French Canadian Russian Split Week Group

Ladies and Gentlemen, the season here in Argentina is facing it’s annual end. A pity indeed, not only because the numbers of fish in the system is increasing as usually at the end of the season, It also a goodbye for a couple of months. Seatrout is one of fishing’s supreme challenges that gathers a certain type characters together in this magnificent place to fullfill the task of the impossible. Everyone a character itself it is this simple task of catching a seatrout that makes us travel half the globe to meet up here, in Las Buitreras, in Patagonia Austral or simply world’s end! Cheapau to all those highly spirited and accomplished anglers from all over the planet. This week’s group was truely a good example of our portfolio of fly fishign addicts. Once again, a split week (half week in Las Buitreras and the other 4 to 10 days all over or South-America program) it was Sylvain Garnon’s group of „frenchies“ (French Canadians) who joined us for that task at the first half of the week. Continuing their adventure at the world famous Jurassic Lake/Lago Strobl and rotating the next part of the group, simply known as „The Russians“ to Las Buitreras. A multilingual fish-feast!

And there we are again. Before entering the gates of the Jurassic Lake Estancia, our french-canadian team consisting out of Martial Bouchard, Carol Breton, Donald Pelletier, Pierre Picard, Louis Senechal, Sylvain Gagnon, Gilles and Roger Levesque, started their trip with some heavy wind and quite cold water.

Nevertheless they all got in contact with some Gallegos chrome. A run of spanking fresh mid size fish was filling up the pools slowly but consistently; hence it was a matter of time for them to be ambushed by our anglers.

Group leader Sylvain aka. Sly has proven to be a trustworth leader in the rumble of anadromous fish by providing both the biggest fish and the top rod of the first half of the week. In fact he has been so effective that he landed most of his fish all alone and without a guide. Good job!

Every single fish landed didn’t come undeserved, persitance was the key. As fishing was getting tensed, especially for seatrout first timers with the urge of landing some fish within two days, the great company during the siesta and non-fishing times was even more relaxed. Chango’s outdoor cuisine was argument enought!

Our four Russian friends who teamed up around Nikolay Risnic, shuffled the deck. The lodge was almost empty since only two guides were needed – custom fitted for these diehard anglers who picked Las Buitreras as their last stage right after Jurassic Lake and their starting point, Parana River for Golden Dorado. The so called Argentine Triple. After taking over the lodge and the actual schedule, they ruled the camp. Fishing became secondary over long lasting discussions about politics that ended with the first rays of light and another glorious morning. Quite something else and we enjoyed it a lot.

Water and Fishing

Last week’s flood has literally stired up some mud. Although the brownish tinch has vanished though out the week the hard facts were not quite as hostile as expected. In fact most of the fish have used this chance to run as far upstream as they could – undercover. The prosperous harvest-like forboding that has been descent upon our anglers just before the flood has reached our section has proven to be illusive. The good thing, the percentage of colored fish declined to pretty much zero. In other words, the flood has swept up all brown fish from our section and the river fas full of spanking fresh fish and it was getting better every day. The fall run was in full progress! The water conditions were tough though. Temperatures between 4 and 7 degress are an indicator for this week’s tactics: Slow and steady and rather classic. A generously tied and heavily weighted swung fly on a full contact swing seemed to be on this week’s menue. Oddly, all classic hot spots were producing fish – in every pool. Whereas low water tactics require much more adaption and much more efforts in terms of finding the actual hot spot despite the classic forms of structure, the occupation of the classic spots felt quite off shedule after a season of constant low water.

