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3. Chile in early March

i have a good friend going to Chile for browns in early March. Has anyone done this before? i'm going to tie some flies for him and i want to make sure they are appropriate. Any help would be greatly appreciated! thank you in advance.
Eric

Eric,

My buddy went down, I think two years ago in March. His buddy goes nearly every year. They took a supply of copper johns for nymphing. My buddy took a bunch of bow river buggers. He did okay, but the river systems they fished were blown out from too much rain. One of them hooked up on some salmon, but were not rigged to handle such large fish.

Let your friend know that it can be difficult to get flies with natural materials, especially feathers, into Chile past customs. They are afraid of disease entering the country that way. Last year, my buddy's friend hid his rods in duffle bags and the rest in camera bags and went disguised as a photographer, since he heard from the outfitter he was using that the custom's agents single out people who look like they are fishing. For what it's worth.

As Lance would say...Krachens...black and white...never been there, but thats what i'd fish...

I thought Lance liked --Hot spot P T

Hows School

Caddisman

School's never good, but its always better than the alternative...this last semester was a killer time wise, however next semester is 4 day weekends...thursday and fridays off...sailfish in islamorada anyone??

Was down there last Jan. Didn't go for any sails though. Have you fished them with the long rod?

Never have, this will be a first attempt at even throwing a fly in the salt...A friend of ours is a captain who runs a charter out of ocean city for marlin and such (on conventional tackle) but in the winter he takes his boat to the keys. He is going to take myself, my dad and a few friends out and they are all going to fish the old fashioned way and im gonna try and pick one or two up on a fly...i did a bit of research and think i have a pretty good idea of what i need to do...in the end its all up to whether or not we find fish...any tips are more than welcome though...

Wish I had some to give you. I just did some backcountry DIY for jacks and spanish macks...which was great. I don't think I'm going back this year, but if I do, I'm goin for it. I'm from the OC area, well western MD, but I'm familiar. In Jan/Feb, the sails and mahi are deffinatly there. Bottom line, it's a great feeling to leave 2' of snow behind for 80 degree weather!

Krachen, I've done very little saltwater fly fishing, but the one thing I did learn one day was to keep your line where it can't tangle. This can be tough at times, and perhaps a stripping basket or some kind of line tamer would be a help. I lost a big fish one day when I was walking the shore on a point and flipped a clouser out a few feet and began to separate the line coils I had carried and dropped at my feet. It wasn't intended to be a cast, but next thing I knew I had a big tangle in the stripping guide and a leader going bang. This might not be so much of a problem on a boat, but I wish I had at least seen that fish. I did catch a striper that day that gave me fits. Saltwater fish are built for speed, and man are they strong. Best of luck.

Krachen, tie up some BIG streamers if you don't already have them! I'm talking 7-8" - and I assume you have the fly rod to throw such huge creations (& the reel to handle whatever you might hook on them)...

Concerning Chile, I went down there with my ex back in '93 - '94. Unfortunately, we didn't make it to the south where all of the trophy fisheries are, but we did do a little bit of fly fishing in central Chile. We caught some small rainbows, nothing bigger than 7-8", yet the Chileans were appalled that we threw them back! They wanted to keep EVERYTHING. Obviously, it's much different down south, where the fisheries are not only remote but well-regulated.

The fly-fishing magazines have had occasional articles on fishing in Chile, one recently on Tierra del Fuego (don't know if you're going that far down). Check out those articles and see what they fish with!

Jonathon