made an effort to fish the Rockies, or the Midwest for that matter. Maybe it was because I felt that I started fly fishing late in life and I had less time to do it all. I needed to jump the middle and get to the end just in case I ran out of time, and that’s why I’ve spent so much time in Alaska. Well, New Mexico has proven me wrong. This was not the rat race I thought it might be. It was pristine, quiet, and peaceful. It reminded me that there is a link between spirituality and fly fishing.
Rio Bravo is the Mexican name for the first river Ben and I fished. From where we parked, the trail head took us down a steep and winding path to the river. There was fresh snow on the ground and the temperature started below freezing. Ben had set me up with a few nymph fly patterns and indicator. It was my job to recall the method of the drag free drift. For those of you who are not familiar with this technique, it is drifting your fly below the surface and mending your floating fly line on the surface in order not to affect the fly, or flies. You want your bug to be drifting in the current as if it is not connected to anything and its path only influenced by invisible eddies and the natural flow. This is not always easy, but always extremely important.
Rio Bravo is the Mexican name for the first river Ben and I fished. From where we parked, the trail head took us down a steep and winding path to the river. There was fresh snow on the ground and the temperature started below freezing. Ben had set me up with a few nymph fly patterns and indicator. It was my job to recall the method of the drag free drift. For those of you who are not familiar with this technique, it is drifting your fly below the surface and mending your floating fly line on the surface in order not to affect the fly, or flies. You want your bug to be drifting in the current as if it is not connected to anything and its path only influenced by invisible eddies and the natural flow. This is not always easy, but always extremely important.
Also important is the fighting and landing of a wild and excited fish. Just remember, you are not in control. You just have to concentrate on the task and not think about getting the camera or carrying on a conversation with your fishing partner. Naturally, it is acceptable if he or she is giving you important information that increases the chance of you landing the fish. (above) My friend Ben Casarez fights a trophy fish that unfortunately he will not land. I can vouch for the size. The hook popped out as he was leveraging the fish away from the downstream chute. Ben was heartbroke but he will have another chance another day.
Ben is a fly fishing guide in northern New Mexico, and he frequents trout waters in neighboring states. Ben was living in Austin, Texas before following his true ambitions. If you need a good guide in that area, look him up!
