achalabrookies

Finally the opening day of the season arrived, with my son Franco and our friend Gerardo we decided to choose the Yuspe river and its beautiful rainbow trout as a target. Great fishing day full of new and enriching experiences. It is good to know that although this river is quite close to the city of Villa Carlos Paz, one of the most touristic in the mountains of Córdoba, it can still provide good fishing. I show you some photos here:

I received an invitation by mail from “Federico Prato Fly Shop” to attend the “Sage Tour 2018”, a presentation of last generation products that included mainly new models of rods, reels and lines for fly fishing.
Although today I am far from the use of this type of equipment (I am addicted to bamboo and fiberglass fly rods), I thought it would be very interesting to try the “latest fashion cry” and attended the event with a couple of friends this past Saturday.
It was very nice to meet again with friends that I had not seen for a long time, and especially with Federico who gave us a great service and generously provided us with a lot of information about the new world of fly casting.
Federico is the son of Gustavo Prato, an extraordinary bamboo fly rods builder with whom I shared a certain friendship and many unforgettable “philosophical” conversations about the wonderful world of “arundinaria amabilis tonkin cane” and also the art of fly fishing in general.
In this blog there is a post that I have dedicated to him a while back.
Thanks Federico for allowing us to test these modern and very effective equipment!
Here some photos of the event.

I mean the time left for the season opening. I am longing for moments like the one that shows the photo and looking at the calendar frequently!

Three different Patagonian rivers, three different moments and attitudes, but the same passion for fly fishing.
The first photo (from top to bottom) was taken on the banks of the Calfiquitra river, a beautiful relativly small stream surrounded by a landscape that evokes the jurassic period. You are there in the midst of that silent beauty and you would not be surprised to see a Gigantosaurus Carolinii appear with unpredictable intentions!
The second one shows us in the middle of the Kilka river, in a different landscape but also very nice trying to have some catch.
In the third photo I am returning to the water a strong brown of the Pulmarí River, a very interesting place to try with the Salmo trutta fario.
The three mentioned rivers are in the province of Neuquen in northern Patagonia.

If for some strange reason I ever had to choose a single type of fly for the rest of my life as a fisherman, this would undoubtedly be a nymph. Here I show a model born in my fly tying bench, built according to one of the techniques of G. E. M. Skues and that usually inhabits in my fly boxes.
Have a good fly tying and better fishing!

In this old photo we are “hunting” brookies with Ernesto Mazzola in the beautiful Rucachoroi lake, near Aluminé in the province of Neuquen.
I remember it was a great fishing experience on a shallow coast, presenting our flies very close to the rises of the brookies that were very active.
Unforgettable.
This photo was taken by our great friend Abel Wenetz.

The Yuspe river belongs to the region of the mountain range called “Los Gigantes” not far from the Pampa de Achala. Both areas are very visited by fly fishermen who eagerly look for the treasures they keep.
This river possesses a very particular beauty, it is rocky and with very clear and transparent waters, besides being the owner of a remarkable reputation for great trophies achieved some time ago as far as rainbow trout fishing is concerned. Currently has a good and healthy population of these combative salmonids.
A few days ago, the Yuspe offered us a very fun and instructive fishing day.
I invite you to see this photo gallery:

No matter how often you go to a place to fish, you never get to know it at all. It is precisely this sensation that I feel particularly every time I reach the parking area of ​​the Paso de las Piedras and Trinidad rivers, splendid places so typical of this region.
This time the fishing was good but somewhat erratic and dispersed. Also, as in the Achala brook (see previous post “An alarm light”), I continue to perceive that the average size of the catches has decreased with respect to previous seasons of meaningful way.
I hope that I am wrong, that it is only a subjective sensation of mine. Otherwise, we will have to speculate about the cause of this process in the population of Salvelinus Fontinalis (brook trout) of these beautiful rivers.
Also, and logically, it is inevitable to ask myself if the management of these resources by the National Parks Administration is correct and if it will not be time to establish changes in this matter.
I show you some pictures, I hope you enjoy them.

On a beautiful sunset, my fly goes straight to the target, a promising ring on the surface of the water twelve meters in front of me.
Thanks to Daniel Passero, my friend, for the photo.

A few years ago I was lucky enough to get a special edition copy of this famous work by Frederic M. Halford. An excellent reading for the recently started Argentine autumn, is not it?