1st November
A plan is hatched to chase big fish instead of numbers
So we headed into some steep drop-offs, fishing from large rocky shelves over deep waters with some large underwater outcrops of rocky structures. Large fish were seen cruising, but with glassy warm conditions, they were not feeding. We both managed to drag a fish in from deep fishing a balanced leech under a bobber. Fishing in a T-shirt, the morning was warm. Then, across the lake to the west, you could see the breeze coming across the lake, a slow-moving wind. Within 20 minutes, the breeze was over us and waters having great movement, the bobbers moving the leech patterns. Marlco yells “strike,” oh Dizzy, what are you doing, sleeping? I had zoned out at the wrong time. Bugger, fish gone. Another longer cast, more focus, this time strike and hook set, bang, a nice chromer (silver rainbow). The morning continued with both of us landing fish from 1 kg to 3.5 kg. The morning session I’d had 13 fish as we broke for lunch; I felt it as an unlucky number.
After lunch, we headed to an onshore deep area again, a location known as Sultan rock.
Parked truck and a short walk over the white cauliflower rocks moonscape, we see the bay, fish stacked in there of all sizes, some bloody big submarines holding in the rough waters.
Fishing with nymph only, long cast, long slow strip retrieve, the line gets smashed and the 13th number curse is lifted. Then I look over to my left, Joseph is fighting a great fish after some epic jumps; the large bow of 6.25 kg was in the large net, the numbers of fish grew for us both.
Again Joseph is into a large bow, in the net, bang next my turn and I was into a great chromer of 5 kg that gave me some curry on the line and some unreal aerial jumps and also deep runs, managed to get it into Marlco’s net in deep rock drop-off.
Marlco says to me, I’m going for a walk over the other side to see what’s leaking beneath the waves, 2 minutes later he signals to us both come over this side, we’d been lucky where we were with fish numbers, sizes, and winds on the correct casting side, we moved over yep plenty of fish were sighted, but with stiff winds off shoulder casting was needed, continuing with small nymph copper john and long strips wasn’t long before I set hook into a number of small fish up to 2 kg, when I spot Joseph wrestling a large fish, this fish wasn’t going to give up too easily with some long runs through the bay.
Marlco gets ready and places the net down, fish had different ideas and shoots out again with some jumps and runs, finally gave up and is in the net, woooooo what a fish, a huge bow of about 6.5 kg, high 5s and pics.
I was doing well and continued to get fish into the net and some great fish of between 2 to 4 kg range, Joseph into another solid fish, mate this big chromer wasn’t staying in the bay and broke the surface several times heading into the open waters, no stopping this fish, the big chromer launches again and throws the hook fish gone, man what a fish.
5pm: Marlco calls let’s do another 30 minutes at another spot, we move to another small bay with onshore winds and waves about 450 High.
I walk out on the black coral shelves with waves crashing in and Marlco points out fish in the darker waters, long casts slow long strips with the copper John, cast again, stripping in, long slow draws I have a slow take, strike, fish on, the heavy pull starts as the fish moves further into shallows and across the corals Marlco yells get him out of there, I’m trying but this fish was in control, the fish turns onto me, stripping line to keep up with it, it starts its run out, back in the reel and take some control I guide it into the net, strangely too easy, once in the net, it explodes with the vigor and stamina of the large fish, man this is huge Marlco was over the moon as much as me, with some pics and weighing the fish is released, fish number 20 was a bloody ripper 💥💥.
Joseph is in the end of the bay with fish on Marlco runs down to him with net. I continue to fish the sun low and shining into the backs of the waves, the fish were large and surfing the waves, my god so many fish, some huge fish were there, I managed another 4 small little bows of up to 1.5 kg.
Day done and dusted, WOW and what a day it’s been.
Tonight a big social lamb BBQ, full lamb, with chicken pork flaps, beef shoulder, blood sausages, beers wines, what a great night.
Marlco, Martine, and I sat up till the early hours, a great session where we spoke about the Estancia (farm) and the native Indian trails and artifacts that have been found here and the hides that they built to ambush the guanacos (lama) as they hunted them on these lowland plateaus 1000m above sea level
They follow the guanacos’ trail as they move down to these lowlands for the winters they also told me about some local waters of an area that I will explore up North near Rio Picco region before heading Southeast chasing king salmon.
2nd November: Dawn is breaking with a fiery red sky
A harbinger of strong winds ahead. So far, we’ve been spared the full force of the winds this place is known for, as you can see by the pictures I’ve shared, but today might be different.
It’s been windy overnight, waking me a few times for sure. At this very moment, a breeze blows over the cabins, and we’re tucked under the plateau.
We kitted up and drove up out of the cabins, and the winds were howling, rocking the truck as we drove across the plateau. The lake came into view, wild with the majority covered in white caps. Again, with big fish on the hit list, we drove down the rocky descent towards the lake and took a left turn heading to a location called Camelot.
We were fishing in extreme winds and waves, with the wind howling from the West onto our left shoulders. We punched flies into the deep as best we could, casting leeches and wooly buggers, but no trout were drawn to the dark flies.
Persevering for a few hours with little to show, we pulled out and headed to the slightly sheltered waters of Monster Bay.
The sheltered waters had six fishermen on it. We fished till lunchtime, casting small copper johns. We both managed to set hooks into a fish, though only a few were sighted.
After lunch, we went to the top section of the river and chased some more bows. The rocky canyons of this river are definitely something to see. We spotted some fish, and fishing and walking downstream, we both landed some nicely colored-up bows.
