Argentina 2018 - Part 3: The giant rainbows of Lago Strobel

The last part of the trip started with an interesting argument at Ushuaia airport - after travelling with the same bag they tried to hit me up for excess luggage - after asking for an explanation from a few people the nice lady at the baggage counter let me off, but it's a bit annoying and something to be aware of with internal flights with Aerolineas. The flight to El Calafate was uneventful and on arrival I was greeted by the lodge transfer van driver who loaded my bag into the van and we set off. We drove out of town and made a left turn onto Ruta 40 - I had been here back in 2002 and it was all dirt but progress has arrived and so has asphalt - a shame really. We stopped off at La Leona for empanadas, and walking through the door was a big case of deja vu - it hasn't really changed in the last 16 odd years, apart from some minor things, and the argolla game is still near the door. Of course I couldn't leave without managing to get the argolla onto the hook.

We then drove for another hour to the end of the asphalt, where I was collected by the head guide in a pickup truck, for the last 2 1/2 hours to the lodge. We drove up on to the plateau and it got rockier, bumpier and more barren, and we finally arrived at the lodge - nestled against the bank of the Laguna Verde. After unpacking I put on my waders and walked down to the laguna for a quick fish - first fish I caught was a very plumb brown trout, much to my surprise...

 Even more surprising was the next fish, another brown... I managed couple of rainbows as well and then walked back up tot he lodge for dinner. At the lodge I caught up with my good friend Nick Reygaert of Gin Clear fame - he was hosting trips for 2 weeks and had been coming to ELV for many years. Nick and I go back a long way and it was good to have a long chat with him.

The next morning I said goodbye to Nick and headed to the Barrancoso river with my guide Nano - we got to the river and even though the water was high and coloured, there were fish everywhere. It didn't take long for me to catch my first Strobel rainbow, and we proceed to catch fish that morning with numerous over 10 pounds, the largest 14 and 15lbs - amazing for a small river

The fish were all fat and full of eggs or milt - November is when they first run up the river to spawn, and the number of huge fish in the river has to be seen to be believed. After a great session we headed down to the lake for lunch, where Nano cooked up some milanesas whilst I caught my first Strobel chromers. After lunch Nano rigged up a dry/dropper combo, and with the wave action working the dry fly up and down, the fish hit the nymph with abandon. After catching a number of fish that afternoon ( a dozen or so from memory) we headed back to the lodge for dinner - a great first day on Strobel. At the lodge I met the next group of guests, a bunch of Alaskans on their first trip to Strobel, a great bunch.

The next day it was time to hit the lake first thing, Nano took me to a place called Dry Fly Bay as the wind was pumping, and as soon as we got there we saw fish cruising close. The dry dropper combo proved their downfall again, and I tied on one of my flies to try - a deepwater damsel. It proved lethal that morning, I managed to catch 13 fish, from 8 to 13lbs, the majority bright silver chromers.

It was then time for another great lunch where we met up with the Alaskans. One of them - Paul - is a snowmobile racer that broke his back in a freak training accident - he is unstoppable and still fishes where he can from his amazing tracked wheelchair - he was using a centrepin setup and a fly rod when conditions were right - truly inspiring!

After lunch Nano took me back to Dry Fly bay where the carnage continued with another 17 fish from 8 to 13 lbs - all on the same fly and caught standing on the same rock. I ended the day with more than my weight in trout landed - unbelievable. Dinner was outstanding, as is the case with all lodges in Argentina, and the wine and beer abundant too.

My last day of fishing arrived, and my target was to try and catch a rainbow from the river on a mouse fly, something you can't do in many places. That had to wait as Paul was going to fish the river, and his buddy Pat carried him down there - he managed to catch a number of rainbows from the Mouse Trap pool

I started the day fishing the lake as it was incredibly calm - the wind had finally eased off. I managed to catch a few rainbows including a couple on the dry fly before the wind picked up and ion no time there were waves crashing into me

After getting hit in the face a few times we moved back to the relative shelter of Dry Fly bay where I carried on as per the day before, one fish after another!!!

After another super lunch it was time for the river, and when we got there we found it lower and clearer, with even more fish visible. We started off with nymphs, but the resident rainbows were out in force, swarming around the fly like piranhas - I have never seen anything like it. Getting the fly down to the bigger fish proved impossible so it was now time for the mouse fly. It has to be said - rainbow trout are really really crap at eating mice, and I raised and moved many fish, had swirls, eats and takes but nothing, until it all finally came together and I landed my 10lob+ rainbow on a mouse fly - mission accomplished!

