Trip report

Magellan saw footprints in the sand.. Because they were so large, he
thought they were made by giants, and actually, they were. The
natives of the area were thought to have an average height of 5'11",
while Magellan and most Europeans of that time were of an average
height of 5'1". So, this area became known as the Land of Big Feet,
or Patagonia.

It would be better named as the Land of Big Brown Trout. The Land of
Big Brown Jumping Trout. That's right - jumping - not unlike a tail
dancing landlocked salmon.

We spent our first day on the Manuales River. The water was gin clear
and the trout very wary. (Didn't Elmer Fudd once say that - vehwy
wehwy?) There is a large beatle in Chile that drops from trees after
it dies. These beatles are quite large and a favorite food of river
trout. Naturally a fly has been developed to mimic these beatles and
is a hit on just about any river in Patagonia. The section of the
Manuales that we were fishing had a gravel bottom with water about
knee deep. It was easy wading for this old man. Wading up the middle
of the river, I carefully placed the fly along the undercut river
bank. Accuracy was very important. A good cast into likely water
usually produced a fish, but screw up the cast (and I did many times)
and you might as well move on to another likely spot, because you've
spooked any fish in that spot.

About the third cast and I was rewarded with a beautiful Brown Trout
of about 14 inches. It jumped several times before coming to hand. I
continued this "hunting" for about a half mile working the left bank
with my dry while my fishing partner from Arkansas, Wayne Buck,
worked the right bank with a wooly bugger. After my third trout, it
became obvious that the dry was working better than the bugger, so
Wayne switched and had good luck with the beatle. There was no going
back to a likely spot after you caught a fish or screwed up a cast.
Consequently, you move along fairly fast, and spend very little time
standing still. I call that "Jeffie Fishing". Anyone who has ever
tried to keep up with Jeff Miller will understand what I mean.

We moved a couple of miles upstream and split up with Wayne fishing
likely dead falls in the river, while I concentrated on casting to a
solid stone outcropping. On my first cast I spooked a fish. It
wasn't a brown, but a very big King Salmon. It was about 3 to 4 feet
long, had an enormous kype and was in the process of dying. It was
colored like the browns we were catching. The guides said that there
have been a number of escapees from the salmon farms on the coast in
this part of Chile. They usually escape after a bad storm and head up
the nearest river. They are sterile, incapable of reproducing. We
found that fishing in water holding these big salmon was futile
because their very presence sent the wary browns away from the area.
Wayne had better luck, picking up a very nice 22 inch brown beside a
dead fall using a black wooly bugger.

And then the winds came. And the rain. And my puny 6 weight was no
match. And neither was I. After a nasty fall that filled my waders
with 52 degree water, I walked back to the truck and napped until
Wayne and the guide, Bob Duport, returned.. All in all it was a very
good day with lots of fish taken and many lessons learned.

The lodge we stayed at, Las Torres (The Towers), is a small working
ranch with cattle and sheep. Electric power is supplied by a local
hydro turbine. Pretty neat set-up. The big honcho of the ranch is
also the cook at the lodge, Sandra, a very beautiful Mariel Hemingway
look-alike. The food was prepared on a wood burning stove, including
the breads, while the meat was cooked in the Fogun (a fire pit inside
a log building) on hot coals.. About 50 years ago the Chilean
government issued a homestead act. If you could clear the land of
trees, the government would give you ownership of that land. Some
less than bright citizens decided that burning the forests was the way
to go. The resulting fires lasted for 4 or 5 years. The area is
covered with fallen half-burned Coyway (spelled phonetically) trees
that are the firewood supply for most homes/ranches in the area.
After 50 years of laying on the ground, these trees, similar to a
cedar, are still in good enough shape to be used as firewood.
Amazing, really! They also abound in the local streams and lakes,
making perfect cover for the wary brown trout.

Nobody knows why these browns jump the way they do. They were
originally introduced to many of the Chilean waters by Germans and
Scots more than a hundred years ago. They thrive quite nicely in the
cold water, and the water *is* cold, remaining in the 50s even during
the hot summer days of January and February thanks to the run-off from
the many glaciers in the area.

One of the guides, my friend Bob Duport who also guides in Maine,
stated that his favorite water of all he has ever fished is the lake
just south of the lodge. We fished it on Monday. I can understand
why he loves it so. We tied on a fly called the Tiger - black and
orange bugger. We used 7 weights and it was a good thing we did. The
browns were fat, fought like hell, and jumped like I have never seen a
fish jump. We fished the reed line along the shore, avoiding any log
or lily pad snags. It was just like bass fishing. The water was
clear and we often saw the take. On more than one occasion the trout
leaped out of the water as he took the fly. We fished all day,
working the reed line, and landed many browns with the largest about
22 inches. Accuracy was most important when casting, because if you
got the fly stuck in the reeds, the only way to get it out was to row
the raft in and get it. Also, the many dead falls (from the fires)
were wonderful hiding places for these fish, but could be a problem if
you hooked up on one.

