Patagonia, Argentina
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Not even sure where to begin this story and I will try not to ramble on as there is really more meaning behind all the stories when you are gathered around telling them while drinking a beer. Not to mention the fish get bigger that way too! 🙂
Getting to Argentina from Missoula, MT. takes some patients as it is a long trip and in our case it was a little painful as there were missed flights, lost baggage, and way too many trips to Bariloche for our guide, Justin Witt. All that said it was an outstanding trip, so I would like focus mainly on the positives if that is cool with everyone.
We ended up getting to the Esquel area of Argentina a day later than planned, but we still made the most of it. We toured a very cool old flour mill that was run by a water wheel. The owner was quite the character. Somehow we ended up in his barn during the tour only to find an old glider, an ultra lite, and a homemade airplane powered by a four cylinder Fiat motor! Not exactly what I was expecting, but it was super cool. Our tour guide told us he only needed 15 meters to take off and land this plane… Justin and I both agreed we would have to see that to believe it.
On our way out we saw the native “Emu type” bird. It was a great way to slip in to the whole Argentina experience.
Day 1
Day 2
Let the fishing begin! Still no luggage so we did our best to make do with what we had and with the items that Justin was able to loan us. He was headed back to Bariloche for the 3rd day in a row and I am sure just giddy about the almost 7 hour round trip drive. We on the other hand were headed into the Pom-pa (a fancy word for desert) to fish a spring creek that was truly in the middle of no where. We both proved to be a little rusty which I blamed on not having my gear. We both managed quite a few fish though and by the end of the day rust was gone. The picture of me with the jeans rolled up was my first fish in Argentina. Not huge by any means, but he was my first and deserved to be photographed.
My wife’s first fish was of course bigger than mine and beautiful! Apparently we were rusty on our picture taking abilities as well. It is important to choose your words wisely before snapping a shot! 😉
Day 3
We were up early and off to Rio Pico! It was a beautiful day and the plan was to fish a little unknown lake along the way. It proved to be a fun day with some nice fish. Of course my wife caught the biggest and the most on this day. I think Justin was starting to have his doubts about me.
Day 4
This was a very special day to both my wife and I. I was like stepping back in time as we approached the Estancia of Don Opozo. The Opozo’s were two very warm and kind people who were quick to invite us in to their home. They home was like stepping in to the 1800’s. You had to duck your head to get in the front door. The wood stove was in the center of the room and the room was tiny. Come to find out they raise about a dozen children in a space that is smaller than most peoples single car garage. Not to mention they were MILES away from the closest town. It was very cool and very humbling. Just meeting them and seeing how they live will forever change me.
We hike in to the heart of the Opozo Estancia in our pursuit of wiggly creatures who eat flies. There are not many big fish in this little no name stream but the setting was unreal! The big hole where the waterfall is was loaded with small rainbows that you could barely keep off your line. Lots of fun to fish and seriously good for the soul. We hiked down stream and fish our way back up. I was on the right side of the creek and my wife on the left both of us catching a lot of fish along the way. I ended up catching one of my favorite fish this day. A very old brown trout who came up ever so slowly to eat my fly…I set the hook, fish on! 2 seconds later, fish off! I quickly threw my fly right back at him and it was like he completely forgot about what just happened and ate it again! Justin watched the whole thing go down and we both got a great laugh out of it. Good stuff for sure!
Day 5
Windy, windy, windy! Justin had to work his ass off on this day for us. We fished a large lake where the white caps were so big I actually felt sea sick at times. The wind beat me up bad in the back of the raft. I was tangled around anything and everything on almost every cast. At one point I even had a temper tantrum from being so frustrated. We worked our butts off and managed fish to hand even in the unruly conditions. Not going to lie, this was not my favorite day, but it will make me a better guide in the long run as a result of it.
Day 6
This was our favorite day. The scenery was amazing, the water so clear it was unreal, and the Brookies were big and strong! We started out fishing the Boca with not much luck. According to the guys living under the bridge (yes, under the bridge) the Boca had been a bit slow as of late so we decide to head down stream where Justin knew of a few spots that the Brookies liked to stack up before the spawn. We were not disappointed! I wouldn’t call the fishing white hot, but being able to see the fish you were casting to and being in the setting we were in was absolutely perfect in every way! This will be a place I visit again in my life. I can promise you that!
