Ted Turner's Vermejo Park Ranch - A Disneyland for Outdoorsmen

Matt Pelletier shows one of the many big trout that can be found at Ted Turner's Vermejo Park  Ranch  in northern New Mexico.

Guest column by Matt Pelletier of Fish Enchantment.

Have you ever dreamed of a "once in a lifetime" special fishing trip, an amazing, unforgettable, weekend where you caught so many fish your arms were sore for a week?

The kind of trip where there’d seem to be a bite at the end of every cast and you’d never see another angler on the water the whole time.

And on this dream trip you catch plenty of big fish, gaze out upon unmatched views and see a stunning variety of remarkable wildlife.

If so then you need to visit Vermejo Park Ranch where they are working hard to make these kinds of dreams a reality.

The ranch is located about 50 miles west of Raton, New Mexico and boasts just over a half a million acres stretching from Cimarron to Costilla.

It has 14 lakes and 30 miles of streams situated within its borders on the grassy plains and forests found in northeastern New Mexico and southern Colorado.

It’s one of the largest tracts of privately owned property in the west.

And If you go you'll find big, aggressive, Brook, Brown, Palamino, Rainbow, and Cutthroat trout lying in wait .

There’s also a good chance you might see bears and bobcats, herds of deer and elk or even spy an eagle perched atop a lakeside tree, patiently waiting to capture a tasty trout.

It’s a Disneyland for outdoorsmen.

The guest lodge at the private resort, Vermejo Rnach Ranch, owned by Ted Turner  and located in northern New Mexico adjecent to the Valle Vidal.

One early May morning in 2011 my friend, Manuel Ortega, and I had the pleasure of driving through the electronic gate that leads into the ranch property.

I have only known Manuel for a couple years and during this trip learned something new about him, his great-grandmother grew up in Vermejo, so he was very excited to visit.

Seems her father was a ranch hand at the time and managed cattle near Costilla Reservoir.

Manuel said his great grandmothers’ house was located just below the Costilla Reservoir dam and is still there today.

When we arrived at the ranch headquarters we were greeted by staff members who seemed to be just as happy to see us as we were to see them.

They asked if we had any special requests, needs, food allergies, or any general question about the Ranch.

I explained that this was my third visit to the Ranch and my only request was to get on the water as soon as possible!

Manuel was just as eager to wet a line so they handed us our room key and we were on our way.

We unloaded our luggage in a nice, clean, room that had a window with a clear view of the road leading to many of the ranch’s great lakes; what a tease I thought, they must want you dreaming of fishing too!

The room featured a stone faced, fireplace and two beds built from varnished logs , topped with fluffy down comforters.

The room was also equipped with a sparkling clean, all white, tile bathroom with a walk in shower and antique fixtures that gave you the sense you were living back in the early days of the ranch, but in style, of course!

The dining room inside the resort lodge at Vermejo Park Ranch.

We then headed back downstairs to sit down to a delicious, buffet style, breakfast featuring smoked bacon, salmon, eggs made to order, hash browns, sausage, and delicious coffee.

It was great!

Before leaving we grabbed our pre-packed lunches the chef had prepared for us and topped them off the bags with chips, trail mix, candy bars, and drinks from the snack bar.

Now we ready for some fishing!

We pulled up to the Fish House where a ranch employee loaded a cooler full of ice in our truck to keep our harvested fish fresh. He then told us to pull up to the Battery House where he loaded our truck with freshly charged batteries and a boat trolling motor.

We were then officially "on the road" heading out into 920 square miles of pristine wilderness.

Our first stop was Merrick Lake, a catch and release only fishery where I've caught, and lost, some huge fish over the years.

My first trip to the Ranch is credited to my father who took me in 2004 and got me hooked.

The second time I visited the Ranch I paid for myself and my wife during a trip in which she caught all the big fish on spinning gear and all I did was lose fish after fish on a fly rod. You name it and I had problems with it on that trip, snapped lines, tossed or bent hooks, whatever.

Leah Pelletier shows off one of the monster trout she hooked and landed on a trip to Vermejo park Ranch with her husband, the author, Matt Pelletier.

Now three years later and with plenty more fly rod experience under my belt I was much more confident that I could handle anything these fish could throw at me.

And I was very anxious to chuck some big streamers out there so I could extract some revenge.

We opted to fish from the bank and started working the steep rocky shoreline and on my second cast my line darted off.

I set the hook and the drag started screaming.

After peeling out sixty feet of line while headed for the middle of the lake, the fish suddenly turned and came rushing back towards me!

I started stripping in line as fast I possibly could while running backwards along the dam in a desperate attempt to keep the line tight and the fish on.

Then the fish turned just twenty feet from the shore and took off again.

This time I started applying more pressure and all of a sudden the fish crashed through the surface and began thrashing about in the water.

I stood in awe from the display of strength she was exhibiting.

I employed some aggressive maneuvers by tightening my drag, palming the reel and holding my fly line tight with my right index finger so the fish couldn’t strip line from my reel as easily and I was finally able to net and release a nice, fat, 23-inch Rainbow trout.

For the next two hours we repeated this process of catching and releasing numerous 19 to 23-inch trout.

“What a way to start the day” I told Manuel.

“I know” he replied, “I just caught more trout over 20-inches in a couple hours then I have in my entire life!”

Matt's fishing buddy, Manuel Ortega, shows off a nice Brown trout he reeled in while fishing at Vermejo Park Ranch  during a 2010 outing.

We were amazed by the size of the fish in Merrick Lake but were now eager to explore more of the ranch.

There are so many lakes on the property that it can be hard to pick a destination but we couldn't resist fishing Munn Lake after being told of a 11-pound rainbow that was caught by a 10-year-old boy just two days earlier.

We pulled up to Munn Lake to find the winds had picked up and snow was starting to fall, but that didn’t stop us.

