Aardvark McLeod

As we suspected all the flights into Europe were cancelled.  I re organised hotel rooms at the Eurobuilding hotel and have put together various options for the group. Lufthansa re booked us all on flights a week later and I am not one for hanging around if there is nothing I can do. There was no point in going north to the US as we would just be stuck somewhere else and at much more expense. Therefore the options were either to remain at the Eurobuilding for the duration, go to a larger hotel in Caracas such as the Gran Melia, go back to Los Roques, or I hatched a cunning plan to head south to the Rio Chico lagoon system to look for tarpon and snook. Tim Aldiss headed back to Los Roques the following morning, the business class passengers were flying earlier anyway so they remained, a couple decided to remain in the hotel, and four of us, myself, Phil, Geoff and Ian opted to head south and explore a little of Venezuela. Having been to Los Roques seven times I have never been further that Caracas into the interior of Venezuela, and that explorer in me was keen to have a look. The prospect of catching some tarpon was also better than sitting in a hotel all week.

The Rio Chico lagoon system is approximately 3 hours south of Caracas and used to be an established fishery that has somewhat been forgotten. The lagoon is vast, 40km long and 15km wide with huge mangrove islands, channels and bays. The right up says the lagoon has a huge concentration of juvenile tarpon and snook, so it looked like a good idea. We were going to stay at the La Tortuga beach resort in the middle of the National Park.

Bill decided that he would fish with Owen today and they would try a little trolling off the edge of the reef -  a little dark side fishing. As I was fishing with Owen I had a boat to myself and Jesus as my guide. As there has always been some friendly rivalry between Jesus and myself we decided to have a fishing competition on the flats, and Ramon joined us. Ramon is the other owner of Sight Cast. The area that we decided to fish is a long way out around Mosquito Cay and a long beach flat that is one of my favourites called Carenero. After running for about 30 minutes we stopped at the beach flats around Espenqui just  for a quick check and picked up a couple of fish around the edge.  I saw an absolute monster cruising the edge of the beach which vanished at high speed as soon as I put a cast down on him. The fish had to be over 10lbs, and this was obviously his minnow quaffing point. It still never ceases to amaze me that these fish are so totally clued in to minnows.

We moved on to Mosquito Cay where the tide was well down on the flats and they were exceptionally skinny. To avoid detection Jesus and I waded around the outside edge of the flat where I also encountered a school of jacks, but could not get a cast out fast enough. The outer edge had one fish with its tail and back out of the water feeding right on the edge as is there won’t, and with the 7# I managed to present a fly quietly enough to get a hook up. Jesus was beginning to sweat! We could see there were no further fish on the edge, so we moved towards the beach where there is a deeper area leading up towards the mangroves. This has always been one of my very favourite flats, especially in tough conditions, and this was no exception. There were plenty of bones in the area, pushing water and tailing. They were however exceptionally spooky as it was extremely low tide, but I found  by using the ambush technique, i.e. casting the fly out a long way ahead of moving fish in the direction I anticipated them to be moving and letting the fly sink to the bottom. Then, as the fish are directly over the fly I just give it one small tweak which is normally enough to generate an aggressive strike. By doing this I managed to catch a further five bones, and Jesus picked up one near the mangroves.

After a quick lunch on the move we turned the prow of the boat towards Carenero. In some ways this is the best  til last. Every year I come here Carenero beach is one of my great favourites. It has a very large average size of fish and a high concentration of baitfish. It is the epitome of beach flat fishing with minnows. Here I changed from the small Christmas Island special I was using to a Burke’s Hot Flash Minnow that I prefer over the gummy minnow anytime. It has a lighter presentation and feels less like fishing with a rubber fish.  As it has a high bank it is possible to walk along the top, spot the fish and then scurry down and cast at them.  Just beyond the small habitation we came across a small pod of enormous bonefish, none of them under 8lbs. They were chomping on a fish carcass about 3 feet from the beach edge. Unfortunately they had no intention of taking a fly, so we moved on. Just up on the corner the pelicans were smashing into minnows so I fired of a few blind shots in their direction. Almost immediately I hooked up as the fly was hit by a freight train and the fish charged off towards the deep water. There was simply nothing I could do about as I watched line peeling off the reel. I began to pump the rod but by this time I was well into the backing. Then everything went slack…. I reeled in and found my leader had been trashed on the coral. Sniff…

Then I was in the money… Fish would cruise by, I cast and stripped and they would rise in the water column and absolutely hammer the fly. Phenomenal.. I landed a further 6 fish, all over 4 lbs and the largest at 7 ½ lbs on the boga grip…. I was absolutely shattered by the time we finished the session. Jesus had picked up a further couple of fish as well. Finally tally was 13 bones and a bar jack to me and 5 bones for Jesus… shame…. Getting back to the lodge the days tally was a 42 bones, 1 horse eyed jack, 1 bar jack, 3 pompano, 1 barracuda with Owen catching his personal best of an 8 lbs fish on the Ocean side pancake flats along with one of 5 lbs. In the evening we had our yearly guides casting competition that Jesus finally won! He had been trying desperately to win for the last three years.

