Hello all. My first post in a long time. I haven't had opportunity lately to be on FAOL, much less go fishing. Therefore, I was very happy when my dad seized an opportunity to leave town for a bit with me, and happier still when he told me to bring my rod and flies. We went up to my sister's in CO to drop some of her stuff off, and then left the next morning back to NM, where we camped in the northern part of the state for a couple days. It was more of a "scouting" trip than anything else, just to see what places there are that are worth goiong back to. First stop: the Valle Vidal in the Carson National Forest. Costilla Creek was absolutely beautiful. A fly fishers paradise. Most of it was surrounded by tall grasses and shrubs, with some stands of pine here and there. On the first day, after about an hour of casting into a few spots, I felt a little tug on the line, and I had a fish on! I brought the little guy in, in less than a minute (but it felt like an eternity ) and brought him out of the water to see him. By far, the most beautiful fish I've ever caught. He was a beautiful Rio Grande Cutthroat (my state fish too!), I would guess around 10-12 inches long. The slash on his throat, was the brightest, most vivid red I think I've ever seen. You can't see it in the photo, but it's there. It was really a neat experience. I caught him on a size 16 PTN with a Peacock Ice Dub thorax. The other places we visited are not worthy of mentioning, because they weren't ideal fly fishing spots. Anyway, enough talk. Here's a couple pictures. One of the fish, one of my abhorrent cast (while scratching my ear, haha). Thanks for reading my long post, and happy fishing!

nenbran