We loaded one of the boats parked on the shoreline and launched into the high winds with ease, thanks to the 55-lb thrust, motor they provided us.

We trolled the lake for a while and caught some nice chunky Rainbows casting towards the bank by the dam.

Later, while taking a break for lunch back at the truck, we relaxed and watched outside as the dry, grassy, plains bent under the force of the wind.

Overhead the shade from passing clouds cast shifting shadows on the ground and the surrounding mountains, making for ever changing scenery.

We noticed that the mountain peaks lacked the usual snow pack one would expect this time of year and the lakes’ water levels reflected the dismal amount of snowfall received over the winter.

New Mexico's drought hasn't seemed to hurt the fishing at Vermejo Park Ranch .

Nonetheless, the fishing was still good and we decided it was time to try somewhere else, so we headed off to Bernal Lake where we found the water was gin clear and the fish easily spooked.

To deal with those conditions, I downsized my tippet from 1X/13 pound test to 5X/4 pound test. I did the same with my fly, removing the #4-3X long, 4-inch, black streamer and replacing it with a similar version of the same fly but only smaller.

I proved to be the right move as I soon to landed a couple of nice, 18-inch, Rainbow trout.

Being this was a fly rod only lake, Manuel had to use one for his very first time.

These weren’t easy fish to catch and Manuel was having some trouble getting the fly to them without spooking everyone in sight.

So we decided to take off for another lake were we both could throw the gear we were most familiar, and successful , with.

While en route to Lower Underwoods Lake we watched on the vehicle’s thermometer as the temperature outside steadily fell; just like the snow that was coming down and getting thicker by the minute.

It was obvious we were going to be in for a much colder fishing experience up here in the high country.

But as we arrived at the lake, the storm passed over us and then the clouds broke, as if inviting us to start fishing.

And within 30 minutes, I had caught 5 fish, all in the 18 to 22-inch range.

In one case a fish suddenly nailed my streamer and started peeling drag from my reel at an alarming rate.

I tightened down on the fish by palming the spool and my six-weight rod bent like I had never seen or felt it do before!

Then the fish came out of the water, thrashing its tail across the surface while shaking its head mightily in attempt to dislodge the fly from its mouth.

Matt Pelletier fishts a big one at Vermejo park Ranch.

After what felt like an eternity of fighting I finally netted a 24-inch Rainbow trout.

Wow!

This lake gave us tons of action; the fish were very colorful and healthy and they gave us a great fight every time we latched into one.

And Manuel was enjoying himself much more now that he had a spinning rod in his hands. And I was happy to know I wouldn’t have any more flies buried in my head from his back cast, so, I think it’s safe to say leaving Bernal Lake was a good choice at the time.

Then before we knew what was happening, another storm came in out of nowhere and in a matter of seconds the wind and snow had become unbearable.

It was getting late so we decided to wrap-up for the day back where we had started, at the dam on Merrick Lake.

This lake is the closest one to the lodge so it would allow us to get the most out of our last few hours of fishing on our first day. I'm sure we could have caught fish here all night but after catching several more twenty plus rainbow trout we finally called it quits and headed back to the lodge for dinner.

By then we were ready for a good meal, hot showers and some sleep to rest our aching bodies from a long day of battling big, hard fighting, trout.

Upon our arrival back at the lodge, an employee at the Fish House grabbed our cooler which contained 5 trout and asked us how we would like them cleaned.

A Vermejo Park Ranch employee at the Fish House's cleaning station prepares to filet some trout. 

He gave us a number of options from filleted with or without skin, head on or off, personal sized portions or whole frozen fish; we both requested fillets and saw no need to create portions.

Then the same gentlemen quickly unloaded our batteries and we made the fifty foot walk to the main lodge for dinner.

We stumbled into the dinning room and noticed a table with the name "Pelletier" on a card so we sat down there and a friendly gal came up and asked us what we would like to drink and presented us with a menu.

The options were excellent but neither of us could resist the stuffed, bacon wrapped, bison top sirloin, with mash potatoes and green beans.

During the short wait we walked around the two-storied lodge gazing at the décor and pictures that told a story of the history and lives behind the Ranch.

The lodge features many game mounts, the most amazing of which we found to be the full body, albino, bull elk hanging over the bar.

In the same room a huge chandelier made entirely of elk and deer antlers hung from the ceiling, and another similar, yet even bigger , chandelier, could be seen hanging in the dining room.

The interior of the lodge is made up of exposed, wooden, beams which were harvested from the forest here on Vermejo Ranch, just like the wild game meat we were about to enjoy.

Before we knew it there was a juicy Bison steak on the table which turned out to be one of the best dishes I've ever eaten in my life!

As a matter of fact, every time I've visited the ranch the menu has been different and ended up being some of the best dishes I've ever tasted.

We went to bed well fed and awoke the next morning refreshed and ready for another epic day!

We repeated the previous morning’s routine of enjoying a fantastic breakfast and then had our truck loaded with a new cooler of ice and some fresh batteries for the boat.

Freshly charged batteries and trolling motors await guest who want to fish the many lakes at Vermejo Park Ranch,a  private resort in northern New Mexico. 

The day’s plan was to explore some of the other lakes we hadn’t had a chance to fish yet.

Upon arrival at Bartlett Lake we found the winds were already roaring so we decided to fish from shore.

This is the same lake my wife caught a monster Rainbow trout and I landed a beast of a Brown trout right off the shore four years ago, so I was confident we'd do just fine.

I decided to use the same rod I had been throwing the day before since I hadn’t had any issues with failed gear, hooks, leaders, and so on. I pulled out the stout, six-weight, “St. Croix Avid” rod rigged with a 9-foot “Wonderfurl “ leader with 1X tippet and started casting away.

After a couple casts I hooked up with a chunky bow and it was game on! This was going to be another great day, I thought.