To summarise this has been one of the best weeks we have had in years. Totals for the week were some 242 bonefish, 51 others. Although it may not be the largest totals we have had in the past there were some excellent catches of permit, jacks, barracuda, pompano and numerous other species. We also had some exceptional fishing on the pancakes which even though is testing was the main reason everyone came. It is technical bonefishing, but extremely rewarding, and a number of us acheived large fish off the pancake flats. Most opted to try and catch fish on those flats rather than get numbers elsewhere proving the spirit of the trip.

At this point though we realised that there was an extremely slim possibility of us actually being able to leave Venezuela on our scheduled flights due to the Volcano in Iceland. By the looks of things we maybe here a little while….

The dawn raid on the bay this morning again failed to hook any tarpon, but Bonito Boy Phil Mellor managed another fantastic Bonito of about 8 lbs which gave him an excellent fight. Again the tarpon were present, rolling all amongst the pelicans and gulls mobbing the sardines. My fishing partner for the day was Graham Birkett and our guide was Darwin. Having fished the pancakes for the last few mornings I decided to make along run out to the south east side of the archipelago to a huge sand flat down there. We saddled up for the long walk across this flat, Darwin packing some extra water.

Almost immediately I saw a pair of fish scooting away from us and slung out a cast with a small Christmas Island the one of them obligingly took to get me off the mark for the morning.  The walk was long and unfortunately there were not the quantities of fish we expected, although I did catch a further three fish off the flat, each one hoovering up the Christmas Island special off the sand.

There was hardly a breath of wind today and the heat was quite literally searing. After a quick discussion with Darwin we motored back the way we had come down the east side of the archipelago to a fantastic ocean side flat I have had great fishing on. The water is iridescent blue straight off the ocean and the first flat the fish encounter when coming out of deep water. As such it normally has large fish on it when at the right stage of tide. As we arrived a large permit dashed across the flat for deeper water much to my annoyance. Graham, Darwin and I wandered across the flat a little way before deciding there really was not enough water on it to do any good. As we turned back towards the boat, joy of joys just off the edge a large black sickle tail was waving at us as permit dipped down and tailed. Now if there is one fish that can totally throw me and turn me into a quivering wreck it is Kermit the Permit. Graham graciously told me to take the shot as he had caught on the day before. The fish was in deeper water and obviously of substantial size as its whole tail was in the air in a foot and a half of water. I threw my flats pack across my shoulders and Darwin and I ventured into the deeper water to try and get above the fish.  The permit continued feeding and we managed to get above it as I peeled line off the reel. My heart was hammering as I began to cast the large simram out to the patch the fish was feeding on.  The fly landed and drifted slowly into the feeding permit…… I gave the fly a couple of long slow strips…. the tail went down… and nothing happened. The permit had not spooked, but just vanished… well that is just permit fishing. We moved up to the end of the flat and I actually got two further shots at permit before we moved on.

Heading back across the inner lagoon Jardi our boatman threw Grahams plug out the back and trolled as we had our lunch.  Just after we finished sandwiches the reel began to scream as a large barracuda hit the lure hard. I ran to the back of the boat, grabbed the rod out and passed it to Graham to fight. He managed to bring the cuda quite close to the boat and we could see it was a big fish between 20 – 30lbs. Unfortunately not long after a couple of further runs the split ring pulled apart and the Cuda was gone. Gutting…
The pancake flats were going to be tough, we knew that. The tide was on slack water, and as soon as we arrived we saw tailing fish. Darwin took Graham round one side and I wandered down the other. Graham cast to pair of tailing fish downwind of him which immediately erupted in cloud of spray. I then had a similar experience with a school of fish swimming around me as I sat on the flat trying not to spook them. This continued for a while as oddly enough the fish would spook but not leave the flat. Often the cast would go out well in front, wait for the fish to come over the flat, a couple of twitches and they would just ignore it. What was particularly frustrating as the fish continued to tail in front of us so they were feeding. I can only imagine they were clued into one particular food source which we were not matching. On the next flat finally Graham managed to hook one, a real achievement. He quickly landed it after two or three powerful runs. A lovely bone of about 4 ½ lbs. We tried one more pancake (incidentally these were three pancake flats that I had never fished before) and Graham manage one more where I failed miserably. I had three fish on those flats that came and ate the fly but each time I failed to hook up and could not understand it. Finally I checked the fly and found the hook tip had been bent inwards on the coral.. that will teach me.

