The mountains are painted with brilliant gold and autumn rust and the wind is being somewhat cooperative as I sit on the bank of a  stream in the long bear grass. My feet are in the water as I  look upstream; I am working something out in my head which, as of late,  can take quite a while. I have tried a number of combination’s but nothing seems to be tempting my targets. This is my normal process of working out a new stream, a river, or any body of water for that matter. I have made usual hasty mistakes . I am so excited to set foot in new water that I jump in without taking a minute to step back and observe.  The rig that worked last week on whatever river does not always work this week on any river. Eventually I will learn to do this in the beginning and save myself an hour of frustration.

I know the basics of what should work but sometimes you just have to go look for yourself. I am turning over rocks from the bottom of the stream to find my answer. It does not take long and I am rigged up once again.

A number 18 BH Pheasant Tail Nymph dropped about 12 inches off a size 16 grey bodied Parachute Adams. This is the magic combination that brings me the results I expect every time I set foot in the water. Not much changes as the day goes on just questions about why it took so long to solve this stream. I later discussion with a local flyshop would reveal what I believe is the answer; the fish have been pounded with the “norm” all Summer so they probably scattered every time they saw my giant yellow bodied hopper or Madam X hit the surface.

I am addicted to Fly Fishing for a number of reasons. Foremost would be the game of figuring out what these fish want and how to present it to them so they cannot refuse. After that would be the areas that this addiction puts you in. Northern New Mexico is the area I fish extensively and every new area I go continues to surprise. This last weekend it was the Valle Vidal Unit (Valley of Life).  This area of land was a gift from Pennzoil (shocked?) back in the early 80′s. It is essentially there for the people to hunt, fish, and hike to their hearts extent. Hopefully it will stay this way as I am sure there are more than a few gas and oil companies or our beloved Energy Task Force that want to sink their filthy fingers in the Valle Vidal and bleed her dry.

Until that day let’s hope it continues on it’s current path of being excellent Elk hunting and an area that is being developed as a safe haven for a large number of native Rio Grande Cutthroat.