Manuel Meets Chile Browns
Last year, when I was in Mendoza, Argentina, for a clinic with the guys at the Mendoza Fly Shop, I met Manuel Lineras. In fact, we shared a fine Malbec wine one evening at the fly shop. So, it was great to see him and his friends at the Patagonia Baker Lodge. We swapped fishing stories every evening, some with great excitement, and some with commiseration. Still, Manuel didn’t need much in the commiseration area. He did very well at each of the venues that he fished.
I fished the same waters, and had great success on a couple of them, but then there were a few days when success escaped me. Although my casts and drifts were perfect, I just couldn’t find any of the big fish. Such it is with fishing, especially when the fish are widely distributed over many miles of rushing waters. Still, it was wonderful to share in the success of the others, and every night we all toasted the river, the fish, and the success of those who found the big ones.
Manuel and I sharing stories of the day
Manuel with a nice Baker River Brown caught just in front of the lodge.
A really fine male brown from the narrows between Lago General Carrera and Lago Bertrand.
Manuel caught this sample of the big browns in Rio Baker right in front of the lodge.
A big brown on its spawning migration, note the huge fly hanging from its jaw.