Urban fishing

For as long as I can remember people have often told me: “Anders, you´re so dope, fresh and good looking. How do you do it?”. Well I´ll be honest with you. It´s all about two things:

1. Having the swaggest of friends who only fish the coolest and most urban places.
2. Eating the epic swagtrout from which all coolness and joy derives.

This reminds me of this picture. It´s Anne, hardcore fisherman and badboy mother. She is doing her thing, fishing in Trondheim. If you don´t appreciate this picture of epic swagness, I don´t want to talk to you and I hope you choke.

Andrew Terry

Taos, NM

Andrew Terry was born and raised in the small town of Taos, in northern New Mexico.  His father and brother introduced him to fly fishing at the age of four.  Andy immediately loved the sport and loved to fish with his father and older brother.  Growing up in Taos, Andy enjoyed fishing all of the beautiful mountain streams and rivers in Northern New Mexico.  Andy’s first fishing pole was a little junior three weight, quite fit for a four year old child.  His fishing obsession has driven him to seek fish not only in rivers, but all over the topical waters that the Americas have to offer.  He now spends months at a time chasing schools of fish through saltwater flats with his ocean-grade twelve weight rod fixed with a large arbor reel.  He often quotes, “I catch BIG fish!”, and the only way you can is to “Keep that fly on the water!”

Western United States

Over the years Andrew’s fishing adventures have taken him all over the United States, catching both fresh and saltwater fish.  In search for river fish such as trout, Andrew has been wet in rivers all over California, Arizona, Colorado, Oregon, Washington, Nevada, Wyoming, Montana, and Idaho.  Andrew has caught brown trout, rainbow trout, brooke trout, cutthroat trout, cut-bow trout, bass, and pike.  Andrew says that his desire to catch big fish has taken him all over the western part of the United States.  Fishing has brought me to some of the most beautiful and pristine places that you can possibly imagine.  Catching fish is always fun, but sometimes they just don’t bite.  If you fish just to catch fish, then the sport will get old very soon.  Fishermen love water, nature, rivers, oceans, the elements, and the adventure.  Andrew’s thirst for adventure often takes him to the ocean where he can catch a wide variety of different fish that put up a much greater fight!

Tarpon

In the United States, Andrew often visits the tarpon capital, Boca Grande, Florida.  People from all over the world gather in Florida to catch these amazing fish.  Tarpon are considered by some to be the ultimate sport-fish.  Tarpon have very large shinny metallic scales and can grow to eight feet long, weighing close to three hundred pounds!  Many people catch the largest of tarpon with heavy, deep-sea fishing rods, Andy seeks to catch these fish with his fly rod.  Fishing for tarpon with a fly rod takes much more time and patience to wear out the beast, and there is a much greater chance for the fish to escape the clutches of the hook.  Fly fishing in saltwater equals adventure!

Bonefish

Snook

Permit

Andrew’s desire to “catch BIG fish” has taken him beyond the waters of Boca Grande.  Andrew loves to catch fish with his fly rod on saltwater flats.  Here you can find species of fish such as the bonefish, snook, and permit.  Andrew does not catch these fish for eating, they all go back in the water.  Angling for these fish is much different than river fishing, you have to wait, look in all directions, and search for schools of fish that swim by very fast.  Reaction time to passing schools is critical to saltwater fly fishing, the experience is heart-pounding!

Andrew has fished the saltwater flats all over the Baja peninsula of Mexico, as well as the pacific coast of Mexico, from Puerto Vallarta to Guatemala.  As far as the gulf side, Andy fishes the Yucatan peninsula from Cancun, Mexico down to Belize.  These regions are some of the best saltwater fly fishing to be found in the Americas!

Andy’s next fishing trip will be to Alaska, where he will fish for King Salmon, Steelhead, and Monster Rainbow Trout.  If Andy could have his ideal fishing trip he would take his brother-from-another-mother, Stephen Cyvas, through the Caribbean Islands. In the Caribbean Andy plans to try his hand at spear-fishing, SCUBA, and of course, fish the flats and sandbars surrounding the islands.