Time for a few more cats, including one where a huge trout chased the fly downstream, ate it and managed to not get hooked - but I was happy, as the last one landed was truly the cherry on the cake.

One more great meal and the next morning my long trek home started - drive to El Calafate, flight to BA and overnight stop. In BA I took the advice of my friend Alfredo and went and had a great meal at Charlone 101 - a lovely restaurant run by his friend German - Alfredo made one of his bottles of Malbec available for the meal - a great finish to a great trip.

 The next morning the flight to Sao Paolo and then to BA was uneventful, except my bag didn't make it - I did get it a week later and if you are going to lose a bag it's much better at the end of the trip.

I can't wait to go back to Argentina - so many more spots to fish and such a great country with great people

Argentina 2018 - Part 2: The seatrout of the Rio Grande

Flying into Ushuaia is always an interesting experience, to say the least. The plane flies low over snow covered craggy peaks, bumping and tilting in the omnipresent wind. It then approaches and lands on the runway that pokes out into the Beagle sound, a reclaimed mass of land built to solve the many bad landings that plagued the previous "too short" runway, as well as the constant crosswinds. These days the new landing strip is long enough for 747s, which is comforting. After collecting my bag I walked out and found my good friend Diego Castillo waiting for me. We had a quick coffee and then hit the road for Rio Grande, a roughly 3 hour drive. On the way we stopped at the Panaderia La Union in Tolhuin for empanadas and "dulce de leche" stuffed churros - a must!

We arrived at Villa Maria Behety which was going to be my home for the next few days, and after a quick unpack we headed out to the river to see what was happening - fish were being caught by the group of anglers at the lodge. Diego had all the right double handed rods, and the evening session was perfect for getting the cobwebs out of my Spey casting - a few bumps and fish rolling but nothing to the bank.That evening at dinner I met the rest of the people at the lodge, it was a group doing some filming for the lodge, Pablo Perez from Aguas Arribas - ESPN, and a few of his friends - one of the guys had caught a 22lber so things were looking promising.

The next morning after a good breakfast Diego and I headed to the river. First pool we fished was Pecera, and it didn't take long for me to come tight, and what a fish it was - a 16lb male that put up a great fight

After an incredible morning session it was time for lunch and we then headed to the Quincho for an amazing asado lunch - the cordero was the best lamb I have ever had - after a good cordero you will never be able to look at lamb the same way

Then it was back to the lodge for a well deserved siesta, before heading back out for the afternoon session, where things were going to get very very good.

We drove to our assigned beat and the first pool we went to was called Giles, and we had to wade across to get to the "sweet spot". Diego tied on a black Rio Grande queen with a cone and I started fishing down the pool. All of a sudden I felt weight, and the fish turned and started heading downstream. It felt very heavy and Diego called it for a King salmon, but then it stopped and started slugging it out. The 13'3" rod shook with the headshakes, and after what seemed an eternity we finally caught a glimpse and realised it was a massive sea trout. After some nervous moments I finally managed to get it into the shallows where Diego was able to tail it, and then reality started to sink in - it was huge! Diego didn't have any scales with him, so we took accurate measurements and and it was 99cm with a girth of 53cm. We had to wait till we got back to the lodge to finally confirm the weight - 25lbs and a fish of a lifetime.

After pictures and some video it was finally time to let the big girl continue her journey. An interesting thing we noted was the small size of the adipose fin - this indicated a young fish on probably it's first run up the river - incredible to believe that it was so big already, who knows how big it will become. The rest of the session was a bit of a blur, and we finished off back at Pecera where I had many bumps and hits, and caught an 8lber, a great finish to an outstanding day.

Back at the lodge we stayed up late celebrating with lots of Malbec and went to bed quite late - the days on the Rio Grande tend to be like that as the fishing in the middle of the day is no good, so normally the afternoon sessions finish at sunset which is around 10:30, and after a quick shower, dinner is at 11:30, with a few drinks afterwards. In the mornings breakfast is at 8am, and the midday siesta is a must!

The next day was wet and windy, but it didn't deter the fish, with a 12lber in the morning and a 7lber in the afternoon - but the river was clearly rising.