While we were making our way down the shoreline I was shocked to see a massive bear in the direction we were walking.

I yelled over to Manuel, “Bear!” and he nearly jumped out of his boots. He quickly looked over his shoulder at me and said “where?” and I pointed and said “right where I wanted to fish, over there by the cattails”.

The bear didn’t seem bothered by our presence at all and kept going about his business as if we weren’t even there. Although the bear was preoccupied we decided we had better stay put and be content with the water in front of us.

We continued catching browns and rainbows for the next hour, all the while keeping a watchful eye over our shoulder for the nearby bear.

Finally we decided that we had enough and it was time to try and get a picture of the bear from the boat. All the while, the bear was moseying around and had wound up in an open meadow staking claim to every tree and bush in sight.

We launched a boat in no time at all, set the motor for high, and started towards the bear.

It was a large Brown bear and judging by the size I would say it was a male. We watched as the bear continued marking his scent on the pine trees near the shoreline.

We were hoping to get some pictures of him while he was standing on its hind legs, scratching, bending, and shaking these large trees as if they were toys.

This was the first time I ever got to witness the raw strength of one of these animals and I’ll never forget the display of power it exhibited.

Unaware of our plans, the bear went about his routine when it suddenly it turned on all fours and faced the forest, its nose was up, as if it heard or smelled something of great interest.

Then in a blink of an eye it took off in a full sprint and disappeared into the woods, leaving me to preserve the memory without the luxury of any pictures.

After the big bear chase and its disappointing conclusion we caught several more fish but we wanted to continue exploring more of the ranch so we set out for Adams Lake.

This lake is slightly smaller compared to Bartlett and has a reputation for not being as windy when the waves at Bartlett are roiling.

Adams Lake consists of rocky transitions, grass flats and some large logs in the water. There are also several patches of cattails along the bank. The lake is surrounded by Pine, Oak, and Juniper trees but they are set back far enough from the shore to allow for fly casting.

We wrapped up our Adams lake session after having landed many fish and decided to finish the day where our great adventure began, back at Merrick Lake.

While unloading our gear I suggested to Manuel that he should bring his fly rod along.

This would be a great opportunity for him to land his first fish on a fly and I couldn't imagine him leaving without having battled one of these monsters on the “long stick”.

He agreed and accepted the challenge.

This time Manuel didn’t even need any casting lessons and was quickly casting 20’ of line with ease, and that was all he needed to reach fish in this lake.

Within a couple casts Manuel had a monster trout hooked up and was in for a real battle.

Neither one of us knew it at the time but the drag on his reel was broken so after being hooked this fish took off for the middle of the lake with nothing to hold him back.

Manuel’s reel was well into its backing and the questioning look on his face seemed to say, “Is this supposed to happen?”

He handled it like a pro and after several long runs into his backing and many leaps that showed just how high a fish could jump; he brought it in to the net for me.

Yet another twenty plus trout and after a couple pictures, a quick release, and a big high five, we were back to casting.

And it didn't take long for Manuel to land a couple more trout on the fly and with a quick lesson on how to palm the reel to create drag, he was bringing in those big Rainbows like a veteran fly fisherman.

We continued catching fish throughout the afternoon but the time for our departure was drawing near.

Our last catch of the day occurred as we both hooked fish at the same time.

After netting my fish I managed to fit his fish into the net too and we were staring at 45-inches of mean, squirming, trout.

After grabbing some pictures we decided we were both exhausted and would be content with finally leaving the ranch.

What an amazing experience.

And a hearty thanks to Vermejo Ranch for taking such great care of us during our visit!

I look forward to returning to the ranch again this winter to stay in their newly built $8 million dollar Costilla Lodge.

Ranch employees tell us it rivals the headquarters where we stayed during our trip.

The ranch is offering a special winter rate of $250 per person, per night. It includes room, meals, and winter activities including ice fishing, snow shoeing, cross country skiing, sledding, tubing, wildlife viewing and the services of a guide.

For more info check out the ranch’s website at www.vermejoparkranch.com.

Matt Pelletier, 29, lives and works in Albuquerque along with his wife, Leah, also an avid angler. Pelletier is President of New Mexico Muskies Inc. and operator of Fish Enchantment.com

Cottages at Conchas Lake Make for Comfortable Stay Steeped in History

It may be one of state’s best kept secrets, the historic cottages for rent at Conchas Dam where guests can lounge under a big shade tree while gazing out over the lake on New Mexico’s eastern plains.

“It’s real peaceful here,” says Fran Gabel, who operates the Adobe Belle Resort at Conchas Dam. “And it’s got to be the prettiest lake in the state.”

The cottages, four duplexes built by Civilian Conservation Corps workers during the Great Depression served until 1999 as housing for U.S. Army Corps of Engineers employees stationed at the dam.

They have since been made available to the public for rent and are operated under lease by Fran and Tony Gabel, who intend to retire in October.

“We’ve met so many nice people over the years and built up such a good clientele that it’ll be hard to go,” Gabel says. “But it’s time to retire.”

Gabel says the cottages are usually booked well in advance and they’ve never really needed to advertise due to the good reviews that guests have passed on to others over the years.

So don’t bother going online to find any web pages promoting the resort, they’re just not there, not on the Corps’ own website or even at federal government’s all inclusive, recreation.gov website.

But an inquisitive visitor to the dam can see for themselves the two-bedroom cottages with their hardwood floors, exposed vigas, thick adobe walls, kiva fireplaces and tiled bathrooms.

The cottages also boast flagstone-lined and enclosed patios, shaded carports, swamp coolers and plenty of quiet seclusion in a little neighborhood nestled under a canopy of aging shade trees located behind the Army Corps offices at the dam.

“A lot of people come for the fishing,” Gabel says. “Others just like the peace and quiet. There’s no cable, telephones, internet or anything like that.”