 The day had been a tough one due to the complete lack of wind and we have all got a bit fried. The tally was only 23 bones to day, one of which was a stunning 8lber of the pancakes by Mike Timms, and 15 other species including some good Cuda, pompano, snapper, and Ian Hutchinson got smoked by a Wahoo on the outer edge of the reef. Even though numbers were down many said it was one of the most intense days fishing they had had so far and really enjoyed the challenge of catching fish on the pancakes. Even taking one or two was a real achievement.

As the tarpon are around in numbers currently in the bay Phil, Ian and I decided to have a crack early this morning, but rather than casting off the dock I organised to have a boat to take us out at 0530. Alex our boatman arrived at the appointed hour and we motor a little way out into the bay before anchoring up. Despite the early hour the pelicans and gulls were crashing all over the place and tarpon rolled among them, lazily sucking in mouthfuls of minnows. We fished until 0700 in which time Ian hit one tarpon  and I caught an 8lbs Horse Eyed jack on a 9# which was really good fun. The fish ran out under the ropes and we had to pass the rod under many of them before finally the fish hit clear water and I could apply some proper pressure.  It never ceases to amaze me how powerful they are. It was a little frustrating though in that there were large tarpon rolling everywhere and we could not hook them. I put this down to the huge quantity of bait in the harbour so they hardly have to put much effort into feeding.

After breakfast I headed off with my boat partner Mike Timms for the day. Chris Yrazabel joined us and our guide was Callito who is an old friend. We began the day on the pancake flats as normal, and they proved to be particularly tricky today. There are over 200 pancake flats, but we all have our favourites. Even my favourites this morning we tough with the fish almost spooking themselves. For a lighter presentation I decided to fish with a 6# today and I feel I got as near to dry fly fishing for bonefish as possible. I spotted a single fish finning its way uptide and as I moved into position I began to strip off line. I had gone light on purpose and had a 16 ft leader tapered to 8lbs point and a tiny shrimp pattern with rubber legs on a size 12. I dropped down on my knees, and the line sang out of the rings and dropped the fly inches from the tailing fish. It immediately lunged forward and tailed as I strip struck and tightened on the fish. As half of its body was out of the water it went nuts careering across the flat before vanishing of the edge of the flat taking my entire fly line with it. Not quite what I was expecting and a bit of a rude wake up call. The 6# bucked viciously, but I have to say at no time did I feel out of control and I had the fish back on the flat in no time. It turned out to be a cracker of about 5 ½ lbs. I slipped the barbless hook from the corner of its mouth before gently returning it. For me this was an achievement and what I truly love about fishing these pancake flats. When the fish are in this kind of mood it is imperative to remain low and have a light presentation. Sometimes it helps to lead the fish a good few feet so that you are effectively ambushing them. Mike fishing with Callito hooked and landed a lovely 6lber followed by a smaller fish of about 3 lbs, so we were off to a good start.

Our happy little crew bounced from Pancake to pancake spooking some and catching a few more and as he light became increasingly difficult Chris told us he was taking us to lunch. He took us to the lobster restaurant  on Augustine Cay where we had some of the best lobster I have had in a long time while sitting on benches with sand about our feet. The fired snapper was also outstanding and it took us a little while to get going again. I did not fancy more pancake flats in the afternoon as the light was too high and going against the wind so I suggested we head over to Francisqui so mike could experience a little beach fishing with minnows which he had not done yet. The north side of Francisqui is open to the ocean so often has some very large fish cruising its margins. I left Mike with Callito and wandered round the corner as Mike hooked into a couple more fish spotted by the eagle eyed Callito.  After patrolling the beach for 20 minutes or so I rounded the corner of the island to find a stunning flat sheltered from the wind. It had about a foot of flat calm water on it and I could see small groups of bones cruising around with their dorsal fins and tails in the air. I love finding fish in this condition and did my best o sneak up on them. I waded out as quietly as possible, flanked by a white heron with the same thought in its mind.

