Red River and Cabresto Lake

During fire season I tend to stick pretty close to home. There can be very little advance warning to evacuate, and a few fires in the last decade have come close enough for me to take fire season seriously. Plus, the last time I took off for an extended trip during fire season, lightning struck a pine in my yard, arced to the shed and set my shed on fire. If a neighbor hadn't seen the smoke and called the VFD - well, I'd rather not think about it.

This year's monsoon season started up pretty much on schedule, right around the 4th of July. By the third week of July, things were looking pretty green, the fire danger was down to moderate and I was really ready to hit the road for a little camping and fishing. It had to be a short trip because I had a weekend volunteer commitment with the local Ranger District. So, this trip report won't be too long.

I hadn't been up to Red River in a long time, and never tried fishing there, so I packed up my camper and headed north. It took about seven hours to drive from Southern New Mexico to a USFS campground just outside the town of Red River.  Here's the Google Map of the route.

I was disheartened when I got to Red River, because it was jam-packed with tourists, even on a weekday. Well, okay, it was vacation season, and I was told later that Red River advertises in Texas.  Most of the license plates were Texas ones, alright. I drove right through town to a USFS campground on the Red River. I grabbed one of the few spots left, which turned out to be right next to a trailer with the world's loudest generator. I walked a little way out of the camp along the river with my Tenkara rod and a Utah killer bug, but had no bites. 

This was not an auspicious beginning.

Campsite Sweet Campsite

In the morning, I had a quick breakfast and broke camp. I went back to town to a fly shop I had seen, to get some advice on flies and where to fish, and pay for that advice by buying the recommended flies. I was told to go upriver from town and use a fly that imitated the moths that were around. They looked like Western tent caterpillar moths to me. We'd been having an outbreak of them in the Sacramento Mountains, and it looked like here, as well. A bleached elk hair caddis was tied on.

The Red River upstream from town.

The Red River was too narrow here to wade without spooking every fish around, and the banks were overgrown, so dapping was the order of the day. This would have been perfect for the Tenkara rod, but I had brought my western style fly rod per the fly shop guy's recommendation. Maybe he didn't know about Tenkara?  Regardless, I caught and released a few smaller rainbows and lost as many flies in the brush and rocks. These were all stocked fish, so I started dapping my way back to the truck with thoughts of heading to Cabresto Lake.

My last fish on the Red River was the smallest, yet most dramatic. It was just a six-incher, with parr marks still visible, but as I brought it to the bank, it suddenly got heavier. I had a fish thief firmly latched on.

The thief was a Wandering Garter snake, a little over two feet long. It had a literal death grip on the little trout. We had a brief tug o' war while I snapped the picture and retrieved my fly, then both snake and trout quickly vanished into the brush along the bank. It would have been interesting to watch it fit the fish down its gullet. The snake must have been lying in wait just under the bank. I understand that garter snakes like to be near water and fish are in their diet. I wonder if they are learning to hang out near anglers?

The walk back to the truck was pleasant. All along the trail, berries were ripe. I had to sample the wild raspberries.

Then, it was off to Cabresto Lake. From Red River, I drove west to Questa, then followed the signs to the lake. Camping is allowed at the lake, but the "campground" is just a couple of tables in a gravel parking area. a little bit away from the lake. The price is right (free), so I shouldn't complain.  The USFS improved the access road to the lake recently, and I discovered that it is an ATV hotspot from about 10 a.m. to an hour before sunset. That's a good time to be at the lake or on the non-motorized trail into the Latir Peak Wilderness. The ATVs reach a dead-end at the campground.

Cabresto Lake looking toward the Latir Peak Wilderness area.

This is a perfect little reservoir for a float tube, which I brought, but somehow forgot both boots and fins (D'oh!). Fish were cruising near the shore and keying on those tent caterpillar moths, so it turned out okay. The elk hair caddis in size 12 or 14 and a little tan foam moth pattern I had tied up earlier worked best. It looks like Brook trout are the dominant species, but there are some Rio Grande Cutthroats in the lake as well. They were all healthy and vigorous. Moths must be nutritious.

Brookie

Cuttie

I finished the day with a simple dinner and Happy Camper IPA from Santa Fe Brewery. I admit it was the big Zia on the can that caught my eye (Ooooh, New Mexico Proud beer!), but the beer wasn't half bad.

Then, with the ATVs gone and the campground quiet, it was time to relax and watch the setting sun light up some nearby virga.

The next day, I fished for just a bit (caught and released a brook trout), then packed up. It was time to head back home for my weekend volunteer "work" of helping with a guided hike in the Lincoln NF. Tough work, but someone has to do it ;-)

On the way back, I stopped at the Questa Ranger District office and picked up a map of the Valle Vidal unit of the Carson NF. I hope to be traveling north again to this special area before too long.

Approaching Carrizozo, I had to stop and grab this quick pic of my home territory - the north end of the Sacramento Mountains. That conical peak is Nogal Peak, the subject of a previous post here.

Thanks for tagging along on this short trip.