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Published: April 23rd 2012
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Magico Lake
Reserva Provincial Corazone De La Isla Twelve hours flying to Argentina, four hours flying south to Tierra del Fuego, one hour’s drive on the highway, one hour’s drive off road, and then a thirty minute walk. It is fair to say that anticipation had built up. A private lake and I was the only fisherman. The guide had brought along a photographer to capture the thrills of Magico Lake for their website. Expectations were high.
I had made contact with Extreme Fishing from New Zealand and confirmed arrangements. Ushuaia is a pretty town of 60,000 people set against a mountain range. We headed out through the mountains at first light; a very pretty ride. Sergio liked to use all the road cutting the corners and driving across double yellow lines or putting two wheels onto the gravel on the inside of the corner. He would also pass on blind corners.
We stopped at Tolhuin for coffee, a town that seemed to have as many roaming dogs as people. They tried to repair the flat tyre of their quad bike but nothing was open on a Sunday morning. Shortly after Tolhuin we headed off the main highway on a metal road. The further we travelled the
Beaver Dam
Beavers were introduced to Ushuaia and have caused havoc. narrower and rougher it became. Once we hit the National Park the road soon became 4 wheel drive only. The twin cab Toyota HiLux handled the big mud holes and steep inclines with ease.
I saw wild guanaco for the first time; related to the camel but they look like llamas. Also we passed wild horses and saw some beaver dams.
Once the HiLux was parked we set off for the lake. I drove the quad bike for part of the way which is always fun even though it had a flat tyre (a rear tyre so it did not affect the handling too much).
We made our way around the lake to the preferred spot, a drop off to deep water. The technique was to cast a lure out, let the line sink deep then retrieve it at a variety of speeds. To say it was cold would be an understatement. The HiLux had indicated an outside temperature of 1 degree celsius. There was also a cold wind blowing across the lake and the sun did not break through the layer of cloud. A couple of hours fishing for no reward and I was chilled to
Nacho directing traffic
Nacho guided Sergio over a rough bridge. On the way back Sergio went through a big mud hole to the left. the bone even though I was wearing nearly every item of clothing I had brought to Argentina.
Advice and guidance came from Sergio who only had a few words of English. Nacho was there to interpret. Nacho was a likable little butter ball of a man. He had spent 18 months in New Zealand so his English was good. At one point he explained to me his liking for fish and chips. He would order them for lunch and then nip next door for a pint of beer while they were cooking. He claimed to have done this every day for four months while staying in a hostel. I think this would account, in part, for his not so svelte shape. It’s also probably lucky he returned to Argentina!
Sergio was clearly a chatty man and would have been amusing if I was able to speak Spanish. He would launch into long explanations clearly intended for me. Nacho would interpret with a few words. At one point he noted that Sergio was annoying him with his continuous advice, as Nacho said he could see that I could fish.
Lunch was chorizo sausages cooked on embers pulled from
a roaring fire. The fire and rough shelter were a godsend, combined with the food and half a bottle of wine warmed me and lifted my spirits considerably. After lunch we moved around the lake trying a variety of spots under Sergio’s guidance. He was stingy with his leaders just tying new flies on to an ever decreasing leader while I was regularly snagging the bottom. Frequent advice smattered with “perfecto” after many of the casts. This was all to no avail.
The lake was nicely framed by low hills with beautiful autumn hues that reminded me of the north east coast of North America in autumn. I fished in this glorious setting till around 7.30 pm when dark was fast approaching then we had the long journey home finally getting in about 10.30pm.
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