First fish(es) of the year...
 

I don't fish much these days, and so this TR documents
the first fish I caught this year, and several thereafter.

I actually did break out my flyrod earlier this year, as
I mentioned on ROFF before. In march I fished about 20min
on the Middle Fork of the Gila, during a lunch break on
a horseback ride into the Middle Fork. The river was high
and I caught nothing.

Two weekends ago my wife and I did a one-night pack-in
with our horse, mule, and burro into the Mimbres River
in the Aldo Leopold Wilderness Area. While we've done
plenty of truck camping, this was our first pack-in camp,
and was an experiment in seeing how we overcame certain
logistical difficulties, you can see pictures he

http://www.cs.nmsu.edu/~jcook/Pics/mimbres-packtrip/

It went well, and I had my 3wt with me, but again I didn't
catch anything on my 20min lunch break! The river was
extremely low, dry in some places, and the fish were
incredibly shy. With the low clear water and predators
around (we spooked two herons off the river), the trout
were virtually impossible to cast to. I was unsuccessful
on a couple of pools, and then lunch was over. But I did
see good numbers of fish up to about 6-7".

Two days later we left for a trip up to Colorado to visit
family. But we took our time, and stayed two days in
Angel Fire, NM for our 9th anniversary. Nice place! If
you're thinking of going in the near future, "Rustic
Retreats" has great rates on nice, new cabins. Email me
for info.

On the way we stopped at Coyote Creek State Park, a little
park with a creek and beaver ponds that a friend recommended
to us. It was here I hooked (and landed) my first fish of
the year -- unfortunately a stocker bow, followed by a bunch
more. Anyways, it was good casting practice :-)

On our anniversary day, my wife insisted I take some time
and fish the Cimmaron River below Eagle Nest Lake. Who am
I to argue? We were driving up from the town of Cimarron
(visited there and the Philmont Scout Ranch), and so I
stopped in the regular waters just above the Scout land.
Over 30 minutes of plinking in the pools I hooked but
didn't land several fish, including probably a couple of
about a foot, one at least definitely a wild brown. It
was raining and I was soaked by then, but it was warm so
no big deal.

I stopped one more place, up in the special regs water, to
see if it would be any better (regs are 1 fish over 16").
Some baetis were flying about so I put on a brown SJW with
an #20 RS2 trailing it. Fishing was _very_ good, with bigger
fish around. I didn't fish long but hooked two bows about
12-13", and hooked and landed two browns about 13" and 14",
both deep bodied and strong (and both jumped). The bigger
brown took the RS2, but the smaller one took the SJW just
as it hit the water on a cast I had to flick under the
overhanging willows. It was way cool to see his yellow shape
come up and take it.

Though named a river, this water is pretty small (USGS shows
about 18cfs during the time I was there), and those fish fought
like big fish, shaking their heads and peeling a little
line off my 3wt. A good way to start the year ;-)

Jon.

First fish(es) of the year...
 

"Jonathan Cook" wrote in message
...
I don't fish much these days, and so this TR documents
the first fish I caught this year, and several thereafter.

I actually did break out my flyrod earlier this year, as
I mentioned on ROFF before. In march I fished about 20min
on the Middle Fork of the Gila, during a lunch break on
a horseback ride into the Middle Fork. The river was high
and I caught nothing.

Two weekends ago my wife and I did a one-night pack-in
with our horse, mule, and burro into the Mimbres River
in the Aldo Leopold Wilderness Area. While we've done
plenty of truck camping, this was our first pack-in camp,
and was an experiment in seeing how we overcame certain
logistical difficulties, you can see pictures he

http://www.cs.nmsu.edu/~jcook/Pics/mimbres-packtrip/



Beautiful pics, and a soul-satisfying thing to be doing! What's up with your
horse that he needs training wheels?

--riverman

First fish(es) of the year...
 

On 6/30/04 4:55 PM, in article
, "Jonathan Cook"
wrote:

I don't fish much these days, and so this TR documents
the first fish I caught this year, and several thereafter.

snip

Nice reports, Jon, and nice pictures! That's some lovely country you've got
out there!

