After a long and uneventful trip of +20 hours I arrived home this morning (Tuesday) at 11:30. It was great to step off the plane and smell that fresh island air... even though somewhat damp and cool...
I have (I hope) created a Web Album of some of the photos I took which you can find if you so choose at http://picasaweb.google.com/tyr5515/Argentina?authkey=Ac6a-ZBYRyo#. Hope it works.
All in all, an amazing trip... I feel very fortunate indeed to have had the opportunity to see and experience a tiny taste of Argentina... Patagonia was very special and the fly fishing incredible. Can't wait to go back.
Thanks for reading.
Tuesday, November 25, 2008
Sunday, November 23, 2008
Back in Buenos Aires
I flew back to Buenos Aires yesterday afternoon, after Gustavo drove me out to see the Andes Outfitters' new lodge that is under construction about 17 km out of Junin along the upper reaches of Rio Chimehuin. A bit out-in-the-middle-of-nowhere but with great views of both the river and Lunin volcano. They've got a ways to go in the construction but hope to be open in January. It looks like it'll be nice, with 4 double rooms and a couple of lounges overlooking the river.
Last night I was beat so just got room service and stayed in and read. Today I visited La Boca district, the bohemian section of B.A., where the buildings are painted gaudy colours and often decorated with grotesques of many shapes and sizes. You have to see the pictures. On Sundays (maybe other days too?) there is an open air market and the outdoor cafes are filled with people. There were tango demos and an Indian band making its way through the streets (much like in St Kitts during Jouvert... playing the same march, I think). Interesting place to spend an hour or two.
After that I grabbed a taxi to the Museo de Arte Moderno but it appeared to be under construction... no mention of this on the website. Anyway it turned out to be another interesting neighbourhood and after grabbing a bite to eat I walked many blocks down Calle Defensa which was also lined with stalls selling all manner of goods, new and used, and crowded with people. There was also lots of street music along the way... several bands of young musicians playing what I think is tango music and made up of violins, keyboard, guitar, and usually 3 or 4 accordians. Also solo guitarist/singers. Also quite a number of mimes (the ones completely painted to look like a statue. Very popular gig, it seems).
I then took the subway out to an area where leather goods outlets are located (and the best deals supposed to be found) but discovered them closed, again in spite of what it said on the website. (What's the world coming to when you can't trust the internet, eh?)
I haven't decided whether I'll have the energy to try to take in some tango tonight. It's not a high priority personally, though everyone says it's a must-see. Might wait until I have some company to see it with. I've had just the slightest taste of Buenos Aires... not even an appetiser really... it's an immense city with many distinct neighbourhoods and much to see. But the main course will have to wait for another trip. I look forward to it... it feels like a safe and friendly place...
I tried to upload some pics to a web album but the internet connection here seems to be too slow. So that will have to wait until I'm home.
I'm on my way tomorrow afternoon.
Last night I was beat so just got room service and stayed in and read. Today I visited La Boca district, the bohemian section of B.A., where the buildings are painted gaudy colours and often decorated with grotesques of many shapes and sizes. You have to see the pictures. On Sundays (maybe other days too?) there is an open air market and the outdoor cafes are filled with people. There were tango demos and an Indian band making its way through the streets (much like in St Kitts during Jouvert... playing the same march, I think). Interesting place to spend an hour or two.
After that I grabbed a taxi to the Museo de Arte Moderno but it appeared to be under construction... no mention of this on the website. Anyway it turned out to be another interesting neighbourhood and after grabbing a bite to eat I walked many blocks down Calle Defensa which was also lined with stalls selling all manner of goods, new and used, and crowded with people. There was also lots of street music along the way... several bands of young musicians playing what I think is tango music and made up of violins, keyboard, guitar, and usually 3 or 4 accordians. Also solo guitarist/singers. Also quite a number of mimes (the ones completely painted to look like a statue. Very popular gig, it seems).
I then took the subway out to an area where leather goods outlets are located (and the best deals supposed to be found) but discovered them closed, again in spite of what it said on the website. (What's the world coming to when you can't trust the internet, eh?)
