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3. First Brown of the Spring Patagonia Season

I just got in from a few days on the river, went down to help my partner and crew set up for the season and get the lodge rolling for the season. Felipe and Alberto took me out for a walk & wade trip on the Paloma River to look for some hungry brown trout, and did we find them. The day was sunny and warm, got a bit of a sunburn on the second day. Even though it is our springtime, we all tied on dry flies, may have caught more on streamers, but I love to dry fly fish and am happy with less fish but better overall action. Felipe started off up stream and in minutes had his first trout on, calling to Alberto for the net as he played the brown in the crystal water, he landed and photographed his prize and then quickly landed another smaller brown from the same hole. In the mean time I was struggling to get my game on, hadn't cast a rod in 6 months, so I had to work out some of the kinks. The boys whistled to me to join them and we headed further up stream to a bend in the river, where on the opposite bank I could see a perfect hole that a trout should live in. I cast across the river a couple times, but was having trouble putting my size 8 chernoble ant in the correct spot. I then put the fly right where I thought it should go, only to hang it in a low lying branch, thinking it would drop into the water I gave it a slight tug, but no, it was lost, so I gave it a good tight pull and the line came shooting 40 feet back at me and to my amazement the ant was still on. Alberto said, let me change that out to a different fly, I said let me cast it once more, after all, I thought it was lost, now it doesn't matter what happens to it, we checked the hook and put it back in play. I made a couple false cast and laid it down about 2 feet above the hole, tight against the bank, the fly started down the river and whack, with a big splash, a big fat brown slammed the ant to the depths, I pulled the rod tip up and the game was on. There is no better feeling to be standing in 49 degree water, a bit cold, gin clear as it rushes by, a 6 weight sage rod bent, and a large trout in the current. Alberto, with net in hand was ready to act, but the brown would have no part in that, fighting and running away each time the net touched the water. I guess about 7 or 8 minutes went by, hard to tell when your that exited, but the fight was fun, but now I wanted the photo too, when I finally got the trout in close enough for Alberto to snag him with the net, Felipe then snapped off a couple quick photos, we revived Mr. Brown, and set him on his way, and I had caught my first trout of the new season. Time on the Paloma River is magical, relaxing, exciting fun, and that was just the start of my trip. Paul

Now that's the kind of thing we like to hear as winter begins to lay down its first snow of the season here (well, technically I believe it's still fall, but it certainly looked like winter this evening.) That it's spring somewhere and the big browns are smacking dries there helps me think about the future season and fish to come. Thanks for the post; best wishes for a great season there.