BROWN TROUT

Brown trout are found throughout the world and we have destinations in the following areas: Argentina, Chile and New Zealand.  They have the ability to survice in warmer water than rainbows and come in many strains. Most fish around the world seem to hae been introduced from strains in Germany in the early 1900's. Some of these fish have adapted into the huge sea run browns found in Tierra del Fuego.

       Table of Contents

3.The Sauce Worm Hatch in Argentina

3 A Few of the Best Trout Flys

4. Large Arbor Reels

5. Chilean Majesty

The Sauce Worm Hatch in Argentina

As most fly-fishermen are aware, trout feed and behave differently as we move from one river to another. Also, hatches and food sources change from river to river.

But, what happens when we move to different continents and even opposite Hemispheres?? Well, the answer is LOTS !!!

Trout were introduced in Patagonia in the early 1900s’ , and have shown a remarkable ability to adapt to these waters. To a first timer, the rivers in Northern Patagonia don’t look very different from the rivers of Montana, Idaho or Wyoming, with head waters high in the snowcapped mountains, running through a dense forest to drier plains and dessert like areas. But if you look a little closer, you see that the entire ecosystem is different. The rainbows and browns really behave differently than their relatives in the northern Hemisphere.

Hatches in Patagonia are not quite as numerous and dense as the ones seen in the healthy rivers of the Rockies, but instead are slow, timid and can last for long hours, with fis h rising occasionally almost all day long.

However, there are exceptions, and one of them is the sauce worm “hatch”.

The “sauce worm” is the larvae of a small wasp that get its nourishment from the willow trees. ( Sauce is the Spanish name for willow.) The sauce trees line most of the banks of the famous rivers in Argentina’s Northern Patagonia R egion.

This small, light green worm is anything between 10 to 25 mm long, and in the long days of summer they feed lazily on the freshly grown leaves of the “sauce” trees. In the second half of January, and some times until the first half of February, they are so numerous, that the “sauces” only have a few leaves remaining. They eat the upper sections of the trees first where the Patagonian winds sweep the worms away which protects the trees from extinction. It is during this time that the worms start to fall from the trees to the river. They are close to reaching their pupa stage and are slow and insecure in their movements. Since they have eaten all the leaves to which they cling, the slightest breeze will shake thousands of them into the water. The trout are waiting below every tree for this free lunch. This is one of the few ”hatches” that will move even the biggest fish away from their lies in deeper water to the waters near the banks under the trees to feed on this “rainfall” of worms. Trout will feed heavily all day long on these worms and they can become very selective, which will frustrate any angler that arrives without the proper imitations. The imitations need to float at different levels throughout the day. In the morning, with cooler air the surface film is stronger and most worms will not break it in their fall, so a floating worm imitation is needed. As the water warms up, some of them will start to sink very slowly, maybe only an inch or two, so you will have to be prepared with some very slow sinking imitations.

Hook size ranges from 16 to 12, with 14 being the most versatile imitation. These imitations should be tied on dry fly hooks, or very light nymph hooks as we want them to either float or sink very slowly. Casting has to be precise, as these fish are wild and thus very spooky. Tippets will range from 5x to 4x, depending on the size of the fish and how many flies are you willing to leave hanging on the trees above !!!

(Esteban Etchpare is the head guide of Flymaniacs a guide service in northern Patagonia. Ed and Lisa will be joining Esteban for the sauce worm season in late January. We will float the Alumine river for 6 days. The cost of the trip is $2495 per person)

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Large Arbor Reels - Should I get one?

Large Arbor reels offer some great advantages over standard reels but with all the reels out there how can you make a choice. The main advantages of a large arbor reel are the ability to retrieve line at a faster rate, a smoother start up to the drag, and a consistent drag setting even with lots of line off the reel. Some of the better large arbors will pickup about 10 inches of line with each revolution of the reel wh ich when faced with a large rainbow racing at you or a bonefish that turns toward you is a huge advantage. The drag starts smoother on a large arbor because of the added diameter of the reel. The added leverage just means that it is smoother and easier to pull the first inch of line off a reel that is 4 inches in diameter rather than a reel that is 2 inches in diameter. The drag will also be smoother as it is not racing at a million RPMS to keep up with the outgoing line. The drag will also remain more consistent if you get way into your backing. With a standard reel, the spool diameter gets smaller and smaller as more line goes out which means the drag actually gets tighter. With a large arbor the diameter doesn’t change nearly as much. One tip is to look for a large arbor designed as a large arbor which usually means a wider frame than a standard reel. Many large arbors are just as light as standard reels as well. I am using large arbors for all my fresh and saltwater fishing these days. I recommend you try one!!

