Another Rio Grande - Riesco Island, Chilean Patagonia

Riesco Island is situated 100 km north-west from Punta Arenas.  It is separated from the mainland with a narrow strait; one can reach it by ferry from the small town Rio Verde.

The biggest stream of the island is called (like many rivers in Spanish-speaking countries) Rio Grande.  The river is swift and deep: we were not able to wade across it even in low water.  The stream is famous by the stock of coho salmon; here you can also catch brown and rainbow trout. 

During high tide the lower part of the river is not flowing

The river has many swift, rocky stretches.  There are not very many pools here. 

 

Further upstream from the sea both banks are covered with thick beech forest

In April it is possible to catch sea-run brown trout.  This specimen was 52 cm long; it was caught with bright streamer near the bottom.  Some other trout were landed with tiny nymphs presented with a swing in the upper layers of water. 

Silver side of the same fish

This is a small parr of brown trout; it is less than a year old

Local species of kingfisher is one of the common birds

Chile, Tierra del Fuego, middle part of Rio Grande - part 2

Along the river there are only a few trees, sowe were able to drive with our rods ready for action. 

Guanacos are very common, and they are not afraid of people.  Stefan during his sleep was almost stepped on by a careless animal. 

Sea-trout is strong fish; for landing it you spend at least a minute per pound.  Most of the holding areas were hard to cover with single-handed rods, especially in strong wind.  I was using 15' 2-handed rod.   

This fish weights about 3 kg; it could be a good trophy for Northern Europe; in Rio Grande this is an average catch.  Sea-run trout are biting mostly rather small flies.  Rubber-leg nymphs are among the best patterns. 

The flies selection for fishing Rio Grande could be limited to small wet flies and nymphs on #12-8 hooks.  In low water conditions the sea-run trout is biting mostly little flies.  Bigger flies (Wooly Buggers, String Leeches, Intruders) are used in periods with high water, and in limited light conditions.  They are also catching the majority of resident trout.   

This 70 cm silver fish was caught with a #10 Red Tag. 

Puff-balls near the river

In summer and fall the ibis is quite common in the open pampa

Chile, Tierra del Fuego, middle part of Rio Grande

Famous Rio Grande begins in the western (Chilean) part of the Tierra del Fuego, crosses the island and flows into Atlantic Ocean.  On this shot Rio Blanco flows left to right and joins Rio Grande near a big beaver hut. 

Below the junction with Rio Blanco the Rio Grande becomes rather big; it is difficult to wade across it even in low water.

 The river meanders in wide open valley with only a few beech trees.  There are no willows in the floodplain. 

Flat terrases of the river allow driving with a 4WD truck. 

 

In the private stretches of the river there are not many fishermen. 

We were fihshing the Chilean part of Rio Grande - from the bridge at the Ruta 85 downstream to the border with Argentina.  The most numerous fish was resident brown trout.  The stream offers excellent trout fishing, but we were aimed at trophy sea-run trout.  This means, a bite of even good size resident trout was considereda nuisance...

Both resident and sea-run trout were biting black or other dark wet flies.  Most of resident fish were caught with big flies on #6-4 hooks.   

Upper part of the famous Rio Grande (Tierra del Fuego)

World-famous Rio Grande (Tierra del Fuego island) is 220 km long.  The upper 120 km of the river belongs to Chile, and its lower part - to Argentina.   Most of the fishermen come here in search of the trophy sea-run brown trout, which can reach 18 kg.  This fishing occurs in the middle & lower part of the river, in Argentina.  It is also possible to catch sea-run trout in Chile, not far from the border with Argentina. In its upper part Rio Grande has good density of resident brown trout. 

This shot was made from a hill, 70 km from the source of the Rio Grande.  The stream is 12-20 meters wide; its depth is 30-150 cm.  The river floodplain is treeless, and the hills along the river valley are covered with beech trees.  The river is not deep and can be crossed by wading at most of the riffles.

In the river we were catching only one species, brown trout.  The fish were from 200 g to 1 kg.  The biggest fish density was below the riffles, but the biggest fish were found in the deep part of the pools, in the areas with cover (snags or submerged peat clumps). 

 

 It is always fun to catch brown trout.  The fishing was quite easy: the fish is not selective and (on windy days) not spooky.  Dark Wooly Bugger on #8 or #6 hook was a good choice for this stream.  

 

Calafate bush is protecting its tasty berries with inch-long spines

 

 Southern caracara