Fall Run

I want to lose a few words about the magnificent fall run that we are facing since the early days of this Operation. It is a common misconception that the early dates and months at the watershed of Las Buitreras are the very best. Despite the good numbers of big and angry colored fish at the end of the season, that resemble giant browntrouts in some cases, the fall run of spanking fresh chrome fish is one of the strongest ones here at Rio Gallegos. These circumstance are usually alinging with convenient waterlevels which are either normal or slightly higher but not low at all. The approach from a fishing-practical point of view is rather big flies than smaller ones, which are appropriate during low water periods. Of course, there’s always a hook or in this case not at all. Many angler really focus on the very first weeks of the season whereas the last weeks of April are usually sparsly occupied. Those guys have the time of their life, more than 52 named und plenty more unnamed pools just for them. The river, usually in good shape and most of all, happy fish. Even when the lodge is officially closed and the staff is preparing the mainhouse for the next season, the guides are staying a few more days to satisfy their urge for late season chrome. Around fifty fish up to 20,5lb amongst two of them in three and a half day of fishing, how does that sound?

Outro

I want to thank both the magnificent staff of Las Buitreras, who supported me thruout the season and of course our guest for doing me the favour and sharing their fish-of-a-lifetime-stories with me. Every day a delightfull task that filled me with pride of being surrounded by those kinded and very special people who have choosen to work hard for their trophy seatrout rather than just collecting them for their portfolio.

Stephan Dombaj
Camp Manager Las Buitrers
stephan@looptackle.de

• Fish Total: 63
• Top Rod: Sylvain (13 fish)
• Biggest Fish: Sylvain (20lb)
• Top Fly: Trinas Bugger and Vitamine C
• Top Pool: 75

FLOOD WEEK

The weather god must have gotten something wrong. As reported before, we were facing the driest January since decades, hence the entire season was influenced and dictated by a persistant low water level and we had to adjust our schedule to it. Silent prayers for rain and more water were apperantly saved up for THE flood rather than supplying us with a consistant decent amount of water. In other words, the expected flood came just as predicted…and it hit us full impact! Just in time and after the departure of our 2^nd shift group of last weeks combi, the water started to rise. And it didn’t stop rising. On wednesday, the waterlevel touched to 2m+ mark! That means, it came up about 235cm! Needless to say that the entire watershed was utterly unfishable and our normal calculation of two days till it settles down again were just like the river, blown out. Well, four days left for the water to reach a fishable level before the next group should be arriving. The saturday started with a waterlevel of +35cm, merky and heavily colored though…

Mastering the pace for searun browntrout or seatrout demands people who rather accept the fact that most of the time one is not facing picture book perfect condition than complaining about it. After all, we will try and there will be fish.

Paul Wilson and Bill Corey were not only sharing pool alliance but also great company. On top of that, some nice fish stories that plus the new fish tale material they collected during this week. From floating heads in Cantera to a 15lb double session. The irish breed has proven to be effective once again – Bill, who managed to land a cracking 18lb fish out of Cojedero on a nice solo session claims the biggest fish of the week, well deserved and nicely played! A pleasure having you both around!

Another astounding team that did pretty well, Olivier Lauzanne and Emmanuelle Picard. A well accomplished world wide angler teaming up with an eightythree year young lady who has got it all right. 17Lb chrome at the end of her line was one of the many highlights of their rotation.

An endless source of answers to the questions of anadromous behavior pattern, Mats Hebrand, claims the top rod of the week with 19fish up to 17pounds. A man on a mission that missed the 20/20 only by an eyelash.

Five rods were running this week’s show without lacking both numbers ans sizes. Congratulations!

Water & Fishing

After witnessing one of the driest seasons down here, we also witnessed one of the biggest march floods since decades. A black and white circuit with very little chance for grey, which would be just perfect for anadromous fish. This walk on a tightroope also means that those stellar moments of perfect conditions are very limited to both the days before and after the water comes up. Of course, a flood means fish, it always does. Either it stirs up the fish that are already in the system or it brings a push of fresh fish into it. Persistance will pay off, it’s just a matter of time. The beginning of the week was difficulte though. The waterlevel settled down to a quite fishable point but the water didn’t clear up or just very slowly. The first 2-3 days were pretty much unfishable, still a couple of fish were landed. As the water cleared up, the numbers increased rapidly. Roundabout sixty fish were written down in the catchbook by the end of the week – amongst the 5 of them! An interesting sidefact: One of the usual goal getters, the size 4 Yellow Yummie, managed to tease a couple of fish. Still smaller and more sublime pattern were scoring the most. Trinas Bugger, Olive and Brown Wolly Buggers – pattern that almost blend in with the color of the merky water!

