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FISHING REPORTS |
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Observations on Tuesday March 6, 2001
Guests fishing our smaller rivers have been having an excellent fishery with up to 30 nice trout per angler per day. The rainbow and brown trout have been averaging 14
to 18 inches with some fish over 22 inches. The only disadvantage to those fishing the larger rivers is the fact that the larger migratory fish have had an impact on the normal fishery for our resident trout. It appears that the smaller trout in the Petrohué and Rio Puelo have headed for cover given the large number of migratory fish. The normal runs and lies of resident fish have been taken over and are being occupied by these larger fish If these runs continue to build, this may prove to be one of the best March, April and May periods that we have seen in many years. We can still find room for one or two guests, so come on down and join us.
El Patagon – Rain has reappeared in the South. This weather system starts at Lago and Rio
Yelcho and reaches down to the south of Coihaique. These systems have pushed rivers out of shape with their unseasonable and rainy weather. Rivers around El Patagon have been higher than normal.
Fortunately, we have smaller lakes, estuaries and spring creeks to which we turn when conditions are less than desirable. The forecast is good for the next several days so we expect that fish counts will
go up as the waters go down. One of our smaller rivers has a large run of bright sea run browns in the
28” to 30” plus category. They have proven to be very selective. It has been exciting for our four guests to be on top of and around such magnificent fish as they roll and jump in the fresh water.
Tomorrow, all of our guests will be concentrating on this river and this run of fish. Our Alaskan fly-fishing guides should be able to break the code on these strong sea run fish Observations on Wednesday February 21, 2001 We've mentioned previously that this year has been out of the ordinary. We've had lots of rain and cool weather during the Patagonian spring and early summer. Things have now returned to somewhat normal conditions in that we are having sunny, warm days. Rivers have returned to their normal flows. Water volumes are somewhat higher and cooler than one would expect during this part of the summer. This is great for fishing, and we're happy. We've included the photo on the left as one indication of some of the strange things that have accompanied this weather. This 33-pound King Salmon (Chinook) is a beauty. It is silver dollar bright with no indication that that it escaped from a salmon farm. This big boy grew up all by himself in the wilds of Patagonian rivers and sea. This is not Alaska and we do not have large volumes of large salmon. We do, however, have a number of Chinook, silver and Atlantic salmon now in our rivers around Yan Kee Way. This fish was taken in the Petrohué River. We have also taken a number of silvers in the 12 to 14 lb. class. These fish, together with sea run browns and Atlantic salmon, normally show up in the middle part to the end of March and are around until the middle of May. It is interesting to try and figure out if they are early or if there are just a lot more of them. At any rate, we thought that you would like to see this nice fish. We can assure you that these fish are a real surprise when they show up, as our guests are fly-fishing for resident rainbows and browns. I'm sure that the rainbows and browns are just as surprised as our anglers when these big guys are around. |
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1999/2000 Fishing ReportBy Jack MitchellNice! To quote Rick Sizzler (a well-qualified Southern Chile Expeditions guide), very nice, is how we describe our 1999/2000 fly-fishing season in Chile. Saying, “thanks” to all of our guests and workers is our first and foremost priority. So… thanks very much…to all of you! The season was not without changes and challenges, but it was an overall success. After assuring that our guests were absolutely satisfied, the continuing improvement and expansion of our fishing program was a key goal. We succeeded in meeting both goals this season and added more waters to the program as usual. Our guests were again impressed with our facilities, equipment, staff and service. Unparalleled was a frequently used adjective. We take pride in our program and strive to assure that your experience in Chile is the best available in the country, if not the world. In addition to our superb fishing program, this season we had many fishers and non-fishers take pleasure in the sport and cultural adventure expeditions at Yan Kee Way Lodge. For those of you who were not our among our guests this last season, we refer in this report, to Yan Kee Way as our northern location. Yan Kee Way Lodge is situated on the shore of Lago Llanquihue, a one-hour drive Northeast of Puerto Montt. The whole family may enjoy this deluxe lodge, as it offers a variety of sport adventure expeditions in addition to fishing. The expeditions offer you the opportunity to experience all that this region of Chile has to offer. El Patagon Lodge is located approximately 330 air miles South of Yan Kee Way. A deluxe fishing camp, El Patagon is located in the heart of the Chilean Andes amidst our own 3,000 acres of forests, rivers and lakes. The primary focus there is fishing! We are expanding the program there, for the 2000/2001 season, by adding kayaking, horseback riding, trekking and nature hikes for those who want to broaden their experience by closer contact with the natural beauty there. Our season really began November 15th (Fishing Season Opens) with the guide crew doing a lot of R&D to locate areas to expand our program. Basically this means that we fished and fished and we Spring is a wonderful time in Chile. Flowers burst forth in bloom, the water flows clean and the fish are hungry. December, our springtime down here, is an exciting month for fishing as well. As the Christmas holidays effect our total guest count, some of us were able to spend time at our South camp conducting a bit more research. Awesome best describes the fishing we found. During the months of November, December and the first part of January we were able to float fish what we call “ Rio Especial.” Our favorite river in the south, we refer to as Rio Patagon. It’s also on fire at this time. Large lake run Brown trout and resident Browns are very busy throughout a certain five mile stretch. In the spring, Mayfly and Caddis hatches come on which we all love to see. However our favorite