Instead visitors will find an oasis in the desert that offers excellent fishing for walleye, bass and other warm water species as well as other recreational activities like swimming, water skiing, sailing or just playing on the beach.

And if it’s history you’re into, then Conchas Dam and Lake offers a lot.

Built primarily as a public works project to provide jobs to New Mexicans at a time when half the state was unemployed back in the 1930s, the dam provides flood control, irrigation and recreation today.

It is listed on the National Register of Historic Places in part because of the Spanish/Pueblo Revival architectural style used throughout the project.

While crossing the dam one might notice the bronze doors and wrought iron lantern fixtures built into the structure.

A stop at the Corps office will reveal paintings by artists employed during the Depression that document the dam’s construction.

And the visitors’ center is stocked with interpretive and historical displays and a video of the dam’s history.

But what one can’t see any longer is the town that was carved out of the desert on the Bell Ranch just downstream of the dam to house some 2,500 workers and their families while the project was underway.

Ninety percent of the workers on the project came off the relief rolls, earning between 25 to 45 cents an hour.

Life on the plains couldn't have been easy during the Dust Bowl days and then the Great depression.

The town known as Conchas City consisted of 36 dormitories, 132 stand-alone homes, multiple offices and workshops; all built from handmade adobes or carved sandstone, according to published accounts of the project’s history.

There was a mess hall to feed 1,500 workers a day, a 24-bed hospital considered one of the best in the state at the time and related businesses including a gas station, drug store, restaurant, pool hall, grocery store, barber and tailor’s shops.

The community hosted a grammar school and high school, a 700-seat movie theatre that was the envy of the area and even tennis courts and a golf course.

Electricity was provided for the town by generators powered by natural gas obtained through a pipeline laid by workers to Tucumcari, some 32 miles away.

State Road 104 to Conchas Lake from Las Vegas offers great vistas.

The town was later dismantled when the 235-feet high, 1,250-feet long dam, $15-million dam was completed after four years of construction. Many of the same materials were later reused by CCC workers to create the Army Corps’ offices, workshops and the cottages at the dam.

A history of the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Albuquerque District by Michael E. Welsh provides in-depth details about the dam project including ethnic tensions, political scandals and other issues that arose and may sound familiar today.

For example, primary contractors on the job brought in some Mexican Nationals from their Los Angeles base of operations who were deemed more competent and learned in the ways of heavy construction than the relief roll workers of whom 60 percent were poor local Hispanics from farming and ranching backgrounds, according to Welsh’s book.

The little town of Trementina on State Road 104 exhibits the hardscrabble life that many on the plains endured.

This led to ethnic tensions during the project which still exist for many New Mexicans to this day.

And a prominent U.S. Senator, Dennis Chavez, was at the heart of allegations that he had placed relatives and family members inside the public relief system who pressured relief workers statewide to make campaign contributions to the Chavez political machine or face transfer from their hometown relief jobs to the remote project at Conchas Dam, according to Welsh’s book.

This earned the Conchas Dam project the nickname “Devil’s Island” among some workers who were forced to toil there.

A cowboy descanso on State Road 104 alerts us all to frailty of life.

Today the dam provides about eight jobs for Corps workers like Daniel “Joe” Martinez, 47, of nearby Garita, who had lived in the cottages for 10 years and was the last worker to leave before the buildings were turned over to a private concessionaire as a cost savings measure.

“We took good care of them and it was one big happy family living here then,” Martinez, a 26-year veteran of the Corps at Conchas Dam, says of the six to eight families that lived there at the time.

Martinez’s two sons spent their childhood years growing up on the lake and living in the cottages and he is grateful they had that experience.

“It was really great,” he says.

Martinez’s boss, Steve Peterson, 50, says that the lake is currently at about 25 percent of capacity while the lake level is about 41 feet below the spillway due to the ongoing drought.

But fishing, boating and other recreation hasn’t suffered that much and remains fine, Peterson says.

“Come on out,” he suggests.

There's good fishing right off the banks at Conchas Lake for bass, crappie and other species.

Cottage rentals are $125 a night, pets are not allowed and no smoking is allowed inside the buildings. Midweek vacancies should be available for booking during late August and September, Gabel says.

Call the resort at 575-868-3351 for more info and to book a night’s stay.

Anyone interested in running the resort after the Gabel’s retire should contact the Corps District Office in Albuquerque about the application process.

The lake also features state park campgrounds, boat ramps, a marina and other amenities that make the state third largest lake a great destination on the state’s lonely, windswept, eastern plains.

Caddis Hatch on the San Juan River - Soaring Eagle Lodge has it Covered.

Caddis swarm on the San Juan River at Soaring Eagle Lodge. 

A swarm of fluttering caddis arose as I pushed aside a brushy tree limb and discovered a long, slow, stretch of the San Juan River before me.

Over by the far bank, telltale rings appear on the surface of the calm water.

There were trout holding in a shallow riffle just a few feet upstream of the deep cover provided by an overhanging Russian olive tree.

I slip into the river in a crouch and slowly make my way out across the wide expanse of open water, laying out line in the air as I gauge the distance.

Tied to the end of my long leader is one of several size-16 elk-hair caddis flies that I had whipped up just that afternoon.

It was the first fly I ever learned to tie and back then, on long summer days, it was the only fly I ever fished.

An Elk Hair Caddis fly.

It was easy to see, floated forever and did the job, time and time again. After all, it’s a bug found in damn near every western stream and a basic staple of most trout diets.

And when they hatch  and mate in huge numbers on rivers like the Arkansas in southern Colorado and the Rio Grande in northern New Mexico,  serious anglers drop everything and head for the river.

But the caddis hatch on the blue ribbon waters of the San Juan River is not what this river is usually renowned for, mostly because it occurs well downstream of the famous public water, where trophy class trout are routinely caught on miniscule, midges.

