We ruined the guide's net

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Friends and family,

So, we are back in Bariloche after three days of fishing in some of the most beautiful country I have ever seen. Sorry there will not be too many pictures this time, we don't have a way to load them from the camera to the ipad, but Mauro, our guide will be sending some soon.

We began the trip about 30 kilometers outside of Bariloche where we launched Mauro's wooden drift boat into some of the biggest water I have ever fished. The Rio Limay at this point was a good 70 yards across and flowing at over 24,000 cfg! The water was gin clear, you could count the pebbles as we flew downstream. No sooner had w launched than the famous Patagonia winds kicked up. John was drifting a nymph and i was doing my best to shoot a grasshopper under the willows. It did not take long to realize that anything on the surface was not going to work and at the first sTop to wade we both went to nymphs. Of course, at this stop, John scored the first fish of the day, a nice 20" rainbow that he expertly brought to the net. By lunch Mauro had changed out both of our reels to sinking lines with shooting lines for distance. After teaching us how to use then he went to set up lunch (which include cheese and sausage to start, then tarts of egg and ham, finishing with home made brownies) when I picked up my first Argentine fish, a 59 cm, 2 kilo (as in almost 5 lb) rainbow. Time for beers and celebration.



The afternoon was even tougher, with the wind picking up. So Mauro decided it was time for us to learn to spey cast, involving longer rods and all sorts of clever moves that John mastered first and used to pick up 3 more nice rainbows and I picked up a couple more. Then we headed ashore for the 'hut' where we were staying that turned out to be a beautiful cabin on the river and where we were greeted by Ricki who had traditional asada cooking over an open fire in his kitchen. After way too much meat and Argentine wine, we went to sleep with the wind having quieted

At breakfast the next morning we discussed the plans and were told the only thing to fear was wind from the east...it kicks up the volcanic ash that still covers the ground from the Chilean volcano eruption over two years ago and the fishing is never good in an east wind. At 9:00 the wind was blowing so hard from the east there was no way to even cast from time to time. It was three before I picked up a 20" rainbow, which was to be our last fish on the Limay and only one landed today.

We pulled up to the landing, loaded. The boat and headed for Rio Traful and Estancia Traful (see photo). Mauro offered that we rest and have some wine....or, we could fish the house pool. I am so happy I choose to fish because within half an hour I hooked into what we are sure was about a 5 kilo brown which we almost netted twice after a 20 minute fight but he broke off on the third try...John was taking video, we will post it after we return. As we sat on the bank thinking about the fight Maruo pointed out that I was still using the very light line or tippet we had put on earlier when the fishing was so hard (#4 for those of you who fish) so the break off was no surprise.

Back to the house for a delightful meal, including asado and sausages cooked over the open fire in the living room. (John and I have decided to build our own version of the Argentine grill/fireplace when we return.) We went to bed after viewing the southern sky and spotting the Southern Cross. The wind howled all night.

Sunday was the payoff for all our hard work the past two days as we were able to fish in some of the most beautiful water I think I will ever see and catch some great fish! It started on my fourth cast which ende with a 24" brown in the net and it just kept getting better. By lunch (which was grilled trout, salads, apple pie and, of course more wine) I had netted five nice fish including a 30" salmon. Not to be outdone, John had netter a 10 lb. brown trout. In the afternoon things kept up including my Argentine native perch for a grand slam (brown, rainbow, salmon, perch) and John landed a 69 cm, 10 lb. salmon! That one broke the guide's net!

Tomorrow we hike into the mountains and will be staying up there without any internet. More when we return

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Photos

Rio Traful
George with a shooting line.

Mauro and George
George getting a casting lesson on Rio Traful.

Rio traful
The guide vehicle.