Cheers from campus,
Bill

First fish(es) of the year...
 

riverman wrote:
"Jonathan Cook" wrote:
...
Two weekends ago my wife and I did a one-night pack-in
with our horse, mule, and burro into the Mimbres River
in the Aldo Leopold Wilderness Area. While we've done
plenty of truck camping, this was our first pack-in camp,
and was an experiment in seeing how we overcame certain
logistical difficulties, you can see pictures he ...

Beautiful pics, and a soul-satisfying thing to be doing! What's up with your
horse that he needs training wheels?

My guess is that certain logistical difficulties refers in part to
the fact that Mrs. Cook travels with a wheelchair.

I'd hazard a second guess, but you're a nice guy and will probably
feel ****ty enough on your own without any help from me.

--
Ken Fortenberry

First fish(es) of the year...
 

"Ken Fortenberry" wrote in message
gy.com...
riverman wrote:
"Jonathan Cook" wrote:
...
Two weekends ago my wife and I did a one-night pack-in
with our horse, mule, and burro into the Mimbres River
in the Aldo Leopold Wilderness Area. While we've done
plenty of truck camping, this was our first pack-in camp,
and was an experiment in seeing how we overcame certain
logistical difficulties, you can see pictures he ...

Beautiful pics, and a soul-satisfying thing to be doing! What's up with
your
horse that he needs training wheels?

My guess is that certain logistical difficulties refers in part to
the fact that Mrs. Cook travels with a wheelchair.


Well yeah, that's obvious. So Jonathon: were the 'logistical difficulties'
managable? It sure looked like a great trip; it'd be good to know that you
can keep doing them. There was some discussion awhile back about pack
animals being in Wilderness areas, and your TR puts excellent color on the
importance of it.

--riverman

First fish(es) of the year...
 

"Jonathan Cook" wrote in message
...

...Two weekends ago my wife and I did a one-night pack-in
with our horse, mule, and burro into the Mimbres River
in the Aldo Leopold Wilderness Area....

How comes it to be known the "Aldo Leopold Wilderness Area"?

I've spent a good deal of time in his beloved sand counties (actually lived
there for a while)......used to know a couple of his students......and their
students (not bragging.....just sharing).....don't remember any connection
with your part of the world.

Wolfgang
and thanks for the TR.

First fish(es) of the year...
 

"Ken Fortenberry" wrote in message
gy.com...
riverman wrote:
"Jonathan Cook" wrote:
...
Two weekends ago my wife and I did a one-night pack-in
with our horse, mule, and burro into the Mimbres River
in the Aldo Leopold Wilderness Area. While we've done
plenty of truck camping, this was our first pack-in camp,
and was an experiment in seeing how we overcame certain
logistical difficulties, you can see pictures he ...

Beautiful pics, and a soul-satisfying thing to be doing! What's up with
your
horse that he needs training wheels?

My guess is that certain logistical difficulties refers in part to
the fact that Mrs. Cook travels with a wheelchair.

I'd hazard a second guess, but you're a nice guy and will probably
feel ****ty enough on your own without any help from me.

I don't really care (because I already know the answer), but one of these
days you might take a moment to ask yourself if there is ANYBODY on this
planet you wouldn't use for your own selfish ends.

Wolfgang

First fish(es) of the year...
 

"Wolfgang" wrote in message
...

How comes it to be known the "Aldo Leopold Wilderness Area"?


If I understand the history correctly, he started his career in the
southwest and had something to do with getting the Gila national forest
designated a wilderness area in the 1920's.

Must have been cool to meet his students. I finally got a copy of the Sand
County Alamanac and throughly enjoyed the read. I'm going to be keeping an
eye out for other writings of his.

Wayne

First fish(es) of the year...
 

On 6/30/04 11:32 PM, in article , "Wayne
Knight" wrote:


"Wolfgang" wrote in message
...

How comes it to be known the "Aldo Leopold Wilderness Area"?