Soaring Eagle Lodge owner Larry Johnson, however, is out to change that reputation, especially among his clientele who have access to two miles of private water flowing past his riverfront lodge, a place where guests can literally cast out their front doors to rising fish.

Most cabins at Soaring Eagle Lodge front the San Juan River.

And unlike the heavily fished public waters of the San Juan, down here, in the private waters surrounding Johnson’s lodge, one can find that ever elusive solitude that most anglers yearn for.

Here an angler can slip into the tail end of a deep run formed by the convergence of two back channels and cast under the shade of towering cottonwoods.

Downstream, an inviting stretch of water beckons where the side channel rejoins the main.

And further upstream, anglers will come across a deep, wide, pool at the tail of a long riffle where one might expect more trout to be hiding.

And they are, here in the “honey hole,” as it’s known to the Soaring Eagle Lodge’s guests.

An angler enjoys the solitude of fishing the San Juan River at Soaring Eagle Lodge.

But back at the far bank, I let my line fly and watch as it settles well above the feeding fish.

It slowly floats towards them as I mend the line, take up the slack and prepare for a strike.

A snout appears and engulfs the fly. Then the water churns as the trout thrashes about it, realizing it’s been hooked.

The rod leans heavily as I struggle to lead the fish out into the open water, away from her home and kin.

I quickly get the net under her and admire a stout, lengthy, brown trout, patiently waiting as I quickly slip the barbless hook and set her free.

I wait a moment, blowing on my fly, and then I go back for the others, sensing the rush that only dry fly fishing provides.  That triumph of stealth, presentation and the right fly.

Thom Cole of Santa Fe shows off a nice Rainbow trout he caught on a caddis emerger while fishing the private waters at Soaring Eagle Lodge. 

Later while supping on pork medallions, sweet potatoes and braised spinach in the lodge’s cozy dining hall, my guest, fellow journalist and avid fly fisherman, Thom Cole, and I talked enthusiastically about our day here in early June, 2010.

He too was impressed with the privacy, scenic diversity and quality of the fishing to be found on the lower river around the lodge. The excellent accommodations, well-stocked fly shop and superb dining simply made it all that much better.

It is without a doubt, though, that the enjoyable experience of staying at Soaring Eagle Lodge is heightened by the personal attention of its owner, Larry Johnson, and his infectious enthusiasm for fishing.

Sawing at the wheel of his aging Ford Bronco while bouncing down a dirt road, Johnson, 57, tells us more about himself as we take a tour of the lower river.

Larry Johnson, Proprietor of Soaring Eagle Lodge at Navajo Dam, New Mexico.

Born and raised in the rural farm country of New Jersey, Johnson got his start in the hospitality industry at an early age, reared in the family restaurant along the shores of Lake Lakawanna, a popular summer resort outside of New York City.

“I remember stacking bottles in the basement when I was five,” Johnson says. “It was a great place to grow up.”

It was your typical vacation community with a golf course nearby, numerous lakeshore homes and only 50 miles, but a world away, from the bustle of the big city.

Johnson’s father, whose name he carries, Lawrence Wilford Johnson, was an enterprising man who maintained the family’s 350-acre farm and the house built by his father, a Swedish immigrant.

Johnson’s grandfather, Victor, was a tool and die maker in New York City and father of seven kids when he fled to the countryside as an influenza epidemic swept through the city.

Johnson shows off a nice Brown Trout he caught on a Caddis fly on the San Juan River at his lodge.

Johnson says his father was a custom home builder, just like his father before him, but also an entrepreneur.

At any given time, Johnson’s dad ran a family restaurant, tavern, golf course and built numerous gas stations throughout the area while also putting up summer homes on the lake.

His father’s very first real job though was as a mathematician working for IBM on the earliest of computers. The elder Johnson quit that position to join the Merchant Marine at the start of WW II and would later transfer to the Navy where he fought in the Pacific theatre.

“My dad was a savvy guy,” Johnson says with a wink. “A great businessman.”

Johnson is one of five kids. He has a twin sister named Teresa who everyone calls “Candy,” an older sister named Carol Ann, a younger brother named Paul and an older brother, Freddy, who was killed in Vietnam during that war.

“And I’ve also got something like 54 first cousins,” he says with a grin. “The holidays are just great.”

Johnson first learned to fly fish from a neighbor at Lake Lackawanna, a Catholic priest, who owned a nearby farm and installed fish habitat along the section of Lubber Creek that flowed through his property.


Growing up on Lake Lackawanna in the summer of 1959. From the left in the front row is Larry Johnson's twin sister, Candy, Jenny Ripp, Larry Johnson, Peggy Finnegan, and Cathy Ripp. In the rear row from the left is Steve Ripp, Karen Ripp and Carol Finnegan.

“He was the best, he married off everyone in our family, and we weren’t even Catholic,” Johnson says.

The priest, Father John Dericks, taught Johnson how to fish with with a bamboo cane rod and the large #10 spinner and May flies used back East.

Johnson would later go on to fish many of the regions’s better known rivers like the upper Delaware and the Beaverkill while also pulling many a fish from the depths of Lake Lackawanna as a youth.

The family farm was in Byram Township, located four or five miles from the lake and on the stream that fed it, Lubbers Run.  Johnson attended the regional high school, Sparta High.

“I was too little for football but I went out for it and got my ass kicked, same thing with wrestling,” Johnson says of his high school days. “But I made it onto the varsity ski team and that was when the hormones kicked in.”

Girls had replaced fishing as Johnson’s primary form of entertainment and would continue to do so for years to come.

Larry Johnson  and his fianace Leslie Jedrey in Newport Beach, Calif. in 1978.

Johnson graduated high school in 1971 and enrolled at the Nichols College of Business in Dudley, Massachusetts, where he graduated in 1975 with degrees in business administration and marketing.

Luckily for him the college went coed during his first year there, otherwise he thought he would have gone crazy.

