Trout Fishing in Ruidoso

If you haven't been to the mountains of New Mexico, I highly recommend it.  There are many destinations, but I recently had a chance to fish Ruidoso.  It's situated in the south / southeast part of the state.

There's a small river that runs right through town called Rio Ruidoso.  Take a look.

The trick to fishing a rapidly moving river is to find the deeper pools of water.  These are often created when the water cascades over a ridge of boulders or other debris and then churns in a pool just below.  Take a look.

I caught my first rainbow trout of the day from that pool.  Here's the fish!

Often the deepest part of the river will hug one side of the bank or even undercut it, such as below.

The deepest part of this section is on the far side.  You can see where it flows underneath the vegetation.  Areas like this practically scream, "TROUT!"  In fact, I caught my next two in this spot.

Here's #2.  The purple hue along the center of the fish is where the designation of "rainbow" trout comes from.  They're gorgeous fish!

Last but certainly not least, fish #3.  Another beauty!

I recommend getting on the river at dawn before other fishermen put pressure on it.  That meant getting up at 6 am, but it was worth the inconvenience.  Not only were there fish to catch, there were deer on the mountain.

The photo above is actual distance, not a close-up.  You can see that she wasn't bothered by my presence.

I obtained the proper licensing and gear from Walmart in Ruidoso Downs.  The rig is very simple.  I only needed a split-shot weight and a small hook attached directly to the main line.  I'd say a size 6.  The bait was bright red salmon eggs placed directly on the hook.

You want to keep it light so that the river can carry your rig ... and because these aren't exactly behemoth fish!  I returned all three fish to the river.  Tight lines!