FLY FISHING & PHOTOGRAPHY MAGAZINE
www.flymage.net
Nยบ 15 October 2012
15
FLY FISHING & PHOTOGRAPHY MAGAZINE
www.flymage.net
Nยบ 15 October 2012
,
END OF SEASON By Miguel Aguilar
6
NEW PREDATORS By José H. Weigand
20
10 GOLDEN DAYS By Julián Locatelli
58
HACIENDA CURICÓ By Mauricio Valenzuela
82
FLY TYING VIDEO Buzzer
102
Watch our video trailer
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END OF SEASON
Now what? The love of fly fishing goes far beyond the business of catching fish. The river, on numerous occasions, presents us with real natural spectacles such as the one that occurs when it´s the salmonid reproduction season. Something that, at some time, every angler should see.
Photos and Text: Miguel Aguilar
The first days of autumn mark the end of the salmonid fishing season in many rivers of our country. Thousands of anglers take down their rods, put their gear away and prepare to spend the long months of “winter abstinence� as best they can.
Apart from stocked waters, there are other activities that will allow us to keep in touch with our passion, while continuing to make beautiful and spectacular “catches�. The season is closed, yes, but the rivers are still there, and in rivers things continue happening during the autumn and winter. Things that even being the most minimal of observers, teach us to understand many aspects of salmonids, to respect them, understand their behavior and, ultimately, to grow as anglers. You only have to change your wading boots for trekking ones, and your rod for a camera.
A few days after the season´s end and following the heavy pressure they have been subjected to for months, trout, salmon and sea trout are slowly recovering their loss of confidence, and will be much easier to watch. The spawning season is close, competition will be tough, and they require food to be well prepared in due course. Mainly it’s the trout´s surface activity that increases remarkably.
Camera in hand and armed with patience, we will be able to get some nice “catches� just as rewarding as we get with our rods. Also, the simple fact of a walk in the countryside, with the spectacular colourful displays at this time, is reason enough to make our visit.
Varying from river to river, during the month of December and early January, salmonid reproduction, known as spawning, takes place. It’s a real spectacle, which offers us wonderful scenes with males competing to cover where the females are
laying, while females make the beds where the eggs will be deposited. And, above all, the real highlight is the few seconds when the female expels her eggs and the male releases sperm to fertilize them. A real visual treat.
Miguel Aguilar
Born in León, a fly fisherman for 35 years and contributor to Spanish fishing magazines. Studious of the life cycle of salmonids, and an amateur outdoor and especially fly fishing photographer. He has won awards in various contests. Author and photographer of “Asturias, land of salmon” (2008) Coauthor, with Carlos Garcia Bragado, and photographer of “Flies for trout and salmon. How to tie and use “(2010).
ArtĂculos de pesca a mosca Fly fishing products
www.urruzuno.com
This could be termed the new “gold rush”. There is a great love for carp fly fishing worldwide. In Spain, with the arrival of the bleak, carp behavior has changed and it’s common to see attacks on baitfish schools like marine predators.
New Predators
Largemouth bass and pike anglers were the first to realized that barbel and carp attacked their lures, fly fishermen only had to adapt to it, tie bleak imitation streamers and locate large schools of bleak, where there were carp and barbel.
Its hunting behavior is similar to marine predators, stalking, surrounding and attacking the baitfish schools.
For the angler, the situation is also similar, but fishing is not as easy as as it may seem and there are many fly refusals and failed attacks.
Pearl, silver and teal colours are perfect for imitating bleak.
One of the biggest goals is just to search for and find the carp, there tend to be few really effective casts by the end of the day. Carp and barbel are extremely easily spooked and frightened by the simple sound of a stumble or the shadow of the angler or the line thrown over them. In murky waters it is best to walk at a height from where they can be better located.
On a boat with electric motor and a fish finder. When bleak schools are under the surface, the finder locates them and their predators. Using sinking lines, the experience can be amazing.
Juan Manuel Garcia with a nice carp. For him the most difficult part is to take a picture of the fish, quickly getting the camera on a tripod and setting the selftimer going.
Even the smaller fish, barely two punds, attack the bleak imitations.
But it’s the big carp that patrol the shores alone that are truly worthwhile. It’s the freshwater permit.
Sometimes, especially in summer when the water level drops quickly, you have to literally jump into the mud to fish from the shore.
Different species of barbel are the ideal complement to carp. They share habitat and habits and are also excellent fish hunters: superb opponents for a fly rod.
Spain is one of the havens for barbel due to their variety and broad distribution. In the photo, a gypsy barbel.
Casting in an area full of bleak.
At 40 degrees, in the month of July, with an “apple pie� mirror carp in his hands.
Few freshwater fish give as much satisfaction as carp and barbel on the fly. Time usually puts things in their place and in this case that’s just what’s happened. A few years ago they were considered “second class” fish by many fly fisherman, today they are admired worldwide.
