The crew was my dearest friend Miguel Sanchez and Matias Picapietra both born and raised in Bariloche, Argentina and incredible fly fishermen and fly fishing guides. Then you have Gustavo Morales and Wilfredo (homero) Yaconis and our workhorse Pepe from the south of Argentina. We met up in search of fresh native and wild trout in the most precious lakes still left relatively untouched by man due to the difficult measures it requires to access them. One must have four wheel drive or chains on there tires to cross windy dirt roads with massive deep ravines with snowmelt streams ripping through them on very dramatic declines. Also it is very dangerous tailering a boat which is critical to access the campground where we were going. There are no cell towers just stars and incredibly strong fighting trout. We brought in all the necessities we needed; lots of wine, cigars and Argentine beef. We started out each day towing the drift boat behind the power boat. We would seek out the honey holes and then break into two teams ready to catch one beautiful specimen after the other; fresh chromed rainbows, vibrant big brook trout and prized golden brown trout. It is very important to focus your eyes and ears on what they call here Arroyosos which are glacial snowmelt streams trickiling into the lakes which create underwater streams full of oxygen and food supplies. It is here that one can find big fish coming out of the lake in search of food and relatively close to shore. In the Spring the water is cold so you have to be patient and make sure you allow enough time to let the fly get down while still maintaining good line control and tension. We used heavier shooting heads and big monster flies to attract the trout. Generally speaking, fast stripping and creating fast action on the flies worked well for the rainbow trout. Whereas, for the brook trout and brown trout we would cast way up from the drift boat letting the fly sink as much as possible and strip very slow with longer motions and when they hit it was like you locked horns with the titanic. The rainbows would leap to break free, and the brookies and browns just maintained their ground. We would fish early, (not too early) and then in the late afternoon row along the shoreline trying to maintain a constant drift while casting as close to the shore as possible. The key difference in my eyes was the time you aloud the flies to sink. If your fly was not getting deep enough, you really were almost out of the game. Summer here can be just as effective with dries (ie dragonflies and big terrestrial patterns). The rods we used were longer blanks 10.5 which cast easier and helped to keep the tip out of the oars way while rowing to maintain a more consistent drift. The flies I tied were big gnarly olive buggers and massive black, yellow and red zonkers loaded up with lead. It truly was amazing to see these flies in the mouths of fish and not on my wall. Here in Argentina we are blessed with incredible mountains covered with fresh snow and crystal gin clear lakes. The weather was perfect spring time fly fishing weather and I even slept under the stars for four nights next to the fire and was in heaven. We cooked huge asados, drank mate and lived like Kings. We all worked together as a team, and its amazing what happens when you fish with great fly fisherman. So thank you from my heart Miguel for sharing your backyard with me, I am still dreaming about it now. To top it all off the last day I got to fish my favorite river, the Rio Limay. I fished it with Matias Picapietra whose daughter is named Limay. He taught me some single handed spey casting techniques and we caught an incredible jewel together, a rare native brown trout that definitely has never seen a fly in its lifetime. It was an incredible trip with my dearest friends. One can’t ask for anything more.
Book
- Alaska
- Guide & Fisherman
- Guiding: Choosing Your Guide And Choosing Your Customer
- Guiding: Do It Yourself With A Guide
- Guiding: Evolution Of A Guide
- Guiding: Freshwater, More Than Meets The Eye
- Guiding: Friends For Life
- Guiding: Know Where You Are
- Guiding: More Than Just A Fisherman
- Guiding: Mystery Of The Fisherman
- Guiding: Payment
- Guiding: Saltwater, A Different World
- Rough Fish
- Fly Fishing For Rough Fish: Why Do It?
- Introduced Rough Fish: The Carps & Other Invasive Species
- Methodology: Gear & Tactics For Pursuing Roughfish On A Fly
- More Roughfish: Bullheads, Whitefish, Goldeye, Burbot & Drum
- Rough Fish Environments: Where To Look For Rough Fish?
- Rough Fish Species: The Suckers
- Rough fish: A Lifetime Of Learning
- Rough Fish: Fishing For Dinosaurs (Gars & Bowfin)
- Rough Fish: What Are They?
- The Hook: Some Common Rough Fish Fly Patterns
- Spey
- Spey: Applications, Where Can You Do It?