If I understand the history correctly, he started his career in the
southwest and had something to do with getting the Gila national forest
designated a wilderness area in the 1920's.

Must have been cool to meet his students. I finally got a copy of the Sand
County Alamanac and throughly enjoyed the read. I'm going to be keeping an
eye out for other writings of his.

Wolfgang and Wayne-

Indeed, Leopold spent a fair amount of time out in Jon's neck of the woods,
as an employee of the U.S. Forest Service. The edition of Sand County
Alamanac that I own also has some of his writings about the desert southwest
in it. It also has a long treatise on what "wilderness" means. Good stuff.
Time to migrate that one up in your reading pile, Wolfgang. Perhaps we can
discuss over a steaming mug o' joe up north.

Bill

First fish(es) of the year...
 

"Jonathan Cook" wrote in message
m...
"riverman" wrote in message
...

Going in I didn't have
the wheels tied down as good...so I took them off the donkey
and hung them on my saddle strings...my six-year-old mule
had me, two sets of saddlebags (in front of me and behind),
a bunch of stuff tied behind the saddle, and two 24" wheels
hanging off his hips. He did great -- never spooked once.


Ahh, I did notice that the wheels were arranged differently in the two
pictures. I was wondering if the terrain had done something to your wife's
chair. How is it for mobility on the forest floor: do they make any sort of
special wheels that can give better traction in the pine needles, etc? I
think that being able to get around more easily would make it even better
for her.

Although the ATV and off-roader industry uses disabled people
as a "reason" that motorized access should be maintained (and
expanded!), my wife is a counter-datapoint. She'd _love_ to see
the wilderness and roadless areas expanded, as would I.

There is (was) a strong movement to make the Colorado River in the Grand
Canyon accessible to people with disabilities, and it also raised a lot of
questions about the accessibility of wilderness areas. The consensus among
the clients was that the emphasis had to be on making their hardware, and
the boats, more accommodating, and not to change the environment.

--riverman

First fish(es) of the year...
 

"riverman" wrote in message ...

Well yeah, that's obvious.

No worries -- if you can't make jokes and laugh about life,
you're doomed...in our house, gimp is a PC word...

So Jonathon: were the 'logistical difficulties'
managable?

Yeah, we'll be doing it again. My major concern was if our
donkey could carry enough, and if the load would ride ok.
I loaded my mule with as much as I could -- I'm small so he
can easily carry 60lbs along with me. Going in I didn't have
the wheels tied down as good...so I took them off the donkey
and hung them on my saddle strings...my six-year-old mule
had me, two sets of saddlebags (in front of me and behind),
a bunch of stuff tied behind the saddle, and two 24" wheels
hanging off his hips. He did great -- never spooked once.

There was some discussion awhile back about pack
animals being in Wilderness areas, and your TR puts excellent
color on the importance of it.

Obviously I'm in favor of it :-)

Although the ATV and off-roader industry uses disabled people
as a "reason" that motorized access should be maintained (and
expanded!), my wife is a counter-datapoint. She'd _love_ to see
the wilderness and roadless areas expanded, as would I.

Jon.

First fish(es) of the year...
 

Jonathan Cook wrote:


Although the ATV and off-roader industry uses disabled people
as a "reason" that motorized access should be maintained (and
expanded!), my wife is a counter-datapoint. She'd _love_ to see
the wilderness and roadless areas expanded,

A sign of some true character.

Willi

First fish(es) of the year...
 

"Wayne Knight" wrote in message
...

"Wolfgang" wrote in message
...

How comes it to be known the "Aldo Leopold Wilderness Area"?


If I understand the history correctly, he started his career in the
southwest and had something to do with getting the Gila national forest
designated a wilderness area in the 1920's.

O.k., that sounds vaguely familiar. Makes me think that I read some
biographical material or maybe something else of his in which he made
mention of it.

Must have been cool to meet his students.

It was an extraordinary expereience......actually more than a single
experience; I got to spend an entire day in the Hamerstrom's company at
their home in Plainfield, and a couple more days with Frances a few years
after Frederick died.