Text and Photos: José H. Weigand Additional Photos: Juan Manuel García
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10 golden days Text and Photos: Juliรกn Locatelli
Along with my friend Antonio Pellicer we travelled to northern Argentina, to the province of Salta and the Dorado River, an incredible mountain river at 1600 m above sea level in the Salta jungle, where the waters that trickle across the stones are completely transparent and where you can sight fish for dorado. The place is really wild, very few people have the opportunity to reach these dorado waters, the path is very difficult to follow and there are private areas around the river with no public road for access, which keeps it intact and home to very large and long-lived fish. The difficulty in walking is maximum. It was going to be a real adventure.
The day before, travelling over 800 miles to where the base of the river is, I checked the weather forecast on the Internet, it had been raining for more than a month and a half in the area and it was not going to stop now...
You have no idea about how much a backpack starts to weigh until you embark on a journey of this kind, even though we were physically fit for such an adventure. Also, after so much rain the journey was very difficult, we had to climb over boulders, get over fallen logs on the bank, up, down and sideways‌ the surrounding trees with hundreds of thorns that tore the backpack’s rain cover and our rain coats. Our hands and faces showed
some nice scars for days. After suffering two full days of walking and more walking we reached the base of the hill, our prized destination, we set up camp at a point from which we could go fishing upstream some days and downstream a few days more. Unfortunately with so much rain we could not enjoy the wildlife that such a special place has, different species of cats like cougars and leopards, as well as toucans, parrots, butterflies or tapirs.
We started to enjoy the river, walking from one pool to another trying to get a take. Unable to sight fish, the technique was different, we had to do make longer drifts without moving the flies.
Due to the turbid water we had to use dark colours like black, purple, red, yellow and mainly orange, that got us plenty of fish of various sizes from 1-9 kilos, as well as some much larger ones that broke us. For this trip I decided to bring surface flies over 20 cm on 5/0 and 6/0 hooks. The idea was to catch one of those giant dorado on the surface with big poppers and “toucans�. In one pool I
cast an orange toucan, when it hit the water I saw more than 10 dorado fight to get it while, from behind a boulder that was about 15 feet from where it dropped, came a golden ray that swallowed it opening its mouth in a way so fierce that leave me stunned. With such odd looking fly I managed to hook the dorado of my life, over 12 kg, although shortly afterwards, the fish broke me and was away.
Antonio Pellicer with lovely dorado.
On the days we managed to make a fire, we made the best of it, with good eating and clothes drying.
Such was the humidity and daily rainfall that our cameras misted up as soon as we got them out of the three protective bags we kept them in. Taking pictures became virtually impossible. Most catches and numerous special moments never had their picture. The cameras demisted two weeks after our return from the Dorado river.
This dorado was the most special for me. Caught first cast with a fly that I tied on the day of the funeral of the father of one of my best friends, in memory of him.
Antonio, a dorado expert fisherman, got some big fish.
Ready to return to the water. Many of the fish caught exceeded 6 kilos.
Juliรกn Locatelli, fly fisherman and photojournalist from Argentina. julianlocatelli@hotmail.com
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Hacienda Curic贸 Photos and Text: Mauricio Valenzuela
Just 4 hours from the metropolitan area of Chile to the south, we are immersed in 30,000 hectares of native oak forest, an unimaginable green area, and really impressive sight.
In this remotest of places, the most protected river in Chile’s VII Region has its source, the river Los Patos (Ducks River), of pure and crystalline waters, where, thanks to a wooded corridor, it has been maintained over time as a virgin ecosystem, free from pollution. Due to the high oxygenation and purity of its waters, healthy vigorous trout are found, averaging a pound in weight and with specimens of up to 4.5 lb, both browns and rainbows.
Talking about fly fishing, one of the techniques used with good results has been Czech nymphing, since the trout are highly selective and also have to avoid the strong currents, they tend to lie near the bottom alongside stones, so using a pair of heavy weighted nymphs is most effective.
Dry flies also have their moment, at some places and times of day during the caddis hatches that occur regularly.
Overnight camping for two fishing days in Hacienda Curicó is ideal for the best experience, enjoying the fresh mountain range air and starry sky. By the fire at night, with grilled steak and good wine in your glass, it’s the perfect way to end the day and take a rest on the river bank surrounded by oak forests.
Mauricio Valenzuela ANDESFLYCAST owner - Fly Fishing Guides & Destination Travel Fishing guide and casting instructor. Since 1994 he has spent most of his time exploring rivers in Chile and other countries. He has participated in several clinics in Chile and was qualified by Tim Rajeff, the fly casting and accuracy world champion.
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E D I T O R S José H. Weigand Angler, photographer and TV fishing editor at Caza y Pesca channel on Digital+ for 14 years. Contributor to some international magazines, blogs and forums.
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