San Huberto & the Rio Malleo
I asked Barry if he would give me a couple paragraphs on San Huberto and the Malleo. This is from him:
The late Ernest Scwiebert wrote and spoke fondly of this beautiful spring creek in Patagonia, Argentina. He described it as the queen of all spring creeks, and if you visit the historic estancia you can read his entries in the lodge journals. You can also fish his favorite beats like Red Gate or the Henry’s Fork. This is storied water often visited by some of the best known fly anglers around the world. Thanks to our relationship with Frontiers, we host a group to San Huberto each March and it is one of our favorite destinations in the world.
We know of no other stream that has the diversity of the Rio Malleo. The upper beats are a true spring creek-like environment, the canyon sections offer deep long pools and high banks, while the lower beats remind us of Montana’s Gallatin River with riffles, runs, and pocket water. And all of it sits below the spectacular Lanin Volcano. Lanin, snow capped and majestic, adds to the sheer beauty of the valley. If you have not yet visited Argentina, this is the perfect place to start.
March is our favorite time of the year to fish the Malleo. It’s early fall in the southern hemisphere and with fall comes comfortable daytime temperatures and cool evenings. The trout are always active and with a little luck, we are treated to some great blue wing olive hatches. Terrestrials are always dependable, ants and foam super beetles work well, and for those who like ESN fishing, there are ample opportunities to practice your craft. After 20+ odd years of visiting San Huberto, I honestly agree with Schwiebert, it is the queen of all spring creeks, and one must see it to really appreciate it. Barry
Come with us March 3-9, 2024. We'll spend a day in Buenos Aires and fly the following day to San Martin. To add a few more days of fishing, continue on with us to the Alumine and Estancia Pilolil. Total 9 days fishing at two estancias. Check it out.
Trico Time
Since Barry was already sitting at his computer, I asked for a couple paragraphs on trico fishing. We're seeing tricos in Pennsylvania and I know these tiny flies will soon be the ticket in the west and many other places.
For those of us lucky enough to fish water that has a trico hatch, late July and August is of major importance for it’s trico time. It has always been one of my favorite hatches and I have fished the hatch from east to west. As a young teenager I spent as much time as I could on the Little Lehigh near Allentown, PA, fishing the morning spinner falls. These were the smallest of tricos and 7X tippet was the norm. These fish were people friendly and used to anglers walking along the banks. That said, most had been caught and released many times over and you might say they had college degrees. It was delicate work but it was always fun.
Then I had the opportunity to join legendary Pennsylvania angler Ed Shenk on a road trip to Montana. Prior to the trip Ed gave me a list of flies that I would need, first on the list was trico spinners. That trip opened my eyes to why anglers travel to Montana and the American west. We fished trico hatches on Hebgen lake, on the Bighole, the Madison, and a number of smaller spring creeks. It was an amazing trip and one that I will always remember.
Years later would find Cathy and I on Montana’s Bighorn river on the Crow Indian reservation and a lucky meeting with Mike Craig who then owned The Bighorn Angler fly shop in Fort Smith. Mike invited us to fish in front of his house on the river and told us that we would see tricos. Mike wasn’t kidding. We had never witnessed anything like it. There were duns on the water and immense clouds of spinners over the water and trout heads everywhere. The trico hatch and spinner fall lasted most of the morning and I honestly don’t remember how many trout we landed, but one thing was for sure it was the best trico fishing we had ever had and we return to the Bighorn every August — always looking for the hatch.
Trout can be very selective to size and pattern and some guide friends on the Bighorn showed us a trick they use when the fish get really tough. They tag a sinking trico spinner behind a larger dry like a black bodied parachute Adams which in its self can look like a trico cluster. It can be a deadly combo and we have used it elsewhere with great success. Believe me, the sinking trico works.
For Cathy and I we will head back to the Bighorn for two weeks in August and we will keep our fingers crossed that we find those morning spinner clouds and rising trout. Barry
Click here for more information on our annual Bighorn River trips.
Click here to see tricos in our store.
NZ Trico
While we're on the topic of tricos, here's a interesting pattern from Tim Flagler.
by tightlinevideo
Thank you, Tim!
We're in Alaska this week with a group catching rainbows and salmon. We'll tell you about it when we get home. Hope you're having a good week.
Comments