Day 7
Cold Front pushing threw and the wind was back with force. Check out the dorsal fin on the fish I am holding. Keep in mind too that this is a spring creek. I put the picture of my wife fishing on the bank so you could see the wave going UP STREAM in the wind. Still we managed to catch some fish. Beer thirty came a little earlier than normal though… 🙂
The traditional IA Food shot. Empanadas made by Justin’s wife, Ana. They were super good!
Day 8…the last day.
The cold front made it’s way over the mountains from Chile and tried real hard to ruin the last day we had to fish. First it was wind, then it was wind and snow. My hands were so cold I had no chance of catching a fish as I could barely feel my line. My wife wanted to try for a bit longer and Justin snapped a picture of us standing out in the river with the snow barreling down on us. We made the decision to move on to lower elevations and see if we could find more fishable weather. By the time we walked back to the truck the snow was gone and the sun was out. Patagonia is a lot like Montana when it comes to weather.
We finished up our adventure that day fishing a small mountain stream to smaller wild rainbows. It was a great finish to a great trip!
Guys, do yourself a favor and get this trip on your bucket lists. Justin does such a great job with everything. And he will not only work his butt off for you but he will find the right trip to meet your needs. We will be going back again for sure.
My one piece of advice. Give yourself plenty of time between flights in Buenos Aires. It is not the most organized airport in the world but if you give yourself plenty of time it will at least eliminate some stress.
Joel
Fantastic recap of a really special trip, Joel! You have some great memories captured there, I love the shot of you both in the snow. Debbie really did get some beautiful fish! But that brook of yours has to be my favorite. Thanks for sharing!
Sounds like a adventure you will never forget. Looks like a blast to me!
Those are some solid brookies!Thanks for sharing Joel!
Way to go Joel, Keep up that kind of work and not only will you fish as well as your wife, you’ll be ready for the salt. Your a lucky guy.
Joel, pardon me but I think I’m in love with your wife dude! She rocks…”my wife wanted to stay out longer.” Huh…while you froze your clackers off. ;D
You don’t need any fish man, you already have a keeper. That’s awesome.
I gotta show this to my wife – She’s the best but she has about as much interest in fishing as I do in shopping for shoes!Joel….Like everyone else….I’m diggin’ those brookies. Great looking bows and browns as well.
Thanks for sharing.
Nice job Justin!
Awesome Joel!
Visit Missoula first and then Argentina methinks! 🙂
Debbie is a big fish magnet mate. You don’t stand a chance. 🙂Thanks for all kind words guys.
Brian, my wife really enjoyed your comments. Put a big ol’ smile on her face!
Simon, Debbie tells I need to listen to you on this one…I think you might be right! (can you at least tell her it is because her husband is a great guide?
Great fish report Joel!!! You’re right, everyone should experience Argentina at least once in their lifetime. Sorry to hear about your gear/baggage issues. Did you fly into, change airports, and out-of B.A. the same day?
Great fish report Joel!!! You’re right, everyone should experience Argentina at least once in their lifetime. Sorry to hear about your gear/baggage issues. Did you fly into, change airports, and out-of B.A. the same day?
Douglas, BA has two airports. One international and one domestic and they are on opposite sides of town from each other. Not a big deal if you have plenty of time but because we had to mess around with filing a claim for our luggage our extra time was gone. Even though our Taxi driver drove like a mad man and we were there 45 minutes before our flight was to leave it was not enough time. Security lines are long and the people at the airlines would not give us boarding passes as a result. (We have a sneaky suspicion that they sold our seats)
In the end it all worked out and we had a great time and will always have a story to tell. That is what it’s all about, right?
Joel
Great fish report Joel!!! You’re right, everyone should experience Argentina at least once in their lifetime. Sorry to hear about your gear/baggage issues. Did you fly into, change airports, and out-of B.A. the same day?
Douglas, BA has two airports. One international and one domestic and they are on opposite sides of town from each other. Not a big deal if you have plenty of time but because we had to mess around with filing a claim for our luggage our extra time was gone. Even though our Taxi driver drove like a mad man and we were there 45 minutes before our flight was to leave it was not enough time. Security lines are long and the people at the airlines would not give us boarding passes as a result. (We have a sneaky suspicion that they sold our seats)
In the end it all worked out and we had a great time and will always have a story to tell. That is what it’s all about, right?
Joel
Absolutely! And great stories and photos you have! I was just inquiring as I can’t imagine the stress of getting off an international flight, getting bags, going through customs etc, only to cross that town and try to board the domestic leg hours later. Whew! Dicey! The two times we’ve gone we’ve stayed a night or two in BA and took in a Tango… 🙂
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