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f I was put on the spot and asked specifically where the most prolific 100 yards of trophy trout water in the world was, my response would be instant and my tone would be confident. “The best trout fishing ‘hole’ in the world is where Argentina’s Rio Barrancoso flows into Lago Strobel,” I have been there and fished it and must say that in my nearly 40 years of fly fishing I have never seen, heard of or experienced anything remotely like it. It is an angling experience that I have had to place in a box by itself. That box could be labeled surreal or incomprehensible, but for simplicity and accuracy let us call it the one and only Jurassic Lake. Photos by: Diego Peralta, Stephan Gian Dombai, Tim Pask & Ken Morrish
Like all great places, Jurassic Lake’s roots were initially no deeper than rumors. That changed in 2005 when Christer Sjoberg (founder of Loop and Solid Adventures) first saw images of monster trout from Lago Strobel. In 2006 he organized the first foreign mission to see if fly fishing’s mythological equivalent to the Fountain of Youth or the City of Gold had any merit. Their trip was tough…really tough, and at the last moment Christer was unable to attend. Among the explorers was Fly Water’s longtime friend and informant Tim Pask. During that trip Tim coined the famous term, “The Drive from Hell”. “Kenny”, he said, “it’s not like the road is bad, because there is no freakin’ road. You’re just driving over big old lava rocks.
We spent hour after hour bouncing around in the rig thinking of hideous, painful ways to kill Christer when and if we made it back.� But then he carried on to say: “but as soon as we got there, the drive was forgotten and we hammered the biggest fattest rainbows you have ever seen.� His initial pictures scarred me for life; images of rainbows so brutish and obese they seemed computer generated. For the first time ever I was hellbent to fish a lake, not any lake but this lake, the one this expedition had rightly nicknamed Jurassic Lake, and have my own images of holding these monster trout.
What’s the Deal? The deal is this: Twice during the mid-nineties a few little rainbows were planted in Lago Strobel. Strobel is a desert sink lake located at roughly 3000 feet elevation in one of the most brutally desolate reaches of the greater Patagonian Steppe (a dry desert plateau on the east side of the Patagonian Andes). Ultimately one or both of those plantings took and those fish in turn migrated up the lake’s only tributary and began successfully reproducing. Another critical element was that the lake just happened to be jam-packed with two species of scuds; so many in fact that some biologists feel that the trout will never out-eat the system’s carrying capacity. Today there are lots of fish and they are big…really big, and more often than not, fairly easy to entice.
Of particular note is that this enormous lake has only one inlet of significance and no outlet. This makes the mouth of the Rio Barrancoso of tremendous interest to virtually every fish in the system. If they even think about spawning, they think about the Barrancoso. With so many fish now living in the lake, the inlet is used for spawning whenever conditions permit as opposed to strictly during the traditional spring window when most of the world’s rainbows take care of business. As a result hoards of fish, many of which are not staging, constantly cruise in and out the mouth of the little river. “HOW BIG ARE THE FISH? THEY ARE EXCEEDINGLY LARGE AND AVERAGE 7-12 POUNDS. FISH IN THE MID-TEENS HAVE COME TO BE EXPECTED AND FISH OVER 20 POUNDS ARE LANDED WITH REGULARITY.”
When discussing prime time catch rates, it is safe to say that were an angler to only catch a dozen big fish in a day, either conditions were off or they weren’t really fishing very hard. Countless anglers have had multiple days in a row with more than 40 fish to hand.
Location, Location, Location: It didn’t take a rocket scientist to figure out where to build the original Loop camp. Within stumbling distance of the greatest trout fishing hotspot in the world was a logical choice and one which has served them well and continues to separate this operation from the others on the lake. From the camp you can easily walk to the lower reaches of the Barrancoso River, which is literally packed with big fish throughout much of the season. Many anglers will tuck up in the river when the wind howls and find relative refuge. Others will venture up it just to fish different water or employ different techniques.
In the right conditions virtually all methods can be successfully employed in the river. Nymphing and streamer fishing typically dominate but there are fish to be caught on natural drift dries or on skated mice. For those that want to really rack up the numbers an egg pattern tied to 20 pound tippet under an indicator has proven unbeatable especially during the first half of the season. The mouth of the river is another very popular spot, as are both sides of the rocky moon-white peninsula that juts out from the left side of the river’s mouth. The peninsula and the slight elevation that it affords anglers enables some of the greatest sight fishing opportunities imaginable. Once, one of Christer’s early clients complained that the fishing was too easy at the mouth of the river and that he was catching too many fish. Christer turned to him and said, “If this is a problem then walk down the lakeshore and fish in the next bay. You can go either direction, it does not matter.” After three hours without a fish, he returned to the “spot” and never complained again!