I haven't decided whether I'll have the energy to try to take in some tango tonight. It's not a high priority personally, though everyone says it's a must-see. Might wait until I have some company to see it with. I've had just the slightest taste of Buenos Aires... not even an appetiser really... it's an immense city with many distinct neighbourhoods and much to see. But the main course will have to wait for another trip. I look forward to it... it feels like a safe and friendly place...
I tried to upload some pics to a web album but the internet connection here seems to be too slow. So that will have to wait until I'm home.
I'm on my way tomorrow afternoon.
Saturday, November 22, 2008
Friday, Rio Chimehuin
Friday, November 21
Rio Chimehuin
Today we drifted 40 km… 9:00am – 8:00pm… on the Chimehuin River for perhaps 30 km until it joined the Collon Cura and another 10 on that (we had drifted this section on Wednesday on the tail end of that drift). The Chimehuin is a smaller river (Cowichan-size), very narrow in spots and very fast. Fishing is to the bank with short casts, a couple of quick retrieves and back again. Much of the bank is lined with willows. The fishing is tough but it’s a fun drift, almost a combination of drift fishing and river rafting as there is some good lumpy water, with 3-4’ standing waves… nothing dangerous but good fun. It runs through another beautiful valley, most of it seeming to belong to one huge ranch (estanza?). We saw deer (there are 1000s of them here, they graze in herds of 50 – 100 amongst the cattle and horses along the highway), and, more interesting, a great big wild boar running along a narrow path on a cliff above us.
Of course, there are back eddies and side channels here and there along the Chimehuin as well and that’s where we had the most fun, casting small dry flies to rising trout. Though we didn’t catch as many fish as we did on Wednesday, we still had a very productive day, with more than half on the dry. (Mike, you would have been proud of me… I got my first fish ever on a classic “Burr creep”… we slithered across a sand bar on our bellies and I cast lying prone to a 1.5lb ‘bow in a crystal clear side channel. It was great.) You certainly can’t beat sight-casting to rising fish. My #3 rod has been perfect for this trip.
The wind began to pick up by about 11:00am and continued to increase in intensity all day. Some clouds rolled in late in the afternoon and it became quite cool. The wind must have been gusting to 35-40km/hr at times, making for some tough casting, but Gustavo is a terrific guide and knows the river so well he could always find places where I could get a fly out there. We had to haul-ass in the late afternoon in order to make it to the pullout before dark; there were sections when the wind was so strong that we didn’t bother to fish.
So it’s all over but the lyin’… ha, ha, ha… Tomorrow it’s back to Buenos Aires to try to gather the energy to be a tourist for a couple of days. Then the long journey home. It’s been a really fantastic trip. I definitely want to come back to Patagonia. The country is beautiful, the people warm and friendly, the food terrific, and hey, the fishing is pretty good, too. It’s a very special place. And so uncrowded… at least at this time of year. Uncrowded and unspoiled… how long can it last?
Rio Chimehuin
Today we drifted 40 km… 9:00am – 8:00pm… on the Chimehuin River for perhaps 30 km until it joined the Collon Cura and another 10 on that (we had drifted this section on Wednesday on the tail end of that drift). The Chimehuin is a smaller river (Cowichan-size), very narrow in spots and very fast. Fishing is to the bank with short casts, a couple of quick retrieves and back again. Much of the bank is lined with willows. The fishing is tough but it’s a fun drift, almost a combination of drift fishing and river rafting as there is some good lumpy water, with 3-4’ standing waves… nothing dangerous but good fun. It runs through another beautiful valley, most of it seeming to belong to one huge ranch (estanza?). We saw deer (there are 1000s of them here, they graze in herds of 50 – 100 amongst the cattle and horses along the highway), and, more interesting, a great big wild boar running along a narrow path on a cliff above us.
Of course, there are back eddies and side channels here and there along the Chimehuin as well and that’s where we had the most fun, casting small dry flies to rising trout. Though we didn’t catch as many fish as we did on Wednesday, we still had a very productive day, with more than half on the dry. (Mike, you would have been proud of me… I got my first fish ever on a classic “Burr creep”… we slithered across a sand bar on our bellies and I cast lying prone to a 1.5lb ‘bow in a crystal clear side channel. It was great.) You certainly can’t beat sight-casting to rising fish. My #3 rod has been perfect for this trip.
