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ARGENTINA 2020
- Report from Argentina 2020 -
January 11 - 18
It's wonderful to be back at the Despedida lodge in the Rio Grande. Despedida is located in the heart of the Rio Grande and holds some amazing pools with lots of fish. The first fishing session gave Stig Åge from Bergen a head start on his first trip to the Rio Grande. Arturo pool gave Stig Åge two great fish on the spot, and the standard was set. Landing two such beautiful fish after traveling the long way down to RG is just wonderful.
Although the temperature of the water was higher than normal for this time, there were some fish that were chopped. They were also fresh and nice. The temperature in the river was over 17 degrees. The normal at this time is around 10 degrees. It was the warm rain of the last few days that made the difference, and this came to affect fishing this first part of the week.
On day 2 , it was almost completely windless for large parts of the day. This day my good friend Roald from Bergen will never forget. First there were three great fish before lunch in the Seagle pool. After lunch rigs Roald and Master 12.4 ' rod with float line and bombs fly for Arturu pool. It should turn out to be a very good choice. A beautiful 18-pound male fish came up like a rocket from the depths and bombed the fly as if that was the last thing it was going to do. It chopped and gave an unforgettable fight. What a wonderful experience and what a great choice. Just take off your hat and congratulate Roald on a fantastic fish and an equally glorious day in the Rio Grande.
After two days of fishing, the group of 5 fishermen has landed 32 fishermen. It is very good even though we are very well used down here in the Rio Grande. The size of the fish so far is somewhat smaller compared to the last 5 years. Without having counted on it, it looks as if the average weight is less than 6 kilos after two days of fishing, the normal is just over 6 kilos (for info).
On day 3, it was Asle and Stig Åge who were most lucky in relation to the number of fish landed. Stig Åge has really found himself at ease in the Rio Grande after only a few days of fishing. This day he landed 5 great fish as well as some lost. Here is his series on day 3: 18, 14, 12, 12 and 9 pounds. Brilliant and just to congratulate.
Asle was also properly cut that day and also landed 5 fish. Here is his series: 25, 18, 17, 12 and 9 pounds. Fantastic and Asle's experience with the 25 pounds we will never forget. It was a fight of an incredibly beautiful fish that Asle took with his one-handed rod, Motivius 9.6 with 2instincts Rio Grande line. We congratulate Asle once again with a fantastic day Ildlandet. Here it must be mentioned that day 3 was a cold and unpleasant day with low cloud cover, rain and hail in the casts some hours headwind quiet and clear for parts of the day. The water temperature dropped from 14 to 9 degrees and at times the fish were difficult to get in touch with. In relation to this, the fishing for Stig Åge and Asle is brilliant.
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On day 4 it was a joy to wake up to bright sunshine and completely blue skies. Things are changing quickly down here and at the time of writing, 06:15 local time and before breakfast, we are really looking forward to presenting our flies in new pools that we hope are full of new shiny monster fish. As is often the case at this time of the season and one of the main reasons we are here now. And what a day it was going to be for Roald and Thomas. They landed 9 fish in the evening session, lost 5 after driving and had many bites. The three biggest fish were 19, 18 and 17 pounds. They have both got a favorite pool in Seagle I. Which is also a favorite of many. Seagle I has inlets, bays, cut banks and breaks. All parts of the pool have beautiful currents and nice wading with this water flow. Simply fantastic.
This day Asle also landed a great fish of 19 pounds in Seagle I before lunch. We can safely say that Seagle I was on fire this day. After 4 days of fishing the guys have landed 55 beautiful shiny fish, brilliant. Day 5 and the penultimate fishing day was marked by rain and wind. Nevertheless, there were nice catches and the guys were in great shape along the banks of the Rio Grande.
Thomas was also in the right place at the right time today with his flies. He landed 8 fish and here are his 5 biggest ones. 20, 19, 19, 18 and 18 pounds. What a fantastic day for Thomas. We congratulate you so much. This day Stig Åge landed fish of 21 and 19 pounds. Roald landed shiny fish of 18 0g 19 pounds. In other words, a brilliant day in the Rio Grande. The last fishing day gave us a little more colored water and a bit of wind. Even under these conditions, many nice fish were landed, all shiny and fresh straight from the sea. The biggest fish was caught by Asle and that male fish was 23 pounds. Asle will probably not forget that fight anytime soon.
Gunnar was in the Arturo pool and caught several great fish. The biggest ones were difficult to control and the fish/fish won the fight. But as Gunnar said so well: " I had a fantastic experience even though they didn't get all the way into the net ". We understand that because there were some tough seconds in Arturo for Gunnar. The consolation was 2 nice fish of around 5 pounds after lunch and one before lunch. In total, 83 fish were landed. The top rod was shared between Asle and Thomas, who both landed 24 fish. The average weight was 12.3 pounds. The biggest fish was landed by Asle and it was 25 pounds.
All in all an incredibly enjoyable week from start to finish despite some fishing sessions with rain and wind above normal. As we always say, we can't control the weather, but what we can do something about was brilliant and a big thank you to everyone who was on this trip to Land of Fire and Rio Grande. Also a big thank you to the staff at the lodge who once again made this an incredible experience from day one.
Greetings from a satisfied tour guide Helge Vetås.
