Patagonia, March 2010, Jurassic Lake (Lago Strobel)

Lago Strobel is a 100 sq km lake in remote, central part of Argentinian province Santa Cruz.  About 12 years ago this fish-less alcaline water was stocked by rainbow trout, which florished.  Now it is popular sport-fishing destination; in the ads it is often called "Jurassic Lake".   

Our road to the lake was long.  To reach it we had to drive from Punta Arenas, Chile, to Argentina, and then head north on the famous Ruta Quarenta, Road #40.  The lake is surrounded by the lands of private estancias (ranches), which are also organizing sport-fishing. Our host was waiting for us at the 1006 km of the road.  From here we crossed a river (Rio Chico)

and started to climb huge plateau.  This plateau is called Mesetra de la Murerte (Death Plateau) and is formed by volcanic eruption.

The top of the plateau is flat and covered by countless sharp bazalt rocks.  Its altitude is 900-920 m.  It is true "Death Plateau" for suspension and tires of the trucks.  In many places we cound not drive faster than one can walk. 

The lake is situated in a huge caldera (depression) surrounded by 100 m high walls of bazalt rocks.  Along the water edge the rocks are covered by the limestone, which was created by microscopic algae.  This white layer shows the ancient water level in the lake. 

The same algae continue their work

The lake has the most amazing skies with strange clouds

We were starting to fish early, before the sunrise 

The fishing tectnic is simple - long cast with #10-4 dark wet fly and retrieve with jerks.  We were using Wooly Buggers and rubber leg nymphs, but different wet flies can also work.  Sometimes the orange flies are the best.  Most of the fish in catches are fat, silver and very strong rainbow trout; average fish was about 60-65 cm long.

Some trout were ill-looking, skinny specimens.  Such ones are never shown in the ads on the "Jurassic Lake fishing".  It looks like these ones are spent fish, which had recently finished the spawning. 

 

The biggest fish which my partner Arthur had landed was 75 cm long

.. and had huge girth.  Regardless to its thickness, this fish fights well and jumps a lot. 

On the way back from the plateau - we are heading east  and will start the descend into the valley.

Patagonia, Tierra del Fuego, Lago Blanco

Lago Blanco is a big water body - 24 km long and up to 8 km wide.  Same as other big Patragonian lakes, it is created by a glacier.  In its western part the lake is surrounded by the mountains.  Here it is more narrow and deep; its banks are indented, with coves and bays.  The eastern part of the lake, where the glacier was coming out into the plain, the lake hollow is more open and wide.  Lago Blanco is very clear.  It is populated by brown and rainbow trout.  The record brown trout from the lake was over 13 kg. 

On the first day there was no wind.  On such days Patagonian trout is becoming unusually wary, and requires light tackle and thin tippets.    

 

 Regardless to the fall (mid March), the day was hot.  We were able to catch some small trout, casting long lines with small dark wet flies. 

 

 In a long trip it is often necessary to replenish the stock of the flies.  The ones most popular among the local trout were the Wooly Buggers, which are easy to tie even without a vise. 

 

On the second day the weather at the lake was rather nasty, windy and rainy. 

 

The lake outlet (boca) of the Lago Blanco - this river is called Rio Blanco.  The first 200 meters of the stream below the lake is used for spawning by king salmon.  It is one of two known Atlantic stocks of this Pacific salmon.  This population has origin from the stray fish from Chilean waters, where king salmon was stocked in the end of 20 century.      

 

Rio Blanco is very clear.  The beech trees along its banks are killed by the beavers.  

 

Lago Lynch, Tierra del Fuego, Patagonia

Lago Lynch is a big water body in the upper part of the Rio Grande drainage.  The lake surface is about 50 square kilometers.  It is posssible to reach the lake by 4 km of wet trail, coming off a remote logging road. 

Along the road there were lots of beaver dams.  Beavers were stocked into the waters of the island in 1920es; the animal has devastating effect at the beech forests of the island.    

Grey fox is one of the native animals of Patagonia 

 The trail was quite wet; in some areas we had difficulties to pass even in 4WD pickup. 

 

Guanacos along the road

 

 Along the east bank the lake is very shallow, and its bottom is flat.  We did not have a boat, and it was hard to find fish.

 

Finally I have managed to find a "structure" - a deeper area surounded by shallows.  It was situated over 100 meters from the lake shore. 

 

 In this place we have started catching fish.  These were mostly rainbows up to 1 kg. 

 

 The tackle: 15' 2-handed rod, floating line, clear slow-sinking leader, and 0,25 mm tippet.  The fish were biting small dark wet flies & nymphs on #10 & # 12 hooks.  Retrieve: pulls and pauses.   

 

 Ratio of rainbow to brown trout was 2:1.  Some brown trout were dark - they had normal "river" colors.

 

Other fish were almost silver, which is typical for the fish from big, clear waters 

 

 We have decided to keep 2 trout and prepare them in a foil with onions.  Calafate berries are adding special flavor. 

 

Rio Rusfin, Tierra del Fuego, Patagonia, Chile

Rio Rusfin is flowing along the road 85 in Chilean part of the Tierra del Fuego. 

We were camping near the road in the beech forest. 

Rio Rusfin is a small creek flowing in wide valley.  There are no trees or bushes in the creek floodplain. 

The creek is 2-6 meters wide; average depth is 30-60 cm; some holes are up to 1,5 m deep. 

Trout was feeding in deep riffles and in the upper parts of the pools

Regardless to the small size of a creek, in March there were mostly good size trout here

This old dredge was used during the Tierra del Fuego gold rush.  It was long ago, in beginning of the 20 century.  Now the river looks healthy regardless to the former mining activities.  We all know how bad placer mining is for the trout streams...  I am glad 100 years is enough for rehabilitaton.  

Brown trout is nocturnal animal; it is biting flies even when fisherman is not able to see his fly and tippet

Chile, Region XII, Rio Rubens

Rio Rubens was the first Patagonian stream which I had fished.  Very exciting. 

Rio Rubens and Rio Penitente are sources of the Argentinian Rio Galliegas, famous with its sea-run brown trout.  Both streams begin in Chile, not far from the Pacific coast.  Rio Rubens near the bridge at the road #9 is 12-20 meters wide.  The water in the river is tea-colored. 

Rio Rubens has LOTS of dead trees and submerged snags.  Be ready to loose many flies.

My first casts had brought this...  - the local fishermen are fishing with metal lures. 

I was able to find one pool with trout, and landed some good fish.  This one was the biggest..

This tube-fly I used to use for chum salmon in Sakhalin Island.  Now it is catching trout.  

The forest of southern beech looks suitable for trolls and other unpleasant creatures...