The wind began to pick up by about 11:00am and continued to increase in intensity all day. Some clouds rolled in late in the afternoon and it became quite cool. The wind must have been gusting to 35-40km/hr at times, making for some tough casting, but Gustavo is a terrific guide and knows the river so well he could always find places where I could get a fly out there. We had to haul-ass in the late afternoon in order to make it to the pullout before dark; there were sections when the wind was so strong that we didn’t bother to fish.
So it’s all over but the lyin’… ha, ha, ha… Tomorrow it’s back to Buenos Aires to try to gather the energy to be a tourist for a couple of days. Then the long journey home. It’s been a really fantastic trip. I definitely want to come back to Patagonia. The country is beautiful, the people warm and friendly, the food terrific, and hey, the fishing is pretty good, too. It’s a very special place. And so uncrowded… at least at this time of year. Uncrowded and unspoiled… how long can it last?
Thursday, November 20, 2008
Thursday, Lac Tromen, Lanin National Park
Thursday, November 20, 2008
Lac Tromen in Lanin National Park
Today we fished Lac Tromen, a large lake at the foot of the volcano Lanin, right on the border with Chile (67 km from Junin). Spectacular country with the +10,000 ft snowcapped peak of the volcano (long dormant) dominating most vistas. When we arrived at the foot of the volcano, we were surprised to find the road to the lake (a dirt trail really) closed as a grader was working on it. Gustavo spoke to the people in the park office and was told the grader should be finished by noon, so he and I walked in to fish from the shoreline, while his driver Jose waited for the road to reopen. It was a pleasant 3 km walk through quite dense mixed forest of native evergreen, with lots of bamboo in the undergrowth. We met the grader about 2/3 of the way along… he seemed to be doing more harm than good to the road.
Lac Tromen is known for big rainbow, browns and brookies, but also known for wind, lots of wind. Today was calm in Junin and we had high hopes for similar conditions at the lake. But even as we got out of the truck at the park headquarters, the trees began to dance. By the time we reached the lake, it was blowing pretty good, perhaps 18-20km/hr. I caught a nice rainbow right where a small stream entered the lake. But as we fished our way along the shoreline, the wind became a real headache. We were about to give in to it when we noticed that Jose had driven into the parking lot. In spite of the growing wind and waves, Gustavo was happy to launch the raft and head out to fish the shoreline in the opposite direction, where there was some protection from the blow.
We fished perhaps a km along the shoreline into the wind, using the #5 and my Teeny 300 line to get down… we were fishing right along the edge of the drop-off that varied from 10 to 50 m from the shore. We fished until we hit a point beyond which we would be completely exposed to the wind which had continued to build in strength and must have been gusting to +30 knots. In an hour and a half or so, I landed 10 – 12 rainbow, all 3+ lbs, the biggest perhaps 5.5. Nice bright fish and strong. Gustavo was a bit disappointed that we didn’t get either browns or brookies, but me not so much… The ‘bows were all quality hard-fighting fish with several great leapers.
We surfed our way back to the pullout in record time, not really fishing at all. We enjoyed a nice lunch on the beach in a sunny but sheltered area, folding camp chairs and table, empanadas, roast chicken, cheese, beer… very nice indeed. I told Gustavo I’d caught enough fish for today and given the conditions, he reluctantly agreed. So we packed up and headed home about 4:30. Siesta time for me!
Tomorrow we’re scheduled to fish the Rio Chimehuin (Chimmywin), a crystal-clear stream that passes right by the outskirts of Junin, though we will fish downstream from there. This is a smaller stream but apparently has lots of good fish. We’ll soon see.
Lac Tromen in Lanin National Park
Today we fished Lac Tromen, a large lake at the foot of the volcano Lanin, right on the border with Chile (67 km from Junin). Spectacular country with the +10,000 ft snowcapped peak of the volcano (long dormant) dominating most vistas. When we arrived at the foot of the volcano, we were surprised to find the road to the lake (a dirt trail really) closed as a grader was working on it. Gustavo spoke to the people in the park office and was told the grader should be finished by noon, so he and I walked in to fish from the shoreline, while his driver Jose waited for the road to reopen. It was a pleasant 3 km walk through quite dense mixed forest of native evergreen, with lots of bamboo in the undergrowth. We met the grader about 2/3 of the way along… he seemed to be doing more harm than good to the road.
