Once in a Lifetime Trout

A Once in a Lifetime Trout

The Limay River below its power dam is well known as a incredibly good Argentine fishery if your looking for a once in a lifetime brown trout. When the migratory browns run in March and April, anglers in the know show up casting their offerings, hoping to feel the tug of a double digit brown. You need to have a steel-headers mentality- you may make a thousand unanswered casts, or you may hook up on the first cast. I‘ll place my bet on the later having fished the river for a lot of years.

Jack and Mary Innocenzi are long time friends who have traveled to some of the most fabled waters in Argentina. Mary a petite, pretty blonde has landed more then of her share of respectable trout; Jack has as well. This past March, they fished with me on their favorite river, the Rio Malleo out of San Huberto. They are seasoned veterans here and after a week on the Malleo, they had made the decision to join me and a group of friends on the Limay.

Its quite a change leaving a much smaller spring creek to the much wider Limay. Four weight outfits were left in their cases and replaced with Sage seven weights and Rio 250 grain sink tips. For the next three days, Jack and Mary patiently cast and retrieved, often hooking up with strong fighting rainbows but the quarry they were hunting continued to elude them. Then on day four Jack's luck was about to change. Floating with guide Nico Baldeschi, Jack felt the tug he had been waiting for only to miss the strike. Undaunted but disappointed, he continued on only to miss a second fish. Knowing Jack's frustration was setting in but on the third take he hit home and 25 inches of trout lay in the net. Yes, it’s a good fish but just not  quite was he was looking for. The day was quickly coming to an end when the line went tight and the reel screamed. Jack knew instantly this was a different kind of fish. In the end, a double digit brown came to the boat. With nervous hands Jack posed with his trophy for a quick photo and then watched as the brown slowly disappeared  back into the rivers depths. These are the kind of days you never forget, and I just know that Jack will relive that moment time and time again.  

Here at Home

What a spring we are having here on Fishing Creek, my home water. Cold and wind would be appropriate to describe most of our weather. I began to think I should have never left Argentina. But there have been days when some very large fish have been caught. I was lucky enough to be there when Jared Staskiel  landed a huge rainbow. This was certainly one of the highlights of the season so far. Millie Elgaway ,John Shaner and Grace Lee Smith also landed fish well over the 20 inch mark so there have been some bright spots for sure but the wind just won’t give up. I’m back to guiding this week so hope springs eternal.