Since the fishing tends towards very high catch rates, the program is what we refer to as “lightly guided”. The number of guides on site varies with the number of anglers and typically the crew includes one guide for every two or three rods, a “camp man” who helps clean up, and unless there are only 2 or 3 clients there is also a chef. All serve as skilled 4x4 drivers and lodge staff. They show folks the lay of the land, they assist with fly selection and rigging and mostly they help anglers land and photograph fish. All of them are highly skilled anglers and casters (trained by the Loop Army), most of whom have cut their teeth guiding Las Buitreras on the Rio Gallegos, considered one of the most interesting and rewarding sea-trout rivers in the world.
The Lodge: Before 2010, the original Loop Camp (now known as the Solid Adventures Camp), with its white geodesic domes set amongst the desolate surreal rocks of Lago Strobel, was more reminiscent of a space station than a fishing lodge. Today that is no longer the case. Is it opulent or fancy? Absolutely not, but all the tents are gone, all the walls are wood and they have simple plumbing. The basic layout is that up to nine guests sleep either two or three per cabin. The cabins have comfortable beds, full bedding, heat and electric lights. Guests share the use of two flush toilets and a shower. Each evening guests gather around the couches and wood stove in the main lodge and then move to the dining table for tastefully prepared meals paired with Argentine wines. Throughout the course of the fishing day the cabins are always near if a siesta beckons. Better still, beer, wine, cookies and coffee are always available at the main lodge if one needs a little down time.
“AGAIN, IT ISN’T A FANCY PLACE BUT FOR THOSE THAT WANT A CRACK AT THE BEST TROPHY TROUT FISHING IN THE WORLD IT IS A SIMPLE SLICE OF HEAVEN AND A WELCOME REFUGE FROM THE ELEMENTS.”
Season: The Solid Adventures camp fishes incredibly well from November through mid-January. By some accounts it is actually too good due to catch rates that can only be described as ridiculous. As water temperatures rise in January the fishing slows considerably until things cool down in mid-March. This is not to say the fishing is slow as that is relative and even in the low season multiple fish over ten pounds are expected for each angler each day. In any other body of water the low season at Jurassic would be considered world-class trophy fishing. As the system cools, the mid-March to mid-April time period is
considered the second prime time window. I personally prefer the late season as it offers some of the biggest, brightest and hottest fish of the season and anglers can expect 10-20 superbly conditioned fish per day. During the early prime season, 5.5 day full-week packages are the only option with half week (2.5 day or full week 5.5 day) fishing packages offered from January 4 th through the end of the season in mid-April. Full week packages run Saturday to Saturday and half week packages run SaturdayTuesday and Wednesday-Saturday. Travel to Jurassic Lake works well in conjunction with Las Buitreras on the Rio Gallegos, the Rio Grande, Kooi Noom and other Argentine destinations. Prime 2014-2015 dates are available; please call for details.
Getting There: To get to Jurassic Lake you need to make travel arrangements to Buenos Aires, Argentina. Most guests will transfer to the domestic terminal and continue on to Calafate where you will overnight before the trip’s start date. Fly Water Travel will help coordinate your intra-country travel logistics (airport transfers, hotel, and domestic flights) with Solid Adventures. After waking in Calafate guests will be picked up by the Solid Adventures staff and embark on the aptly named “Drive from Hell� into Jurassic Lake, which takes approximately 6 to 8 hours. It is a lot better than it used to be but the last three hours of the drive entail very rough 4X4 travel. Anglers prone to motion sickness or with bad backs should think twice before committing.
After fishing your last morning you will drive back to Calafate and overnight, then depart Calafate for Buenos Aires the following morning. After arriving in the domestic terminal (J. Newbery), you will transfer to the international airport (Ministro Pistarini) and depart Buenos Aires for home on an evening flight.
Gearing Up: Rods: We recommend 9 ft single handed rods in the 7 or 8 weight category. For the tributary river you may want a singlehanded 9ft six weight rod. It makes sense to bring a back-up rod as well. Some folks like 7-8 weight spey rods for combating the wind. Reels: A strong, smooth drag is a must. Reels should have capacity for the fly line and 200 yards of 30lb backing. For the inlet stream a direct drive trout reel is adequate for your needs. Lines: Weight forward floating lines are the most popular followed by full intermediate lines or intermediate shooting head type lines. Keep in mind that this is a windy place and any line that you feel will give you an advantage in the wind is worth packing! Leaders/Tippet: 15 and 20lb fluorocarbon are the most popular with most folks using 20lb. Also have knotless tapered leaders from 9 to 12ft with 20 pound breaking strength. Umpqua’s Big Game fluorocarbon leaders are a good choice here. Top Flies: Jimmy Legs #4-6, Copper Johns #8-12, Glo Bugs #68, assorted woolly buggers #4-8, Chernobyl Ant #4-8, Morrish Mouse #4, Dirty Bird #6-10, Scuds #10-12, assorted leeches #48. Note that heavy wire hooks are a must.
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