A new world record is in the offing for the brown trout. Just recently a 42 pound 1 ounce monster was hauled out of the waters of New Zealand just downstream from a salmon farm. The pig brown had been chowing down on salmon food and put on more than a few pounds. The current record stands at 41 pounds 8 ounces for a brown taken in lake Michigan in 2010. If the IGFA certifies the New Zealand fish, it will be the new world record.
Big but ugly.
On Friday, March 15, we fished the bigger waters of the Codihue in the canyon downstream from Georges and Nicole’s home. The morning was overcast and cold. I wore a light jacket with my rain jacket over it to stay warm. My hands got cold, but little matter. Little matter because immediately Exequiel took a 21 inch rainbow. For the rest of the morning and early afternoon—until 2:30—we caught many bigger fish. Of the 23 fish that I took, 1 was 21”, 2 were 20”, 2 were 19 inches and most of the others were 14 to 18 inches. Several were on the small side—8 to 10 inches. I took all of them on a dark gray Hen Saddle Matuka—which simulates the pancora. It was a good day for all of us; Benito, Pablo, and Exequiel took many sizable fish, too.
Around noon, I saw a good fish rise, but it would not take the Matuka. A couple of hours later as I worked back upstream, I tied on a Stimulator and took the fish—a 20 inch rainbow. Quite a good fight on 4X. During the day, as Exequiel and I were fishing together, he noted that he loved to curve cast because all the other anglers in Patagonia just make straight line casts. I told him it was no different anywhere else. Exequiel is an excellent angler and has a background in biology. He and the others asked very pointed and pertinent questions about the biology of the trout and the quality of the aquatic habitat.
They noted that 20 years ago, all the public waters in Patagonia were made catch and release only. Since then, the size of the fish in many streams has constantly decreased while the number of fish has increased. This is not any uncommon happening when there are no natural predators and the fish are not pressured with established catch limits. The Codihue population seemed quite normal, however, with a classic, triangular shaped spread of many small fish, fewer medium sized fish, and fewer still large fish.
We quit fishing about 2:30 so that we could attend an Asado at 3pm, hosted by Georges and Nicole. An Asado is an Argentine Bar-B-Que. Not just hunks of meat on a grill, but an entire animal, usually split and held in a metal frame and roasted next to a wood fire. In this case it was a entire lamb,, cooked for 2 ½ hours. The Asado pit is specifically designed to reflect the heat toward the meat. The meal lasted until 5:30. Afterward, Exequiel and I went fishing, and Pablo followed later. I landed a couple of small ones and lost several larger ones on a mix of pancora and Stimulator flies. I left the river at 7 to tie pancora flies for the next day.
Today we fished the waters of the canyon downstream from Georges and Nicole’s home. I’s big , swift water.
Almost immediately, Exequiel took a very fine rainbow on a nymph.
There were smaller fish in the canyon, but many of them ran in the 12 to 15 inch size.
Benito with a nice rainbow. These are strictly wild fish and they fight like wild fish.
Pablo fishing a run at the top of the canyon. The walls of the canyon close in on one side and then the other, necessitating a great deal of wading in strong, swift currents.
Pablo with a great fish at the top of the canyon stretch. Pablo is an excellent caster and fly fisher, and the Aguas Claras rods that he designed are great tools, indeed.
Notice the body on the bigger fish. They look like Alaskan rainbows at the end os the summer season. That’s because the bigger fish feed heavily on the pandora of the river and put on a lot of weight very rapidly.
The Asado (Bar-B-Que. A whole lamb was roasted for 2 1/2 hours. Bread warms by the fire. Note the design of the pit; it reflects heat toward the roasting lamb.
The table is set. Even though sunny, the day was cool, and jackets were required.
Our hosts and owners of the El Halcon estancia, Georges and Nicole Andrieu.
My friend, Theo Bakelaar saw my notes on Argentina and the photos of me playing gaucho. He sent me a picture of a Holland gaucho with an average sized fish that they catch. Note, this fish was taken on a gold bead head fly–what else?
A Holland gaucho with an average trout–caught on a gold bead head fly.
On Wednesday, March 13, we drove through the day from Las Lenas to the 30,000 acre “El Halcon” estancia, owned by Georges and Nicole Andrieu, and situated in the Neuquen region of Patagonia. The estancia controls over 25 miles of the Rio Corihue, including its headwater lakes. On the way, we dropped Polo off in Malargüe; he was to return home via bus, and then on to Buenos Aires to drive in a nationally sanctioned auto race. Last year he was 6th in the nation; this year he is shooting for number one.