Lac Tromen is known for big rainbow, browns and brookies, but also known for wind, lots of wind. Today was calm in Junin and we had high hopes for similar conditions at the lake. But even as we got out of the truck at the park headquarters, the trees began to dance. By the time we reached the lake, it was blowing pretty good, perhaps 18-20km/hr. I caught a nice rainbow right where a small stream entered the lake. But as we fished our way along the shoreline, the wind became a real headache. We were about to give in to it when we noticed that Jose had driven into the parking lot. In spite of the growing wind and waves, Gustavo was happy to launch the raft and head out to fish the shoreline in the opposite direction, where there was some protection from the blow.
We fished perhaps a km along the shoreline into the wind, using the #5 and my Teeny 300 line to get down… we were fishing right along the edge of the drop-off that varied from 10 to 50 m from the shore. We fished until we hit a point beyond which we would be completely exposed to the wind which had continued to build in strength and must have been gusting to +30 knots. In an hour and a half or so, I landed 10 – 12 rainbow, all 3+ lbs, the biggest perhaps 5.5. Nice bright fish and strong. Gustavo was a bit disappointed that we didn’t get either browns or brookies, but me not so much… The ‘bows were all quality hard-fighting fish with several great leapers.
We surfed our way back to the pullout in record time, not really fishing at all. We enjoyed a nice lunch on the beach in a sunny but sheltered area, folding camp chairs and table, empanadas, roast chicken, cheese, beer… very nice indeed. I told Gustavo I’d caught enough fish for today and given the conditions, he reluctantly agreed. So we packed up and headed home about 4:30. Siesta time for me!
Tomorrow we’re scheduled to fish the Rio Chimehuin (Chimmywin), a crystal-clear stream that passes right by the outskirts of Junin, though we will fish downstream from there. This is a smaller stream but apparently has lots of good fish. We’ll soon see.
Wednesday, November 19, 2008
From the Juramento to Patagonia
Monday
Last day on the Juramento
We set out for a shorter drift today because I have to catch a plane back to B.A. at 8:15 tonight. We planned to be off the water around 3:00pm, giving me enough time to shower and change before we set out on the drive back to Salta.
Today it was just Emiliano and I and once again the fishing was tough. I hooked and very quickly lost a big fish (8kg) and Emi had one strike but didn’t hook up while I took a break. It was a blistering hot day with not too much wind. Pleasant enough. Dorado a tough to hook; their mouths are very hard, especially as they get older. But they sure are pretty and when they strike, they hit like a ton of bricks… what I would call a violent take… very exciting…
Anyway that was it for golden Dorado… one fish landed, four hooked, 3 of good size… Bob’s your uncle…
Alex picked us up just after 3 and all went according to plan in terms of getting to the airport. But man was I beat… my right arm about to drop off and I’d obviously had way too much sunshine. Flight to B.A. was uneventful except that it was 11:30 by the time we landed and 12:15 by the time I was at the Claridge. Luckily I got a room with a bath because the first thing I had to do was soak my arm, shoulder and hand which had all pretty much seized up. Throwing those big flies all day… and I mean all day with no breaks except for lunch… obviously the guides want you to catch fish, so it’s “cast left, cast right…” nonstop.
Tuesday
With less than 5 hours sleep I was up at 6 this morning to catch a 7:55 flight to Bariloche, followed by a 3+ hour drive up to Junín de los Andes (I thought I was going to San Martin but it turns out the hotel they use is here…the two towns are 30 km apart) The hired a taxi to bring me up and the driver had no English, so I was able to catch a bit of shut-eye. He also never drove more than 80km/hr, which was great during the scenic bits but wore a little thin after awhile. I think it was all about getting the best mileage out of his VW Polo. I got a few photos… as soon as I lifted my camera the driver would slow right down… very helpful… luckily there is very little traffic at this time of year. Amazingly little.