I finally got a copy of the Sand
County Alamanac and throughly enjoyed the read. I'm going to be keeping an
eye out for other writings of his.

Good plan.

Thanks.

Wolfgang

First fish(es) of the year...
 

"William Claspy" wrote in message
...

Wolfgang and Wayne-

Indeed, Leopold spent a fair amount of time out in Jon's neck of the
woods,
as an employee of the U.S. Forest Service. The edition of Sand County
Alamanac that I own also has some of his writings about the desert
southwest
in it. It also has a long treatise on what "wilderness" means. Good
stuff.
Time to migrate that one up in your reading pile, Wolfgang. Perhaps we
can
discuss over a steaming mug o' joe up north.

I just checked Project Gutenberg. No luck; they don't have anything by
Leopold listed. I was hoping that his stuff would be public domain by
now......seems like it should be old enough.

Anyway, between you, you've managed to jog my memory. I think I must once
have had an edition similar to yours. Time to reread. I know a place where
I can almost certainly find a copy.

If we're going to discuss books in the UP, Voelker will have to be on the
list as well. Then, when we get back, we can write up a trip report and
tell Jeffie that we fished Voelker's holy waters........and he didn't.
:)

Wolfgang

First fish(es) of the year...
 

Wolfgang wrote:

I just checked Project Gutenberg. No luck; they don't have anything by
Leopold listed. I was hoping that his stuff would be public domain by
now......seems like it should be old enough.

He played a small part in extirpating the wolves in New Mexico, for
which, to his credit, he was sincerely regretfull. The essay is readily
available on the Web. For example:

http://gargravarr.cc.utexas.edu/chri...otes.html#wolf

--
Cut "to the chase" for my email address.

First fish(es) of the year...
 

"rw" wrote in message
m...
Wolfgang wrote:

I just checked Project Gutenberg. No luck; they don't have anything by
Leopold listed. I was hoping that his stuff would be public domain by
now......seems like it should be old enough.

He played a small part in extirpating the wolves in New Mexico, for
which, to his credit, he was sincerely regretfull. The essay is readily
available on the Web. For example:

http://gargravarr.cc.utexas.edu/chri...otes.html#wolf

Ah! I remember it now......after rereading. It was a long time ago.
Thanks for the pointer.

Incidentally, I see that the publication date for "A Sand County Almanac"
and "Sketches Here and There" is listed as 1948 or 1949 (there seems to be a
difference of opinion)......later than I thought. This explains why I
couldn't find them on any of the public domain e-text sites.

And, for those with a penchant for literary arcana........

I should have remembered "Sketches Here and There". I recall, now that I've
been reminded, that on first encountering it I was struck by the similarity
between Leopold's title and Twain's "Sketches Old and New". Leopold was
highly literate. The similarity could hardly have been lost on him and, if
it were, his publishers would surely have made him aware of it. A clever
borrowing for the sake of reflected glory? Doesn't seem likely. Homage?
Hm.......

Bill?

Wolfgang
who knows there ain't nothing quite like having a reference librarian on
tap. :)

First fish(es) of the year...
 

"Wolfgang" wrote in message
...

Anyway, between you, you've managed to jog my memory. I think I must once
have had an edition similar to yours. Time to reread. I know a place
where
I can almost certainly find a copy.


Send snail, I'll loan you my copy if you can not get your hands on it

If we're going to discuss books in the UP, Voelker will have to be on the
list as well. Then, when we get back, we can write up a trip report and
tell Jeffie that we fished Voelker's holy waters........and he didn't.


Sometime around June 24th next year I have a date on his pond, wanna join
me?

Wayne

First fish(es) of the year...
 

"Wayne Knight" wrote in message
...

"Wolfgang" wrote in message
...

Anyway, between you, you've managed to jog my memory. I think I must
once
have had an edition similar to yours. Time to reread. I know a place
where
I can almost certainly find a copy.


Send snail, I'll loan you my copy if you can not get your hands on it

Thanks. If I have any trouble finding it, I'll let you know.