The first pod I managed to get to very kindly ate my bonefish bitters before I decided to yank the fly out of the fishes mouth with a trout style strike. After a self reprimand I located another single set of fins and proceeded in that direction. The line flew true, the fly landed with a small plop about five inches from its head. I let the fly sink and then gave it one small strip. The fish turned and greedily engulfed it. This time I stripped struck and the fish was on. This one took off like a small submarine ripping the line across the flat in a wide arc making a tearing noise as I clear the line and then the reel made a tortured scream as it took up the fight. I was fishing with a 7# at this point and the rod danced its merry jig as line continued to peel of line and first hundred yards of backing. I truly love this game. After a couple more tearing runs I brought him to hand and weighed him on the boga grip. 6 ½ lbs. In the words of my friend Henry Gilbey….. Awesome!

I wandered back to the boat and Jesus and I motored round to pick up Mike and Callito who had a found a school of fish hanging off the edge of the beach and were giving them a hard time. We had just enough time to check the lagoon a the end of the runway before heading home, and Mike picked up a lovely fish tailing on that small flat, again of 5lbs. They are never small in there. What was unusual was that the fish actually attacked Mike’s fly, and Enrico Pugalaisy construction . It actually almost came out of the water as it pounced on it. Very exciting to watch.

On returning to the lodge and doing the tally in the evening it transpired that Graham Birkett had missed a grand slam by a whisker. He caught a lovely permit of about 8 lbs, and bunch of bones and had been smashed to peices on the coral by a tarpon of about 20 lbs. The fish had wrapped itself around a coral outcrop, and despite the guide swimming out and releasing it the back parted. Nevertheless a permit is a permit is a permit as they say. Score was 47 bonefish, my horse eyed jack, 1 Bonito by Phil rapidly becoming the Bonito boy, and another cracking needlefish of about 3 lbs.

A number if us woke up early this morning and headed down to the dock to see what was happening about 0600. The usual pelican activity was abundant and apart from the giant bonefish that cruise around down there hovering up minnows there were also the odd tarpon rolling. Ian Hutchinson hooked one good fish that released him after a short tussle, and our little band headed back to the Posada for some scrambled eggs and bacon. The weather was a little overcast today with high cloud twinned with hazy light, it was going to be tough to see.

I fished with Ian Hutchinson today with Rapheal again and our first stop was an edge down at Isla Larga. At first glance it did not look much, a rough coral edge with lined with mangrove. Alex our boatman immediately spotted some tailing fish along the edge, but the time we had organised ourselves and slipped over the side of the boat they were gone. One on to the edge Rapheal led us through the mangroves into a stunning ocean side lagoon with crystal clear water totally sheltered from the wind. It was the kind of fishing one dreams about, wading through a sand bottomed area with glass like water. Ian hooked one that tore of down his edge making him work for his line which he promptly landed, kissed and then returned. Ian is a fish kisser for his sins. I then came group of bonefish were making their way down the edge of the mangrove, feeding as they went and sticking a tail in the air every so often. I had switched to a weighted Christmas Island special to match the deeper water and cast it up to an area about three feet in front of them. As they neared I gave it one short strip and the lead fish made a B line for before hovering it up and charging into some weed before kindly returning my fly to me only slightly molested. “Boooo” I heard from across the water (the banter was to be particularly harsh today.) I made up for it by landing a further three in quick succession and Ian loosing another, but it was a good start to the day.

The light became very bad, so we headed to the pancakes to make the most of the tides. Wading across the first I saw a truly massive double figure bonefish that had to be well into double figures which I did an extremely good job of scaring before landing another of his smaller brethren. The tides were moving into slack water after lunch, so Rapheal and I made a plan to head over to Crasqui, try the lagoon a the back or the beach on the front. Half way over there we passed a white sand flat which i spotted a massive Barracuda of 30 lbs or so sunning itself. After quick 180 degree turn all three of us slipped over the side to see if we could not persuade it to eat a fly. Ian slightly struggled with the 10 weight directly into the wind and passed the rod to me. I put the fly passed his nose a couple of time but only succeeded in spooking it… seemed to be a common theme today. Still, it was good to see it on the open flat.

