Fisherman stalked at dawn near Ruidoso witnessed in Lincoln County, New Mexico

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Me and a buddy have frequented the [canyon] for fishing and hunting over the past three years. We are both wildlife majors at Texas Tech and are very accomplished big game hunters and flyfishermen. We followed the trail that begins at the [bottom of the canyon] and followed it until the trail diappeared. Abouth 1/4 of a mile up the river bed from there we set up camp in our usual spot which was a grassy embankment along the rocky riverbed. We had been there for three days of fall brook trout fishing and camping. The nights leading up to the final day were routine, elk bugling, racoons in the creek bed and one encounter with a small black bear that was very curious about us. Spending a lot of time here and in other dense wilderness areas in these mountains was no problem for us. The final night was bitterly cold, so we didn't sleep that much. I decided to leave camp at first light to begin fishing. My partner was still tired from the cold night and stayed behind to get some ...