The following day we floated the Cisnes River. The longest river in
Chile, the Cisnes starts in the high desert of Argentina and flows to
the sea. We floated about 6 miles of the river, picking up some
beautiful browns on streamers. The river browns were not like the
lake browns as far as coloring was concerned. The river browns were
dark brown with very large red spots, while the lake browns were more
golden in color with the same big red spots.

This particular part of Chile has many small ponds called lagoons.
They are chuck full of browns willing to take a fly. The problem is
getting to them. Most are not on the map so local knowledge of the
area is needed to find them. Bob and Mike have explored this area for
about 8 years, and with the help of Sandra and her workers have
stashed small boats in three ponds. The only problem is that only one
sport can get in the boat along with the guide. Wayne fished with Bob
in the morning, while I caught up on my sleep. After lunch, I fished
with Bob on a different lagoon. Again, the fish were anxious to take
a fly. These fish were a bit smaller than the lake and river fish,
but just as much fun.

Thursday found us floating the Manuales with Mike. It had rained very
hard during the night and the river was just a little off color. We
didn't catch as many fish on this float as the other two sports in
camp (a father and his 13 yo son) did the day before, but we had fun.
At least I stayed dry when it poured and didn't fall in when we
stopped to wade a section.

All in all it was a pretty good trip. I would rate it after Alaska,
Kamchatka, and Labrador, but still very exciting. The big draw is the
large browns and lots of them. Also, air fare was reasonable and the
price of the lodge about as low as I've ever seen. The logistics and
the possibility of a diy trip will be addressed in a separate thread.

Joanne, my beautiful wife, fell this morning while walking the dog.
She broke three bones in her right ankle and will be operated on
tomorrow afternoon at 2 pm at Emerson Hospital in Concord.

Dave




..

Dave LaCourse wrote:
Magellan saw footprints in the sand..
.....

Thanks for the TR.

Sorry to hear about Joanne. Hope she gets well soon and that you
wait on her hand and foot in the meanwhile....

- JR

On Mon, 24 Mar 2008 20:17:29 -0400, JR wrote:

that you
wait on her hand and foot in the meanwhile....

My daughters showed up this afternoon with flowers, chocolates, and a
gold bell that she can ring when I am needed. d;o)

"Dave LaCourse" wrote

Joanne, my beautiful wife, fell this morning while walking the dog.
She broke three bones in her right ankle and will be operated on
tomorrow afternoon at 2 pm at Emerson Hospital in Concord.


Sorry to hear that,
Take good care of her.

It must be the season for busted bones, as my neighbor's wife fell off a
haystack last week and shattered several bones and a good friend of my
wife's fell just before that and broke 3 in her leg.

Your wife will need lots of encouragement as she faces the frustration and
pain of recovery ... good luck to her.

Dave LaCourse wrote:


snipped


thanks for that dave. vewy, vewy interesting. hope you took some photos...

and, more importantly, hope all goes well with joanne. she needs all of
her agility to take care of you. g

jeff

Hope Jo gets back on her feet with no problems........Watched a ff
show on Chile a couple times some of the names you mentioned sound
familar but seems that when I read your report I could picture an old
fart pirate fishing them cutbank reeds and in a drift boat much better
than viewing it on tv........Plus everyone knows what a bobbing pirate
in the blue rock hole looks like.........Waders full sounds like a
full Ried to me ..........Glad you had a great time Dave give our best
to Jo if you have the time and inclination drop down to Penns for a
visit Millhiem burger on me if ya do...........

Dave LaCourse wrote:
Magellan saw footprints in the sand..

Nice TR, Louie. Thanks for the virtual travelogue.

And all my best to Joanne, I hope her surgery and recovery
are routine and go well.

--
Ken Fortenberry

On Mon, 24 Mar 2008 19:01:03 -0700 (PDT), Mike
wrote:

Millhiem burger on me if ya do...........

Millheim burger, fries, and a draft beer. It does not get much better
than that, Mike.

On Mar 24, 10:24*pm, Dave LaCourse wrote:
On Mon, 24 Mar 2008 19:01:03 -0700 (PDT), Mike

wrote:
Millhiem burger on me if ya do...........

Millheim burger, fries, and a draft beer. *It does not get much better
than that, Mike. *

i wasn't online until this am, and didn't get to rush my regrets
concerning the lovely lady. please convey my anxious interest in her
quick recovery.
the down south fishing reads wonderfully.

yfitons
wayno

"Dave LaCourse" wrote in message
...

Thanks for the ride along, nice TR.

Best of luck to your bride for a quick recovery.

JT