Welcome to a brand-new season at Las Buitreras!
We kicked off our 2026 campaign by welcoming a group that feels more like family than guests. Having spent many years hosting anglers in this stunning corner of Southern Patagonia, this is consistently one of the weeks we look forward to the most—not just for the fishing, but for the specific camaraderie of the many returning faces in this group.
This year’s opening roster was a wonderful international blend. Our Swedish delegation—Stefan, Tomas Z, Per, and Roland—was once again hosted by the legendary Tomas Berggren. Joining them were our long-time friend Sten from Norway, alongside Derek, Keith, and Harry from the UK, all familiar names on our lodge manifest.
Finally, we were delighted to welcome two first-time visitors to Las Buitreras, Antti and Iiro from Finland. While the Rio Gallegos is new territory for them, they are already part of the wider travel family, having previously joined us in pursuit of Giant Trevally in Papua New Guinea. It was a pleasure to finally get them on the banks here in Patagonia.
After settling into their accommodations, our guests sat down for the traditional fillet steak dinner… and a few Malbecs. It was a pleasure to be among old friends, absorbing the excitement and enthusiasm as they wondered what memories might unfold during the week… would this be the year for a new PB, maybe?
The river conditions to start this first week of the 2026 season were good for high summer. The river level was just on the zero mark, dropping approximately 20 cm as the week drew to a close, while remaining crystal clear throughout.
The weather, on the other hand, was not so kind. The first half of the week was very hot (18–26°C), especially during the middle of the day (10 am to 6 pm). The wind was variable in both direction and speed. During the first three days it blew from almost every direction, ranging from dead calm to over 50 km/h. What made things particularly difficult was the little-to-no wind we experienced during the warmest hours. No wind is beautiful to admire the landscape and sunsets but for fishing we always prefer some wind down here.
The second half of the week brought a little more consistency, as the prevailing moderate to strong (40–65 km/h) west to south-west winds began to dominate the forecast. This is our favourite and most preferred direction: blowing downstream, it allows our guests to cover the majority of pools with very little effort.
Tactics this week were very familiar to our regular guests. Spey rods in line class 6–8# and single-hand rods in line class 7–8#, with floating lines or heads paired to intermediate tips or polyleaders, were the standard set-up. We rigged tapered leaders (12–16 ft), tipped with fluorocarbon or co-polymer tippets in diameters of 0.26–0.30 mm for single-hand rods and 0.28–0.33 mm for Spey rods.
On the business end, we used a variety of weighted nymphs (sizes 8–12) or very small salmon doubles (sizes 12–14). Our famous nymph collection was put to work: Mariannes, Copper Johns, Flashbacks, Princes, and Vitamins all saw results. To complement the strategy, guests also used salmon patterns such as Green Butt and Silver Stoat Tail, which also hit the target.
During the never-ending Golden Hour, the group switched from fine leaders and small flies to larger-profile tube flies such as Sunray Shadow, Silver Shadow, and Scandi-style versions.
The first couple of days were very good in terms of numbers, with all Zones producing well. Over 35 fish were landed, with many more lost.
Tomas B caught four fish in Zones 3, 4, and U1, starting with a beautiful fresh-run fish of 12 lb from Island Stream. He followed this up with three more chromers (5–8 lb) from Flats, Cantera, and Outer Limits, all of which fell to small Girdle Bugs. His buddy Stefan A used old-school Copper Johns to land a 7 lb fish from Puesto and another of 5 lb from Outer Limit.
Also getting amongst them was Tomas Z, who covered Zones 2, 3, and 5, using size 10 Copper Johns to tempt fresh fish from Little Corner and Cogedero weighing 9 lb and 8 lb respectively. He wasn’t done there: moving down to Zone 5, he took three more fish of 4–8 lb from Barranca Blanca, Barranca Negra, and Alambre.
His good friend and Zone partner Per S picked up seven fish in total (5–8 lb). The first came from the famous Zone 2 pool Little Corner, before backing it up with three more: the first from La Corrientes, then two from the guest-and-guide favourite Barranca Negra, followed by two from Zone 3 pools Outer Limits and Heavyweight.