We were treated to a great, fun filled dinner at Georges and Nicole’s home. There was plenty of talk of fishing, including mention of a 5 kg fish in the past. We will be excited about 2 kg fish. In our discussions, Georges noted that we could ride horses one day, if we wished, and Exequiel and I nodded in the affirmative. I grew up with horses, and the chance to ride on the estancia was most gratifying.
After dinner, we headed to our cabins to unpack and prepare for the morrow’s fishing. There are two guest cottages and one large bunk house; all are heated by wood fire, and they had a good supply of extra-dry wood laid in for us.
On Thursday, March 14, after breakfast at 9 am, Georges arrived to take us upriver about four kilometers. The water there was swift, with some pools and many pockets. We fished nymph and indicator and took many fish. I decided to try for 50 fish today—50 to hand that is, and made 48. Many more were hooked and jumped of or shook off the barbless hook.
Later, after lunch, Pablo and Exequiel fished hoppers with great success on the larger trout. I switched to a little black leech, and then a little brown one. The hook seemed a bit small on those flies, and I did miss, or rather lose, a fair number of bigger fish that simply twisted off. I switched to a dark gray, Hen Saddle Matuka, and cast it into a deep, swift slot between two large boulders. The take was hard and instantaneous. Turned out to be a 21 inch rainbow (54 cm) of 2 kg (4 ½ pounds). It was fish 48 to hand for the day. The 21 incher jumped several times and in the process caught the leader under its left gill plate. The bleeding was instantaneous and heavy. I landed the fish ASAP, but it continued to bleed and eventually bled out. We cleaned it and discovered it contained 7 pancora—3 of them still alive. They were about 1 to 1 ½ inches across the carapace. I quit fishing and carried the fish the mile or more back to camp; it will be a part of the Asado (Bar-B-Que) being planned for tomorrow.
The confluence of the Tordillo and Cobre form the Rio Grande. Though a huge river, it is pinched into a slot in places that is only 30 feet wide as it cuts through an ancient lava flow.
On the way to Patagonia we encountered shepherds watering their flock. Sheep and goats, and cattle are the principle farm animals of the Patagonia.
Raising our glasses in salute to the river, friends, and the upcoming fishing days.
The cottage Codihue, where I stayed during our fishing on the estancia.
The bunkhouse had capacity for 8-10 people and served as our kitchen, fly tying area, and general meeting location.
The dining room/living room area of the bunkhouse with blazing wood fire; very cozy and relaxing.
A section on the upper Codihue, showing its swift, rugged nature.
Pablo Perez with a very fine rainbow taken on a hopper in the afternoon of the first day.
Exequiel as The Angler as Predator, stalking the big rainbows of the Codihue with a nymph and indicator rigged on the 10 foot, 3 weight Hardy Zenith.
The big rainbow was right where it was supposed to be, and Exequiel did a masterful job of bringing it quickly to hand.
The only fish that we kept was this big rainbow that got the leader under its gill plate and bled to death. We saved it for the Asado on the following day.
The pandora is a true crab, not a crayfish, and inhabits the rivers of South America and South Africa. It is the principle food of the bigger fish.
The Hen Saddle Matuka was a great imitation for the pandora.
On Tuesday, March 12, we headed over the mountains once again to fish the Rio Cobre, sister river of the Tordillo. Their confluence a few kilometers downstream where we fished forms the Rio Grande, which some distance downstream is noted for its huge browns. We had to cross the Tordillo and drive several miles to access the Cobre. The river is much “softer” than the Tordillo, with long runs, riffles, and pools.
The first evidence of the nature of the day came when we found many trout skeletons on the shore all along the river. A violent flood some weeks past had dumped tons of silt along the river and had cut new channels. The water was milky from glacial runoff, and we didn’t see any significant insect activity all day.
My total for the day was 14 fish, 7 browns, 6 rainbows, and 1 brook trout. One brown and one rainbow were decent fish, just over a kilo; the remainder were pan sized to large pan sized. All my fish but two came from side channels. The main river seemed devoid of all but the very occasional fish. Many of the fish that we caught were scarred with a variety of lines and marks on their bodies, showing evidence of the violent flooding they had recently endured.