Gustavo met me at the door of the hotel. A very pleasant fellow, 40-ish, big, who works as a fishing guide, rafting guide and sometimes system analyst (which is what he used to do fulltime until he got fed up. Junín is a lovely little town, quite Bavarian in architectural style.
I took half an hour to unpack and then after a quick lunch, we set off for the Malleo River, a 20 minute drive from town. This is a wade-only river. We fished a spectacularly beautiful quarter-km section. I landed six small trout, one brown, perhaps .5kg. And hooked into that many more, so it was an entertaining afternoon. I should have used my #3 rod rather than the #5, though. My major disappointment was that I didn’t take my camera (because we would be wading and I didn’t know how far we’d be from the truck). The weather was terrific, not so hot as up north but sunny and warm, t-shirt weather. And the view. Looking back upstream, the sunshine sparkling on the rippled water, then the typi8cal Patagonian jagged hills, with the snow-capped peak of Lunin, the volcano behind. Incredible… truly postcard stuff.
Home just after 7pm, cleanup and a quick snooze for me, then out to dinner with Gustavo. Very nice. Tomorrow we drift another river, so it’ll likely be along day. Can’t wait!
Wednesday
Rio Collon Cura
Patagonia is definitely trout country... this place is BC 50 or maybe 100 years ago… Today we drifted Rio Collon Cura. We fished 10 hours and I honestly don’t believe we ever had 15 minutes between fish all day... lost count of the totals (hey, who's counting???) but it was amazing... mostly rainbows and a few brown trout... strong, hard fighting fish, at least half on the dry fly... Gustavo put me onto three 2 lbers at 7:45 pm when I thought we had finished and were within 50 m of the pull out … Man, does this guy like to fish, and row a raft…
For those of you who care (Mikey, Gordo, Don, Dave, etc.) the fish went 1lb to almost 5lbs (a beautiful brown taken on a streamer) but most were in the 2 – 3 lb range and hard fighting (river fish, eh). More than half were taken on drys sight-casting… we hard 2 rods hooked up all day and switched constantly depending on river conditions. I fished my #3 dry and the #5 wet… used only one streamer fly all day (actually 2 of the same pattern that Gustavo tied last night… a big wooly, bead-headed fly with white legs… killer… there were several hatches during the course of the day , so we fished small caddis… and it was nearly all casting to sighted fish…
Today was another beautiful day, all sunshine, all the time… and not much breeze… and the scenery spectacular again… this is a very special piece of dirt… and there’s no one here…
If the weather hold, we’ll fish a big lake tomorrow (that is unfishable if it blows) for large rainbows, brookies and browns… and then it’s another great rio on Friday… apparently very clear and technical, so the weakness in my casting abilities may start to show…
Got to go… it’s past midnight and another busy day tomorrow… when you don’t get in ‘til 8:30pm and eat at 10pm, it doesn’t leave a lot for time for blogging… this to explain redundancies, spelling errors, bad grammar and boring shit…
Last day on the Juramento
We set out for a shorter drift today because I have to catch a plane back to B.A. at 8:15 tonight. We planned to be off the water around 3:00pm, giving me enough time to shower and change before we set out on the drive back to Salta.
Today it was just Emiliano and I and once again the fishing was tough. I hooked and very quickly lost a big fish (8kg) and Emi had one strike but didn’t hook up while I took a break. It was a blistering hot day with not too much wind. Pleasant enough. Dorado a tough to hook; their mouths are very hard, especially as they get older. But they sure are pretty and when they strike, they hit like a ton of bricks… what I would call a violent take… very exciting…
Anyway that was it for golden Dorado… one fish landed, four hooked, 3 of good size… Bob’s your uncle…
Alex picked us up just after 3 and all went according to plan in terms of getting to the airport. But man was I beat… my right arm about to drop off and I’d obviously had way too much sunshine. Flight to B.A. was uneventful except that it was 11:30 by the time we landed and 12:15 by the time I was at the Claridge. Luckily I got a room with a bath because the first thing I had to do was soak my arm, shoulder and hand which had all pretty much seized up. Throwing those big flies all day… and I mean all day with no breaks except for lunch… obviously the guides want you to catch fish, so it’s “cast left, cast right…” nonstop.