“It was the kind of school where we actually had to wear a tie to class,” he says. “But at least we had eight, very ugly, but, very popular, girls there.”

After graduation he got a job working at a ski lodge in Vermont until his older sister’s husband, Tom Yerke, who had landed a job with Polaroid in California, could lure him out West.

Yerke asked Johnson to drive his wife and 10-year-old daughter out there.

Johnson jumped on the opportunity as did Johnson’s twin sister, Candy. And with three girls in tow Johnson climbed into Yerke’s brand new Buick La Sabre convertible and headed west.

The road trip turned into an epic two-month adventure with stops in Chicago, Denver, Las Vegas, as well as the Dakotas, Mount Rushmore and the Rockies. Along the way they stopped for numerous family visits, which made for a memorable summer vacation.


And when they finally hit the beaches of California, Johnson realized there was no turning back.
“Beaches, blondes, bikinis,” Johnson says wistfully. “No humidity, no bugs, great weather. I rented an apartment with my sister and found a job.”

Johnson’s new gig was in sales for an oxygen equipment manufacturing company. He was their new western regional manager responsible for Hawaii, California, Nevada, Arizona and New Mexico.

“I did a lot of traveling and flew into Albuquerque and rented a car on occasion,” he says. “I loved it here. There’s something about the sky, the wide open places, and the long, lonely roads.”

His brother-in-law told him he needed to have at least five years sales experience under his belt before he could think about getting him on board with him at Polaroid, a very successful instant camera company and inventor of polarized products.

“Those were the days of the corporate culture,” Johnson says of Polaroid. “Three-piece suits and solid ties, 46,000 employees worldwide and pensions. You went to a company like that and stayed till you either died or retired. I wanted in.”

An angler fishes the back channels at Soaring Eagle Lodge.

Johnson finally applied and was hired by Polaroid for a sale position out in California where he would meet his first wife.

“Her boss was an aerial photographer, we sold him film and he invited me up to his fishing camp on the Owens River near Bishop. I hadn’t been fishing in years so I went and there she was,” Johnson said. “I thought she was his daughter, but she was so nice that I had to ask her out.”

The two would meet later for drinks at the Red Onion bar in Newport Beach and before long were married.

Johnson then transferred overseas where he would oversee the sales of Polaroid’s polarized products, things like anti-glare high-contrast computer screens, polarized sun visors for Ferrari sports cars and commercial aircraft and even polarized sunglass lenses for manufacturers such as Ray-Ban.

Johnson spent the next 15 years working in Europe, spending time in the Netherlands, Germany and then London.

Part of his job required courting clientele with dinner parties and other perks and it was then that Johnson renewed his love affair with fly fishing.

As part of Polaroid’s sales incentive programs for customers, the company rewarded top clients with outings to exclusive auto and horse racing events or tennis and golf tournaments.

Johnson mans the oars of one of his drift boats during a  float of the lower San Juan River while guest Thom Cole rides in style. 

Johnson added fly fishing trips to the program and ended up taking trips to exotic fishing locales like Iceland, Russia, Ireland, Poland, Czech Republic, Slovenia, Scotland, Norway, Sweden, South Africa and Zimbabwe.

“Some of these trips I did on my own and on others with clients who knew I liked to fish and took me along,” Johnson said.

His most memorable trip was to Iceland where he fished for Atlantic salmon and caught a 41-inch long, 30-pound fish that awed him with an impressive display of leaping and tail walking that rivals anything he’s caught since.

But the party with Polaroid would soon be over, coming on the heels of Johnson’s own realization that the business was doomed by emerging digital technology.

Johnson was on a Tarpon fishing trip in the Florida Keys in 1991 where he met a young doctor and ended up having dinner with him and his family.

At some point the doctor pulled out a digital camera and his daughter began squealing with delight, “let me see, let me see.”

As the doctor began showing off his pictures on the camera’s LCD screen, Johnson realized with dread that Polaroid’s flagship product, the instant camera, was doomed. Within ten years the company was in bankruptcy.

But Johnson, having seen the writing on the wall took full advantage of a lucrative early retirement program offered by the company as it began to downsize. The proceeds of which someday would be used to help bankroll his eventual purchase of the Soaring Eagle Lodge.

Thom Cole shows off one of the many native Brown trout found lurking in the waters surrounding Soaring Eagle Lodge.

Johnson ended up in New Mexico while tending to a family situation involving his mother-in-law who moved to Farmington in the late ‘80s to be near her son, Bill, an audiologist.

Johnson and his wife had been visiting her in New Mexico at least once a year since the mid-1980s and while he was there, Johnson always took off to fish the San Juan River and stay at Abe’s legendary motel and fly shop.

“It felt like my new home water,” he says.

Johnson was back in New Mexico again in 2000 after having left Polaroid and just ended a two-year stint with a venture capital company out of Reno, Nevada.  He was moving his soon to be ex-wife into a house in Farmington when he decided to take some time off and just become another trout bum kicking around on the San Juan.

It wasn’t long though before Ray Johnston at Navajo Dam’s Float and Fish Fly Shop snatched him up and put him to work as a counter clerk. It was while Johnson was tending to Johnston’s business that the Soaring Eagle Lodge came on the market.

Johnson had been mulling over his next business move and was definitely interested so he put together some financing, made an offer and took over the operation on Sept. 11^th, 2001, the day of the deadly attack on the World Trade Center in New York City and the Pentagon in Washington D.C.

“My first day on the job and I had 30 cancellations and ten people stuck here,” Johnsons says. “They ended up staying an extra week. “

Larry Johnson's flyshop carries most everything you'll need except Hodgman hip waders .

Johnson put his sales, marketing and publicity skills to work and has since turned the lodge into a fly-fishing destination resort, the kind of place for those seeking a complete vacation package.

And it has thrived in the last nine years under his and fiance, Lesley Jedrey's, direction.

