Patagonia 09 More pics added 3/23

JohnOD · 03-16-2009, 04:49 PM

I was fortunate to spend two weeks in Chile fishing late Feb/early March this year.

Prior to this trip I hadn�t fished since mid summer� first time since �78 that I had taken a fishing sabbatical.

Anyway I thought I would post some random pics from my trip.

Hope you all enjoy them as much as I did

Kingfisher on the Rio Simpson

Gin clear water. The area around Coyhaiquewhere we stayed is blessed with an unbelievable amount of fishable water� and virtually zero anglers. The only other folks I saw on the streams were locals using coffee cans for reels

Gauchos preparing lamb for lunch after a 2 1/2 hour horseback ride

Siesta time

Condor

Stillwater brown trout that ate a beetle

Rainbow on a tan Fat Albert
The lake this fish came out of has 3 -12# rainbows that love to feed on the surface. My partner Ron & I landed ~2 dozen fish that day� the guide called it �slow� many of the fish were spotted in the shallows and sight fished to

Terrestrials. In both the river and lakes hoppers beetles can be extremely productive

The Valley of the Moon. There is some incredible hopper fishing in this area. Slow clear spring creeks with browns under the cut banks. It was not unusual to see the fish poke their heads out from under the bank� drift with the fly then roll on it.

JD77 · 03-16-2009, 04:56 PM

Now that was fun. I love travel pictures, particularly since I don't travel much now. What is that huge piece of meat? Pictures say a lot, but I'd enjoy a little more commentary.

That is an interesting looking brown and a hog rainbow. Looks like a great time.

Horsecreek · 03-16-2009, 06:03 PM

Oh wow....wow...wow..and I really mean WOW!

Thanks for sharing.......boy I need to talk to you.....that area has been my dream destination for many years now! Thanks for sharing these gorgeous photos! Please share more!

JD77 · 03-16-2009, 06:08 PM

Even better with commentary! Thanks. Looks fantastic. Congrats.

Skunked · 03-16-2009, 07:00 PM

So jealous

rockaway · 03-17-2009, 05:47 AM

Thanks for sharing. AWESOME pics.

Greg

OregonSportsman · 03-17-2009, 05:56 AM

Thats looks like a blast! Thanks for sharing. Hope I'll be fortunate to do something like that some day...

Fly Junkie · 03-17-2009, 07:01 AM

Looks like a fun trip. Thanks for sharing your story. Good job.

flybob · 03-18-2009, 11:26 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Skunked

So jealous

Me too!!!!!

mudman · 03-19-2009, 03:26 PM

Very Nice, looks like you had a great time!

stillwater97 · 03-23-2009, 10:16 AM

John,

NICE!!!

Any more pics?

MB

gimmeumpqua · 03-23-2009, 04:57 PM

This is great! I'm in Chile right now and by the looks of it, we fished with the same place....outstanding experience!

Kurt

JohnOD · 03-23-2009, 04:59 PM

My pleasure Mark

More photos…

Some waterfalls

Rivers/creeks

Locals on the river

The Coyhaique Rive Lodge where we stayed, the food and accommodations were fantastic

Scenery

Lakes

And best of all... The cabin my friend is building on the Coyhaique River

greenbuttskunk · 03-23-2009, 05:08 PM

holy cow! dare I ask what that kind of trip costs. That's on my bucket list.
Great pics! I am drooling!
GBS

Horsecreek · 03-23-2009, 06:00 PM

I am moving to Patagonia!

JohnOD · 03-23-2009, 07:07 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by greenbuttskunk

holy cow! dare I ask what that kind of trip costs. That's on my bucket list.
Great pics! I am drooling!
GBS

Airfare and a week in the lodge guided where we stayed is ~5K each.

Ron & I stayed in the lodge for a total of two weeks and did five guided days.

It is not easy county to fish on your own as there is quite a bit of private property to navigate to access the best fishing.

My friends I went with have been down three years in a row so they know their way around pretty well.

On of the lodge owners and guides Claudio Urrejolau showed me a pic of a 12/13 kilo Brown Trout (not a sea run fish) he caught on the Rio Simpson on a streamer . They have the fishing and the lodging dialed in.

Feel free to contact me if any of you would like specific contact info. My employer’s wife does the marketing for the outfit we fished with.

John

Horsecreek · 03-23-2009, 08:05 PM

What about seasons...they are the reverse?

mudman · 03-24-2009, 07:40 AM

Was it primarily river fishing with a little stillwater mixed in?

For the stillwater, did you fish float tubes or pontoons?

Patrick · 03-24-2009, 12:44 PM

Very nice John. Guess I gotta come over here more often. Davis soon.

Patrick

Stickswinger · 03-24-2009, 01:14 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Patrick

Very nice John. Guess I gotta come over here more often. Davis soon.

Patrick

There are cheaper ways to do it, but not as comfortable. Right after I graduated from college I spent six months down in Patagonia climbing Aconcagua and surrounding peaks then fishing in the fall all the way down the Carretera Austral - Chile Hwy 7. I hitchhiked from South of Puerto Montt all the way down to Puerto Cisnes and back up. I would just be let off at a bridge and camp in the sand of river bottoms and fish my way down. Caught some huge fish, mainly on streamers and was able to provide some locals some gear as well. This was February -April 1999. It snowed on me a few times towards the end along the rivers but it is a really beautiful place to be in their Fall.

Fly Junkie · 03-24-2009, 01:18 PM

The water looks so prestine there. You're so lucky.
Thank you for posting your pictures. I enjoyed them so much.

JohnOD · 03-25-2009, 03:40 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Horsecreek

What about seasons...they are the reverse?

The fishing season dates in Chile are determined by different geographic regions. Here is something I found with a quick Google search� to tell the truth I don�t know much about it.
http://www.gochile.cl/eng/guide/chileflyfishing/season.asp
For the most part I think their trout season is the opposite of ours here in Oregon

BigSteelyHead123 · 03-25-2009, 03:47 PM

Oh man! Those are GREAT pics!

That Rainbow is shaped just like a big Brown. Huge hook jaw and hump..
That is an amazing looking fish!!
and that Brown trout is so interesting looking! Amazing to say the least.

Art Vandeley · 03-25-2009, 03:48 PM

Great Pictures, thanks for sharing!

Mitch

Horsecreek · 03-25-2009, 05:10 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by JohnOD

The fishing season dates in Chile are determined by different geographic regions. Here is something I found with a quick Google search… to tell the truth I don’t know much about it.
http://www.gochile.cl/eng/guide/chileflyfishing/season.asp
For the most part I think their trout season is the opposite of ours here in Oregon

Thk's for the link! http://www.gochile.cl/eng/guide/chil...ing/season.asp

Beaver1 · 03-27-2009, 11:36 AM

Awesome. Sweet trip!

Wild Chrome · 03-27-2009, 12:52 PM

Looks like quite a place! Nice photo's!

wilsonriverfisher · 03-27-2009, 05:33 PM

awesome everything I am envious

Mike

Mad Mikey · 03-28-2009, 08:34 PM

Sick with Jealousy, wow. Great report.

Thanks for sharing.

Rusty Pipe · 04-10-2009, 12:54 PM

Thanks for the pics! I need to start travelling more!

tnetz · 04-10-2009, 05:47 PM

Epic pics