Our third day in Patagonia found us fly fishing the Nirehuao River with Coyhaique River Lodge. Today was a float trip down the river, casting dries, switching to streamers, and back to dries in the afternoon. It was the longest “windshield time” of the week…two hours to the turnoff and then another 45 minutes to pick up the raft and drive to a put-in…one way! Yes, some days are long in Patagonia, but today the fishing was worth the drive.
We stopped at the property owner’s house to say a quick HOLA!
I found these cute lambs along the side of the house. I wonder if they are pets or a future asada.
Our plan was to float the river, but we didn’t trailer a raft. It was sitting along the double-track road on the grass. Paublo and Zach are tightening the straps for a bumpy ride to the river. They planned the trip for Zach to provide a shuttle for us. Will and Ron would wade different sections of the river while we floated.
It was a beautiful day for a float, although the Patagonia winds did hamper our casting. We’d aim at a spot and the wind had other ideas to where our flies would land. We laughed as one would cast and then the other…two perfectly bad casts where our flies would land about 3 feet apart…20 feet from where the spot each of us were aiming!
Our day began with a dry dropper combo. I fished with a Cicada and Beadhead Pheasant Tail nymph while Dancingtrout had a black Fat Albert with Beadhead Pheasant Tail as a dropper. I landed a couple trout shortly after launching the raft, but the fishing slowed down. A few fish ate the Fat Albert and then switched to the nymph. Paublo tied on an olive Beadhead Woolly Bugger on my leader and I began hooking fish immediately.
Shortly before lunch, we got out of the raft and walked around this rapid while Paublo rowed through.
Here is an old, dilapidated bridge. I wonder what its story is?
We met Will and Ron for lunch while Paublo and Zach completed our shuttle.
Paublo tied on a Morrish Hopper with a nymph dropper after lunch and I immediatley began catching fish. They also rose to a Fat Albert.
More fish began eating our dry flies in the afternoon as the temperatures warmed.
All the fish hooked didn’t want any part of us and fought hard. Here is a nicely colored Brown Trout.
I’ll end with a fish story.
Paublo asked me to follow him away from the river to a “mud puddle”. It was a small side channel where water slowly fed the pool from the top, but the river had dropped and the outlet was closed. He told me he’d tried two other times to catch a nice fish he had seen with other guests, but the fish never ate their flies.
He hoped the third time was a charm.
I started casting to open sections away from the weeds, hoping to see a fish swim to one of the flies. On the third spot, I cast to the far side of the opening, twitched my dry fly and a fish slowly swam from under the weeds and ate my dry fly.
Somehow, I was able to control the fish from tangling me in the weeds and after a short fight, landed this nice Brown Trout. Paublo said it was over 20 inches, but I think it was an inch or two smaller. Regardless of size, it’s a fish I’ll remember.
Enjoy…go fish!
