Trip to Pagosa Springs

Yesterday, I had to make a trip over Wolf Creek Pass to the nearest Wells Fargo bank in Pagosa Springs -- my second trip there since mid May.  This time, almost all the snow was gone or only small patches showed among the trees.  The other side of the pass looked even more lush and green than the previous time -- the view at the overlook, always takes my breath away.

After getting my business done at the bank and filling up the Jeep's gas tank, I stopped at the City Market on the western end of Pagosa Springs to stock up on more sodas and beer before heading back.  Gas was some 15 cents less expensive per gallon there than here in South Fork -- still almost $4 per gallon so that those big oil companies can continue to make their unbelievable profits every quarter.  When will their subsidies ever be stopped -- most likely never.  Oh, to Hell with them all.

So, I headed back and passed a lake on the golf course there that looked like one I had fished with my brother and sister-in-law some 30 plus years ago when we stayed in Arthur Ashe's condo and had vacationed there for a week.  A wonderful memory of some good times, good fishing, hiking and tennis  (when we were all younger, of course).

After climbing over the pass again and starting to descend over the eastern side, I thought I could stop at Big Meadows and fish for an hour or so -- test that lure again at my favorite spot at the far side of the lake (get some exercise too in the process).  Besides, I needed to use the restroom there too -- had to go since leaving the store in Pagosa Springs.  After answering Mother Nature's first call, I headed directly to those large boulder clusters at the far end of the lake via the nice trail -- enjoying the views along the way (noting that most all of the snow was nearly gone from the peaks above the lake).  Not many fishermen were along the shores of the lake as I walked quickly passed.  I chatted briefly with one young couple after I passed the bridge over the first stream and they said they had only caught two fish -- kinda slow they said.

I was relieved to see that no one had taken a position on the boulders I was headed for, though a couple boats were not far off.  I immediately fished all along the longest stretch of the boulders using my Kastmaster lure (which I found at Beaver Creek Reservoir last year).  After getting only one little bump, I moved to the left point of the boulders near the biggest cove and fished there and soon had one nice fish on which started immediately jumping out of the water and when it was about six feet from the shore, it jumped some three feet out of the water and spit the lure -- nearly into my face, it seemed.  Just a few casts later, I hooked into a bigger fish and tried to play him a bit more and kept the tip of the pole low in hopes that he wouldn't be going air-borne.  However, I had forgotten to put my hand net in my back pocket or somewhere nearby as I clung to the edge of the boulders and he too managed to spit out the lure as he neared the boulders -- only giving me a clear look at his dark colored back and his nice length (some 14 or 15 inches).

In the meantime, a boat came chugging and sputtering across the lake and dropped four children at the boulders to my right so, I fished that long stretch of my boulders again -- giving them a sign of my territorial claim to the section I occupied (as I muttered some profanities under my breath at the captain of the boat).  The four children parked themselves on the other section of boulders beyond the little cove separating the two clusters and they began to fish as the boat headed back to the other end of the lake -- to pick up another load of people it turned out.  I decided to head back to the point to my left and mentally decided to give up my claim to the long section of the boulders -- giving the kids more space to spread out, if they so desired.  I fished the point and cast into the larger cove to its left and soon caught a keeper and released two other small Brook trout.  Then, I moved farther to my left and hooked into a really nice fish which I managed to net this time -- a 15.5 inch Cutthroat trout, it turns out.  I caught one more keeper and released another small Brook trout just before the next boat load of people arrived, accompanied by some additional party members who made the hike along the trail -- time for this old man to leave.  Another good day of fishing this spot and more than enough fish to put on the grille (big one in the freezer).

Big Meadows -- Biggest Rainbow

After fishing a few different spots over the past few days (just to have more options and places to catch fish), I returned to Big Meadows this morning and caught four fish -- released two of them.  The last fish I caught was the biggest Rainbow trout I have ever caught.  It measured 20 inches and was a really good fighter.  Thought for sure I would lose him as he splashed and fought hard to get away but, I loosened the drag a couple clicks and anxiously waited and hoped to land him.  Boy! Oh Boy!  What a nice fish and great day of fishing.

Yesterday, I had started at Beaver Creek Reservoir and fished the inlet where the stream fed into the lake and didn't get a single strike so I moved beyond the boat ramp and fished the channel along the road where it dropped off sharply.  I had a few strikes but, didn't catch a fish until some half a dozen strikes -- a small brown (which I kept thinking I might catch a couple more).  However, the winds picked up and I decided to move to the area beyond the picnic grounds and fished another 45 minuts with no luck and decided to head back to the campground.  First, I decided to head up the road past Riverbend RV Resort to check out the canyon and the stream above the campground.  There I discovered some nice pools below some cliffs and tried my luck for a short time -- saw some nice fish and had a few chasers but, no luck.

Then, I headed back for lunch and a short nap.  I then headed back to the Rio Grande for another hour of fishing and brought back a nice 15 inch trout for the freezer.

Baker's Dozen plus Eleven

Yesterday, I went back to Big Meadows with Power Bait in my jacket pocket and my usual set of Panther Martin lures -- with my thoughts on this spot I passed by on Sunday where I saw some folks pulling in some 15 or 16 inch trout.  I headed there and passed a couple anglers on the way who didn't have much to claim they had caught (didn't see any trout on stringers either as I passed).

