As winter creeps ever closer and the air turns crisp, we warmly welcome another group of enthusiastic guests. As usual, the group was made up of both new and familiar faces, arriving from three countries: the USA, Belgium, and France.
First up from the USA were two close friends who have been visiting us for more years than we can remember – our very good friends Chris T and David B. Accompanying them, and on their first trip to Las Buitreras, were Matt and Sam, also from the USA. Although it was their first visit here, it wasn’t the first time we had met – we originally crossed paths a few years ago at another of our operations in Greenland.
Another of our regular guests and a very good friend is Denis from Belgium. This wasn’t Denis’ only appearance on this season’s guest list—he also joined us for the opening week back in early January. Joining him this week was another regular and dear friend, the ever-smiling Frenchman Thierry.
The remainder of our guests came from France and were, for the most part, first-time visitors. The only exception was Serge, who had visited us once before. Partnering Serge on the river this week was Pascal.
To complete our group, we had father and son Lionel and Robin, visiting as part of a wider Patagonian trip, during which they had fished other venues and enjoyed the many activities this region has to offer.
The weather this week began with temperatures slightly above the seasonal average, before becoming significantly colder as the week progressed.
From Sunday to Tuesday, daytime highs ranged from 16–20°C, although it often felt around 10°C colder due to wind chill. Evening temperatures remained relatively mild at 8–9°C, which is considered warm for this time of year.
From Wednesday through Saturday, we experienced a sharp drop in temperature. Daytime highs fell to a chilly 8–9°C, and when combined with moderate to strong winds, it felt extremely cold—particularly on the hands and feet. During the evenings and overnight, temperatures dropped further to between 1–4°C.
Winds were generally favourable. We began the week with a light north-westerly (0–20 km/h), occasionally gusting to 30–50 km/h—not ideal, but very workable. Monday was calm and particularly pleasant in the autumn sunshine. For the remainder of the week, the prevailing west to south-west winds returned, occasionally shifting to a rare due-south direction. Most of these winds were light to moderate, except for Wednesday when they reached up to 80 km/h.
Light levels were good, with a mix of cloud cover and sunshine. On Thursday, we experienced heavy rain showers and even a few snow flurries.
Little did we know that Thursday’s heavy rain was just the leading edge of a much larger weather system.
The water that feeds this magnificent river originates in the foothills of the mighty Andes. It was there that this weather front was centred, dumping large amounts of snow and rain over a sustained period.
Sure enough, forty-eight hours later, we began to see the results.
By Saturday, the river level started to rise—slowly at first, then gathering momentum and continuing into the early hours of Sunday morning. By the time our morning session began, conditions were far from ideal.
The level was high (+80–90 cm) and very muddy. Debris floated along the surface—mostly dead grass and weeds (and maybe even a sheep or two… just joking!). Fortunately, the debris cleared within a couple of hours.
As the week progressed, the river level gradually dropped (though never more than 30 cm), and clarity slowly improved. The second part of the week provided some great fishing.
Tactics this week were far removed from our usual floating or intermediate setups. The nymphs and small salmon doubles were safely put away, replaced instead with the biggest, brightest patterns we could find.
Setups varied. Some guests opted for Scandi heads paired with high-density tips or polyleaders (sink rates of 3 IPS, more commonly 6–7 IPS), while others—believe it or not—chose Skagit heads paired with even heavier tips (T8–T11).
Jokes aside, every tool has its place. While we rarely use these combinations, high, coloured water is one situation where Skagit heads and heavy tips can be extremely effective.
Fly choice was definitely not about matching the hatch. We used large, bright patterns in sizes 2–6, including favourites such as Yellow Yummy, Poison, and a variety of brightly dressed Woolly Buggers. We also fished Intruders and long, mobile leech patterns.
As mentioned last week, while few patterns work in all conditions, the Sunray Shadow once again proved its versatility.
Despite the challenging conditions—particularly early in the week—things gradually improved, and so did our results.