“It’s because we can take care of everything,” he says. “We provide clean, comfortable lodging, excellent food, great guides and a fabulous location.”

The living room of one of the comfortable cabins at Soaring Eagle Lodge.

Many of Johnson’s clients are busy, out-of-state business men and women who want to make the most of their vacation time while pursuing their favorite sport on the legendary San Juan River.

“And they keep coming back year after year because the San Juan is such a productive fishery,” he says.

And when the summer begins to loom and first reports of caddis begin to trickle in, anglers would be well advised to inquire with Johnson about fishing the lower stretch of river that runs through his property.

For more info including rates, seasons and fishing reports, check out Johnson’s website at http://www.soaringeaglelodge.net/, friend them on Facebook or give them a call at 1-800-866-2719.

Santa Rosa Lake Headed for Dangerously Low Levels But Efforts May Save Some Fish.

Santa Rosa Lake is expected to drop to perilous levels as downstream agricultural irrigators call for their water later this month but this time they hope to leave enough behind to help keep the popular fishery alive.

“We don’t want to see another environmental disaster,” says Dudley Jones, Manager for the Carlsbad Irrigation District (CID) which owns the water impounded at Santa Rosa Lake.

About ten years ago the district found itself in hot water during similar drought conditions after its call for water left another reservoir downstream of Santa Rosa, Sumner Lake, drained dry.

Santa Rosa is the first in line of three reservoirs on the Pecos River that serves the Fort Sumner and Carlsbad Irrigation Districts with Sumner in the middle and Brantley at the end of the line.

Heading east onto the plains on NM104.

Jones says he will ask his board of commissioners at a June 14 meeting to authorize leaving about 9,000 acre feet in Santa Rosa Lake to keep the fishery alive while also providing farmers with just enough water to get by.

“We all have to make sacrifices in these lean years,” he said.

Santa Rosa is currently holding only about 21,000 acre feet or about 8 percent of capacity, due to little or no snowpack runoff this year in the Pecos watershed, says Curtis McFadden of the Army Corps of Engineers which operates the dam at Santa Rosa Lake.

That could conceivably be wiped out and the lake reduced to a trickle in the streambed if the irrigation district takes its usual June allotment of 20,000 acre feet. 

But this year Jones is proposing to limit the district’s demand for irrigation water to help out the fish and wildlife and those who enjoy them.

And on top of that Jones proposes that the district not take delivery of that water until July 5th so people can enjoy the water over the Fourth of July weekend.

Yet, despite those best efforts, the fishery at Santa Rosa Lake is expected to take a big hit when the water is drawn down, one that could takes years to recover from, says Shawn Denny, Southeast Area Fisheries Manager for the state Department of Game and Fish.

“It’ll be significant,” he says.

But based on past experience, when Santa Rosa drops to such levels many fish will flow downstream to Sumner Lake along with the water delivery thus improving fishing there.

Sumner Lake is currently closed to boating because of invasive mussels.

However, Sumner Lake is currently closed to boating due to the discovery of invasive mussels that can spread to other waters on boats.

But Denny notes that Sumner Lake may be one of the best shore fishing lakes in the state and with an expected influx of walleye, bass, catfish and crappie from Santa Rosa, could be the hot spot for bank based anglers here shortly.

Jones says the district is expected to leave about 7,200 of the 11,000 acre feet it has stored in Sumner Lake for the time being. Of that at least 2,500 acre feet will have to remain for a minimum pool to keep the fishery there and an endangered fish population in the Pecos River alive.

Denny says there may be a positive side to the water levels dropping at Santa Rosa in that the lake shoreline will be exposed and new vegetation should sprout. If that vegetation is then re-submerged by water it creates excellent habitat and nutrients for fish to thrive.

Denny notes that Santa Rosa rebounded from similar drought conditions and low lake levels years ago to become an excellent fishery again.

“I’d expect the same here,” he says.

A roadside Descanso on NM 104.

In the meantime everyone seems to be praying for rain and if past years are any indication the state could possibly see an early and wet monsoon season.

In many past La Nina weather seasons which produce abnormally dry winters, the following summer monsoons seasons have produced above normal rainfall, says Daniel Porter of the National Weather Service in Albuquerque.

“Typically that statement would be fairly accurate,” he noted. “But…”

It seems that the service’s weather forecasts are hedging its bets and isn’t predicting anything this year other than a normal monsoon seasons.

Even that would be welcome relief for farmers in the Carlsbad area, who got a tantalizing trace of rain just this week, the first they’ve seen in over 225 days.

McFadden says an early and wet monsoon season could add anywhere from 12,000 acre feet of water to the lake and that would alleviate a lot of the problem.

Conchas Lake.

If You Go: Santa Rosa Lake State Park is located southeast of Santa Fe on the eastern plains. From Santa Fe take I-25 towards Las Vegas. Head south on either U.S. 285 at Eldorado, State Road 3 at Villanueva or U.S. 84 at Romeroville. All three intersect with I-40 which heads west to Santa Rosa.

The lake can reach up to 3,800 surface acres when full and offers angling for both large and smallmouth bass, walleye, crappie, catfish, perch, sunfish and some trout.

The park offers several campgrounds including developed sites, many with electric, some primitive, a dump station, restrooms with showers, boat ramps, hiking trails and a visitor center and observation tower by the dam.

Nearby Conchas Lake on the Canadian River remains low after years of drought while further east at Ute Lake the water level is good. Both locations offer good fishing, boating and other recreational activities.

A Tucumcari mural.

Editors Note:

6/15/2011

The Carlsbad Irrigation District Board of Directors has voted to leave about 9,000 acre feet of water in Santa Rosa Lake and another 6,200 acre feet in Sumner Lake to help maintain the popular fisheries during the ongoing drought, said District Manager, Dudley Jones.