January 18 - 25
When we arrived at the river on day 1, the river was on its way down after the last few days of rain. It was also much clearer and we saw fish in all the pools. It didn't take long before both Kalle and Stefan were in contact with fish, without succeeding in landing the fish. This would prove to be a recurring theme for everyone in the group this week. The fish often took the fly cautiously and were only on the hook for a short time. Of course not all the way, but a little too often. It was Lars and Camilla who landed the biggest fish on the first day. Lars's first was 19 pounds and Camilla's was 12 pounds. Kalle was also skilled and lucky and landed some nice fish. We congratulate all 3 on great fish this first day in the Rio Grande.
On day 2 there was calm wind and almost no wind. This provided some extra challenges in the gradually clearer water. Nevertheless, there were some nice fish that were managed in the net this day. Andreas from Oslo went to the Rio Grande for the first time and landed a fantastic fish of 21 pounds. Lars was also in the right place at the right time and caught a beautiful 20 pounds in Seagle I. Brilliant. Bjørn Harald from Målselv landed his first Rio Grande trout this day, great shiny fish straight from the sea of 17, 8 and 6 pounds. Brilliant and a very good start to his fly fishing career.
After two days of fishing, 15 fish were landed and many more were lost. On day 3, most of the group of 6 fishermen were really on the hook from the first second after arriving at the river. This was of course influenced by the fact that the conditions were good and that many big fish were showing up everywhere. Lars and Stefan landed the 2 biggest fish that day. Lars was in Seagle and landed a 24 pounder, while Stefan was in Arturo pool and landed a brilliant 25 pounder. We congratulate both of them and of course there was a very good atmosphere around the dinner table after such big fantastic fish were landed.
On the fourth day of fishing, 14 great fish were landed. All the fish between 8 and 26 pounds. Absolutely fantastic. Lars used all his experience from Rio Grande and Bocca M when he steered his 26 pounder to the bank. A brilliant fight, a fantastically beautiful fish and a happy fisherman. Andreas followed up with 4 nice fish, the biggest of which was 22 pounds, all fish caught on a one-handed rod. Incredible fun! Just take your hat off to that. Camilla was in Seagle I and Seagle II the evening of day 5. It was going to be a great experience. The 19 pounder that took the fly carefully and then set off at rocket speed downstream with Camilla in tow was incredibly fun to witness. Camilla has landed many nice fish in the Rio Grande before, but we think this one will certainly be remembered for a long time in a fun and pleasant way. Congratulations Camilla. Lars was in the sig this day too and landed great fish of 22.5 and 21 pounds. Both fish caught a small homemade brown nymph. Storveis Lars. Before the last fishing day, 48 fish were recorded with an average weight of just over 13 pounds.
The sixth and final fishing day before lunch was sunny and warm. The river is still sinking with a nice wind-cruising on the surface. Just the way we want it to be. The pools that are prioritized this day are Boca M, Medio and Gabrielito, for those who are familiar. All pools / fishing lines with different water flow and structure. Pools that have delivered a lot of great fish to us since the start many years ago.
The mood and excitement was of course at its peak when the waders were pulled on this morning. And what a morning it was. Here is the size of the 8 fish that were landed: 20, 17, 17, 16, 16, 15, 12 and 9 pounds. Nowhere else in the world can you experience this as a fly fisherman looking for sea trout on a morning session. If the morning session was brilliant, the evening would actually top it.
The undersigned was with Lars and Kalle among friends at Medio pool. It did not take many casts before the first fish caught Kalle's fly. The fish won that battle. So did the next fish before the third set in completely. A female fish of just over 18 pounds. Kalle was really in shock this evening and landed 5 beautiful fish, the biggest was at 24 pounds. Completely shiny and straight from the sea. Long since I have seen Kalle so enthusiastic and happy. It was great, congratulations so much Kalle.
But it was still Lars who got his dream fish this evening. Lars has fished Rio Grande for over 10 years and has landed many great big fish on his one-handed song. Something he did through this week as well. He topped it all off with a FANTASTIC FISH OF OVER 30 POUNDS . Yes, you read that right. This is one of the largest fish landed on a one-handed fly rod in a river when it comes to sea trout. When this fish came into the net, all 4 of us who were present stood and just gaped. Is it possible we thought. And when Juan Carlos, the guide we have known for 20 years, holds up the net with the fish in it, the jubilation is unleashed. " ARIBA ARIBA ARIBA! ", It resounds through the valley and out over the pampas. Then it comes from Juan: " We have to weigh again and at the same time film, this must be documented properly! ". It's the second fish in his career as a £ 30 guide he haves and it's obviously a great night for everyone in and around Despedida lodge. But the one who cheers the most and with good reason is of course Lars. He has to take a little walk for himself and digest it all.
Lars no longer fished this evening and we understand that well. Sometimes it should be enjoyed and toasted with a cold beer. This was such a night. Here is a factual list of Lars' 10 biggest fish through the week shown in pounds: 12, 16, 16, 17, 19, 21, 22.5, 24, 26 and 30 pounds. No wonder we travel to the Rio Grande every year. For the group, 66 fish were landed with an average weight of 13.5 pounds. Top rod was Kalle with 17 fish. And Lars, as mentioned, landed the trip's biggest at 30 pounds. Here it can be mentioned that we landed less than 50% of all fish that caught our flies, there are fewer fish landed compared to normal. The team from 2instincts could not get a better end to a fantastic week this evening. We are already looking forward to the next trip to the Rio Grande in search of some of the world's largest sea trout. Most of the session with Lars' dream fish has been filmed by the undersigned and will be shown at 2instincts film night in Bergen on November 7.
Fly fishing greetings
Helge Vetås