If we're going to discuss books in the UP, Voelker will have to be on
the
list as well. Then, when we get back, we can write up a trip report and
tell Jeffie that we fished Voelker's holy waters........and he didn't.


Sometime around June 24th next year I have a date on his pond, wanna join
me?

June 24th....got it. Where do we meet.....and what time?

Wolfgang

First fish(es) of the year...
 

On 7/1/04 10:27 PM, in article , "Wolfgang"
wrote:


"rw" wrote in message
m...
Wolfgang wrote:

I just checked Project Gutenberg. No luck; they don't have anything by
Leopold listed. I was hoping that his stuff would be public domain by
now......seems like it should be old enough.

He played a small part in extirpating the wolves in New Mexico, for
which, to his credit, he was sincerely regretfull. The essay is readily
available on the Web. For example:

http://gargravarr.cc.utexas.edu/chri...otes.html#wolf

Ah! I remember it now......after rereading. It was a long time ago.
Thanks for the pointer.

Incidentally, I see that the publication date for "A Sand County Almanac"
and "Sketches Here and There" is listed as 1948 or 1949 (there seems to be a
difference of opinion)......later than I thought. This explains why I
couldn't find them on any of the public domain e-text sites.

And, for those with a penchant for literary arcana........

I should have remembered "Sketches Here and There". I recall, now that I've
been reminded, that on first encountering it I was struck by the similarity
between Leopold's title and Twain's "Sketches Old and New". Leopold was
highly literate. The similarity could hardly have been lost on him and, if
it were, his publishers would surely have made him aware of it. A clever
borrowing for the sake of reflected glory? Doesn't seem likely. Homage?
Hm.......

Bill?

It's like giving dope to a junky. DAMN YOU!

OK. Started off with a hop, skip and a jump through Rod Nash's "Wilderness
and the American Mind" (which, if you haven't read it, DO NOT PASS GO. Go
get a copy and get busy), no mention of Clemens vis a vis Leopold. Having
read his chapter on Leopold (entitled "Aldo Leopold: Prophet"), I don't
recall any such linking, but could be mistaken.

Next a quick tippity tap through the MLA and Digital Dissertations doesn't
readily show any articles or dissertations linking the two.

A quick trot upstairs leads me through Susan Fleder's "Thinking like a
mountain..." which discusses Leopold more from an ecologists/conservationist
point of view. A quick perusal has put the book on my list, but doesn't
seem to address the question at hand.

Next is Curt Meine's biography. Damn you. This sucker got moved to the top
of my list. I've looked through it before, but it demands a full read.
Just the few passages I read through (those on his education and early life)
make Leopold all the more fascinating in my eyes. An example: included in
the portion I read was description of his first years at Yale. Many
students at the time served as "big brother" to indigent boys and young men
of New Haven. Leopold's charge was a destitute Jewish boy, who quickly
became L's tramping and fishing partner. A letter is reproduced in the
book, from Bennie to Aldo, which shows just what sort of a mensch Leopold
was, even as a young man.

More to the point, it is obvious to me that while Meine makes no overt link
between the title Leopold uses for that essay (group of essays) and Clemens,
such a connection would not have been lost on Leopold, and could quite
certainly have been made purposefully. Leopold was thoroughly steeped in
literature at Yale- one of his Sunday letters home begins "this evening
finds rain outside and Byron inside..."

My edition of SCA lives on my nightstand. I flipped it open to the "June"
essay, a vivid description of hooking a brook trout on a warm summer day
amidst the tag alders. Excellent, excellent stuff.

Bill

First fish(es) of the year...
 

"riverman" wrote in message ...

Ahh, I did notice that the wheels were arranged differently in the two
pictures. I was wondering if the terrain had done something to your wife's
chair. How is it for mobility on the forest floor: do they make any sort of

Actually, those pictures are taken 30 seconds apart. The reason the
back picture shows them not to be "even" is that they are stuffed down
into the panniers (actually just army duffel bags), and the one side
didn't have a nice "vertical" slot to stuff it down in to.