Tuesday
With less than 5 hours sleep I was up at 6 this morning to catch a 7:55 flight to Bariloche, followed by a 3+ hour drive up to Junín de los Andes (I thought I was going to San Martin but it turns out the hotel they use is here…the two towns are 30 km apart) The hired a taxi to bring me up and the driver had no English, so I was able to catch a bit of shut-eye. He also never drove more than 80km/hr, which was great during the scenic bits but wore a little thin after awhile. I think it was all about getting the best mileage out of his VW Polo. I got a few photos… as soon as I lifted my camera the driver would slow right down… very helpful… luckily there is very little traffic at this time of year. Amazingly little.
Gustavo met me at the door of the hotel. A very pleasant fellow, 40-ish, big, who works as a fishing guide, rafting guide and sometimes system analyst (which is what he used to do fulltime until he got fed up. Junín is a lovely little town, quite Bavarian in architectural style.
I took half an hour to unpack and then after a quick lunch, we set off for the Malleo River, a 20 minute drive from town. This is a wade-only river. We fished a spectacularly beautiful quarter-km section. I landed six small trout, one brown, perhaps .5kg. And hooked into that many more, so it was an entertaining afternoon. I should have used my #3 rod rather than the #5, though. My major disappointment was that I didn’t take my camera (because we would be wading and I didn’t know how far we’d be from the truck). The weather was terrific, not so hot as up north but sunny and warm, t-shirt weather. And the view. Looking back upstream, the sunshine sparkling on the rippled water, then the typi8cal Patagonian jagged hills, with the snow-capped peak of Lunin, the volcano behind. Incredible… truly postcard stuff.
Home just after 7pm, cleanup and a quick snooze for me, then out to dinner with Gustavo. Very nice. Tomorrow we drift another river, so it’ll likely be along day. Can’t wait!
Wednesday
Rio Collon Cura
Patagonia is definitely trout country... this place is BC 50 or maybe 100 years ago… Today we drifted Rio Collon Cura. We fished 10 hours and I honestly don’t believe we ever had 15 minutes between fish all day... lost count of the totals (hey, who's counting???) but it was amazing... mostly rainbows and a few brown trout... strong, hard fighting fish, at least half on the dry fly... Gustavo put me onto three 2 lbers at 7:45 pm when I thought we had finished and were within 50 m of the pull out … Man, does this guy like to fish, and row a raft…
For those of you who care (Mikey, Gordo, Don, Dave, etc.) the fish went 1lb to almost 5lbs (a beautiful brown taken on a streamer) but most were in the 2 – 3 lb range and hard fighting (river fish, eh). More than half were taken on drys sight-casting… we hard 2 rods hooked up all day and switched constantly depending on river conditions. I fished my #3 dry and the #5 wet… used only one streamer fly all day (actually 2 of the same pattern that Gustavo tied last night… a big wooly, bead-headed fly with white legs… killer… there were several hatches during the course of the day , so we fished small caddis… and it was nearly all casting to sighted fish…
Today was another beautiful day, all sunshine, all the time… and not much breeze… and the scenery spectacular again… this is a very special piece of dirt… and there’s no one here…
If the weather hold, we’ll fish a big lake tomorrow (that is unfishable if it blows) for large rainbows, brookies and browns… and then it’s another great rio on Friday… apparently very clear and technical, so the weakness in my casting abilities may start to show…
Got to go… it’s past midnight and another busy day tomorrow… when you don’t get in ‘til 8:30pm and eat at 10pm, it doesn’t leave a lot for time for blogging… this to explain redundancies, spelling errors, bad grammar and boring shit…
