Species: Longnose Dace (Rhinichthys cataractae)
Location: Ruidoso Downs, New Mexico
Date: August 9, 2018
I didn’t pace this trip very well. I spent a week in California, a day in Arizona, and two in New Mexico before making it down to Texas. I spent a whole day driving from Phoenix to Roswell, and it wasn’t as quick and painless as I’d planned for.
Frustrated by the lack of water and pins on my route between the two cities, I scrambled t
o find a stop whenever I had service on the barren, 9-hour drive eastward. The only viable spot was in the tiny town of Ruidoso Downs, across the street from a Walmart. I got some supplies, went to the bathroom, and then proceeded to wander down a rough road to a tiny stream. Fishing was difficult since it was so shallow, but I managed to get several tiny fish with my crude, early micro gear.
Despite my extremely limited knowledge and experience on my #SpeciesQuest, I was able to quickly identify the massive schnoz as that of a Longnose Dace. It was almost dark due to my late start that morning, a long lunchbreak, and the torrential rain that slowed traffic to a crawl, so I too ka few terrible pics in the low light and continued on to Roswell, New Mexico.
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#SpeciesQuest // #CaughtOvgard
Read the next entry in #SpeciesQuest here: Species #183 — Red Shiner.
Love the SpeciesQuest series — packing up and chasing a new catch across state lines is always a good time. That Walmart pond longnose dace is a sweet lifer, especially the close-up shot. When I’m out shooting trip photos I usually run the fish pics through Unblur Video’s photo editor to sharpen the focus after cropping. Keep up the great work, Luke!
Love the SpeciesQuest series and the way you document each catch — that Longnose Dace from Walmart-adjacent water in Ruidoso is a wild one. Microfishing shots like this are exactly why I started editing my own trip photos; I usually tidy up the colors and crop in image editor ai before posting. Keep them coming!
I’ve been enjoying the SpeciesQuest series, especially this close look at finding a Longnose Dace in such an unexpected spot near Ruidoso Downs. The mix of species identification, road-trip details, and good photos makes microfishing feel very approachable. Audio Enhancer Ai would also be handy for cleaning up field recordings or short interviews about catches like this, especially when wind and background noise make the original audio less clear.
Love the SpeciesQuest updates, Luke — a longnose dace from a Walmart pond in New Mexico is a great catch and a fun surprise. That kind of unexpected species is exactly what keeps microfishing so addictive. I’ve been wanting a simple way to turn my still catch photos into short clips, and something like Photo to Video AI could be a nice way to make little trip recaps out of shots like yours.
Great Longnose Dace spot, Luke! I really enjoy following the SpeciesQuest series — your microfishing finds from New Mexico are always a fun read. I also lean on Unblur Image to clean up my own fishing photos when the light is not cooperating. Keep up the great work!
Always fun seeing another entry in the SpeciesQuest series — a Walmart pond in Ruidoso Downs is a wild place to pull a longnose dace. I’ve been meaning to turn some of my own microfishing clips into quick edits for Instagram, so I’ve been playing around with Bernini Video to stitch together trip footage with a bit of motion and style polish. Love how this hobby keeps pushing me to document the tiny stuff better.
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Love the SpeciesQuest series – chasing new species across state lines is genuinely inspiring. That little Walmart pond in Ruidoso is a great reminder that micro species are hiding everywhere if you slow down and look. I usually clean up my catch photos with AI Picture Editor before posting, which has been a real time saver on long road trips. Keep up the great work!
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