The sea-trout season at the bottom of Argentina runs from the very end of December to early April, but most of our clients travel from mid-January to late March. Writing this in early February we are well into the season and our clients are returning with tales of fishing landed and fish lost. Here is a brief summary of how the season has been so far. We still also have availability in March for any of you thinking of a last-minute trip.
Villa Maria Lodge, Rio Grande.
Villa Maria fishes the lower beats on the Rio Grande so its pools fill up with fresh fish from the very beginning of the season. The first week found the river in optimal fishing conditions, with a reasonable water level and clear water with a temperature of 8-12C. Small groups of fish were moving upstream from pool to pool and fishers changed pools regularly to chase the running fish. As January progressed the wind remained stong but manageable. The river continued to drop and the water remained very clear, not easy conditions. However, the numbers of fish in the river continued to increase day by day and plenty of specimens were landed, in Week Two two fish over 20lbs made everyone happy along with lots of fish in the mid to high teens. As January continued the wind dropped slightly and the temperatures became milder, making the fish more active. By the end of January and early February the conditions were still quite stable, but sadly no rain and it was quite cold at night. The water is now quite low and very clear. Generally this has made the fishing rewarding as fish always like the stability but it has sometimes been challenging fishing. Rods have had to fish small nymphs and are only rarely fishing large flies. However, people are catching decent numbers of fish and the sizes are spectacular as always.
Last minute opportunity - March 8th to 15th (7/6) – 1 rod
Last minute opportunity - March 15th to 22nd (7/6) – 2 rods
Kau Tapen Lodge, Rio Grande.
Kau Tapen Lodge opened in early January, a week later than Villa Maria as it fishes the middle river and the fish need a few days to make their way upstream to fill up the pools. The water height at Kau Tapen started at a reasonable level but has been dropping due to a lack of rain. This is often the case until the rain arrives later in the season.
Fish were caught from the opening day and some very good sized ones too with including a 22lber in the first session of the season. As the weeks progressed many fish in the high teens were landed and some fish in the 20s were landed and lost. However, as the water level fell the fishing became challenging. The water started cold but as we reached the third week the air temperatures rose and the wind dropped. The fish became more active later in the day as the sunny skies slowed fishing the middle of the day. Generally people fished small flies and long leaders as delicacy became important.
As we moved into February weather and fishing conditions became more stable. There was little wind and the fishing remained consistent despite a very low water level. The guides asked fishers to use the classic low water tactics and stealth and long casting became important. With well over 100 fish hooked for the week and around 72 landed, the week that ended the 3rd February showed that the river can still produce when low water makes things difficult. Although a good influx of fresh water would really freshen up both the Rio Menendez and the Rio Grande now, there are plenty of sea trout in the river willing to look at a fly. The size of the fish has been very impressive with a good average size throughout the season so far with a 22lber and a 20lber landed in last week and plenty of fish in the mid to high teens.
Last minute opportunity - March 9th to 16th (7/6) – 10 rods
Bella Sofia Lodge, Rio Gallegos.
We work with Bella Sofia Lodge on the Rio Gallegos which was known in the past to many Frontiers clients as Bella Vista. This lodge is now under new ownership and operating as an excellent alternative to the Rio Grande lodges. Their season started in early January with rain in the mountains sufficient for the water to rise enough to allow a big run of sea trout to get to the lodge. A group from Ireland managed to catch 36 sea trout and 331 browns between 6 rods. This year the lodge is using two new beats with 12 more pools which have had new access roads built. The Rio Gallegos Chico also adds a star to the programme with some stellar creek fishing for large brownies. The season has continued well with reliable catches of both trout and sea-trout.
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