The confusing feeling between being awake and asleep. Most days this doesn’t even cross my radar. It is a such a normal piece of everyday that it usually doesn’t register. That was not his morning. The wind howling, a multitude of different keening sounds as it passed over rock and through the windswept branches of the pinyons our car was huddled behind. The plan, roll back over and hope the wind is just a bad dream.

This is not the weather you’re looking for when you are in an area known for both its lakes and its elevation. With gusts above 30 mph at dawn and the promise of 30-40 mph sustained winds with gusts into the low 60’s by the afternoon, it was time to call an audible. We needed to find a creek, the deeper the canyon and denser the trees, the better. There was a tiny creek tumbling down off the mountain and continuing into the windswept high desert once its journey down the mountain’s slope concluded. Fishing in the meadow looked incredible, but was off the menu due to wind. The reach of creek on the mountainside looked brushy, overgrown, steep, difficult to access and perfect. As a southwestern angler this is dream water. Bow and arrow casts, dry flies and fish that don’t spook easily. An overlooked stretch of water.

Overlooked by people but certainly not by the trout. The creek was full of colorful Colorado River Cutthroat Trout. Fish that rise at any and all flies that hit the surface, small royal wulf’s, splash. Foam grasshopper, splash. As we fished up this creek suddenly the wind seemed like a good thing, sometimes the best laid plans are only improved by interruption.

Overlooked spots are always fun to find and even more fun when it all comes together. The spots way far out or so close they are overlooked. These are what makes fishing and exploring these public lands so much fun.