The tide was really too big for Crasqui lagoon, but we still saw a few tailing fish… which I also spooked. Rapheal moved on the beach flat along Crasqui to have a crack at the minnow feeding bones amongst the diving pelicans. This is still the only place in the world I know where bonefish attack minnow patterns off a beach among the diving pelicans. Ian landed a lovely fish that absolutely hammered his hotflash Minnow, and I had 5 or 6 that swirled, followed, chased, and then failed to eat. Finally we tried out luck in the lagoon at the end of the runway on Gran Roques. This again is an ocean side lagoon completely crystal clear, and last year produced some very large fish for me. Ian and Rapheal moved down one side and I the other and after only moving twenty yards or so I saw massive tail waving below me. I cast a long line and dropped a large bonefish bitters right on its head and the fish immediately pounced on the fly. This fish was between 6 and 8 lbs and charged towards the safety of the deeper water while simultaneously spitting my fly back at me with enough force that the fly landed at my feet!  Summed up my day really!

Luckily the others had better luck with the group landing a further 48 bonefish. Geoff Haslam had a 5 lbs bonefish bitten clean in two by a Cuda, and Bill Thomson had spent an hour chasing a Permit that his guide Darwin estimated at between 35 – 40lbs, simply huge! Some large bones had been lost today, and it appears I was not the only one having similar luck.

Weather was cracking first thing this morning, and as usual most members of the party struggled with the time difference and many were up and about early. Phil Mellor led the dawn raid on the dock and was greeted by the site of tarpon rolling in the bay and also schools of jacks tearing into the bait fish there.  After scaring a few fish they headed back for breakfast.

I fished with John Thornton today for his second day out on flats ever, and Chris Yrazabel joined us. Our guide for the day was Darwin. We headed directly for the pancake flats for which the tide and light were absolutely perfect, an incoming pushing tide as low tide had only been an hour or two before hand. There was a light breeze on our backs as we stepped onto the first of the pancakes and we were immediately greeted by the sight of waving tails glistening in the morning sun. John and Darwin hooked into a fish almost immediately, and Chris and I moved down the windward side taking alternate shots. As I moved towards the bottom side of the flat my attention was grabbed by some fish flashing off the edge of the flat. Thinking they might be jacks I headed over to investigate only to discover that it was a school of large bonefish actually busting on bait fish! They were rolling as a school chasing minnows out of the water. To say it is unique is an understatement, and I have only ever seen it a handful of times before and only know of it happening here.

What followed on was pancake paradise. With the incoming tide pushing through until high tide at 1500 we had some of the best action I have seen on the pancakes in a number of years. We encountered some huge schools of fish and after hooking a few out we would then move onto the next flat. On the Horse Show Pancake I hooked one tailing fish on a small bonefish bitters and obligingly led the school over to Chris where he immediately hooked another. His fish tore down the left hand side of the flat scattering others as it went. All three of us had plenty of action all morning, and as we headed over the conch shack for lunch to meet Bill Thomson, John had had 5, I had 5 and Chris had 4, the biggest being 6lbs or so. I enjoy going to the conch shack for lunch as it gives the opportunity to get out of the sun for a while and enjoy the surroundings. While we waited for Bill to arrive I wandered round the back to see if there was anything doing and found a school of maybe one hundred fish at the top asleep in the waves and enjoying the sun. Against the waves they were almost green in colour. I managed to nick one out of the back by casting straight into the wind which is always satisfying before joining the others for lunch. The afternoon session was tougher as the tide was slack making the fish much spooking, but Darwin did an excellent job and showed us plenty more opportunities before John and I decided we had done well and were ready to head home.

Back at Acuarela and some of Mimo’s fine homemade pizza I tallied up the days catch. Everyone had a cracking day and the total was 51 bones, 1 8lbs snook by Mike Timms, One lost Tarpon from Tim Aldiss, 1 jack of 15 lbs by Geoff Haslam, I Bonito by Phil Mellor, 1 bar jack by Ian Hutchinson that nearly spooled him on a 7 weight and a 3 lbs needle fish. Not a bad day all in all and spirits were high at dinner.

I am back on Los Roques in Venezuela for my annual hosted bonefishing trip, and it is lovely to be back on the island amongst old friends. The journey out on Lufthansa was very painless, and after a brief stop in La Guairá for the night we flew over to the islands on the LTA flight and once again I find myself amongst the pelicans, minnows and a bonefish. This year everyone was out the door after breakfast in record time as most of the group fishing this week are old hands and experienced fishermen.