Stephan Gian Dombaj
Camp Manager – Solid Adventures

Is there a better way to start a couple of days at Jurassic Lake than coming right from Las Buitreras, chasing chrome searun brown trout? This groups answer was clear… having a good time there and no plans to change the game plan for Jurassic either…

The first morning already revealed the shinny treasures of the lake and might have been one of the best ones this week. Counting already 45 fish amongst the 5 of them just before lunch. Of course the appetite was overpowered by the urge to catch some more fish… eating quickly just to run even quicker down to the beach again. The quicker the better because the supposed hot spot „ The Cochinos Bay“ was taken fast – occupying it means also cutting the way off for the big guys who tent to migrate into the river around sunset.

Still casting in the fading light, the group counted already 94 fish in the book…

Day number two was dictated by heavy wind; hence we hiked upstream to ambush some brutes with dryflies and egg-pattern. As usual, with good results. 74 fish taken – biggest one a 18lb buck on a dryfly!

Seeing the lake without wind at all feels unusual. The last day just started like this before the weather turned into a serious storm with peaks up to 120km/h. Without doubt one of the strongest storms we’ve had this season! A longer lunch with the chance for the wind to die off, which didn’t happend. Still 69 strom trout couldn’t resist! Charles Russell’s opinion: “The best fishing holiday of my lifetime, it has got everything. Such friendly and professional service. These guys have a sense of humor and yet they are serious about their fishing. The country side is spectacular and fishing the river at midnight with the full moon dissapearing behind the escarpment is a memory I will never forget!“

Diego Peralta

• number of fish for 5 rods, 3 days fishing: 327
• biggest fish: 18 lbs
• biggest fish by “dry fly”: 18 lbs

Joining Forces
Week X and XI

The sonic boom like sound, emitted by the calving Perito Moreno Glacier releasing giant icewalls into the placid Lago Argentino marked just the beginning of a weather period that seized to amaze. An unusual constellation in our schedule joines two great countries on their hunt for chrome. An United Staates – Australian pact forged by chrome with an unforseen by much welcomed change of the conditions, hence an happy ending for the 2^nd shift. Our former week’s top rod, Lawson Jones, completed the circle of english speaking majors with UK-pride. The first shift, so the first 5 rods of our 10 rod rotation arrived on Saturday, the 3^rd of March, and started on Sunday. Fishing all alone in a cherry picking hot spot rotation thru the zones till the rest of the group, the Aussie-Connection joined and accompanied them on Thuesday. Each shift spent a full week fishing though.

Brilliant Highlights In The Shadow Of The Sunset

Globetrotter Michael Blakely and his friends Jon Bloxham, Larry Flat and Jeffrey Williamson teamed up to take the first round in this combi week. Jon and Larry sharing pool alliance and a dark secret that has to be revealed a few blocks later.

A very special thanks to Jeffrey Williamson, one of the finest fly fisher that I know with the heart on the right spot. I will never get tired listening to the vast amount of good stories that more than four decades of fly fishing around the globe have left on him. In a rotation with Michael, fishing was almost secondary since time just passed by over all the good company.

Lawson Jones, a deadly weapon for both numbers and sizes. Yet again he claims both the top rod and the biggest fish with 12 fish up to 18lb. The Snakeflies that he left behind were traded for the price of pure gold the moment he jumped on his plane back to the UK. A man on a mission that truely deserves the reward of being the dominat rod for two weeks. As the 2^nd shift arrived to claim their fair share of the chrome cake, he and Annie landed 8 fish within a few casts in „Molino“ and „Ochenta“. The shelter of an early night fired those fish up and we were at the right time in the right place.

Peter Godfrey, Sandy Mennie, Charles Russel, Alan Rogers and Annie Skarrat – better known as „The Aussies“ joined our party on thuesday just to accomplish the mission of getting all of them into fish within the first session.

