Joined
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277 Posts
Ok so in the grand scheme of things my fish isn't the biggest out there but it's a personal best, being that I started fly fishing and have been obsessed since last year.
In Albuquerque we have Tingley beach with in it there are 3 stocker ponds, one catch and release that boasts some decent trout and until today I have yet to catch anything above 16 inches. For fishing locally Tingley is the only option, we have the rio grand and it is always muddy with no visibility. The other options are to pay fee's at the Casino ponds. I refuse to pay to fish for now.
The day started off slow at Tingley beach, I love to fish dry's when there is no wind but the evening hatch doesn't start until about 7pm here in Albuquerque. I was hoping to entice some fish with my own flies I tied last night. Nothing was working and the whole pond seemed slow. The security said the fish were fed in the morning. A couple guys were catching on egg patterns, I figured this out too late. So the hatch begins and I catch a couple blue gills on my griffin gnat size 20. They are more of a pain in the ass than a joy to catch, they take time away that I could be catching some trout! Soon enough the fish start being active and surfacing I cast into an area that I had seen some action prior and the fish takes it. I get it within about 20 feet with ease so I'm think ing meh... maybe a 10 incher. I fought him in closer before he boogied for the deep seeing the shore and he was a good size one, so I'm being the most careful I've been, so as not to break him off. I've had issue with knot strength and another member "Rick" suggested a Duncan loop so I looked it up before i left work and practice it a couple times. It held up like a champ! So being the biggest fish I've caught I have to get a picture of my personal best, I get him closer to shore and drop him, too damn slippery with lots of fight! I tried using a net another fisherman had but this net was tiny! It must have been for catching minnows! None the less I get pics with my personal best and set it free. It swims out and goes belly up! I'm in a catch and release pond so there is no way I'm going to let this fish die in vain for my selfishness. So I walk out in the water to revive the fish. I give him a couple minutes and he seems good and swims off and i see him dive deep and go belly up. At this point I'm already wet and I had come from work so I wore my nice boots and had already ruined them trying to save this fish. So I take them off in an attempt to salvage them (we'll see how that works out). I head back in to the pond and wade up to my waste. Reach down in the water and wet myself up to my chest grabbing this effer and proceed to revive him. Security yells across the pond "no wading" the guy watching sticks up for me and says "he's getting a fish" they drive away and when they circle the pond I'm still in the water trying to revive him, he's breathing but still in shock, I'm moving him back and forth and doing everything I can to get this fish going. 30 minutes later I'm still in the water and the park is closed I have to security guards saying I can't take the fish. Their instructions are if fish die to leave them in the water and I'm thinking what a waste! So I prop the fish up in the water still submerged and place two small logs on each side hoping he will revive and swim off... He was still breathing. So I walk back to the truck soaking wet and drive home. I'm thinking the guards will leave in 30 minutes and I'll go get him if he is still there, he'll make a nice dinner and not go to waste. I drive back and he is still there and seems to be breathing better. So I give him a couple movements back and forth and with the strength he had when I first caught him he swims off SUCCESS! I felt great that he lived and sad I wasn't having fish for dinner. Earlier in the event I dropped a knife I had during two tours in Iraq and forgot to pick it up, when I went back it was gone, or I couldn't find it. I'll look again tomorrow. It was a nice knife! CRKT Titanium handle Tanto blade, I was hoping to pass it on to my future kid. But none the less the fish lived.
So in the end I soaked my self in freezing water, ruined a pair of expensive boots and lost a knife that had sentimental value.
Would I do it again? ABSOLUTELY! Today was a eventful day!
In Albuquerque we have Tingley beach with in it there are 3 stocker ponds, one catch and release that boasts some decent trout and until today I have yet to catch anything above 16 inches. For fishing locally Tingley is the only option, we have the rio grand and it is always muddy with no visibility. The other options are to pay fee's at the Casino ponds. I refuse to pay to fish for now.
The day started off slow at Tingley beach, I love to fish dry's when there is no wind but the evening hatch doesn't start until about 7pm here in Albuquerque. I was hoping to entice some fish with my own flies I tied last night. Nothing was working and the whole pond seemed slow. The security said the fish were fed in the morning. A couple guys were catching on egg patterns, I figured this out too late. So the hatch begins and I catch a couple blue gills on my griffin gnat size 20. They are more of a pain in the ass than a joy to catch, they take time away that I could be catching some trout! Soon enough the fish start being active and surfacing I cast into an area that I had seen some action prior and the fish takes it. I get it within about 20 feet with ease so I'm think ing meh... maybe a 10 incher. I fought him in closer before he boogied for the deep seeing the shore and he was a good size one, so I'm being the most careful I've been, so as not to break him off. I've had issue with knot strength and another member "Rick" suggested a Duncan loop so I looked it up before i left work and practice it a couple times. It held up like a champ! So being the biggest fish I've caught I have to get a picture of my personal best, I get him closer to shore and drop him, too damn slippery with lots of fight! I tried using a net another fisherman had but this net was tiny! It must have been for catching minnows! None the less I get pics with my personal best and set it free. It swims out and goes belly up! I'm in a catch and release pond so there is no way I'm going to let this fish die in vain for my selfishness. So I walk out in the water to revive the fish. I give him a couple minutes and he seems good and swims off and i see him dive deep and go belly up. At this point I'm already wet and I had come from work so I wore my nice boots and had already ruined them trying to save this fish. So I take them off in an attempt to salvage them (we'll see how that works out). I head back in to the pond and wade up to my waste. Reach down in the water and wet myself up to my chest grabbing this effer and proceed to revive him. Security yells across the pond "no wading" the guy watching sticks up for me and says "he's getting a fish" they drive away and when they circle the pond I'm still in the water trying to revive him, he's breathing but still in shock, I'm moving him back and forth and doing everything I can to get this fish going. 30 minutes later I'm still in the water and the park is closed I have to security guards saying I can't take the fish. Their instructions are if fish die to leave them in the water and I'm thinking what a waste! So I prop the fish up in the water still submerged and place two small logs on each side hoping he will revive and swim off... He was still breathing. So I walk back to the truck soaking wet and drive home. I'm thinking the guards will leave in 30 minutes and I'll go get him if he is still there, he'll make a nice dinner and not go to waste. I drive back and he is still there and seems to be breathing better. So I give him a couple movements back and forth and with the strength he had when I first caught him he swims off SUCCESS! I felt great that he lived and sad I wasn't having fish for dinner. Earlier in the event I dropped a knife I had during two tours in Iraq and forgot to pick it up, when I went back it was gone, or I couldn't find it. I'll look again tomorrow. It was a nice knife! CRKT Titanium handle Tanto blade, I was hoping to pass it on to my future kid. But none the less the fish lived.
So in the end I soaked my self in freezing water, ruined a pair of expensive boots and lost a knife that had sentimental value.
Would I do it again? ABSOLUTELY! Today was a eventful day!