Tomorrow is sadly the last day of fishing. What will it bring? Yes, strong winds again will be a definite. Will we find the big monsters in the surf? It’s dawn now as I write this, and the winds are howling with red skies.
November 3: Final Day
The final day of fishing on the famed Strobel Lake at Estancia Laguna Verde greeted us with winds blowing through the night, and the dawn skies painted red, promising a windy day. And it delivered. Our plan, once again, was to chase the big chromers and not focus on numbers. Our first stop was Camelot, where we stood on the point, perched on huge rocky shelves, and got drenched by waves and spray. Despite trying multiple styles and flies, we only managed to pick up one small chromer. With the winds increasing and fish nowhere in sight, we relocated to Monster Bay, a slightly sheltered spot. Even there, with strong winds coming over our backs, neither Joseph nor I landed a fish, and sightings were scarce.
After lunch in the shelter, joined by guide Nano who was guiding Heather and Warren from Wellington, we went over to Sultan Rock. This little bay had all onshore winds and possibly fish holding in there. The winds had dropped to a more reasonable level. We walked over the rocks to see many fish holding in the shallows and fresher chromers moving in and out. Within minutes, we were both onto some great-sized fish around the 4 kg mark. The chromers were definitely moving in and out through the deep waters, and Joseph snagged a ripper of 5 kg, which was a great fight.
Just as he released it, I hooked into a chromer that grabbed the small copper john. He wanted out of the bay and headed to the open lake. Joseph grabbed his mobile and took some action vid of the fight and fish jumping. I gained line on him and managed to keep him off the rocky shelves. Malco yelled, “Put him in the net!” but the fish didn’t want a bar of that and darted back out again. Eventually, after a struggle, it was in the net.
Fishing got quiet
So we made another move and headed back to Camelot, first spending 15 minutes in C bay, but no fish were sighted. Another stop on the way, this time in Finger Bay, proved fruitful. Malco spotted fish in the bay, and we quickly rerigged for deeper waters. We both cast, and within seconds, we each had a fish on. It was a red-hot session with both of us landing two fish in two casts.
As the day drew to a close, we headed back to the lodge for a final group evening with guides and staff, reflecting on what a great trip it had been into Estancia Laguna Verde, with great people and fantastic rainbows, a true Mecca for fly fishers from all over the world.
Just a note: the biggest fish for a guest this week was 22.5 lb on a small red copper john, orange plastic bead, at 5 pm yesterday on the spey rod, caught by a great Argentinian fella Louis. Many fish were entered into the 15 lb + book.
What’s Next?
On Sunday, I will embark on a bus journey from El Calafate North, about 20 hours, to Esquel. I plan to explore the Rio Pico area, hire a Hilux, and camp. Additionally, I might cross the border to Chile to get my exiting Argentina visa stamps and then come back into Argentina before heading south to some other bookings I have lined up in Patagonia, Rio Grande area.
No fish tales here, just some reading!
On the 9th of November, actually the 10th in Australia, it’s our wedding anniversary. I bet Linda thinks I forgot. I pick up my Hilux 4×4 and travel across the border to Chile from Esquel to Futaleufu, about a 75km drive, half on dirt road. The border crossing from Argentina was easy enough, but the crossing into Argentina was challenging. There were four points of document checks. The first two were okay, and the guys weren’t too bad. The third fella was difficult, giving me some trouble. The fourth, well, she was tough. She started off very bad for about 10 minutes with mumbles and blank stares. I filled out the form a bit wrong. She stood up and came out from behind the glass, using some language and sign language. She then helped me fill in the form again, and the ice began to break. She took me outside, and we gave some perfect fruit to the guards. She then took me to my car, did a bit of a search through the bags, and then sent me off with a smile.
Cop Trouble
On the 10th of November, I stayed in a bed and breakfast in a cabana at Futaleufu and hit the road south to La Junta. After arriving at 2 pm, I had some sugar coffee fix and drove into Lago Verde. The rains were coming for the next few days. I stopped about 15 km out from the lake and set up a campsite for the night, collecting a heap of firewood. By 9 pm, with twilight still lingering, I began writing my travel diary. Suddenly, the Carabineros military cops showed up, ending the serenity. Two angry cops couldn’t speak English, but that didn’t matter. I knew exactly what they were saying. They told me off for camping and having a fire. Eventually, things turned around as I explained the situation. The good cop used my phone to translate, and they let me go.
Cold Sleeping in The Hilux
On the 11th of November, I woke up from a cold night sleeping in my Hilux to snow. I decided to drive back into Lago Verde as initially planned before the cops intervened. The views were sensational with low snow lines and beech forests. After a two-hour drive, I arrived at the small town of Lago Verde, where there were more horses than cars. I found the track to the lake and enjoyed the vistas despite the rain. Later, I stumbled across a handbag and decided to turn it in to the Carabineros HQ. To my surprise, it was the same cops from the previous night. We shared a laugh and I told them about the handbag. They informed me about the closed border crossing and advised me to return to La Junta for the night. I ended up spending the night sleeping in my car due to the rain.
The journey continues as I reschedule to another border crossing called Paso Rio Encuentro. On the way, I get stuck behind a cattle truck before experiencing a blowout on my rear tire. With some trouble, I manage to change the tire and reschedule my plans to cross into Futaleufu, Chile. I’ll stay there for a day or two to get a spare tire before continuing my journey to Rio Pico.
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