Exequiel fished the 10 foot 3 weight Hardy Zenith in the morning and hooked a big brown of about 2 kg., but it broke his 6X and escaped, just at the landing. I fished my new Aguas Claras 9 foot 5 weight in the morning. Lunch was big slabs of ham and cheese pie, which we eagerly ate at streamside. Exequeil and I traded rods for the afternoon, and I was quite pleased with the Hardy’s ability to handle line in the wind and bring the fish quickly to hand.
In the afternoon, a herd of horses worked up river along one of their well work trails, we decided to walk it back to the SUV at the end of the day. As we were leaving the river, a gaucho met us. Not speaking Spanish, I could do no more than shake his hand and take his picture. He did talk with Polo and Benito, and explained that he lives in a yurt just upriver from our stopping point for the day. The area is summer range for cattle and horses, and he cares for the livestock in the area.
The hike out took an hour and a half of quick time walking, and the bottled water and folding chairs were most welcome when it came time to take off our waders and prepare for the hour and a half drive back to Las Lenas. Tomorrow we head south in Patagonia to fish the Rio Cordihue.
The Tordillo in the foreground, the Cobre along the mountain in the distance.
To reach the Cobre, we had to cross the Tordillo and then drive cross country about half an hour.
The valley of the Cobre is “softer” than that of the Tordillo, making it good grazing country.
Reaching the river was an easy half hour walk from the SUV.
The Cobre is a lower gradient river than the Tordillo, and evidences pools, riffle, rapids, and side channels.
Recently deposited mud, covering the rocky shores, evidenced a flash flood from heavy rains in the mountains.
Fish skulls and skeletons littered the mud banks. A great loss for this beautiful river.
Most of the fish we took from the Cobre were pan sized to large pan sized–both browns and rainbows.
Mmmm, ham and cheese pie makes a hearty lunch along the shores of a beautiful river.
A couple of bigger fish–in the 1 kg size–came after lunch to a nymph and indicator fished on the Hardy Zenith.
Although we took fewer fish on the Cobre than on the Tordillo, the ones we caught were very healthy.
The country around the Cobre was good grazing for both cattle and horses.
The cattle and horses along the Cobre are cared for by a gaucho.
Folding chairs most definitely have their place when it comes to taking off waders at the end of the day.
The snow village of Las Lenas was our headquarters for fishing the Tordillo and Cobre.
Sunday, March 10th, we travelled by car from Mendoza south on Hwy 40 and then onto other highways for about 6 ½ hours to Las Lena (pronounced Lenya), the most famous ski resort in Argentina, still within the Mendoza Region, where we stayed 3 nights and fished in local mountain streams. We being Benito and Pablo Perez (owners of the Mendoza fly Shop), Polo Rossi, Exequiel Bustos, and me. Sunday afrernoon we fish a small, very fast, pocket water stream, the Rio Desecho. I landed three rainbows, 10,” 8,” 6.” The fish are very strong for their size and extremely healthy.
Exequiel lifted rocks from the river and they were alive with size 16, dark mayfly nymphs. Every rock had 10 to 30 nymphs on the bottom side. They were very active crawler types. So we fished several different small nymphs on which we took the trout. The flies were all bead head, and the indicator was positioned only a couple of feet above the fly.
I fished with a Hardy 10 foot 3-weight Zenith, and was most pleased with its performance. The length allowed me to hold line off the water very easily, and yet there was plenty of power for casting, even into the Argentine wind. The evening wind is cold, and back at the vehicle, I broke out jacket.
As we waited for the evening meal to be prepared, Pablo came in carrying some rods, and showed me the new model that is being made just for the Mendoza Fly Shop–the Aguas Claras brand. Lovely, chocolate brown matte finish, mid flex rod. Great reel seat, perfectly coated wrappings. Sweet. He presented me a 9 foot 5 weight, complete with reel and line. I was very delighted to have it, and will fish it tomorrow on the Rio Tordillo, a large trout stream in the next valley beyond the mountain.
Pablo also presented his father, Benito, with a special, full flex 7 ½ foot 2-weight glass rod built just for him. It was very nicely outfitted and included a reel and line. Exequiel had drawn Benito’s logo fly on the reel seat, and the rod was inscribed to Benito. He loved it and will fish it tomorrow.
The evening meal was at 9:30 p.m. The meal was roast beef with grilled slices of potato, onion, zucchini, eggplant, and sweet potato. We had a bottle of Zucculi, Series A Melbec wine. The world’s finest Malbec wines come from the Mendoza region of Argentina, and this one was perfect for our meal.
