flyI4
Fishizzle, I use worms but I'm looking to upgrade!
Today, I finished up a week in Argentina/Patagonia fishing with my dad for the first time out here. The trip was epic in so many ways and I just wanted to share both my experiences and the logistics of the trip since the guide/accommodations we used were very affordable and something I highly recommend for anyone that has wanted to do a trip down here. The guide I fished with was named Cristian Nordahl and is the owner of Old Viking Fly fishing. Simply put,he was the hardest working and most knowledgable fishing guide I have ever fished with. He grew up in the area and his dad was a fishing guide before him so the experience coupled with his passion for fishing was incredible. Every day, we would float 25-35 miles of river and fish a minimum of 12 hr days starting at around 8 and ending between 8 or 9pm. While this was impressive in its own right, the above and beyond effort he gave was even more apparent when we saw that other fishing lodges and guides in the area were floating half the amount of water we were floating, often fishing the most popular stretches that were easy for put in and take out, and generally starting at least a couple hours after we had been on the water-clock watching 8 hr a day guides basically. Finally, these lodges charge on a double occupancy rate for guide ($400/person for day of guiding=800 day for guided trip), whereas our guide charges a flat rate of $400 a day and divided by 2 guys it was much more manageable.
Fishing wise, We stayed in the town of Junin de los Andes which is in Southern Argentina close to the Chilean border. There are many different types of rivers around here ranging from small mountain streams to large rivers. Being big fish whores, My dad and I stuck mostly to the big water including the Chimehuin, Collon Curra, and Allumine Rivers which held lots of large rainbows and had rogue big browns in the likely spots including tree falls, overhanging willows, and so on. The rainbows were very willing to take large hoppers and other attractor dries, which was fun for a while ,but then you start to key in on the big brownies which require casts that are dead even with the structure and sometimes even under the banks to entice them to strike. Taking these chances on casts in a fast moving river was both challenging and rewarding when the right cast would result in a huge shadow coming out of an undercut bank and attacking your fly in extremely vicious fashion. These fish also loved big flies, so it was fun seeing a streamer the size of a bird get totally crushed by a brown of 20+''. Overall, I'd say the average fish was a 16'' rainbow and for browns 14-15'' with anything over 20'' being a good fish. The big fish are there in numbers, but they are never out in the open, and it takes a perfect cast under some of the craziest structure/willow branches, ect to get one to come out. Very rarely were we able to check chuck a fly out there in a nice run and hook into a big brown. Maybe 1-2 browns all trip were taken more than 6'' off the bank.
We also did some brookie fishing in a small mountain lagoon that is filled with glacier water. This was a nice change of pace and when we got there we had no clue what we were in for. As we approached the lake there were little dink brookies between 4-6'' making splashy rises on the surface and i thought a good brookie would be like 12-14'' just like any other brookie pond. 20 minutes later, I realized why the guide said we should use a 7wt, when my rod almost got ripped out of my hand and the best brookie I ever caught was shortly thereafter brought to hand. This lake was one of the most unique places i have ever fished and will not be something I forget.
Program wise, we never fished the same section of river twice and in 7 days of fishing we still were not able to fish all the rivers that are commonly floated and fished in the area. From what I did see, it was clear that these rivers are not cut out for wading, and generally the fishing is very much a cover water and hit the likely spots type of fishing. The riffles are fast and the pools deceptively deep, so we were lucky to have booked a boat for all 7 days, since wading would have been a waste of time aside from a couple mountain streams that were pretty, held a fish huge fish, and many many small ones that were pesky and made it tough to even get the fly to the bigger fish. I have posted a few pics from the one small stream we did fish, the Malleo, which had some isolated monsters, but bright conditions and wind made it tough to entice the big boys to take. A couple nosed my hopper though, and for those moments it was thrilling to see 22-24'' fish in such a small stream.
I have posted pictures below to better illustrate the amazing landscape and fishing that is available down here, and if anyone wants more info on the cabin we stayed at/guide we fished with let me know. Its a great alternative to the pricey lodges that are around here and I did not feel like the quality of the fishing experience was compromised one bit.
Fishing wise, We stayed in the town of Junin de los Andes which is in Southern Argentina close to the Chilean border. There are many different types of rivers around here ranging from small mountain streams to large rivers. Being big fish whores, My dad and I stuck mostly to the big water including the Chimehuin, Collon Curra, and Allumine Rivers which held lots of large rainbows and had rogue big browns in the likely spots including tree falls, overhanging willows, and so on. The rainbows were very willing to take large hoppers and other attractor dries, which was fun for a while ,but then you start to key in on the big brownies which require casts that are dead even with the structure and sometimes even under the banks to entice them to strike. Taking these chances on casts in a fast moving river was both challenging and rewarding when the right cast would result in a huge shadow coming out of an undercut bank and attacking your fly in extremely vicious fashion. These fish also loved big flies, so it was fun seeing a streamer the size of a bird get totally crushed by a brown of 20+''. Overall, I'd say the average fish was a 16'' rainbow and for browns 14-15'' with anything over 20'' being a good fish. The big fish are there in numbers, but they are never out in the open, and it takes a perfect cast under some of the craziest structure/willow branches, ect to get one to come out. Very rarely were we able to check chuck a fly out there in a nice run and hook into a big brown. Maybe 1-2 browns all trip were taken more than 6'' off the bank.
We also did some brookie fishing in a small mountain lagoon that is filled with glacier water. This was a nice change of pace and when we got there we had no clue what we were in for. As we approached the lake there were little dink brookies between 4-6'' making splashy rises on the surface and i thought a good brookie would be like 12-14'' just like any other brookie pond. 20 minutes later, I realized why the guide said we should use a 7wt, when my rod almost got ripped out of my hand and the best brookie I ever caught was shortly thereafter brought to hand. This lake was one of the most unique places i have ever fished and will not be something I forget.
Program wise, we never fished the same section of river twice and in 7 days of fishing we still were not able to fish all the rivers that are commonly floated and fished in the area. From what I did see, it was clear that these rivers are not cut out for wading, and generally the fishing is very much a cover water and hit the likely spots type of fishing. The riffles are fast and the pools deceptively deep, so we were lucky to have booked a boat for all 7 days, since wading would have been a waste of time aside from a couple mountain streams that were pretty, held a fish huge fish, and many many small ones that were pesky and made it tough to even get the fly to the bigger fish. I have posted a few pics from the one small stream we did fish, the Malleo, which had some isolated monsters, but bright conditions and wind made it tough to entice the big boys to take. A couple nosed my hopper though, and for those moments it was thrilling to see 22-24'' fish in such a small stream.
I have posted pictures below to better illustrate the amazing landscape and fishing that is available down here, and if anyone wants more info on the cabin we stayed at/guide we fished with let me know. Its a great alternative to the pricey lodges that are around here and I did not feel like the quality of the fishing experience was compromised one bit.
