Saturday proved to be a promising and rewarding day for fishing, with good water levels and an abundance of fish in all of the upper beats. Those plans were unfortunately put on hold for a few days when we saw a significant rise in water levels on Sunday, caused by heavy rain and snowmelt from Rio Turbio close to the mountains. This made fishing challenging, however we were still able to land a fair amount of fish even with very high water.
Everyone that has experienced fishing at Las Buitreras during these circumstances knows that even though we still catch fish, often using heavier tips and big flies, the real reward comes to those who stay patient. As soon as the water starts dropping and clears up, you are bound to experience some exceptional fishing days. You just have to be lucky enough to still be here once that happens, which is not always the case if the river rises towards the end of your week. This group however, with the river level peaking on Sunday, were due to hit that magical sweet spot at some time during their week, which helped keep everyone positive and excited throughout the week. We obviously wish that everyone that visits always gets six full days of great fishing, but that’s the thing about nature, it is unpredictable.
With the conditions at hand we went through a wide range of line set ups during the week. Monday and Tuesday saw stable but difficult conditions, with the river remaining high. Therefore everyone adapted by using fast and slow sinking tips and a variety of big flies such as yellow yummies, green streamers and big black flies. By Wednesday, the water started receding and clearing, with fewer weeds coming down the river. Bruce was on fire this week with several nice fish landed, including one 17 lbs from Puesto on his self-tied secret fly, and another 17 lbs from La Curva, probably his most memorable catch during this week, which he hooked on a black conehead leech. Well done Bruce, what a week for you!
Andy from England also made an impressive catch, landing a 16-pounder at Chuchis pool, which does not give a fish on a regular basis but when it does, it usually is a good one. Furthermore, there was Leif and Neal who had a great session on the upper section of our legendary Kitchen pool, landing three fish between them. A section that works very well during high water!
Friday brought ideal fishing conditions, with warm temperatures and minimal breeze, resulting in another remarkable days result. Our group landed 30 fish on the last day, with most fish coming from the upper beats. Just to mention a few highlights from that day: Robin landed a nice fresh 12 lbs in Little Corner, Francis could connect with a 11 lbs sea-run in Barranca Negra using the Poison Fly, and Bruce landed another 12 lbs in La Curva.
Despite challenging conditions at the beginning of the week, our group adapted well and made sure to have some great memories with them when boarding the plane towards home. Thank you all for this lovely week and thanks Glenda for bringing along such a nice group. With no rains predicted up in the mountains we are looking forward to another week with great conditions!
Stats of the week
Biggest sea-run brown trout landed: 17 lbs by Bruce and Robin
Average size: 8,2 lbs
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.