The next day the water was high but still yielded a lovely 14lb buck - this fish had quite a large adipose, so probably on it's second run up the river

That evening I was allowed to go down into the cellar and chose whatever bottle I wanted - a reward for the 25lber. Not being much up to speed with Malbecs, I asked the chef for his advice and we ended up with 3 different bottles and tried them all - I found one I preferred and many glasses later hit the sack

The last day arrived, and I managed to catch 2 more seatrout, bringing my tally for 4 days fishing to 8 seatrout, 6 over 10bls - a great result for the time of the year

 

And with that my seatrout experience was over, and I can't thank Diego enough for his help in setting up the trip, and his excellent guiding and advice on the river. The next morning I bade farewell to Diego and all the wonderful lodge staff and headed back to Ushuaia, where I boarded my flight to El Calafate - the giant rainbows of Lago Strobel were waiting for me.

Argentina 2018 - Part 1: Golden Dorados

Back in 2011, as part of my 40th birthday fishing trip, I spent 2 weeks in Argentina. I chased Dorado in Salta, trout in Junin and Sea Trout on the Rio Grande - this was written up in an article I had published by The Flyfisher - a great Australian flyfishing magazine unfortunately no longer published. It was a good trip but I had some unfinished business, especially with the Dorado - on that trip I was meant to fish the Rio Dorado but it wasn't accessible due to heavy rains.

So with that in mind and a break from work, I got in touch with Tommo Baxter to see if there was any availability in late November. Tommo used to work in a fishing shop owned by a friend of mine in Australia, and after marrying an Argentinean had moved to Salta and started guiding for Juramento Fly Fishing - the same outfit I fished for back in 2011. Tommo confirmed a 3 day slot was available to fish the Rio Dorado so after pencilling that in I started building the rest of the trip.

Diego Castillo was the lodge manager at Aurelia lodge on the Rio Grande back in 2011, and after fishing together we have stayed in touch and been plotting my return to fish the Rio Grande. He is now the lodge manager at World's End Lodge on the Rio Irigoyen, and a Tierra del Fuego local. Early December is normally not a fishing season on the Rio Grande, the season starts at the beginning of November but mainly locals fish the river, with all the lodges opening at the end of December. However the recent increase in early season runs of King Salmon, as well as sea trout being in the river as well meant that Diego was able to secure me a 5 day slot at Estancia Maria Behety, the largest and best section of the lower and middle reaches of the Rio Grande - where the vast majority of sea trout are caught every year.

The last piece of the puzzle was to finally fish the famous Lago Strobel - home of the largest number of giant rainbow trout in the world. Stories abound of huge numbers of prodigiously fat rainbows in the lake, gorging on daphnia and scuds and growing huge, as well as crowding the only inflow to the lake during early and late season - the Rio Barrancoso. Diego managed to get me a 3 day slot at Estancia Laguna Verde, the premier lodge on the lake and with that the fishing part of the trip was complete. Internal flights were booked easily online with Aerolineas Argentinas and then the preparations started, especially tying Dorado flies - on my previous trip I went through lots of flies snagged and lost whilst drifting down the river, and even though I planned to fish the Rio Dorado, not the Juramento, best to be prepared.

The day of departure arrived, and I flew from Johannesburg to Sao Paolo, and with a very short connection I was met and escorted to the next flight - I began to worry about my bag but on arrival in Buenos Aires it was there and then off to the airport Holiday Inn for a few hours of shut-eye before the early morning flight to Salta. I set my alarm and when I woke up there was an email from Aerolineas saying my 6:40 flight was delayed to 8:20 - back to sleep and then off to the airport with the later shuttle. Upon arriving at the airport I was met by a bizarre scene - huge queues of people and no-one at the check-in counters! It turned out to be a strike, which should have ended at midnight the day before but was obviously carrying on - no-one really knew much but apparently it was going to end at 7am. Everyone was calm and quiet, the queue spilling out the door of the terminal, and at 7am the AA workers walked back in to applause... To demonstrate that check-in can be quick and efficient, they managed to clear the queue in a bit more than an hour and my flight eventually took off at 9am!!!

