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At press time, subscriber Glen Colton checked in with a positive report on the first week of fishing for searun brown trout out of Estancia Maria Behety on the Rio Grande River in Argentina.
This was the first week of the season, so fresh fish were coming in all the time,” Colton writes. “The lower beats, as you might expect, had more fish than the upper beats.”
He says he and two friends from Colorado caught a total of 100 searun browns weighing between five and eight pounds in 6½ days of fishing. “Water and weather conditions were excellent,” he says. “Because it was early in the year, the water was higher than usual. Clarity was excellent, though. And the wind was not too bad, with maximum velocity being probably 40 mph but usually holding quite a bit below that. Temperatures were in the 50s and lower 60s.
“My friends and I fish for trout a lot in Wyoming and Northern Colorado and we felt right at home on the Rio Grande. It’s similar in look and feel to parts of the north Platte River. My friends had never used spey rods before, but they borrowed equipment from me and quickly picked up the basics of doing roll casts, double speys and overhead casts with a double-handed rod. Although I had an advantage in having used spey rods previously, they both ended up catching more fish than I did. All three of us caught more than 30 fish each and we averaged more than five fish per day per rod. We all caught several fish over 15 pounds, but we didn’t catch any really big ones weighing over 20 pounds.”
Colton notes that his group was offered a discount because it was not only the first week of the season but the opening date this year was earlier than usual. There were fewer rods in camp than the normal 12, he says, going on to remark positively on the lodge itself and on the guides, calling them friendly and knowledgeable. “The staff went out of their way to make us feel comfortable,” he writes. “We had a great New Years Eve party. All in all, this was a great trip that exceeded expectations.”
Colton gives the cost of his trip as $3,850 before tips. That does not include the cost of a room in Buenos Aires, he says, plus an Argentine entry fee of $140. He says he booked his trip though Wild On The Fly in Boulder, Colorado (Tel. 303-898-3084. Web: www.wildonthefly.com).