David Lopez, of Rio Rancho, shares with us a day fishing with his granddaughter Mila Bertoldo, her friend Bao Duong and a little bit about growing up fishing with his grandfather in the early 1970s.

One of David’s favorite places to take his granddaughter fishing is to Cowles Pond in the Pecos Mountains. He says that Cowles is a perfect spot for children to fish because it provides easy access, rarely has any moss and provides an excellent chance to catch a fish. And, of course, the weather and scenery are amazing.

Not too long ago, David, Mila and Bao packed their fishing gear and readied themselves for an adventure like David’s family has been doing for many years. Mila Bertoldo, age 4, packed her Moana fishing pole and pink tackle box. Bao Duong, also age 4, packed his PJ Mask fishing pole. Both Mila and Bao use PowerBait as their bait of choice, and for a good reason, as evidenced by the many trout caught that day.

After a good day of fishing, the kids enjoy getting in the water, exploring and playing around in nature. David cherishes the quality time he gets to spend with his granddaughter and her friend. David knows the importance of spending this valuable time together because he remembers when he was a child and all that he learned from his grandfather during their fishing trips.

David Lopez grew up fishing with his grandfather in Las Vegas, N.M, in the early 1970s. Some of their favorite places to go were McAllister Lake, Storrie Lake, Montezuma Pond and Morphy Lake. David shares with us some of what he remembers about fishing with Grandpa:

My grandfather’s name was Antonio “Tony” Lopez. After family, there were a few things Grandpa loved: fishing, hunting, working, reading and going to the library. If my Grandpa was not fishing, he was either at work or Carnegie Library. He always believed that being on time to work was being there a 1/2 hour before your scheduled start time; that is how he operated. Grandpa worked for the State of New Mexico for over 35 years, and he taught us the importance of hard work, patience and to always be prepared.

Most Saturday mornings, bright and early, he would come pick up my brother and I so we could all go fishing. He either drove his bright orange Datsun pickup truck or his International Scout. He always had his small aluminum boat with oars ready to go. Just as soon as we got into the vehicle, he would hand us a small carton of raisins, and he would always have the radio tuned to the AM radio station KOMA. The Paul Harvey segment was his favorite since it ended with the line, “And that’s the rest of the story.”

Our favorite lakes to go to were McAllister, Storrie and Morphy. McAllister always produced large football-shaped trout with the distinctive, delicious pink meat. Morphy was also good, but in the early and mid-70s, the road was pretty treacherous. During the week before our fishing trip, he would prepare his secret dough bait. The bait consisted of bread, garlic and sardine juice. Grandpa kept his secret bait secret. I never got the whole recipe, but those were the main ingredients, and I assure you that it worked. Back then, everyone used to make their fishing bait. This was before PowerBait had been invented. There were only a few store-bought baits that were widely used: salmon eggs, worms, corn and marshmallows.

Grandpa had an even better secret bait that was his favorite: hellgrammites. Hellgrammites are the larval stage of the Dobson fly. They grow up to two to three inches long and resemble a centipede with a powerful set of pinchers. The hellgrammite is a downright ugly critter, and guess who had the privilege of gathering those creatures? Yep, my brother and I. We would wade in the reeds and check under nests and brush in search of the insect. We would use my Grandpa’s homemade tool that resembled a rake with a unique head to gather the hellgrammites. The trout loved them. We would use a bobber and about a four-foot leader. I also had the duty of putting the hellgrammite on the hook, which was not my favorite task, but it had to be done.

My Grandpa always wore his waders and always had his pouch of Red Man tobacco. He would pack us a lunch and we would set off for an enjoyable day fishing. I learned a lot from Grandpa’s actions without him having to say too much. We just enjoyed each other’s company and being out in nature. He would teach me all the knots he knew, but most of all, he taught me the virtue of patience, the importance of being organized and how to enjoy the moment. Thanks, Grandpa Antonio, for those memories. They will never be forgotten!

The Lopez trout recipe

This recipe is simple, basic and delicious:

1. Remove entrails and clean fish.
2. Butter/lemon the whole trout inside and out.
   *3. Optional – bacon, lemon wedges and onions stuffed in the body cavity.
   4. Wrap in foil and cook on the grill until meat is flaky and cooked.

Christian Lester, of Albuquerque, says, “I like fishing because I get to spend time with my Grandpa. My favorite fish is a shark, and I hope I can catch one someday. Leave your line in the water. Once you try fishing, you will love it.” He wants kids to know to be patient and keep trying.

The day that Christian caught the fish in the picture, there was a young child learning how to fly fish with his father. Christian shared a worm with him. Christian did not have a net that day, and when Christian was reeling in that trout, the boy that he shared a worm with came running with a net to help him. That day, Christian learned an important lesson: if you do a good deed, the good deed will come back to you.

Any anglers willing to share their experiences, techniques or tackle, please contribute by emailing Dustin at funfishingnm@gmail.com.