On Monday, the 11th, we headed west over the mountains in 4–wheel drive for about an hour to the Rio Tordillo, at an elevation of about 10,000 feet. The river is fed by glacial melt, so contains glacial flour and never gets totally clear. It was about as clear as it ever gets, however, and we fished under a bright blue sky. The air temperature never got more than warm, and the wind was always cool.
The river is very swift and subject to massive flooding annually. As a consequence, as soon as it leaves the canyon, it is a vast alluvial wash area. This is the area we fished. The wading was not difficult, but the many rocks were tiring on our legs and lower backs.
I fished the new Aguas Claras 5-weight that Benito and Pablo gave me last night. It is a very impressive rod. It is built on the narrow-diameter/thick wall design with a medium action. The rod has very quick rcovery, and allowed me to readily cast into the occasional howling gale-force Argentine wind that roared alternately up and down the river.
The fish were mostly small to medium sized (8 to 15 inches) with an occasional big brown or rainbow. One big brown took my Styrofoam ball indicator, and held it so tightly I couldn’t slide the leader through its mouth and hook it. Exequiel hooked a big rainbow that tore off after only a few seconds.
We fish bead head flies two to three feet under an indicator. I used a very simple, but highly effective fly, the Massarta, developed by Benito, sometimes with a Prince Nymph hung tractor/trailer style about 15 inchs below. I tried Styrofoam ball indicators, Thing-A-Ma-Jigs, and yarn. The best was chartreuse yarn—easiest to see and cast.
We fished the Secret River, exclusively. The takes were quick and the fish very scrappy for their size. Of course high velocity current help them a great deal.
Polo found a side stream and located some slow water pool areas where he landed ten fish between 15 and 18 inches. I landed 23 fish, 13 rainbows and 10 browns and lost at least 8 to 10 more, either to the current or the barbless hook popping out on the jump or during the fight. All in all it was a fun day in beautiful country.
The wrecking crew (left to right): Pablo Perez, Benito Perez, Exequiel Bustos, and Polo Rossi.
Exequiel Bustos fishing the Desecho on Sunday evening.
Ours was an eating trip punctuated by fishing.
The 9 foot 5 weight, Aguas Claras rod developed by Pablo Perez for his shop, The Mendoza Fly Shop, and presented to me on Sunday evening.
The Aguas Claras rod has a lovely dark brown matte finish and a fast recovery, mid-flex action. A great fishing tool.
The road into the valley of the Tordillo, an hour’s drive from the Las Lena ski center.
The Tordillo in the foreground.
The fishing in the Tordillo was all in the secret river (the near-shore calm section of the river).
The Tordillo holds both browns and rainbows, mot in the 8 to 15 inch size.
Polo with a nice sized rainbow from the swift Tordillo.
I am in Mendoza, Argentina, having just finished a clinic in celebration of the 20th anniversary of the Mendoza Fly Shop. I arrived Friday, sans my fishing bag, but with my carry ons that included my computer and other materials for the days demonstrations and discussions. Friday night, at the shop I got together with the staff, including owners Benito and Pablo Perez. Benito is the father of angling entomology in Argentina, having spent many months each year collecting and identifying the aquatic insects of the rivers, here. We talked fishing, drank some very fine Malbec wines, for which Mendoza is world-known, and ate impanala, a small, fried meat fold-over. Very, good, indeed.
Today, we left the hotel at 7:30 am, and went to a local restaurant where we were to hold the clinic. Casting started at 10 am after some time to talk about the 20th anniversary of the shop. I discussed curving the line in a variety of forms, both casts, and mends, and tossed in a good dose of casting instruction on the three-point grip, overhead cast, the elliptical stroke, across the head casting, and much more. After a great lunch of impanala, vegies on a stick, chicken sausage, cheese and ham foldovers, followed by very hearty bowls of stewed beef (served with wine, of course—I didn’t have any because I dared not fall asleep). Then we spent 2 hours discussing nymphing and dry fly fishing, before a break for a snack of sweets—very nicely made strawberry tarts and other such items. This was followed by a fly tying demonstration on spinning loops.
Then came the diploma presentation, many, many photos, much hugging, hand shaking, and on and on. The people of Mendoza are very open and warm, and so the day went very positively and ended that way, too.
Tomorrow we head south toward Patagonia to worry the fish just a wee bit. Many photos of the trip on my return.
Toasting the river, the fish, the 20th anniversary of the shop, my first trip to Argentina, and anything else we could think of.
The very Patagonia-style restaurant where we held the clinic.
There was a fountain flowing into a little stream running under the floor of the seating area.
