January
To say the least this was a very enjoyable trip from the time Rebecca and Alex showed up till the time they said goodbye. Everything went as planned from the get-go and the weather was fantastic.
Arriving in Palena we decided to work off the rust by fishing the afternoon on the Rio Tigre. The river was in prime condition and the fish were taking dries.
Day two Trevor took Rebecca and Alex for a float down the Rio Palena. Rebecca started off the day landing a large Brown that came up and sipped her rusty Chubby Chernobyl. Later that day while floating around in a back eddy that has always produced nice fish the group witnessed small rainbow leaping out of the water against the rock wall. A giant brown was chasing it down and the rainbow was leaping for its life!
Trevor instructed Alex to lay his dry in the vicinity. With a well placed cast, Alex got the large brown’s attention and it turned and it sipped his dry fly. In all the excitement, the hook set was a little hurried but the fish was pinned only to come unbuttoned after a few seconds of glory. Bummer! Alex was left with a story of “the one that got away”.
In the La Junta area the weather had turned and it had started to rain. Manager and guide Chris Price took Alex and Rebecca to one of his favorite rivers of all time. While setting up the boat it started raining so hard that the guides and guests jumped back in the truck and listened to music and told jokes. The squall only lasted 20 min, but it was a lot of fun staying dry. The river was a little off colored and seemed to be on the rise so Chris made the call to postpone the float for the next day and walk and wade the upper section instead. This would give us a chance to monitor the river through out the day for the next days float. There were a few showers throughout the day but all in all a decent day of fishing.
The next day the float was on and the river was in fantastic shape. Just minutes into the float the group stopped to fish a riffle which was full of fish. After fishing what seemed to be two hours there, Rebecca returned to the boat and remarked this as “The best day of fishing in her life”. Both Alex and Rebecca caught lots of rainbows and some nice browns, a banner day of trout fishing with almost all fish coming on dry flies.
In the Coyhaique area the weather was excellent. The group fished some smaller streams here, again some of the favorite waters. Guide Trevor Covich showed off some fish spotting skill, pointing out some nice rainbows in the first pool. Alex presented his dry fly with “perfect casting” and the fish came up to tussle.
The couple brought down some of their own flies they fish in Montana. The “North fork special” was a great dropper nymph and coaxed up lots of trout through a canyon walk and wade. Alex expressed that some of these places were hands down some of the finest fishing he had experienced. After another “best fishing” day, dinner was followed by a sampling of the local night life at a small venue. Live Chilean music, great margaritas and Salsa dancing ensued. The dim light in the room and candles at every table set the tone for the band that put on a great show.
To cap the trip off, a good drive to a small spring creek was in order. We passed defined rock formations not seen anywhere else on the trip. Rebecca showed off her skill laying down great casts in a small creek where good casting was imperative as reeds lined the bank and wind complicated matters, but no matter – it was a stream full of browns that were more than happy to eat.
Rebecca had a large Brown come up and do a slow turn behind her fly. The whole sequence seemed to take forever as intensity grew waiting for the take but the fish rejected. Rebecca and Alex finished the trip catching numerous browns all on dry flies.
The guides took Alex and Rebecca to do some last minute shopping before it was time to head to the airport. When everything comes together it makes for the trip of a lifetime.
The Andersons had such a great trip they re booked for next season, and we can’t wait to see them again.