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Chilean Majesty

The snowcapped Osorno Volcano loomed on the horizon overshadowing the other beauty surrounding us. We were in the town of Petrohue on Lagos de los Santos where we boarded the 18 foot Lund and motored across the lake to the inlet of Cayutue Creek. I was accompanied by Rene the head guide at Yan Kee Way . Rene’s family owns a farm in this preserve and is the only guide who has permission to tread on these private lands. The forest like you would expect in Brazil or Costa Rica with huge tress covered in vines and moss. It is a sub tropical rainforest is that makes this area the prettiest place I have ever fished. The green forest, the aqua stained water and the huge volcano with its glaciers shining in the morning sun is something I yearn for as I write this. We hiked a short distance up stream searching the water for signs of a big trout. The water is so clear that we had to stay well back from the bank. Rene spotted a large brown and sent me 20 yards upstream to give it a go. My Olive sculpin hit the far bank and bounced back into the current. As the fly swung near our intended target Rene ‘s yell of “ he’s on it” was just what I wanted to hear. To our dismay the big brown turned and headed back to his lie. A few more casts with different flies did little to change his mood. Rene moved us cross country reentering the stream a mile up river at a gorgeous pool littered with submerged trees that had fallen in the river. They were angled and tangled at different levels but obviously a home for big fish. The olive sculpin brought success on the first cast. A 3 pound brown , unlike any I had seen before, extremely silver with fewer but brighter spots. I lost another good brown quickly as it raced under a tree coming out the other side without my fly in its mouth. I waded carefully out one of the fallen trees with its trunk about 36 inches in diameter until I was almost in the middle of the creek. I looked straight upstream and saw a large swirl about 40 feet away. I threw the sculpin with a curve near the target and stripped pretty fast to keep the fly moving down stream. The fish rocketed out from its lair under a tree and missed the fly altogether. A few more casts yielded nothing. I tied on a white wooly bugger, made the same cast with the same results; a spectacular attempt at a take. A few flies later and it was clear he had me figured out. On the far side of the pool there was a cliff with a few dense limbs overhanging the edge. Out of the corner of my eye I noticed a ripple in the water and then a fish charging the edge of the cliff with 4” baitfish leaping from the water. The next scene was amazing, this brown trout charged again but this time launched itself out of the water landing on a small ledge on the cliff. It flopped calmly once and fell back in the water. This was a big brown, maybe 8 pounds! I gathered my jaw and my wits and threw the white wooly bugger at him, too much at him as it landed on its tail. The fish rocketed forward under the overhanging tree limb and I thought I had blown it. It turns out the trout was racing after more baitfish when I thought he had spooked! This time I was calm and even though I couldn’t see the fish I knew by the commotion that he was still headed upstream. I threw the fly on the upstream side of the tree and gave a few short strips and saw the fish glide towards my fly as he sucked it in and relaxed. The next strip went tight I was into a silver leaping running brown that luckily liked the surface more the trees strewn on th e bottom. A few minutes later and the fat 26 inch long, 18 inch round, brown trout was released. Wow, I love this place!

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My Favorite Trout Flys
Table of Contents:
1. Wool Head Sculpin
2. Prince Nymph

The Wool Head Sculpin

HOOK: Tiemco 300 #4.

THREAD: Olive 3/0.

TAIL AND BODY: Olive Rabbit (Zonker style) strip

UNDERBODY: Lead wire (optional)

FINS: Olive hen saddle hackle.

HEAD: Wool

1. Wrap thread to rear of hook
2. wrap some lead wire around mid section of the hook
3. Tie in a rabbit strip for the tail leaving a few inches in front (for body)
4. Wrap the thread forward (leaving plenty of room for the head)
5. Palmer wrap the rabbit strip forward to form the body, tie off and trim
6. Tie in a pectoral fin (hen hackle) on each side.
7. Clip a 1/4' squarechunk of wool from the hide and place on top just in front of the fin, tie off tightly ( it doesn't spin like deer hair and you want most of the bulk to be on top.
8. Clip some more wool and push back your last bunch and repeat the process till you complete your head ( I use about 3 or 4 clumps)
9. trim the head flat on the bottom wedge shaped when viewed from above and round the top as shown above.

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Prince Nymph