The water in Santa Rosa Lake is owned by the district as is much of the water in Sumner Lake and could have been drawn down for irrigation purposes but during a June 14 meeting the district’s directors elected instead to leave the water in the lakes to benefit fish and recreational users. 

A large amount of water will still be moved downstream during a planned released after the Fourth of July weekend but dam operators will leave the allotted amount behind to keep the two lakes wet while everyone prays for an early and heavy monsoon season to arrive, Jones says.

Sumner Lake will now be reopened to boats after it had been closed due to invasive mussel contamination. Boats will now have to undergo an inspection and decontamination process before being allowed back on the lake starting Friday, June 17.

Remote Forest Service Cabin Makes for Great Romantic Getaway

Looking for a romantic getaway in the great outdoors after being cooped up all winter?

Then the Forest Service has got just the place for you, a neat little cabin in the woods, tucked in among a vast stand of aspens with a babbling brook and beaver ponds right outside the front door.

And it’s only four hours from Santa Fe, up in the mountains flanking the upper end of the San Luis Valley in southern Colorado.

The Brewery Creek Guard Station is one of several remote cabins located within the nearby Rio Grande National Forest that the public can rent for a reasonable fee and enjoy the same scenery some others pay millions to enjoy.

The rustic cabin at Brewery Creek is fully functional and in a great location. 

The Brewery Creek Guard Station is a quaint, two-room, white clapboard cabin with a fire pit and picnic table in the yard, a new outhouse and all the amenities needed to enjoy a comfortable night in the woods.

The cabin features lights, heaters, a full sized stove and refrigerator; all powered by propane as there is no electricity available. The kitchen comes fully stocked with cast iron skillets and other pots and pans as well as plates and cutlery.

A large kitchen table and chairs separates the kitchen area from the living room where one can lounge on a couch or relax in a recliner.

Brewery Creek passes right in front of the cabin and beaver ponds have created good habitat for trout.

The bedroom features three bunk beds with the lower berths suitable for couples. Sleeping bags, pillows and other gear must be packed in.

The cabin is well supplied with board games and other means of old fashioned entertainment including a series of journals in which visitors have written of their experiences while staying at the cabin.

There is no cell phone coverage at the cabin. For more info about the accommodations, check it out at http://www.recreation.gov.

The cabin was built in 1935 for use by the forest ranger who oversaw the Poncha and Bonanza Districts of what was then called the Cochetopa National Forest.

It sits in the shadow of 13,266-foot Antora Peak and is located just across a mountain range from the historic, silver mining town of Bonanza.

The cabin serves as a great base from which to visit the area’s many recreational opportunities including soaks at local hot springs, wildlife viewing on remote back country roads and perhaps a visit to the nearby town of Salida.

Mule deer bedded down for the morning.

Just across one of the Colorado’s easiest mountain passes at 9,000 feet, Salida boasts great fishing and rafting on the Arkansas River and a very cool downtown historic district.

The downtown area features plenty of Victorian era architecture, great shops, taverns and eateries.

There’s also a nice park and boardwalk on the river that makes for great, sightseeing and picnicking too.

And in the surrounding mountain ranges which including many of Colorado’s famous 14,000-foot peaks, visitors will find great hiking, camping, fishing and skiing opportunities.

Aspen groves surrounding the cabin are ablaze with color come fall.

During a recent early spring visit to the area, a forest road leading to a mountain top reservoir on the North Fork of the Arkansas River provided a great drive but it ended just a few miles shy of the local favorite fishing hole due to impassable snow drifts.

Returning to the San Luis Valley, one might want to stop at Villa Grove Trade where the café boasts excellent meals and live music, which can be heard on select Sundays nights. This is also where the key to the cabin can be picked up and dropped off. See their website at http://villagrovetrade.com/for more info.

Photo courtesy of Jeff Shook.

Villa Grove also boasts a liquor store for those in need before making the 15-mile trek up a gravel road to the cabin.

New Mexican visitors to San Luis Valley may find it a familiar and comfortable place in part, perhaps, because of our shared native Indian, Hispanic and Anglo cultural roots.

It is also home to the headwaters of the Rio Grande, whose waters nourish New Mexico, and its many farms produce much of the barley used to brew the popular western beer, Coors.

It is the location of one of the largest, solar-powered, electric power plants in the country and also home to the vast, Great Sand Dunes National Park.

Bordered on the west by the San Juan Mountains and to the east by the Sangre de Cristo Mountains, the valley is home to oldest town in the state of Colorado, San Luis, founded by New Mexican settlers from the Taos and Mora areas in 1851.

To the north the valley ends just above the village of Villa Grove and the mountain crossing at Poncha Pass.

Saguache is a fun place to visit in the historic San Luis Valley.

Visitors to the valley from New Mexico typically follow US 285 north through Tres Piedras to the little town of Antonito and then on through the rich, agricultural valley and the college town of Alamosa.

Others might elect to follow N.M. 522 through Taos and Costilla and then head west to the valley from the historic town of Fort Garland on U.S. 160.

The San Luis Valley area boasts several forest service cabins for public use including the Canero Guard Station which was featured in the Santa Fe New Mexican in August 2010 ( http://www.santafenewmexican.com/Local%20News/For-New-Mexicans--San-Luis-Valley-has-familiar-scenes )

Canero Guard Station.

New Mexico does not have any forest service rental cabins but those who are interested in what’s available nearby can find out more at the U.S. Forest Service’s website at http://www.fs.fed.us/ and look under recreation and reservations.

If You Go: From Santa Fe take U.S. 84/285 through Espanola, Los Ojos and Tres Piedras to Antonito, Colorado. Proceed north on U.S. 285 to Alamosa and then pick up state highway 17 to Villa Grove. Just past town, head west on county road LL56 to Bonanza. Take the turnoff to Forest Road 880 at the bridge and follow to the cabin’s gate.