A large painting of Penaphlebia mayfly dun by Benito Perez, owner of the shop.
The crowd was very attentive and we all had a great time at the clinic.
The day ended with presentation of awards, raffle items, and many photos and handshakes, hug, and photos.
At every Show. I get questions about the loop spinning tools that I use. There are variety of tools out there, most readily available from the fly shops. But the one I get the most questions about is the Turbo Dubbing Twister. This is a Czech product, complete with ball bearing that allow the head to spin very rapidly and for a very long time. It’s nearly as much fun to spin the twister as it is to tie the flies. Note that I have modified mine so that it has only one hook, rather than the two it comes with. This is my preference. Modified or otherwise, it’s the best spinning tool out there
It is available from Feather-Craft of St. Louis, MO, on line at:Turbo Dubbing Spinner.
The spinning tool to end all spinning tools. Note that I have modified mine. It has only one loop aligned with the central axis of the tool.
At every Show, I get questions concerning the materials I use to dress the Down and Dirty series of minnows and sculpins. This material is available from Feather-Craft of St. Louis, MO. It is called Extra Select Craft Fur and can be found at on line at: Extra Fine Craft Fur They offer 29 great colors.
This is actually a fashion fur, made to simulate arctic fox fur. There are four different lengths of fibers—like the natural fur: short, medium, long, and extra long. This material is very easy to handle, and very “alive” in the water.
Extra Fine Craft Fur–better than the real thing.
Arm Casting evolved rather quickly in the late 1800s after the advent of fixed rings (guides), rod building techniques that allowed reproducible actions (6-strip cane rods), and high quality, braided silk fly lines. These three allowed the angler to shoot line, something that had been denied to the fly fisher for the first 2,000 years of fly fishing’s history.
The great advantages of arm casting are three: (1) there is a larger range of movement with the arm, allowing the angler to lift and cast longer lengths of line more easily, (2) the angler can apply more power to the rod/line system on both the backcast and forward cast, and (3) there is a much larger range of casting styles that can be utilized. Certainly Walter Mansfield did not heave the line 133 feet in 1899 using Wrist Casting or Arm Assisted Wrist Casting. It was most certainly Arm Casting.
Walter Mansfield was an extraordinary caster, and an obvious early experimenter with casting techniques. His record stood for 35 years, until broken by Marvin Hedge, who first introduced the Double Haul into tournament casting in 1934. His three best casts that year averaged 137 feet 10 inches, with the longest cast being 147 feet. Only 3 years later, the average winning cast had lengthened to 176 feet, 8 inches, with the longest cast being 183 feet. The Double Haul is most certainly a powerful adjunct to Arm Casting.
While it might seem that everything about Arm Casting has already been put into play, it is actually still evolving, as tournament casters strive for ever longer distances, and as tournaments now include distance casting with single hand rods and lines a light a 5-weights. The fundamentals of the stroke for fishing purposes have evolved right along with the development of tournament tactics, just as automobiles for highway use have evolved right along with those used in racing.
The casting strokes of three extraordinary casters form the foundational basis of Arm Casting, from which all angling and tournament casts can be derived. First is the technique employed by Frank Steel, the first person to cast a perfect score in the dry fly accuracy event at the time of the Second World War. Frank taught all his students to raise their casting hands to their foreheads. His idea was to line up the rod between the caster’s eyes, giving a better aim at the target. But the real contribution was that in getting the hand to the forehead, the caster had to swing the arm forward from the shoulder. This is the basis of all Arm Casting.
Charles Ritz, owner of the Ritz Hotel in Paris, was a life-long student of casting, and knew and studied all the very best casters in the world. He came up with a concept he called High Speed, High Line (HSHL). It is, without doubt, the best technique for lifting and backcasting the line
Jim Green was the first person to use monofilament for the running line on a Shooting Head, giving him the notable distinction of also being the first person to cast a fly line over 200 feet. His casting stroke was incredibly smooth, and as the National Director of the Fenwick Fly Fishing Schools, he set the standard for the teaching of thousands of new fly fishers.
The first step in developing a solid Arm Casting Stroke, is based on Frank Steel’s technique. You’ve got to learn to swing the casting hand up and touch your forehead. Then, simply allow gravity to drop your arm back down. Do not try to make a forward cast. Just practice swinging your casting hand up to your forehead and allowing gravity to drop it back down. Repeat to boredom.
Practice Step 1. Raise your casting hand up to your forehead and then simply allow gravity to drop it back down . Repeat endlessly.