28 inch Rainbow Trout

On February 4, 2010 a gentleman named Todd Freeman caught a record-breaking rainbow trout during the 4th Jicarilla Ice Derby in Dulce New Mexico on the Jicarilla Apache Nation.  The fish was a whopping 27.8” and Freeman said that the trout put up one hell of a fight.  Fisheries specialist Kevin Terry promises that there are larger fish in the lakes.

The Jicarilla Ice Derby takes place on the Jicarilla Apache Nation’s three lakes: Dulce, Mundo, and Stone from 8 a.m.- 3 p.m.  The event takes place in February to ensure that the ice has had plenty of time to freeze solid.  In February the average thickness of the ice sheet is around two feet thick.  In order to prepare for the event you will need a New Mexico fishing licensee ($5 for one day), an auger (ice drill), bait, and an ice rod.  It is always wise to dress warm for the event with typical snow skiing apparel.

Every contestant of the tournament must pay a $25 entry fee, which includes two tickets to win a door prize and a t-shirt.  The money collected from the contestants goes to replenish the lakes and hunting grounds in the Apache Nation.  Large purchases of  farmed rainbow trout are purchased from local fisheries and put into all three of the lakes once the ice has thawed.  Tournaments such as the Ice Derby keep the lakes stocked with trout, and bring tourism to the area.

Stone Lake has a history of having the largest fish of the three lakes, so my friend Andrew and I set out to catch the trophy fish at Stone Lake, 8 a.m. sharp!  We fished Stone Lake largely in the southeast corner of the lake and drilled 4 holes with our hand powered auger.  Most of the other ice-fishermen had gasoline powered augers that zip through the ice with ease, making it easy for them to fish several spots.  By the time it was noon we had not caught on single fish, so we packed up our gear and headed to Mundo Lake where people were having better luck.  Once we arrived at Mundo Lake we quickly drilled our holes, since the clock was ticking and we were still empty handed.  Since Mundo Lake allows live bait, we switched to the grub worms, and they started nailing the end of our lines.  Lady luck was on our side for quite some time, bringing 13 fish between the two of us, but no trophy winners.  The tournament was a success with the winning catches coming off of Stone Lake.  We were not the winners of the tournament, but the fishing was fantastic and the weather was rather pleasant.  I will return next year in hopes of catching the trophy trout of the Apache Nation.

Record 19.5 inch Rainbow Trout

The 5th Annual Jicarilla Ice Derby in Dulce,  New Mexico was held on February 19, 2011.  Every year the tournament sees a larger and larger crowd and this year was no disappointment.  The Ice Derby attracted close to 300 contestants and raised thousands of dollars to protect the environment.  The weather was tough this year with strong gusting winds and some sleet, but you could hardly notice with all of the happy fisherman around.

The winner of the tournament this year was Seneca Atole, of Dulce.  This gentleman caught the most fish of the day and the largest fish of the day, bringing him a total of $900 in prize money.  Seneca caught 5 trout with his largest fish at 19.5 inches.  The people of Dulce were happy to see a local win the large cash prizes, since the luck has been in the favor of visitors in the past.

The t-shirts this year were very impressive and everyone has a great time on the ice.  I only caught one fish for the day, a small 12. inch rainbow.  I was very happy to catch my one fish as some people went home empty handed.  This years tournament was much different than last years.  Last year everyone that won prizes for most trout and largest trout pulled their fish from Stone Lake.  This year nearly everyone fished on Mundo Lake and only 2 fish came out of Stone for the entire tournament.

All in all, the tournament was another success for the Jicarilla Apache Nation and Fisheries Biologist Kevin Terry, who puts on the annual event.  Everyone would like to go out and make some money fishing, but only a few people can win each year.  Once again I did not bring home the cash nor the trophy fish, but that doesn’t mean that I won’t next year.  You can expect to see me out on the ice next year with a stubby pole in one hand and a cold beer in the other.  It is healthy for the soul to occasionally fish with one hand

My first catch from the San Juan

Just before attending the Ice Derby V in Dulce, New Mexico my friend Andrew Terry and I decided to try our luck out fishing the San Juan River on February 18, 2011.  There were rumors that a recent warm front enabled large amounts of black midges to hatch early this year.  Large clusters of recently hatched black midges means that the trout will begin feeding early this year.  The weather was slightly warm and overcast, so I decided to put on a dry fly and see if I could catch their attention.

