Argentina Video

The crew was my dearest friend Miguel Sanchez and Matias Picapietra both born and raised in Bariloche, Argentina and incredible fly fishermen and fly fishing guides. Then you have Gustavo Morales and Wilfredo (homero) Yaconis and our workhorse Pepe from the south of Argentina. We met up in search of fresh native and wild trout in the most precious lakes still left relatively untouched by man due to the difficult measures it requires to access them. One must have four wheel drive or chains on there tires to cross windy dirt roads with massive deep ravines with snowmelt streams ripping through them on very dramatic declines. Also it is very dangerous tailering a boat which is critical to access the campground where we were going. There are no cell towers just stars and incredibly strong fighting trout. We brought in all the necessities we needed; lots of wine, cigars and Argentine beef. We started out each day towing the drift boat behind the power boat. We would seek out the honey holes and then break into two teams ready to catch one beautiful specimen after the other; fresh chromed rainbows, vibrant big brook trout and prized golden brown trout. It is very important to focus your eyes and ears on what they call here Arroyosos which are glacial snowmelt streams trickiling into the lakes which create underwater streams full of oxygen and food supplies. It is here that one can find big fish coming out of the lake in search of food and relatively close to shore. In the Spring the water is cold so you have to be patient and make sure you allow enough time to let the fly get down while still maintaining good line control and tension. We used heavier shooting heads and big monster flies to attract the trout. Generally speaking, fast stripping and creating fast action on the flies worked well for the rainbow trout. Whereas, for the brook trout and brown trout we would cast way up from the drift boat letting the fly sink as much as possible and strip very slow with longer motions and when they hit it was like you locked horns with the titanic. The rainbows would leap to break free, and the brookies and browns just maintained their ground. We would fish early, (not too early) and then in the late afternoon row along the shoreline trying to maintain a constant drift while casting as close to the shore as possible. The key difference in my eyes was the time you aloud the flies to sink. If your fly was not getting deep enough, you really were almost out of the game. Summer here can be just as effective with dries (ie dragonflies and big terrestrial patterns). The rods we used were longer blanks 10.5 which cast easier and helped to keep the tip out of the oars way while rowing to maintain a more consistent drift. The flies I tied were big gnarly olive buggers and massive black, yellow and red zonkers loaded up with lead. It truly was amazing to see these flies in the mouths of fish and not on my wall. Here in Argentina we are blessed with incredible mountains covered with fresh snow and crystal gin clear lakes. The weather was perfect spring time fly fishing weather and I even slept under the stars for four nights next to the fire and was in heaven. We cooked huge asados, drank mate and lived like Kings. We all worked together as a team, and its amazing what happens when you fish with great fly fisherman. So thank you from my heart Miguel for sharing your backyard with me, I am still dreaming about it now. To top it all off the last day I got to fish my favorite river, the Rio Limay. I fished it with Matias Picapietra whose daughter is named Limay. He taught me some single handed spey casting techniques and we caught an incredible jewel together, a rare native brown trout that definitely has never seen a fly in its lifetime. It was an incredible trip with my dearest friends. One can’t ask for anything more.