Sunday, November 16, 2008
Day 2 on the Juramento River
Sunday, November 16, 2008
J. V.
Day 2 on the
After a wonderful meal at a small village restaurant last night and my first good night’s sleep in 3 days, Alex picked me up this morning at 8:30 and we headed for the river. Once there we met the guides and the other “sport,” Aldo Boucher, an Argentinian from nearby
We must have drifted more than 20 km today…must remember to check tomorrow. If we drifted 15 yesterday (as Alex told me), we did at least 25 today. But it was a very different day than yesterday. I had 2 touches, no hookups, Aldo caught a 6 lb fish very late in the day (about 6:15pm), the second of Alex’s rafts (Jose, etc) got 2 strikes; another raft that pulled out at the same spot we did caught one fish (5 kg) early in the day and had nothing else. ( I was quite amazed at what Aldo went through for this fish {small by dorado standards]... he had Emi take both pics and video, hung it from a "lip vice" for more than 5 minutes and seemed completely unconcerned for the well beinbg fo the fish... quite weird... differnt standards of "consevation" than we're used to, that's for sure)
Today was bright sunshine… I’ve got the sunburned casting hand to prove it… yesterday was cloudy. We covered a lot of great water and threw a lot of flies…. My right arm feels like it wants to fall off… it'll take Ibeprofin (sp) to get me through tomorrow, I’m sure. But as they say, “a day on the river beats most anything else anyway.” Dorado fish resembles atlantic salmon fishing in that it is cast, cast, cast, and cast again… and it’s a longer day… 10.5 hours today. Longer day, more casts… And talk about going through flies… you’re constantly casting as close to the shore as possible and the shoreline (and lots of other places in the river) is lined with snags, debris, etc. And once you're downstream of the fly in an inflatible raft, it's almost impossible for the guide to get you back to the snag... well, not impossible but it seems to be a one-in-five proposition... I’ve been through more than a dozen, perhaps 15 flies (not sure if they are part of the deal… though it doesn’t matter as I’ll either pay for them or add to the tip).
Anyway, long day, good day, in spite of no fish, but it’s now almost 9:30pm and I just finished dinner at the gas station next door to my hotel. The restaurant I ate in last.night is closed (Sunday) but the owner (and her 3 yr old grandson) escorted me over here (this is also where the internet hookup is) and arranged for my meal to be taknen care of. Very gracious people...
Now I've got to go and fall into bed, dream of golden dorado smacking a large bright fly and hope to wake in less pain than I am now...
Tomorrow we'll fish until about 3:00pm and then I'll get a stopover at Alex's house to shower and change. Then it's off to Salta (2 hours) and an 8:15 flight to B.A. for another short sleep before I head to Patagonia. Am I too old for this? Definitely not, but it'd be slightly less wearing if I was a a bit more of a pup...
Saturday, November 15, 2008
Day One on the Juramento River
I got up at 5 this morning for my 7am flight to Salta. Everything went well except for the fact that we hit a good deal of turbulence and they stopped serving breakfast before they got to row 13 (guess who). There's an hour of time change between B.A. and Salta, so I arrived at 8:15 and was met by my host, Alex, and his sidekick. The bought me a quick breakfast at a gas station cafe before we set off on the 2-hour drive to the river. The weather was lovely in Salta but deteriorated as we drove south and east. By the time we got to Alex's house in a very small village it was completely overcast, looking like rian, and the wind was howling. We decide to wait a bit, have lunch and then look-see. I took the opportunity to have a nap, having managed 4 hours sleep last night and not a whole lot more the night before (airplane sleep at that!)
Alex woke me at 12:30 and we had alovely home-made lunch... a local meat pastry with chili sauce, two salads and a roast beef sannie... not fancy but very good. After lunch we loaded up the truck/boat (14' inflatible raft with rowing frame and good casting seats for and aft) and set off for the Juramento about a km from Alex's house. The wind had not let up appreciably...
We launched just below a bridge and set off, the "sport" (me) in the bow seat, Emilio (SP???) on the oars (his english not as good as Alex's but ok) and (??? can't remember his name but let's call him Joe) in the aft seat. The Juramento flows through a broad, very flat valley, averages only about 100-150 feet wide, much less in spots (Cowichan-size), but today had a very swift water flow (the Cow at high water). The brush grows right to the bank and there is a lot of debris in the river. It's not particularly picturesque but any river with agood flow is pretty enough, right? The trick with fishing for golden dorado is to cast right to the bank, do asmall upstream mend and they retrive line in rather long pulls (as opposed to the short retrieves you might do for trout). And it seems to be all about cast, cast, cast... remind anyone of the Miramichi?) And when I say up against the bank, I mean within a foot or two, closer if possible. Great way to lose flies, I can tell you. And these are 4" flies not dissimilar to our coho streamers, just more brightly coloured.