I fished with Phil Mellor today and our guide was Rapheal. The weather was a little cloudy with patchy sun and being the last boat out we headed straight over to the main channel to the back of Augustine Cay to a fantastic little flat. Immediately we saw a few fish and Phil headed off towards a coral outcropping with Rapheal as I waded towards the mangroves. Immediately they saw a few cruising against the edge and made a few cast, but Phil failed to connect.   A large rain cloud appeared and proceeded to dump some warm rain on us, and almost immediately Phil turned, saw a fish tailing in the rain and connected. The rod bucked and the fish tore down the coral edge with Phil holding his rod high to keep the leader away from the coral. After a brief struggle he landed his first fish of the trip, a cracking 6 lber.

We carried on walking down the edge towards the small shacks that the lobster fisherman use here and just on the other side the two of them came across a snapper carcass that was being eaten by a group of bones well into double figures. Phil cast out his large gotcha and one instant pounced before tearing of under the boats. Despite Phil sticking his rod under the water to try to remain connected the pressure was too much and the fish kindly released him. This is the same Vicinity that Tim Aldiss caught his 14 lber last year, and there always some huge resident fish in the vicinity, attracted no doubt by the lobster detritus.
We moved to the pancakes and Phil and I both picked up a fish or two from some giant schools there weighing in at about 3 – 4 lbs. With the tide being slack thought the fish were very nervous and would not settle.

By this stage the tide was nearly full and becoming increasingly slack, and while having lunch on the move we moved round the back of Espenqui for a long walk over the hard flats here. These flats are absolutely solid under food, but the water was just too hot and apart from the odd fish moving at speed we saw very little. I have done this on a number of occasions and it is always boom or bust…. and in this instance I knew it was going to be a bust… After rehydrating on the boat Rapheal and I plotted to spend the last hour or so on the pancakes as the tide was just on the turn.

The first pancake flat we waded the sun was right in our eyes with the wind at our backs and we stepped on every fish before we could see them. There were plenty of fish about though as they waved their tails at us in salute closely followed by giving us the fin! I then turned round to Rapheal and said that we would do the next one in reverse into the wind. Now it was as if someone had turned on the lights and the entire flat was lit up. Granted casting directly into the wind presented more of a challenge, but by using a high back cast and keeping a low forecast it is possible to tuck the line under the wind and I immediately spotted three cruisers heading towards me. I punched line straight up about 15 yards and dropped the fly on a sandy spot as they came on. When the fish was a foot away I gave it one small tweak and the fish instantly turned and snaffled my size 12 bonefish bitters. Well, he was not expecting that and charged up the flat instantly stripping me down to about 80 yards of backing before heading off the edge into deep water. Incredibly exciting and exactly why I love it here. Although it felt huge it turned out to be again only about 4 lbs on the boga grip.

Phil and I then were treated to a show that I have only witnessed on a handful of occasions. As the light dropped the entire pancake was covered on waving tails jogging in the evening light. We just did not know which way to cast as we were just surrounded with tailing fish. The trouble was very time you cast at one you lined another bunch that spooked, and even though Phil only hooked up one more it was a delight to behold. Time to head home.. a perfect end to the first day.

Arriving back at the lodge I did a quick head count and everyone had got off the starting blocks satisfactorily. I was especially pleased that John Thornton landed his first three bonefish ever, and was still in a state about having been nearly stripped of all his backing by his first fish. In total the group landed over 40 fish for the first day and we settled in for our first outstanding dinner from Mimo. Can’t wait until tomorrow!

Two or three years back I read an article in a fishing magazine about the Sea Trout Fishing in Rio Irigoyen in Argentina. I immediately sent the article to my friend Jon saying that this is where we should be going. The fishing sounded interesting, a smaller river which we like, the possibility of BIG fish and the scenery looked spectacular. Jon of course agreed. A year or so later when I read an article about the Rio Irigoyen in the Aardvark McLeod brochure, I contacted Peter who offered us two rods for the week of 27 February to 6 March. The dates were very tight for me but it was all he had to offer so we just could not say no!

During the week leading up to our trip, Argentina experienced torrential rains which were very evident as we drove into Buenos Aires from the airport. We hoped that the river would be fishable. Having arrived in Buenos Aires a couple of days earlier I met up with Jon and the rest of the party on Friday evening. On Saturday morning we awoke to news of the devastating earthquake in Chile and that there were Tsunami warnings and many flights had been cancelled! Gordon Richmond of The Latin American Fishing Co. who was accompanying us quickly put our minds at rest – our flight had not been affected.

