The second week of April saw a group from Canada and the US. All of them were here for the first time so the arrival day was all about setting up the right tackle, discussing flies and lines, as well as giving them a good overview of what to expect during this week.
The week itself was basically divided in two parts. The first part saw a high river as we got another big push of water on Saturday, adding another 60 cm to previous levels! Conditions before were actually perfect, just around zero, so we again had to adapt and fish fast sinking tips and very big flies, such as big bright intruders or tube flies plus the yellow yummies in size 6 and 4. The second part of the week made up for the first three days when the water had dropped to more reasonable levels and we could fish sink 3 / slow sink tips and normal size flies.
The weather gave our new group a good glimpse of Patagonian wind for the first two days, with strong west/southwest wind, not ideal with a high river. After that we saw sunshine and low winds which is very typical for April here at Las Buitreras. The first two days were therefore fairly slow with a few good fish in the books, especially La Curva in Upper 1 was holding a good number of fish. On Day 3 we saw a lot more fish being active and people coming back to the lodge with some good results. Tim, who was hosting his first trip at Buitreras, hit a perfect day when he landed a 15 lbs chrome sea trout in the morning in Bridge pool and came back in the evening with a story about a 16 lbs from La Curva! The second fish fell for a chartreuse intruder, a classic big water fly.
On the following day it was Dave’s turn to hit the jackpot up in Zone 1. He was fishing Kitchen Pool which was still on the high side but his guide for the session, German, thought it would be worth having a go with the river dropping and conditions being overall good. Turns out he was right. Dave was in the right spot at the right time and suddenly he was fighting the fish he had dreamed of. A big kyped male fish that had those fall colors which we love so much. A special fish for anyone, but even more so for Dave who had traveled all the way to southern Patagonia and Las Buitreras, dreaming of this exact fish. A big colored male with a standout kype! Dave’s reaction to the fish being in the net are precisely the reason why we love running operations like these. It was a pleasure to share this moment with you Dave and we know there will be more of these in the future!
Dave and Jen, were both new to this type of spey fishing but did really well being treated to strong patagonian winds and sink tips as their initiation to spey fishing. Jen lost a big fish on Day 2 in the lower part of La Recta, and Dave had a 3-fish session in Zone 5, a zone that worked really well this year all the way until April and delivered some very big fish for our guests.
Then there was Carlos with his daughter Teala and their good friend Paul from Yellowknife. All three went on a big journey down to Las Buitreras to fish for sea-run brown trout for the first time. Teala, to no one’s surprise, picked up spey casting immediately and by day 3 she looked like a vetted pro on the river. Teala ended up finding fish in most pools during her first week and made it look effortless in the process. Carlos, a phenomenal fly angler but new to Spey fishing, was curious about all different tactics and the way of how to fish each pool which made him land more fish day by day, finishing with a beautiful double digit fish from Puesto, another pool that was on fire this week.
Paul came with a steelhead background and quickly adapted to our style of fishing with lighter lines and a more delicate way of presenting the fly. He kept on working hard every day, even after losing a good fish which is sometimes hard to handle when you have been waiting for that exact moment for almost a year. Paul continued keeping the fly in the water and eventually landed a really nice fish that took a yellow yummy.
Even though this week started with very challenging conditions, it ended in almost perfect condition, treating us to a river with tea colored water and a good flow in each pool. The river was still full of bright fresh fish straight from the ocean, 95% of the fish caught were chrome! One of the reasons why the end of the season is becoming so popular amongst our clients. Another reason is the more relaxed schedule where we go out later in the morning, come back only for a short lunch without siesta and then return fairly early after the magic hour, still fishing nearly the same amount of hours per day as in January or February.
A big thank you to our group and we are looking forward to seeing you all again soon! Stay tuned for week report Nr. 16!
Stats of the week
Biggest sea-run brown trout landed: 17 lbs by Dave from USA
Average size: 8,5 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.