We only used the wheelchair around camp, and it's generally not too
bad. On regular rides (not overnight), we just bring a standard cloth
fold up chair (tied behind the cantle) with us for breaks.

Jon.

First fish(es) of the year...
 

"William Claspy" wrote in message
...
On 7/1/04 10:27 PM, in article ,
"Wolfgang"
wrote:


...Bill?

It's like giving dope to a junky. DAMN YOU!

OK. Started off with a hop, skip and a jump through Rod Nash's
"Wilderness
and the American Mind" (which, if you haven't read it, DO NOT PASS
GO. Go
get a copy and get busy),

Read it a long time ago. I'd put it on my "reread" list except that
the list has gotten so long that it is on my "to be read" list.
:(

no mention of Clemens vis a vis Leopold. Having
read his chapter on Leopold (entitled "Aldo Leopold: Prophet"), I
don't
recall any such linking, but could be mistaken.

Next a quick tippity tap through the MLA and Digital Dissertations
doesn't
readily show any articles or dissertations linking the two.

A quick trot upstairs leads me through Susan Fleder's "Thinking like
a
mountain..." which discusses Leopold more from an
ecologists/conservationist
point of view. A quick perusal has put the book on my list, but
doesn't
seem to address the question at hand.

Next is Curt Meine's biography. Damn you. This sucker got moved to
the top
of my list. I've looked through it before, but it demands a full
read.
Just the few passages I read through (those on his education and
early life)
make Leopold all the more fascinating in my eyes. An example:
included in
the portion I read was description of his first years at Yale. Many
students at the time served as "big brother" to indigent boys and
young men
of New Haven. Leopold's charge was a destitute Jewish boy, who
quickly
became L's tramping and fishing partner. A letter is reproduced in
the
book, from Bennie to Aldo, which shows just what sort of a mensch
Leopold
was, even as a young man.

More to the point, it is obvious to me that while Meine makes no
overt link
between the title Leopold uses for that essay (group of essays) and
Clemens,
such a connection would not have been lost on Leopold, and could
quite
certainly have been made purposefully. Leopold was thoroughly
steeped in
literature at Yale- one of his Sunday letters home begins "this
evening
finds rain outside and Byron inside..."

A noble effort. More than I could have accomplished in a month.
Thanks.

My edition of SCA lives on my nightstand. I flipped it open to the
"June"
essay, a vivid description of hooking a brook trout on a warm summer
day
amidst the tag alders. Excellent, excellent stuff.

Some time when you're in the neighborhood, I'll take you to Leopold's
sand county......counties, actually, there are several of them.
There's a lot left that looks much as it did in his day.

Thanks, again.

Wolfgang

First fish(es) of the year...
 

"Wolfgang" wrote in message
...

June 24th....got it. Where do we meet.....and what time?


As I will be at the mercy of a gentleman from the Voelker foundation, the
only answer I can give you at this time would be in the parking lot of the
fly factory in Grayling MI on 6/21 or 6/22. As it get closer I will let you
know.

First fish(es) of the year...
 

On 7/2/04 11:52 PM, in article , "Wayne
Knight" wrote:

"Wolfgang" wrote in message
...

June 24th....got it. Where do we meet.....and what time?


As I will be at the mercy of a gentleman from the Voelker foundation, the
only answer I can give you at this time would be in the parking lot of the
fly factory in Grayling MI on 6/21 or 6/22. As it get closer I will let you
know.

HmmmmBOY! I've put it on my calendar!

Bill

First fish(es) of the year...
 

"William Claspy" wrote in message
...
On 7/2/04 11:52 PM, in article ,
"Wayne
Knight" wrote:

"Wolfgang" wrote in message
...

June 24th....got it. Where do we meet.....and what time?


As I will be at the mercy of a gentleman from the Voelker
foundation, the
only answer I can give you at this time would be in the parking
lot of the
fly factory in Grayling MI on 6/21 or 6/22. As it get closer I
will let you
know.

HmmmmBOY! I've put it on my calendar!

Bill

Ditto.

Wolfgang