The scenery landing at Ushuaia Airport and on the drive over the mountains was spectacular and once we turned onto the dirt road which later turns into a track we realised that we really were going to be fishing in a very remote area – this is one of the things that appealed to me and I was not disappointed. Arriving at the lodge we were met by our guides; twin brothers Nico and Alex and Fernando. Nico went through all our fly boxes advising on the appropriate flies and discarding many saying “rubbish hook”. As we were to learn trout hooks are inadequate – these fish get big!

We set off around 9am, for our first taste of the Rio Irigoyen. Jon and I were with Nico for the first two days. Arriving at our allocated beat we found the water slightly off colour and Nico commented that it was falling and clearing and provided we got no rain, it was going to get better and better. Nico looked through my fly box didn’t like anything he saw and pulled a large black heavily weighted rubber legged fly from his fly patch which he tied on for me. “Start above that fallen tree, cast 45 degrees downstream, tight into the bank, along the edge of the tree and into the pocket below the tree. I started in and after a cast or two got the instruction,  to throw an upstream mend into my cast allowing the fly to sink, don’t mend as this pulls the fly away from the lie and short slower strips. Nico then moved off to get Jon started.

A few casts later as my fly swung through the current there was a swirl but I felt nothing. Did that have a go at my fly? Heart rate up a bit my fly landed perfectly tight against the side of the log, I let it sink for a few seconds, strip strip and bang! I was tight into my first feisty Irigoyen Sea Trout, a very bright fresh 6 pounder. I thought “this is going to be a good trip”.

The second session of the day started slowly but as the sun was beginning to set, Nico moved us to what looked like a really fishy stretch of water. Fallen trees at regular intervals created what looked like perfect holding water. Nico put Jon into a pool and we moved upstream and started fishing down towards a log jam. My expectations were high as I knew this was the time when the fish became more active. Down the side of the log jam, nothing, into the eddy behind the log jam, still nothing. The water looked to good not to hold a fish, so I fired a cast square across the river right in behind the logs, let the big Bitch Creek sink and had hardly started to strip when the line straightened and I was into a very solid fish. Nico’s instructions were clear, “keep it out of the logs”! After an initial run downstream it headed back for the logs and had to be stopped. After 5 or 6 minutes the fish surfaced. Nico said, “its huge!”, and I could not believe the size of its tail, it was like a spade!

I started  leveraging the fish towards the bank,  it turned and ran powerfully downstream and then, it was gone! What did I do wrong, I was stunned and I could sense Nico’s disappointment.  This is what I had come here to catch, had I lost my opportunity? With it now dark, I had changed to a big black streamer pattern and the pain of losing that fish was eased when I hooked and landed a lovely 12 pounder. This was only the first day!

Day two brought me back to earth. Again it was that early evening session that brought excitement but this time it was Jon’s turn and after a really good fight he landed a 17 pounder, our biggest of the trip so far.

Our third day saw us on the bottom two beats, where we had fun with a fresh run of small fish of up to 4lbs but it was again that period preceding last light that brought the action. Alex, our guide, had selected a green bodied black Rabbit as he called it from my box. I said, “should we change the leader”, but after examining it Alex said it was fine. I joked with Alex about the consequences of him being wrong. He directed me into a run at the top of the pool below a log jam which extended right across the river. In the fading light I cast the fly tight against a section of fallen bank topped with green grass, it swung around quickly in the fast current, I moved down a meter of so cast again and all hell broke loose! The fish tore downstream into the belly of the pool where there was another enormous log jam. I stopped it. It then, staying very deep, moved slowly into the main stream. It was very heavy and not easily moved, I thought about the leader.

The fish then took off upstream straight towards the logs that stretched right across the river. I remember Alex telling me to stop it, my drag was tight and having little effect and so there was no option but to clamp my hand down over the fly line and onto the cork grip of the rod. The rod bent precariously but held and the run was halted just short of the logs. After what seemed like an age the fish slowly dropped back into the deep run. Moving up the bank I started easing the fish towards the shallow water and then Alex exclaimed “it’s HUGE”! “It’s the biggest sea trout I’ve ever seen”. I still hadn’t seen it. I continued backing up until Alex was able to tail it and then I saw it, he was a monster! A very silver cock fish measuring 99 cm in length and estimated to be 28lbs! After a few quick photos we removed the fly that was twisted and bent from the pressure and he was released, I was on cloud nine and Alex was telling me what a monster it was and how he thought my rod was going to break when I stopped the run.

Back at the lodge, over meals that can only be described as delicious, stories about the days experiences were exchanged. Everyday there were stories of big fish being landed and of course many about the big ones that had got away!