Harry F from England fished Zones 1, 2, and 4, where he managed to hook into four fish (5–9 lb) from pools Cogedero, 75, and 79 using Flashback and Vitamin nymphs. His fishing partner Keith W from Scotland also got four, all of which found his small Girdle Bugs far too tasty to resist. The first three, all 8–9 lb fish, came from Cantera and La Corrientes. His final fish of the session was a perfect 12.5 lb chromer from Zone 5 pool One Cast, caught on his very last cast – the last cast is always the best cast! This was great news as this specific pool didn’t work too well the last couple of years but now again starts producing fish.
Our Flemish friend Denis, on his second visit to Las Buitreras, partnered up with another regular, Roland from Sweden, heading to Zones 1, 3, and 5. Denis struck first with a stunning 13 lb chrome bullet from La Corrientes on an olive Flashback nymph, then added another fine fish of 9 lb from the holding pool Ochenta in Zone 1. Roland worked his way to a brace of 8 lb and 11 lb fish in Barranca Blanca, before adding one more from Zone 3 pool Limits.
On days three and four, the sport slowed a little due to very hot, bright sunshine. This, coupled with none to very light winds, made the fish wary and easy to spook. Even so, we still managed to get over twenty fish to the bank.
Derek showed his twenty-plus years of experience on the Río Gallegos, skillfully using light-tackle methods to tempt five fish (4–9 lb) with our famous and deadly “Marianne” nymph. The first, a 7 lb fish, came from Little Corner, followed by two from Barranca Blanca, and two more from Bridge.
Tomas Z and Per S continued in the same fashion as the first couple of days, covering the pools very well and landing four fish between them. Three were in the 5–6 lb range from Molino, Little Corner, and Two Cast. Tomas then hit the jackpot at Kitchen: using a small size 10 green-bodied Copper John, he persuaded a super-fresh 14 lb fish – into taking the after-dinner “wafer-thin mint,” in the words of Monty Python.
Roland also continued to do well in those conditions, landing three more fish from separate pools. He took two of 6 lb and 7 lb from Little Corner and 75, before having a great battle with a fresh 11 lb fish in Barranca Blanca.
Antti and Iiro spent the first couple of days getting used to the style of fishing, or “finding their feet”, so to speak Iiro, still fairly new to Spey casting, concentrated on improving his technique with the help of our guides. Antti is a very experienced and skilful angler who has tried his hand at almost every type of fly fishing around the world, representing his country in many international competitions.
As they slowly got to grips with the Río Gallegos, results became inevitable. Antti caught two fish of 7 lb and 9 lb from 75 and Limits, on secret hand-tied Copper John patterns. Iiro also got one from the same pool on a Flashback nymph.
During the final two days of the week, high temperatures and calm to very low wind speeds slowed the action somewhat. Even so, the group stayed positive and saw some good results, with a larger average size of fish being netted.
Tomas Z and Per made the short journey to our uppermost Zones, where size 10 Copper Johns produced five more fresh-run fish up to 9 lb, with pools 75 and Kitchen providing the action.
Harry and Keith continued in fine form, landing six more fish from Zones 3 and 5, including two very nice double-figure specimens of 11 lb and 10 lb. Very small size 14 traditional salmon patterns proved effective during bright daylight hours, while switching to 10 cm Sunray Shadows for Golden Hour brought further success.
Antti and Iiro finished their first trip in style. After heartbreak and some very bad luck losing two big fish, they got the job done: Iiro landed a superb 13 lb fish, followed by another double-figure specimen of 12 lb for Antti.
Sten and Derek also finished the week strongly on the central and lower Zones. Derek landed three fish (8–10 lb), while “The Big Man” Sten added two more, the best of which weighed 13 lb. All fell to our famous nymph pattern, the LB Marianne.
As we close the curtains on the opening week of the 2026 season, we would first like to thank all of our guests who shared this special time with us here at Las Buitreras. To our long-time dear friends, and to our new – and hopefully future – regular guests: thank you for the positive vibes, the great stories, and the late evenings filled with laughter and cheeky banter. This is what makes these experiences truly unique.
We are so fortunate to be able to work and spend time with some truly special people, and it is something we never take for granted.
Stats of the week
Biggest sea-run brown trout: 14 lb by Tomas Z (Sweden)
Average size: 6.9 lb
