|
Mountain streams, ponds offer Red River anglers plenty of action
RED RIVER, N.M. — When trout fishing in the waters in the Sangre de Cristo Mountain range, you have two choices, the pristine, clear streams or any of the various ponds which are stocked throughout the year. Obviously, there is an advantage to each. There seems to be no better place on earth when you are standing in or by a fast-flowing mountain stream, surrounded by an Alpine forest, almost chilled to the bone (in July, at that) and carefully drifting a fly across a small pocket near a rocky bank. You hold your breath as you await the lightning-fast hit of a rainbow, brown, brook or cutthroat trout. The streams are stocked well and often by the Department of New Mexico Game & Fish with most experienced anglers culling to a five-fish limit (in most areas) or catching and releasing in order to perpetuate the existence of many trout.
A Fisherman's Friend Can Often Break Ecologists' Hearts
There may be plenty of unwanted fish in the sea for government ecologists, but often those invasive aquatic species are a boon to local anglers. Take the brown trout. A European native, the trout was introduced into America in the late 19th century and can now be found in bodies of fresh water from coast to coast. Though they may might provide tasty meals after lazy summer afternoons, new fish species come at a cost greater than a bucket of worms. "There's a number of either purposely introduced, or accidentally introduced, species that have provided quite a recreational resource," said George Madison, fisheries supervisor for the Michigan Department of Natural Resources for the Western Upper Peninsula. "So while smelt can be desired by people, or brown trout or rainbow trout, it's very clear that they out-compete the native species." In the Great Lakes region, the introduction of salmon has changed the aquatic landscape, displacing native fish such as the coaster brook trout, a minnow forager.
Hopper time
I put on my waders, my felt-soled boots and a fleece vest because it felt a little bit cool when I got to the Oldman River. The sky was cloudy, threatening rain. A chilly breeze was sweeping down the valley from the west. But within 20 minutes I was sweating like I was in the tropics, the breeze had stopped and the sun had popped out from behind the clouds. I should have known. Summer might be winding down, but it ain't done yet. I'd come down to the Oldman River below the Three Rivers Dam to try a bit of late-afternoon grasshopper fishing. No, not fishing for grasshoppers. I mean using big flies imitating grasshoppers to fool some trout into playing with me for a bit. It's the time of year for grasshoppers along the river banks to start leaping and flying around looking for mates.
|
|
|
|
|
Bookmark
(Ctrl + D) |
|