There’s nothing better than marvelling at one’s first double digit chrome fish and Annie did me the favour of taking her first double figure trout with me in Zone 1 – Pool 75. When female intuition meets persistance, fish should better watch out – Annie might be around. Way to go! Welcome to the club!

Our regular, Peter Godfrey, played his advantage of knowledge card pretty well. Amongst his group, he was the most successfull trout hunter with some spanking fish up to 14lb. He was sharing the beat with Sandy who saved up his shots for the day before the flood arrived.

Another pool alliance raised the bar of sharing fish numbers consisted out of Alan Rogers and Charles Russel as they were frog-leaping in Kitchen with seven fish within one morning session. Well done guys!

Unravelling the supernatural secret

After we’ve shared some creepy stories about old gaucho believes, ghosts ans spirits in the desert on the way to „Hell’s Kitchen“, it was a simple plastic bag flying around on the other side of the river that lightend up a bulb in Larry’s and my mind. We could make it up a little bit to spice up the fishing with a little thrill of the unknown. Jon was fishing lower Kitchen pool when I brought myself close to him, pretending to take some scenic casting images. On my sign, Larry started yelling like crazy – it was an acadamey award worth perfomance. As I sprinted up to him, cursing in sheer unbelieve of what was happening infront of my lense, I took some blury shots. As Jon came up, we said something was going zig zag on the other bank and disappeared, definitely not human and most definitely not an animal either! First, he didn’t quite bought it, but as we presented the pictures infront of the rest of the group plus the whole story including some detailed background information about restless souls of indians etc, the whole group had only on hot topic. But that was just the first stage. Some were smiling and joking about it but as the week proceeded, every one came up with a creepy story from the past. In the end it was Larry and me behaving paranoidly, fishing the evening sessions. Sorry guys for busting the myth, but hey – never say never! Thanks Larry, for being a perfect actor and partner in ghost crime

Water & Fishing

The first week, the water level remained untouched from any mayor changes. Still low but quite chilly for the waterlevel. A couple of days eastwind (upstream) as the cherry on top, made fishing in the bright sunlight very difficulte and again the evening fishing saved us another time. The flipside of eastwind – especially if it lasts a couple of days. It presses humid air from the atlantic ocean against the andean barrier between Argentina and Chile which might cause some rain. Circumstances that might feel difficulte for the moment but may pay off later. And it did. After a drought like this, the flood doesn’t come quite. In seatrout fishing, there is no such thing a the quite before the storm breaks lose. A seatrout’s entire reproducing cycle and spawing run is affected by the level and temperature of the water, hence even the smallest changes in either one or another factor can cause a reaction. The usual reaction on a push of water is an agressive behavior just before the water arrives our part of the Rio Gallegos watershed. The day before the flood arrives usually doesn’t differ from conditions of the day before in terms of waterlevel and temperature. The only difference is even the oldest and grumpiest male fish will take ones fly; the activity climbs up a 100%. The last chance before the river blews out. Right after the first shift has left Gallegos airport, the first pieces of foam and scum on the surface marked the arrival of heavy rainshowers in the headwaters. A glimpse of hope that didn’t fail us this time. The rainshowers spread all over Patagonia Austral and indicated that this year’s march flood wont come quite. Raining continously from sunday on for more or less six days, the fish were fired up. Flies don’t really matter by than as long as they are not too big. Small Yellow Yummies, Wolly Buggers, Vitamine C – the whole portfolio did justice. Sunday morning with 12 fish on 5 rods and continuing like this till the flood arrived on thuesday night, the 2^nd shift made the numbers of an entire week in just 4 sessions. They all got fish, they all got double digits! Taking away one day of their Jurassic Lake schedule and staying one day longer than planned to hit the activity phase with full impact was worth it and payed off big time. Revenge is a dish best served ice cold or wet and muddy! A pity that the first shift missed those days just by a glimpse. Their payback awaits in the valleys of Rio Barrancoso and Jurassic Lake…

Stephan Gian Dombaj
Camp Manager – Solid Adventures