The sound of rain hitting their tent awakened the family of Alejandro Gonzales, of Taos, at Santa Cruz Lake near Chimayó.
“In the middle of the night, it started raining on us,” Gonzales said. “We didn’t want to get out.”
Fortunately, they did get out and joined 42 other children June 20 for Santa Cruz’s 2009 Fish Fiesta, sponsored by the Bureau of Land Management and the town of Taos.
It rained steadily all day and no fish were caught, but that didn’t stop participants from enjoying themselves. There were 24 children registered by 10 a.m. and more arrived throughout the day.
“They’re trickling in,” the Bureau’s Theresa Herrera said.
Siblings Daniel and Marissa Swann, of Taos, cast bait from the fishing pier.
“Who cares about the weather,” Daniel Swann said.
Swann constantly changed his bait, trying worms, power bait and spinners, all provided from the pockets of his mother Valerie Swann, who was also on hand to untangle lines.
“I’ve never been out here before,” she said. “It’s beautiful.”
The lake’s surface covers 121 acres. It was created by a dam across the Santa Cruz River in 1929 to store water for the Santa Cruz Irrigation District. It offers fishing for brown and rainbow trout. The New Mexico state-record rainbow trout was caught here in 1999 and weighed a mind-boggling 31 pounds, 12.5 ounces.
No records were broken during the Fiesta, but the young anglers found other ways of having fun.
“Marcus, get out of the water,” Veronica Maldonado shouted at her grandson, Marcus Lucero.
Lucero smiled as he stood in the middle of a big rain puddle. He was later seen stuffing a hot dog in his mouth, along with cousin Gabriel Gonzales.
Other children had their faces painted by Pam Olivas, who created a manta ray on the face of her son John. Other children opted for dragonflies, spiders or butterflies.
Victor Vigil, of Española, helped his daughter Leah and son Loren in a casting contest, and Loren made an impression of a fish that he got to keep.
The day ended with the awarding of prizes, including two $50 gift certificates. Every participant received a rod and reel.
“This went better than some of our fair-weather fiestas,” the Bureau’s Mark Lujan said.