I settled into a spot near where I had recalled seeing some being caught on Sunday and within a few minutes of casting the first Power Bait offering, I had a decent size trout hooked and soon on the stringer as well.  Next two casts produced smaller fish after only a few minutes of waiting but, I released them.  Missed a couple and caught two more small ones that I again released before I decided to head farther around the lake to some boulders I had fished and caught a couple this past Sunday.  I caught seven more trout on the Power Bait and kept a couple of those -- the last one costing me my tiny treble hook.  So I switched to the other pole with the Panther Martin lure on it and continued to catch another dozen trout and released all but, the fourth keeper for my limit.

Of course, the biggest one got away while I fished with the lure -- maybe a sixteen inch Brook trout that did his "Dance for Life" and spit the lure about six feet from shore.  Still a great day of fishing.

Return to Regan Lake

Yesterday, the winds were forecasted to be about half of what they have been recently so, I invited my neighbor the shed hunter to join me again in our third visit to the remote lake -- with the hope of catching another of those monster Brookies.  We arrived there a little past 9:00 a.m. and found the beach there to be occupied by some campers (four guys with fly rods had camped there overnight).  There also were a few other anglers on the shoreline that had driven up on ATVs (possibly from a camp down at the entrance road to the lake).

We had our sights on the same part of the lake where I had caught the 17 inch and one 14 inch Brook trout and four others.  Luckily, the wind was calm and the lake nearly like glass and no one had taken the spot we had hoped to fish.  Darvin got there first and took the spot I had caught those nice fish and I moved past him toward the dam and farther around the lake trying my lures in the clear waters.  After over two hours of fishing, neither of us had a single bite and the winds began to pick up as predicted so, we had some lunch and discussed the prospects of staying or heading back down the road to Road Canyon Reservoir #1 only 7 miles away.  The four campers had made a circuit around the lake and Darvin talked with them and they too had not had any luck or seen any fish.  Made our decision easier and I already had decided to switch to Power Bait at the next stop.

When we arrived at Road Canyon Reservoir, the winds seemed to ease up and I convinced Darvin to fish the far side of the dam where I had heard the fishing might be best.  So I parked near the dam and we walked across the dam and over the spillway.  Darvin got to the other side first since I made a stop at the restroom below the dam.  He caught a nice fish almost as soon as I arrived on the other side and settled on a spot just short of where he stopped.  Soon after, I caught a nice 13 inch Rainbow -- using Power Bait (hate to admit it but, I had failed to get a bite here previously using my preferred lures).  Shortly, he caught another much nicer fish of about 18 inches and then another soon thereafter.  Meanwhile, I only had one more small bite and decided to move to a spot on the other side of Darvin, and soon had another nice trout of about 15 inches.  Darvin kept catching more fish and then had some problems with a snag and then lost a couple fish that broke his line.  Then, his biggest fish got off his stringer and some frustration set in as the weather became more threatening and windy.  He wanted to leave but, I told him another half hour before I wanted to leave.

After he took a short walk and calmed down a bit he agreed we should catch our limits -- and he did but, I came up one short as I saw storm clouds coming over the mountain on the other side of the lake. Time to leave and avoid a soaking before getting that fourth trout -- not worth it in my mind.

Still Here in South Fork

The Memorial Day crowds have come and gone (not really too many of them as it turns out) and the signs around the lakes and streams indicate their presence -- left over trash and the multi-colored Power Bait at the water's edge (or floating on the surface).  I did make it up to Big Meadows over the holiday weekend where I hiked around the lake on the trail (4-1/2 miles) and even went over the stream that feeds into the lake for the first time.  I stopped and fished occasionally when I found an open and appealing spot but, didn't catch anything I wanted to keep.  A Good Walk Interrupted.

Yesterday, I had hoped to get back up to Regan Lake where I caught those nice Brook trout -- the wind was supposed to be down to half of what it has been in recent days (and it was).  However, the guy that went with me the last two times had some health issues and cancelled in the early morning.  So, I decided to head back to Big Meadows again where I caught a half dozen fish and kept three -- two of them I wouldn't have kept because they were less than 12 inches but, they had swallowed the lure and wouldn't have survived.  I released a few others with no problem.

After that, I decided to head up to Shaw Lake to try for some of those Cutthroats -- only a couple more miles up the road from Big Meadows.  When I arrived there, a couple guys were just coming from the lake and had no luck they said after walking around the whole lake.  I decided to try my luck on the far side of the dam after making my way across the spillway without getting my feet wet.  I only had one hit during an hour of fishing the dam and a corner of the lake on the far side.

I then headed up the road in my Jeep to get a look at the other end of the lake and fished the dam at the other end of the lake -- no luck there either.  No hits.  I then worked my way back over that dam and decided to fish around the little stream feeding the lake just down from the dam and the road above.  I caught a couple little fingerlings (Cutthroats) and let them go and then headed back to the Jeep to get my camera to take the picture above.

Same set of peaks are visible at Big Meadows too as you can see in the picture from the road on my way down from Shaw Lake.  I stopped again on my way down the canyon to fish a little pool below some cliffs where I hoped to catch one more fish -- a Brook trout from the South Fork.  It's not an easy spot to get too and it has to be fished from a six foot cliff unless you have waders.  I had caught two in this spot the other day and released them.  On a perfect cast to a submerged flat rock where I thought a trout should be, the lure fell just over the edge of the boulder and a nice fish took the lure but, unfortunately it spit out the lure about 2/3 of way to me and the cliff.  All I managed to catch was another little fingerling which I released.

Well, that's how fishing goes sometimes.  I gave the cleaned fish to a couple just across from me here at the campground -- she gave me a fresh baked loaf of bread -- what a deal!  Now I can go catch some more fish too -- only that big Brookie left in the freezer.