|
For my 30 birthday, my family gave me this awsome present:
a complete fly set, nš 8 rod, an STH II reel, a complete
sinking line and some fly boxes. They came all the way from
Buenos Aires to Neuquen for my birthday (1250 Km in my dad's
car). Fly fishing stuff here are VERY expensive and they knew
that it will be very hard for me to buy it myself. And of course,
they knew how much I love fishing...so they gave me this
incredible surprise.
Here in Neuquen we have great rivers and lakes where you can
find Brown and Rainbow trout, and almost always you will find
the originally resident of the Patagonian waters: the perch.
Nobody likes the perch, it's a fish that doesn't fight, it
simply goes to the bottom and gets pulled out of the water
very easily. The meat of the perch is very tasty, but it has
no sportive value.
So there I was, waiting for my first trout. But no trout was
coming to my fly, only the perchs where attacking as if it
was the last time they will see food in their life.
And then on my vacation, I went to Villa Pehuenia (300 Km
from my home), with my wife.
And there I saw them. Around 10:30 am there where three beautiful
rainbow trouts, swimming near the surface about two meters from me.
One of them was attacking everything that floats: bugs, little
sticks, leaves...but she didn't even come near my dry flies...
about 12:00 they disappeared.
The next day I got up early and went to the same place. Nothing,
not even one fish. So I went back to my tent and made breakfast
for my wife and me. At 9:30 I went to my fishing place again,
and watched horrified how an entire family were swimming
EXACTLY WHERE I SAW THE TROUTS THE DAY BEFORE!
Forget about fishing there I sadly said to myself.
I tried some other places but nothing came out.
The next day I woke up early and went there, and waited for
the trouts. Around ten other fishermen came and started
spinning near me. I asked them to take some distance from
me, so we all can fish comfortably.
At 10:30 the trouts made their entry. This time I tried with
different streamers, and the trouts started to chase them
but they where still not biting.
Until I tried with a silver body and green fins one.
That was the one.
One of the trouts saw it and started to approach...and
suddenly, took impulse and attacked my fly like a lightning!
I couldn't believe the strength of that fish, it started to
jump out of the water, 1, 2, 3 times and to swim at full
speed...I was as happy as I could ever be...a few minutes
later I dragged the fish near me and lifted it up with the
net.
It was a beautiful animal, and about an hour later I realized
that beside beautiful it was a really tasty one...my wife cooked
it with fried onion and a soft cheese sauce...not bad for my first
rainbow trout!
I can tell you, since the first fish that took a fly from my
line, I became really addicted to this fine art of fly casting.
I really hope that more people try this beautiful way of
getting a little more closer to nature, and more and more
people realize that the best for all of us is to help. ~ Gabriel
|