approach to entice Browns is through the use of...can you say MICE! In January the Bumstead, Searing and Hanson party spent a few days at the North camp fishing The Rio The Vaden party joined us and experienced great fishing at El Patagon. On a few days their fish catches numbered close to 100. Of course the terrible weather pattern had passed and we all felt fortunate. The Pigott, Krengell, Thomas and Darlands followed for their combined two-week stay at our north and south locations. These man and wife teams too had many days with catches in excess of 100. Their adventure started in the north. Carol Krengell had to be persuaded to leave Yan Kee Way, She explained that she didn’t want to leave the best trout fishing ever experienced. But we convinced her that our program at El Patagon, down south, had a few surprises in store for her. Hatches of Mayflies, Caddis and a few Stoneflies continued to keep the trout looking for dries. But the most interesting insect (and dry fly of choice for trout and angler at this time of year) is the Cantaria Beetle. This critter measures about 4-5 inches in length and definitely raises eyebrows from Mr. Bow and Brown. The four couples proceeded to tear up the water to the end of their stay. Don and Dottie Thomas, not only enjoyed the fishing, but also were especially impressed with the natural beauty and bird life they experienced on their river floats. On departing, all of this group remarked that the trout fishing and overall package was an absolutely wonderful experience and provided some of the best fishing, if not the best, that they have had in the world. We are pleased that E. Donald Thomas Jr. and his wife are joining us in December of 2000 to try his hand on our waters. He was moved to action by his parent’s reports. The fall season in Chile is also a very special time of year. In March we guided Everett Boy, Peter Braman, Terry Deeny and Frank Young at El Patagon and Yan Kee Way. Unfortunately the two parties experienced another unusual weather pattern down South and it put a damper on the overall fishing at El Patagon. Everett returned to Yan Kee Way for a few days and experienced two good and one stellar day on the Rio Petrohué. As the fall progressed both locations boasted great Brown trout fishing . Jeff Edvalds came down to try his hand at some dedicated fly-fishing time. On his previous trips, he has spent more time behind his camera than behind his rod. He too had several 100 fish days. He was surprised at the number of hatches during his 8-day stay in March. He decided to take the majority of his fish, other than when he fished the mice, by matching the hatch. Jeff Crosetto and John Rapp joined us at Yan Kee Way in the second week of April. John, a designer for Patagonia’s® fishing products, went out fishing on Lake Llanquihue shortly after he got off the plane. That evening at dinner, he remarked that, based on the fish he saw rising and jumping (even though he didn’t get one to the boat), he could go home right then a happy fisherman! During the following week, Jeff and John had the opportunity to take many large fish from the runs moving back into the rivers in the fall, as the waters cooled Before concluding, it should be noted that this summary touches on but a few of the season highlights. The problem is space and time. You may not have the time to read it all and we may not have the space to store it all. So with that, we teased you with but a few fish stories. The only way you’ll really understand what we’re talking about is to join us again or make your first trip on…Rio X and Y…like the descriptions of Eden, but within reach in the Patagonia of Chile! |
fished and we, well you know! The last half of November, we were in the North where the Rio Petrohué, Jimmy Carter Spring Creek and the Rio Puelo kept us busy with 10-27
inch Rainbows and Browns. The legendary Rio Petrohué is almost out the back door of Yan Kee Way Lodge and offers outstanding fishing. It is a changeable river. However, knowledge of its intricacies
during the early and late season can definitely widen your eyes and bend your rod. The Robson party joined us during this month. Pete and Ann
fished our northern location for only three days. We spent one special day, on the Cayatue creek, a tributary to Todos Los Santos Lake. It was a wonderful day of
fishing with many 15-22 inch trout taken in crystal clear water. 
This river is the perfect example of a classic, textbook trout fishery in Chile.
If you were to photo- illustrate a book on fly-fishing, this would be the place to do it. This special river remains a great fishery following Jan 15, but is unfloatable due to
low water conditions and difficult access by foot. Later on, for the hardy, it’s a party. Our home lake, aptly named “Jumping Fish Lake” is a hopping place to be in
the early season, literally. After Jan. 15 until about March 15 the lake tends to slow to fishing with dries. We named Jumping Fish Lake
for the fish, (Rainbows, Brookies and Browns), as they literally go airborne for flying dragonflies. The truth, no lies, or guide BS! These fish don’t jump occasionally; it happens on a MEGA scale!
Petrohué, Rio Puelo and J.C. Spring Creek. The Bumstead’s
experienced great fishing on the Rio Puelo in the North and Tim Searing landed a hog Brown on the Spring Creek. At El Patagon the fishing was average due to the leading edge of a huge weather pattern, but Steve
Bumstead still managed to take a wonderful brown and the rest of the party caught many respectable trout. The Pope Party at El Patagon and The Reichow party at Yan Kee caught the heart of the
weather pattern that the Bumsteads barely missed. This unusual system, for that time of year, was merciless. The rivers were inflated in both the North and South for about 5 days. Nonetheless, we still managed
to get secure good fishing in at both locations by fishing some of our local secrets. In fact, Jerry Reichow landed a 27-inch brown from Lago I can’t tell you the name and
he figured it weighed about 8 pounds. As a result, he wants us to put this location on our regular schedule.
down. The
Rio Petrohué fished incredibly well in April through May 15 as the season closed. One of our Chilean guides finished up the season at Yan Kee Way with exploratory fishing right up to the last day. Based on his catches
and reports, we have some incredible runs of Atlantic and silver salmon in the Rio Petrohué right at the end of the season, not to mention awesome Rainbow and Brown trout fishing. |
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SOUTHERN CHILE EXPEDITIONS |
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