In Salta I was met by Jose, my guide for the next few days. We drove for 2 hours to El Tunal and after quickly getting changed we headed to the Rio Juramento for an afternoon drift.The put in point is a fairly short drive, ad I was pleased to see the rafts are gone and have been replaced by drift boats - a much better way to fish, both for the angler and for the guide. We drifted down the river, casting at and structure near the banks, especially in front and behind logjams and trees. I managed to catch one nice Dorado and lost a much bigger one that spat out the hook near the boat, but good to get off the mark.

Towards the end of the drift dark clouds started to build in the distance, with lightning and thunder, and once back at the accommodation the storm hit and it rained, and rained, and rained. Things were not looking great for the Rio Dorado, so the plan was to wait for news from the lodge there before heading off. I went to sleep to the constant sound of rain, and in the morning it was confirmed that the Rio Dorado had blown out, and that the guides and anglers there were bailing out - it took them a long time to negotiate the muddy tracks. So we headed off to fish another section of the Juramento, but whilst driving there we crossed a bridge over a side stream - the stream was always dry, but not today - high and chocolate coloured meant a change of plan and back to the dam to fish the top beat, the only fishable section. It proved to be a tough day, a few hits and a couple of smaller Dorado in the 3kg range landed.

The next day it still didn't look any better, only the top section fishable so for the 3rd day in a row we set off. The water was still in good condition, however the fish were completely shut down, until we drifted into a big bend with a huge cliff on one bank. I put my cast under the overhanging bushes, let the red and black Andino deceiver sink and started the retrieve - all of a sudden not one but two giant Dorados appeared behind the fly and one of them ate it and it was on. Jose started frantically rowing to the other bank, but the big Dorado had other ideas, jumps, head shakes and lunges. In the middle of the river there was a large weedbed and when we got close Jose warned me that the Dorado would not be keen on crossing it. Sure enough the fish turned and raced off, I felt the wire trace click in it's mouth. I held on and found a gap in the weeds to get it through and we kept on heading to the bank - the river was about 40m wide but it felt like 400m! We finally got to the other bank, and Jose jumped off and secured the boat, and then jumped into the water to land the fish. No net, and no beach to ease it on meant Jose was in 50cm of current trying to grab the tail of my Dorado. after a few attempts he finally grabbed the big girl, what a relief! Now it was my turn to jump into the water for a picture, and that proved nerve wracking as she kept on slipping out of my hands - the tail wrist was too big to get a proper grip. But finally I managed to hold for pictures, and shortly after Tommo arrived to help and take more pictures

We put the big girl (all Dorados over 5kg are female) in a sling and weighed here - 9.2kg so over 20lbs. I was elated, and for the rest of the day had a big smile on my face. I had no more strikes that day, but that's dorado fishing, one strike only in a day but it can turn out to be an epic fish. That evening a fantastic day was capped of with a superb asado and lots of wine and beer.

Next morning the Rio Dorado still wasn't accessible, but we managed to fish another beat further downstream. This section was more productive, I managed to land 8 Dorados, nothing big but good to get some action.

My last day in Salta arrived, and Tommo and I set off to try our luck on the Rio Dorado - there had been no more rain so hopefully the Rio was going to be fishable. We drove 2 hours to the San Fernando lodge, then a 30 minute quad bike ride had us finally on the river. It was still slightly clouded but definitely fishable so we walked downstream to the first pool. I covered the pool with casts with no luck, so we carried on. On the third pool I fished it finally happened - as the fly swung close to a submerged log we saw a big wake and I was on, the Dorado jumping and leaping in the narrow stream. I pulled hard on the 6 weight and we finally beached it,and the scales said 12lbs - at last a fish from the Rio Dorado. We took a bunch of pictures, and let the Dorado swim away happy - another female.

The size of fish in such a small river really makes the Rio Dorado a special place - and I was content. We then tied on a mouse fly and tried a clearer side stream, but more clouds and thunder and lightening were approaching, and the heavens opened up and it started to pour - a proper tropical jungle downpour. Tommo waited a bit and then gave the news - let's get out of here mate whilst we can. So we hiked back to the quad bikes and by then the road was a river. It was adventurous to saw the least but we made it back to the lodge, and after a quick change of clothes jumped in the 4WD and started heading back to El Tunal. In the end I fished the Rio Dorado for 1 hour, but caught another epic fish - I'll be back!!!

The next day was transfer day, Ale gave me a lift to Salta and I flew to Ushuaia via Cordoba. In Ushuaia Diego was waiting for me and we drove to the lodge for the start of the next part of my fishing trip