Anyway, before I let this go on too long... and run out of battery life (I'm at a gas staqtion next door to the "hostal" I'm staying at [really what we would call a motel... clean, quite new and with lots of hot water] and on my way 3 blocks of the street to the restaurant owned by the same people)... about one hour in a hooked and landed a 5-6 lb. dorado on my #8 rod. Lots of aerials and a good fight... quite comjparable to a steelhead except probably more time out of the water. They really like to jump. We went ashore for the finaly fight and got some pics (later). It was great to get the stink off so quickly. Not too long thereafter I hooked one that went close to 15 lbs and seemed well hooked until he got a good ways down-river from us and we were hung up on some brush and he jumped and spit the hook. Bit of an adrenaline rush, that one. He jumped 5 or 6 times in the 90 seconds he was hooked. Too much fun! An hour later I hooked and lost another of a similar size. This time I didn't really set the hook well enough and he was only on momentarily. Still the excitement was fun.
That was it for day one. We drifted about 15 km, got off the water just after 6:00pm. Good enough for a half days fishing. Can't wait for tomorrow. Now headed for dinner and then straight hoem to bed.
More good news to follow... I hope... apologies for the ytpos but I'm just too tired to go back and proof this tonight.
Happy trails to all.
Bob
Alex woke me at 12:30 and we had alovely home-made lunch... a local meat pastry with chili sauce, two salads and a roast beef sannie... not fancy but very good. After lunch we loaded up the truck/boat (14' inflatible raft with rowing frame and good casting seats for and aft) and set off for the Juramento about a km from Alex's house. The wind had not let up appreciably...
We launched just below a bridge and set off, the "sport" (me) in the bow seat, Emilio (SP???) on the oars (his english not as good as Alex's but ok) and (??? can't remember his name but let's call him Joe) in the aft seat. The Juramento flows through a broad, very flat valley, averages only about 100-150 feet wide, much less in spots (Cowichan-size), but today had a very swift water flow (the Cow at high water). The brush grows right to the bank and there is a lot of debris in the river. It's not particularly picturesque but any river with agood flow is pretty enough, right? The trick with fishing for golden dorado is to cast right to the bank, do asmall upstream mend and they retrive line in rather long pulls (as opposed to the short retrieves you might do for trout). And it seems to be all about cast, cast, cast... remind anyone of the Miramichi?) And when I say up against the bank, I mean within a foot or two, closer if possible. Great way to lose flies, I can tell you. And these are 4" flies not dissimilar to our coho streamers, just more brightly coloured.
Anyway, before I let this go on too long... and run out of battery life (I'm at a gas staqtion next door to the "hostal" I'm staying at [really what we would call a motel... clean, quite new and with lots of hot water] and on my way 3 blocks of the street to the restaurant owned by the same people)... about one hour in a hooked and landed a 5-6 lb. dorado on my #8 rod. Lots of aerials and a good fight... quite comjparable to a steelhead except probably more time out of the water. They really like to jump. We went ashore for the finaly fight and got some pics (later). It was great to get the stink off so quickly. Not too long thereafter I hooked one that went close to 15 lbs and seemed well hooked until he got a good ways down-river from us and we were hung up on some brush and he jumped and spit the hook. Bit of an adrenaline rush, that one. He jumped 5 or 6 times in the 90 seconds he was hooked. Too much fun! An hour later I hooked and lost another of a similar size. This time I didn't really set the hook well enough and he was only on momentarily. Still the excitement was fun.
That was it for day one. We drifted about 15 km, got off the water just after 6:00pm. Good enough for a half days fishing. Can't wait for tomorrow. Now headed for dinner and then straight hoem to bed.
More good news to follow... I hope... apologies for the ytpos but I'm just too tired to go back and proof this tonight.
Happy trails to all.
Bob
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