With the river so muddy, we knew the first couple of days would be tough. For the first time this season, aside from a few missed chances, we failed to land a fish on opening day. Our first fish came the following morning—a small but very welcome one. It proved that even in the toughest conditions, this river can still surprise… and later that day, it delivered a very big surprise indeed.
Our first Zone pairing this week was father-and-son team Lionel and Robin from France. They had spent the previous days fishing at Glencross, upstream, where river changes are often seen earlier.
On Monday afternoon, Lionel received a surprise he will never forget.
Although an experienced all-round angler, his Spey casting was relatively new. That afternoon, he and Robin were rotated to Zone 5, the lowest beat in our system and the last to improve in such conditions. Guided by Germán, they explored the water without success – until they reached Zoller.
This small, forgiving pool is ideal for developing casters. After selecting a large German Snaelda tube fly, Lionel began fishing. Within minutes—and only a few metres from the bank—he hooked a huge fish.
What followed was a long, tense battle. The fish used the heavy current to its advantage, but Lionel remained patient and composed, applying steady pressure throughout.
Eventually, under Germán’s guidance, they slipped the net under an incredible fish—95 x 54 cm and officially 21 lb. An outstanding achievement – what a fish!
Robin, meanwhile, enjoyed greater numbers, landing eight fish, including one double-figure fish of 10 lb from Zone 4 on the Poison pattern.
Serge and Pascal also had an excellent week, handling the difficult conditions well and producing strong numbers—along with a few standout fish.
During a rotation to Zone 4, Pascal encountered one of the river’s most famous pools: Puesto. Despite the challenges this zone has faced this season, it still holds quality fish.
After adjusting to a sink 6 tip and a large black Zonker-style fly, Pascal began fishing. After a quiet start, he was suddenly hit hard—clearly a powerful fish.
The fight was long and intense, with the fish using every trick available. Guided calmly by Cristián, Pascal eventually brought the fish to the net.
The result: 95 x 56 cm—an incredible 22 lb fish. A true Patagonian giant. Congratulations, Pascal—one to remember forever.
Serge also enjoyed a productive week, landing twelve fish. His best was a 13 lb fish from Zone 1 pool Peca, also taken on the black Zonker.
Chris and David, long-time veterans of Las Buitreras, have seen every possible condition over the years. This season proved particularly tough. Despite some difficult rotations and unfavourable winds, they still managed a handful of fish.
One standout session came on Zone 1 at the pool “Seniors,” where they landed four fish between them. In a memorable moment, both anglers were hooked up simultaneously at opposite ends of the pool. With quick thinking, their guide netted both fish—one after the other—resulting in two chromers in the same net, including a beautiful 14 lb fish for Chris.
Matt and Sam experienced similar results in terms of numbers, though without connecting with the larger fish. Most of their catches were medium-sized.
Our final pair, Thierry and Denis, are both valued regulars.
Denis had a very productive week, landing twelve fish—an excellent result given the conditions. Thierry had a slower start but finished strongly, landing a fine fish just over 13 lb from Zone 4 pool Puesto, once again on the effective black Zonker.
As we close out another enjoyable—if somewhat testing—week at Las Buitreras, we would like to thank all our guests for being part of this chapter of the season.
Congratulations to Lionel and Pascal on their exceptional fish.
To all our guests, thank you for your great company, humour, and resilience. This is certainly a week we won’t forget.
Stats of the week
Biggest sea-run brown trout landed: 22lbs by Pascal
Average size: 7.1lbs
Best fly: Sunray Shadow, Black Leech, Yummy, Poison
Contact Us
Our fly fishing specialist Peter Collingsworth has been over to Las Buitreras, fishing the banks of the famous Rio Gallegos many times, so if there’s anything you would like to know about the fishing or if you have any questions you’d like to ask him, you can contact him on 01603 407596 or email at peter@sportquestholidays.com he would be delighted to speak to you.