- Spey: Atlantic Salmon, A Significant Fish
- Spey: Defined And Demystified
- Spey: Gear, The Nuts And Bolts
- Spey: Lines, They Are That Important
- Spey: Steelhead, New Traditions & A Modern Movement
- Spey: The Energy
- Spey: The Flies
- Spey: The Swing
- Spey: Two Critical Casts
- Striped Bass
- Striped Bass: Fishing Rocky Shorelines
- Striped Bass: Fishing The Beaches
- Striped Bass: Fishing The Flats
- Striped Bass: Fishing The Reefs
- Striped Bass: Fishing Tidal Rivers
- Striped Bass: Flatwing Swing
- Striped Bass: Fly Line Options & Choices
- Striped Bass: Gear, The Nuts & Bolts
- Striped Bass: Migration Patterns
- Striped Bass: What They Eat
- The Art Of Escape
- Fly Fishing: A Natural Drug
- Fly Fishing: A Validation Of Freedom
- Fly Fishing: Don’t Fight The Current
- Fly Fishing: It Is What It Is
- Fly Fishing: Socialization For Asocial Individuals
- Fly Fishing: The Allure Of The Fish
- Fly Fishing: The Art Of Escape
- Fly Fishing: The Simplicity Of It All
- Fly Fishing: Time Flies
- Fly Fishing: Times You Remember & Try To Forget
Alex, Miguel, Matias, Gustavo, Wilfredo:
Pesca asombrosa de la mosca que usted tiene en la Argentina y le bendicen para tener tales buenos amigos y pescadores de la mosca a pescar con. Amaría visitar la Argentina y experimentar un viaje de la pesca de la mosca con usted. Pescados hermosos, país hermoso y buena gente. Ésa es todas las necesidades de un hombre. También, Matias tiene un solo molde dado asombroso del spey. Quisiera hacer que él me demuestre algunas de sus técnicas del bastidor del spey; él hace le mirada fácil. ¡Pozo hecho! La Argentina es un lugar hermoso.
————— english version ————-
Amazing fly fishing you have in Argentina and you are blessed to be able to have such good friends and fly fishermen to fish with. I would love to visit Argentina and experience a fly fishing trip with all of you. Beautiful fish, beautiful country and good people. That is all a man needs. Also, Matias has a amazing spey cast. I would like to have him show me some of his single handed spey casting techniques; he makes it look easy. Well done! Argentina is a beautiful place.
Beautiful video and pictures. Patagonia is a special place, very wild and stunning with its mountains, rivers and lakes. While I remember the fishing, the things that stick in my mind all these years later are the people, tha increadibel land, the beef and last but not least the beautiful women of argentina. Keep the vids coming.
I also wanted to thank my dear brother Pablo Formaioni who I stayed with in Bariloche and who owns http://www.basesurrentacar.com.ar
I visited the site .. nice professional site with nice car options … i was afraid that the “rig” was an example of one of the rental cars … … the “rig” was a bit rough around the edges …. 🙂
Alex, Amazing. Everything about that place looks pristine. The water, fish, forest, snow caped peaks. A true paradise, thanks for putting that together.
hey alex! great video and some killer content……the scenery and fish were too cool. i would love to fish with you and your crew down there some day for giant sea run browns, brookies, rainbows, dorado, etc etc. Your in heaven!
WOW! I want to get into that game! Great video Alex, I’m saving it to my desktop and believe me there are only a few there! Congrats
Greg
Hi!! i’m homero’s Brother and friend of the crew(sorry for my english but i’dont study for years)so i don’t now you,but my brother(wilfredo) talk so much of you,i really like the video you post,and i want to now where i can find the music.You made it??
well with no more to say. see you and good fishing.
Alex-
Sweet tale and video too. You guys do it right down there…remote and stellar locations, Big fish, plenty of wine and beef… I may have to start migrating south next year!
Killer post.
Dave, I really look forward to the day you come here brother… You will love it. keep spending time with those beautiful steelhead though.. and see you soon
Alex
Its a given man you’ll be here before you know it, we had a great summer together keep up the great work.
Alex
Boz, sorry I missed you by a few days.
can’t wait to come up there and float those amazing rivers of Maine i just need ten more lives to see them all ..and you are always welcome to join me here
cheers
Alex
Just a plane flight away brother…
Alex
Fijate fly fishing tunes listen and downdoad y mirar la cancion “Freedom” esta spectacular de Jeremy Cameron mi hermano.
un abrazo Alex
Obviously my wife is Argentinian….
Alex
alex great video and love the rig. looks very familar. i look forward to fishing with miguel and gustavo again this year on the grande and the limay. what beautiful water and you captured what patagonia is all about. talk to you soon brother. -Ed
Ed, all your rods are waiting for you… see you soon
Alex
muy buen video , y muy buena pesca, aunque se mas detalles de los que figuran en el video, lo mas importante es que la pesca en esos lugares es monumental, las fontinalis y marrones que se pueden tentar con secas grandes en increible.
muy bueno muchachos y espero que la proxima pueda ir con ustedes….
Amazing story and the video was great! I’ll watch it a few more times before I can rerun it in my head. You guys look like your having a great time and enjoying who and where you are, thats a great thing.
Thanks
Greg