This first week of April we welcomed a group of anglers from Sweden, Finland, Poland, and the United States. Several of our guests this week have been coming to Las Buitreras for many years and know this fishery well. Others were here to experience the southern Patagonian sea-run brown trout fishing for the first time. A fun side note is that several of our guests this week had previously met at our destination in Greenland and decided to meet up here in Las Buitreras for another adventure together.
Our group this week experienced very good water conditions with the water dropping day by day from a bigger flood we had the week before. If we can talk about perfect conditions, this was as close as it gets. We mainly fished floating lines with sink 3 or intermediate tips and the river was still stacked with fresh fish. Our biggest surprise so far is that we’re not seeing more colored fish, something we normally see this time of the season.
As the fishing week began, anglers were greeted by cold and cloudy weather, with overcast skies looming overhead. Undeterred by the conditions, they embarked on their fishing sessions armed with sunray shadows on aluminum tubes and chartreuse tube flies. Despite the challenging weather, the morning brought a few fish for our guests, with Eric’s fish measuring 75x44cm (11-12 lbs) asn the standout.
The following day started with bright sunshine, however the water was very cold from a colder night. As we were greeted to northern winds the water and our anglers slowly started to warm up. Everyone adapted quickly, adding nymph style patterns such as ELBs wonderbugs, plus the usual wooly buggers and sunray shadows. Despite the change in weather, the river remained clear with a very good tea color to it, our favorite for sure. The river remained in very good condition until the end of the week!
The most impressive catch this week was accomplished by Brian who was here with his good friend Jeff, both have been with us in Greenland before and now made it down south to visit us at Las Buitreras. Both were new to this fishery so it was quite a show when Brian hooked into a dream fish in Zollers, down in Zone 5. Brian was swinging the fly across the channel when a fish took his fly right on the edge of the channel. The fish initially wasn’t doing much but Brian could feel that this was different from his previous fish. This one had some serious weight to it. After a short standoff, nothing really happening, Brian looked at the guide, Charly, who calmly said “Big Fish”, with a quirky smile. As Charly started moving out towards the fish to initiate a reaction, the fish suddenly moved. It was sitting in one of the deep holes along the edge of the channel and now rolled out of it, half the side out of the water before disappearing into the main channel and now sprinting downstream. Seeing the fish like that changed Brian’s focus from confusion to now knowing what was on the line. As the fish was running up and down the pool, displaying the usual head shakes and rubbing its face on the bank trying to shake the fly, Brian managed to keep his calm and eventually get the fish close enough to be netted.
Everything worked out like it should and both Brian and Jeff were able to admire a magnificent 23 pound fresh seatrout. What a fish Brian, well done!
Our Swedish team around host Thomas did very well this week. Both Tommy and Per were able to land a 22 lbs sea-run each, both fish were super fresh and a true highlight for them. In addition, there was Edward who also managed to hook into a 20+ lbs fish in Bridge Pool, a pool that has been delivering big fish on a constant basis this year. In the end the fish tipped the scale at 21,7 lbs. A proud moment for Edward who shared this moment with good friend Roland who knows what it means landing such a fish here on the Gallegos.
Thomas had many great sessions, one of them produced three double digit fish in Upper when a 13 lbs, 15 lbs and a 18 lbs seatrout made it to the net for Thomas!
As we finish the week, anticipation mounts for our Friday pizza night with the guides. This tradition offers guests the opportunity to get together with the team in a different setting. Looking back at a week, this was definitely our best week in terms of landed fish. Steve, Eric and John were off to more adventures in Patagonia during their big trip in Argentina. We hope you guys had a good time and we thank everyone that has been here, sharing an unforgettable week at Las Buitreras!
Stats of the week
Biggest sea-run brown trout landed: 23 lbs by Brian from USA
Fish over 20 lbs: 4
Average size: 8,5 lbs
