On October 4, Vidal Gonzalez of the Uncivilized Outdoorsman held the latest iteration of his Indigenous Youth Fly Fishing Clinic at the Quartzite landing on the Rio Grande. Co-sponsor Truchas Chapter – Trout Unlimited provided logistics support for check-in and gear fitting, plus cooked and provided lunch for participants and their guardians. Truchas had previously raised money by its Trout Rock Concert to provide stipends for the guides and elders. Two elders from the Taos Pueblo started off the day with prayers in their traditional language and comments on conservation and being stewards of the traditional land and waters.
Fourteen children from various local tribes, most of them who have never fly fished before, quickly learned the basics from the guides and hit the water near Pilar on the Rio Grande. The rainbow trout were cooperating on that sunny day – all of the children caught some trout. One young girl was telling everyone at lunch that she had caught 27 rainbows in a little over one hour of fishing before the break!.
Another group was scheduled to repeat the event on October 5 – exposing over 25 local youth and their families to the excitement of fly fishing outdoors on a beautiful fall day in New Mexico. This is the third year the Trout Unlimited has partnered with the Uncivilized Outdoorsman to hold a similar event.