After our fourth days fishing we had an interesting discussion about when the fish were most active. As Alistair Robjent and Mons Tornqvist were fishing the beat closest to the lodge they decided to go out before first light. From the feedback we got over lunch it was worthwhile and I think it was during this session that Alistair landed his 20 pounder.

On our last morning Jon and I decided to make an early start, we headed out before first light. Unlike the clear skies we had experienced for most of the week, it was heavily overcast and damp. I had almost immediate success with 2 spritely 4 or 5 pounders and then just before 9 am Jon hooked what was clearly a good fish. The fish, as with all the big ones we caught, did not show until played out and put up a very good fight.  There was much excitement when we eventually saw the fish it was big and Jon now, on our last morning, had been rewarded with a 20 pounder.

After a break for a cup of coffee Fernando our guide took us down to the sea pool where we had an hour of fun, on the full tide, catching Robelo. (A kind of Falklands mullet.) I think I had about a dozen of which the largest was  7 pounds but I understand that they get to about 20lbs and can well believe that a fish of this size would put up some fight.

A little while later having moved up stream I landed a fish of about 4 pounds. Fernando was on hand to help and to my surprise said “it’s a Steelhead”! Apparently there are some in the river with fish of up to 10 pounds having been caught.

In the afternoon we slowly fished our way up the beat, taking a number of fish but nothing much over 5 pounds.  We arrived in the fading light at the same pool where I had caught my monster three days earlier. I dug in my fly box for the same pattern that had accounted for my prize fish and after checking the leader started fishing down the pool. Nothing. It was now totally dark and I decided to change to a large black Egg Sucking Leach fly. Fernando said “give it 10 more minutes”.  I cast let the fly sink deep and had hardly started a slow retrieve when the line was stopped dead. The fish ran and had to be stopped a number of times always staying deep, a sure sign of a big fish. This time as we got our first glimpse of the fish it was Fernando saying “its HUGE”. Another really fresh silver fish, a very deep well conditioned hen, 88 cm long and estimated to weigh 25 pounds. What a way to finish what had already been a dream trip!

When Jon and I discussed the trip, we both commented on the good condition of the fish. We did not catch any coloured fish and without exception they were all in excellent condition. The standard of the guides could not have been better, the food was excellent and the friendly and hospitable staff all contributed to a memorable experience.

We know, weather matters.

We often hear from people who are considering going bonefishing that they’d love to plan a trip, if only they knew in advance that the weather was going to be decent.  Andros South thought to themselves that typically “the weather is almost always decent on South Andros anyhow”…but they understand the concern, particularly during the ‘winter months’ that honestly have a bad rap as it relates to weather.

So they decided to get a little creative and give a new booking policy a try for Andros South.

They think that most of the time, minor disturbances in the weather aren’t going to affect your decision to take a trip. They think that most of the time, major disturbances in the weather can be seen in a forecast 7 days out. If you see what you think is terrible weather on the horizon, they don’t want you to be locked in to a trip you don’t want to take.

So…

Andros South Rescheduling Policy for 2010

If you book a new trip to Andros South that takes place any time in 2010, you can reschedule your trip, for any reason, with 7 or more days’ notice, for any time within a year, subject to availability.
They do not charge a penalty for rescheduling your trip.  As long as you give us 7 days’ notice, we will book you in any available week within the next year.
Within 7 days of your trip, rescheduling is not allowed and refunds are not given.
You’re responsible for all charges related to rescheduling your trip, including but not limited to airline change fees and fare changes, hotel charges, etc.
Right now this program only applies for new bookings of trips that take place in 2010.  As they come to the end of 2010, we’ll evaluate the program and make a decision on whether or not we continue it.

So, who wants to go bonefishing?

The season has been going extremely well at Las Buitreras Lodge in Argentina. With the removal of the nets and anti poaching patrols down at the river mouth this season has really begun to see the effect. Despite some tough conditions at the beginning of last week we have seen an increasing number of larger fish entering the river. The photo below shows a couple of days catch statistics.

Although the Rio Gallegos has always been seen slightly as playing second fiddle to Rio Grande it is very likley than over the coming seasons we will see the population of sea trout begin to increase.

If you would be interested in receiving some information on our Argentine sea trout operations then please don’t hesitate to contact us. The wilderness of Patagonia is still the number one spot in the world to catch large sea trout. The fish below is a 28 lber which is one of the largest to come from the river.