I finally found what I was looking for.......Fish and lots of them.

---

Well, here I am in a town of about 100 people on the only computer in town attempting to put this blog together. Im sorry for the lack of pics on this one. I had 30 ready to go on, but this internet connection is driving me mad. Im so frustrated I cant even see straight. Anyways I got the most important one on there of my big fish.

As of my last blog I was pretty frustrated with the fishing situation and was lsing hope fast. My decision to head south paid ff big time as I found some beautiful rivers and a lot of fish that were dumb enough to let me catch them. I headed about 3 hrs south of Bariloche to the Los ALceres National Park. I had researched a river called the Rivindavia and it seemed like at good of a place to start as any. I got into the park as it was getting dark and pulled into the first camp sight I found to put up my tent, oh sorry I mean ark my car. After another uncmfortble, yet cheap night sleeping in the tattoo I headed to the river. It was around a half mile walk from the road as I headed down into the river valley. This river was right out of a dream. The water was the color of the carribean sea and sorrounded by pine forests and the snow capped andes. I couldnt of painted a better picture in my dreams. The river was pretty big and like the others up north difficult to fish, but I managed to find one spt where I got into position and slammed them. Over the next 4 hours I hooked into around 25 fish and landed around 10. A great start to this leg of the trip. I also made a new friend down here named Bruno.

When I got to the river a young kid named Bruno was the only other person fishing near me and naturally when I got my first fish I asked him to take a pic. I ended up looking at what he was using and offered him some flies and weights. As I was giving him one of the only flies that was working I remember thinking to myself. (R u sure you want to give him that last one) Then I caught myslef being selfish and gave it to him. Anyways my reward came quick as 10 min later he hooked into one and eventually lost in, but seeing how happy he was and thankful for setting it up was far beyond a feeling from catching a fish myself. We fished together the rest of the morning as I kept catching them one after another. He thought I was like a fishing pro of something, but I explained to him I am very far from it and just getting lucky today. Bruno kept hooking into fish and losing them as he tried to pull them in to fast. Finally right before lunch I gave him my rod with a set up that was working great and he landed his forst one of the day. Very rewarding for be. Throughout the next couple days I fished with him a bit and learned alot about his life and country. Talking with him really made me realize how good we have it in the US. I know I really take this for granted sometimes. Its not like he is even close to poor or anything or that this country is a poor country. It just boils down to the lack f opportunities they have as they grow up to do whatever they want to do. They are very limited with there resources and cant live The American Dream.

So during my couple days in the park I stayed at the smae campsite and slept in my car as there was no reasonable accomodations within a hour. After a whole day of living off of chocolate and bread I took a drive in search of a restaurant. After about a hour down a rough gravel road I found a little Parilla which I think mean grill. I rolled in arund 10 and was the only one in there. They grill was right in the main room and they fired it up to cook my pork tenderloin right in front of me. After dinner I actually had a 10 min (rough at best) cnversation with the family that owned the restaurant. I remember the feeling I had leaving that place. I felt like I just caught that big fish. Its not that I was proud of my spanish or anything, but that I antually connected with those people and with all the solitude on this portion of the trip that felt good.

After a few days of fishing the same area and catching around 10 or so a day I got sick of sleeping in the car and needed to head for a hotel a hour and a half away in Esquel which is a town of around 20K. After driving around town for a hour os so stopping at random hotels I finally found one within my budget 25 bucks. Which is a lot when yur traveling down here. I showered up and took off for the next river. I had researched what was suppose to be the best spring creek in the world and it was a hour from esquel. Its name was arroyo pescado whcih means fish creek. I was told by a guide that they wnt let me fish because I dont have a guide, but I learned along tiem ago you cant believe everything you here and went for it anyways. The drive took me out of the mountains and into the deslolate desert. I finally found a small ranch with a padlocked gate the said arroyo pescado.. At first I was slightly deterred, but I didnt drive all this way for nothing so I hoped the fence and walked a couple hundred yards to the house. I was pleasently greeted and allowed do fish for 50 bucks which I knew was the deal coming in. I didnt get here until 430 and was worried that I wouldnt get my moneys worth in 4 hours of fishing, but I got that and so much more. In summary I caught around 30 fish and hooked double that. Saw flamingos, black necked swans, tons of ducks, jack rabbits, a otter, and had a owk repeatidly try to attack me. The best 10 bucks a hour I have ever spent. I was definately ready for my first good night a sleep in 4 days after this excursion and got to my hotel around 11 and hit the hay.

This morning got up around 9 and picked up my laundry which took about a hour because I didnt write down the address and I had to drive up and down like 20 streets. I had plans on doing this blg before I left town, but my impatience got to me and I just had the urge to get to the next stream. For some reason I always feel like I am in a hurry to g somewhere even though that is very far from the case especially on this trip. Guess thats another thing to put on Reed Things to Improve List.

Now as of yesterday I finally decided to take the journey farther south and fish the virgin waters around Rio Pico. The only problem with this was that there is not much info on this and the area is very remote. Like always I made the assumption I would figure it out when I got there. And then fate came to my rescure like it somehow always does. So Im sitting in the internet cafe trying to research this Rio Pico area and out of nowhere I guy sitting next to me says I live there in english and proceeds to tell me how he fishes down there and knows all the landowners and can pretty much take the time to show me everything I need to know about the area for free. Talk about dumb luck. The strange thing is this seems to happen to me all the time. Whenever I fully commit to doing something that is a little out there if you will, some form of aid always come to my side to help me through it. I just take it as god really likes me and just wants things t work out like I dream them to be. Plus if all the chances I have took in life didnt work out Id be in severe depression at this point and Im sure he doesnt want that for be either. So Im all set or so I think. Im not to sure where im going to sleep tongiht (If I was a betting man I would say the tatto) but Ill figure it out soon enough. When I get better internt I will put the rest of the pictures on here.

From here I just heading south about 1000 miles over the next 12 days over the most remote area of argentina. Should be a Hemmingway style adventure. I cant wait.

---

Photos

The Hog
This is by far the biggest brown trout I have ever caught on my fly rod. It was around 22 inches and 4 pounds. I risked hypothermia in pouring rain with no coat for this one. Well worth it I do say.

Lago Rivendavia
Sounds like a name out of lord of the rings or something. This was just the last town on my way into the Los Alceres National Park

Comments

[Kathie/Mom]

Reedo Am so glad everything is going well for you and that your fishing dreams are coming true. Glad you are having these awesome experiences. We so look forward to reading your journals and you are doing a great job. Don't think your griends realize they have to hit next journal to get to your last 2 or 3 journals as they are not coming thru email. I will tell all those I know. We love you and PLEASE stay safe. Love, Mom

[Zach Horton]

nice fish!!
Wow!!! Sounds like some great fishing to bad there is no Walleyes down there. Have you cought any other kind of fish ? talk to you soon, Zach

[Reedo]

No eyes down here
Just trout bro, I caught one other wierd looking fish that looked like a mix between a walleye and a smallmouth. Really ugly. We gotta get out trout fishing a gain when I get back. Like a reunion with you and danny from when we went down by zumbro falls way back when.