Sounds to awesome, actually, it sounds like a trip I need and long over due. Jimi
DAY # 3- Friday. Breakfast at 7:30 - Scrambled eggs, bacon, sausage, hash browns, jelly, campfire coffee, juice and milk, for the wimps. For those who wanted it there was "Southwest Kish". It is made in a Dutch Oven, with about 2 dozen eggs stirred up, ground up sausage,fresh cut potatoes, onions, garlic, and green chilis all stirred up and cooked to a "Pie" about 3" deep. When done, it looks like any other Kish, but boy, it didn't taste like it with all the good stuff in it. cut into pie shaped pieces, we all received a big piect. I put the hottest Picante Sauce I could find on mine. others used Tobasco and a habanero sauce. Talk about good eating. I was in no hurry to hit the water. Today I'd planned to use my brand new Gallatin 5 foot graphite 2 pc-2 wt., but never got to cast it, for when I was pulling my fly line through, the tip section splintered just above the ferrule. Never have had a rod do that before. When I break one, it's usually rolling up a window or shutting the door on it. Oh well, Gallatin will send me another one. So back to my trusty little bamboo. We were staying at Abreau which has an ancient Cantina and cook building and a Cabin built out of Adobe - 14" thick walls, wooden floors, tin ceiling, turn of the century looking wall paper, a handle pump over the kitchen sink, that has to be primed each time it's used and an 1870 wood burning cook stove. The building was built in 1998 and replicates what an early New Mexico settler's cabin would look like. No electricity - only coal oil lamps. ( I have photos of all this if anyone cares to see them.). After breakfast we chose our fishing spots for the day. Some went down river and the rest, except for me, went way up the Rayado toward the "Notch" which is about 4 miles upstream from the cabin, but also the best water to catch some really big rainbows and browns. I elected to fish from the cabin upstream for about a half mile, because the wading was easier and I wouldn't have to walk so far back down the trail when I finished fishing. I mentioned that all of us would be fishing "pocket water". If you're not familiar with the term, it's pretty much self explanatory. It's not at all like fishing a meadow stream or other river with a gentle "fall". Pocket water is a series of "plunge pools" after small to medium sized waterfalls. The going is steep and most times you cannot simply wade straight up the river. You have to climb out, walk through the undergrowth to the next pool. And if it has a run down from the pool and the going isn't too tough, you can climb down and wade fish up the run and into the pool. When you can't get into the water, you can more or less "dabble" your fly into the pool or roll cast or bow and arrow cast, if the vegetation behind you prevents a full cast. The plunge pools on the upper Rayado range from two to six feet in depth and from ten feet in diameter to as much as thirty feet. The big, deep pools are where the big trout congregate. I already knew that I would be limited as to size of my fish for I was fishing small pools which were fairly easy to navigate around and in. I fished for a couple of hours, catching seven or eight small rainbows, the largest being a twelve incher. By then, my ankle was acting up so I climbed out of the river and hiked back to the cabin. I paced if off, using my pace of 4 feet, which I'd perfected while in Forestry School at Mississippi State, and found that I'd fished about 3/8's of a mile. No wonder I was tired and my ankle was hurting. When I arrived at the Cook's cabin it was lunch time, so I made myself a ham an swiss on Rye sandwich and washed it down with a Mountain Dew. I noticed that my ankle was swelling, so I immediately hobbled down to the Rayado, which was only about thirty yards from the Cook's cabin, stripped off my wading boots, hinged ankle brace, socks, etc. and soaked my feet in the cold water for about thirty minutes. The water was awfully cold. Reminded me of the old time coke boxes my Dad had at his auto garage/service station, where you set the cokes down into the cold water. It always made my hands ache when I had to load the box. Held about 200 cokes. After soaking for about 30 minutes, the swelling began to go down and I headed up to the cabin for a nap. My nap turned into a 4 hour snooze and I was awakened by the rest of the gang when they returned from their days' fishing. Big fish, big stories, happy guys all. Supper Friday night consisted of grilled Salmon Steaks with almonds, butter and green chilis on top and doused with picante sauce. Have you ever tried Salmon steaks prepared this way? Mmmmm Goooood! Along with the salmon we had fried okra with diced green tomatoes, mashed potatoes, sliced tomatoes, iced tea, blackberry cobbler, and vanilla ice cream. There was a bowl of green chilies just in case anyone wanted more than was on their salmon steak. Before I forget, the fly of the day was a Royal Humpy. 6 of our crew of 8 used them very successfully,- no droppers today. The other two, myself included, fishd Elk Hair Caddis. I'd write more today, but believe me, changing spark plugs ans plug wires on an 83 Mustang GT is tuff work, especially getting to the back three plugs on the right bank. So, I'm gonna cool off with a JD and coke and rest a little, before my job as Host of the 9-11 CST VFB Chat Room tonight. Part # 4 tomorrow. -- Jimmy D. Moore, "BIGTROUTMAN" I FISH BECAUSE I MUST! More importantly, I fish because my Dad taught me! Author,Outdoor Writer,TOWA, TF&G,VP-GRTU Owner/Webmaster - Worldwide Flyfishing Info. http://www.BIGTROUTMAN.homestead.com/MainPage.html