We started the day off by stopping at Abe’s bait shop to see what the word was around the river.  Last time I fished the San Juan we were in a drift boat and entered at the Texas Hole.  The Texas hole is very deep and nearly impossible to fish with waders, since we had no boat we decided to enter at Cable Hole.  I decided to stare at the river for quite some time to see if I could see some risers coming to the surface.  I began to see around six different trout rising on the southeast side of Cable Hole.  I slowly entered the river downstream from from the risers and sneak up behind them.  With my dry fly, I imitated the midges that had recently hatched.  I soon began noticing the trout circling around my fly but the fish were quite hesitant to bite.  As any good fisherman I remained patient and confident that the trout will bite.  After fishing the same spot for around 45 minutes, my hard work finally paid off.  I nabbed a 20 inch rainbow, and this fish was a beauty.  This fish put up one hell off a fight and I had to wear him out by letting him run for quite some time, but I had to keep good tension on the line to make sure that he didn’t get away.  Soon we netted the trout and I knew that he was mine for a picture, but not for the taking.  The upper reaches of the San Juan river near Navajo Dam are consiered quality rivers for catch and release ONLY.  I usually practice catch and release unless I am camping and need the food.

The San Juan only gave me one catch for the day, but it was the first trout that I have landed on that river.  The angling was amazing and the experience was priceless.  I was especially happy because I caught this fish with a new rod and reel.  Looks like the new equipment works just fine!

This is the view we look forward to every year

Some of the largest lake trout that New Mexico has to offer are located on the Jicarilla Apache Nation.  Lakes such as Mundo, Dulce, and Stone will be open to all participants for ice fishing from 8am-3pm.  Entry fee is $25 and includes a free t-shirt.  Raffel prizes will be sold for $10 to win guided hunts for turkey and elk in the Jicarilla Nation.

Previous years of the tournament there have been door prizes given out so that no fisherman leaves empty handed.  Feedback from the contestants has led to the elimination of door prizes and cash prizes for the tournament winners and more hunts raffled off.  This year the will be cash prizes for 1st, 2nd, and 3rd in weight of trout caught.  Cash prizes will be $500 for 1st, $400 for 2nd, and $300 for 3rd.   The largest single trout caught will be awarded $400.  One contestant could win a possible $900 if they win both categories!

I recommend that the contestants arrive one hour early to decide which of the three lakes will be best for them to fish.  This way you will have time to get out on the ice and wait for the sound of the air-horn.  Once the sound of the horn goes off, its time to drill in the ice and drop a line.  May the best fisherman/fisherwoman win!

Northern Pike are known for their size and aggression

There have been two people now that have caught Northern Pike in the Eagle Nest Lake near Angel Fire.  These large predatory fish are a big threat to the half a million trout that call the lake home.  If these fish are allowed to survive in the lake all trout could be wiped out and tourism would suffer.

Eagle’s Nest Lake is a small, yet beautiful lake located between the Taos and Angel Fire Ski areas.  Eagle’s Nest Lake has received large amounts of fishing tourism thanks to the people that commute between the ski areas, and the traffic of Harley Davidson riders that love to rally in Angle Fire.  Not only is Eagle’s Nest Lake known for its calm glass-like waters, but its abundance of brown and rainbow trout.  The lake is feed by clean mountain waters, and provides for a healthy environment for the fish to thrive.  The bountiful trout in Eagle’s Nest could be eradicated by a highly aggressive invasive species recently found on November 10, 2010.  The Northern Pike is the invasive species that can grow two to three times larger than a trout.  Pike have large sharp teeth that can shred a little trout to pieces.  Pike are fish that need a larger body of water, if the species is allowed to live, they will wipe out all of the trout and then they will starve themselves when the trout are gone.

So go out there and grab your fishing rods and help mother nature by killing the pike that live in Eagle’s Nest Lake.  For all of the fisherman willing to help, catch and release all trout from Eagle’s Nest Lake, but keep the pike.  If you don’t like pike sell it, just keep it out of the lake.
This photograph was taken in Denmark by sweebe on flickr.