Pecos River

The temperature after I left Pecos NHP was still only in the mid 40's. It was still overcast as well, but I couldn't wait all day. I'm a little spoiled weather wise. Here in the southern half of the state, I usually can fish in the sunshine, even at marginal times of the year if I plan right. There were already several people parked at the Dalton area.I can only imagine what these spots are like as the weather warms,this was a cold Monday morning in mid-March.So, I continued on to the Field Tract Campground.The gate was still locked. I parked on the side of road and walked down to the stream. I then proceeded to throw everything I could conceive of ,and even thought about switching to some live bait, in order to catch a trout out of that stream. I was doing everything-nymphs,dries,even San Juan worms, adjusting my depth and weight- all for nothing. Not one fish, not a hook up,bite or bump. I thought I saw some small ones scurrying at one point,but I'm not really sure. I threw some rocks in to check at the end of my day and saw nothing.It could have been the temperature,or maybe that area was hit hard on the warm sunny weekend( remember,it was a Monday}, or it could be that I just suck. Unfortunately, I didn't realize, when I started fishing that I was blocked in by private property both above and below. So, I only had maybe a quarter mile to work with, and there was only one really good deep hole in that quarter mile. Not that I didn't try everywhere else, but most of my time was concentrated on that hole. I guess I could have gotten back in the car and moved on,but time was limited,so I stayed. I guess that's why I prefer wilderness fishing. I can just walk the stream and not worry about "KEEP OUT" signs, other fishermen, fished out holes,trash or fussy fish. I think next time, I'll try the wilderness section or maybe the box of the Pecos. I've heard walking a ways back on Mora creek will get you away from the crowd and into some nice browns. It could be that I just got skunked ,but this fishing along the road doesn't feel quite right to me. Luckily I only gave it about 2 1/2 hours of my time,before I had to get back to Santa Fe and head home.