NEWSLETTER #53 -
OCTOBER 2006
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Fly Fishing Adventures Travel Newsletter, October,
2006
TOPICS IN THIS ISSUE:
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FISH FIRST! ALBANY SHOP PRESENTATION: STALKING
THE WORLD’S GREAT GAMEFISH WITH A FLY ROD,
WEDNESDAY, 10/25
-
FAMILY WEEK AT ALASKA’S BRISTOL BAY LODGE
-
PATAGONIA……..PART II
-
HOSTED CAMPECHE BABY TARPON TRIP IN JUNE HAS TWO
OPENINGS
-
AFRICAN SAFARI PRESENTATION – WEDNESDAY, 11/1
-
FANTASY STUFF: ANOTHER FERNIE BULL TROUT
EPISODE
-
SAN FRANCISCO DAY – TUESDAY, 10/31
We are in the fifth year of publishing our monthly
newsletter with updates on great fly fishing venues,
trip reports and insights for our traveling fly
fishers. We want to help you match the right
location with your fly fishing goals and objectives
and properly prepare you to fully enjoy the
experience. We’ve been to most locations and pride
ourselves on our ability to research new sites. One
of our services is to compare and contrast different
lodges/outfitters. Whatever unbiased information on
timing and locations we can provide comes at the
same cost to you as booking direct – i.e., NO EXTRA
COST.
FISH FIRST! ALBANY SHOP PRESENTATION WEDNESDAY,
10/25
On next Wednesday, Oct. 25, I’ll be in Fish First’s
Albany shop most of the afternoon. At 12:30 we’ll
have a presentation titled “Stalking The World’s
Great Gamefish With A Fly Rod.” This presentation
hops around the globe from the American West to
Patagonia, to New Zealand, Belize and several other
spots. The focus is on the excitement of stalking
and sight casting to trout, bonefish, tarpon, etc.
Come on in and say “hi.”
FAMILY WEEK AT ALASKA’S BRISTOL BAY LODGE
We book Alaskan adventures at most of Alaska’s top
lodges, but for a variety of reasons which I am
happy to explain, Bristol Bay Lodge is our
favorite. For those with families considering an
Alaska adventure, here’s a program worth attention.
Bristol Bay is having a special family week next
summer, July 28 – Aug 4. The big attraction is that
kids go for half price during this special week.
Bristol Bay is one of Alaska’s great fly out lodges
with a regular weekly rate of $6,850 so the savings
are significant. If you’d like more details, hit
“reply.”
PATAGONIA……..PART II
Patagonia is a loosely defined general geographic
area that encompasses the southern parts of
Argentina and Chile. From the fly fisher’s
viewpoint, it includes three different
environments: the Chilean Fjords, the Chilean
Andes, and, in Argentina, the pampas and eastern
side of the Andes. Last month, we focused on the
Chilean Fjords; this month we discuss the Chilean
Andes and next month, the article will be on
Argentina and east of the Andes.
The Andes rise up from the edge of the Pacific. The
glacier capped spine of the Andes in much of
Patagonia is the border between Chile and
Argentina. You may remember how skinny the country
of Chile looked in your geography books. In some
places, it’s less than 50 miles from the Argentina
border to the Chilean coast. Packed into that
narrow countryside is a dramatic array of peaks and
valleys.
When Chile’s trout fishing was first discovered, it
was the Lakes District in the general area of Puerto
Montt and north that grabbed all the attention.
Next, the center of interest moved south, using the
town of Coyhaique (and the airport at Balmaceda) as
the jump off point for a Chilean adventure. Soon,
the waters in this area got a lot of attention and
with the attention, came the people, mostly from the
US. Our favorite area of Chile remains one of its
most rural and least visited – the area between
Puerto Montt and Coyhaique.
There are many lodges and ways to approach Chile.
One of the special lodges rests in the Andes south
of the village of Chaitan and offers a variety of
Patagonian experiences. First, it’s a small
personal operation that hosts a maximum of six fly
fishers. Additionally, there is an eco-tour program
for the non-fishing traveler. In addition to many
rivers, streams, and lagoons they float and wade,
they do horse back trips into the Andes, overnight
float trips through the Andes, and have an outpost
cabin on the Argentine border.
The main attraction is the rainbows and browns with
an average size fish that exceeds the Argentine side
of the Andes. There are many three to five pound
fish taken in this area and a seven or eight pounder
is a real possibility. It is an area of stunning
beauty and a great backdrop to cast a fly.
HOSTED CAMPECHE BABY TARPON TRIP IN JUNE HAS TWO
OPENINGS
Situated on the Western coast of Mexico's Yucatan
Peninsula, the Tarpon Coast offers a magnificent
shallow water habitat and some of the best baby
tarpon fishing in the world! Over forty miles of
coastline allows dedicated anglers to explore an
incredible variety of shallow water flats, bays and
interior lagoons in pursuit of one of the world's
great gamefish. And when the day is done, anglers
can enjoy the old world charms of Campeche, a city
steeped in Mexican and Mayan culture. Leo Siren,
manager of the Fish First! Fly Shops has the week of
June 15 – 21 booked for a group of six. Openings
for two rods remain – price is $2,350pp based on
double occupancy and shared guide.
AFRICAN SAFARI PRESENTATION – WEDNESDAY, 11/1
What’s an African Safari doing in our newsletter?
Last year, while in New Zealand, we had dinner with
a well traveled gentleman who, the previous year,
had taken his extended family (a group of a dozen,
including a few small grandchildren) on a very
successful African Safari. He described the year’s
worth of research they did to come up with the best
possible outfitter, one with a solid reputation who
would tailor their adventure to his family’s desires
and needs. Because I have considered the same type
of adventure for our family, I became interested
and, after arriving home, he sent me the results of
his research. I contacted the outfitter and asked
him to let me know if he would be in Northern
California. He is going to be making a presentation
in our Napa Fly Fishing Theatre at 9:30am on Nov.
1. He may also be available for a small group
presentation at another Bay Area location while he’s
here. If you have any interest, let me know.
FANTASY STUFF: ANOTHER FERNIE BULL TROUT EPISODE
The August newsletter detailed a fantasy day had by
Josh Luftglidden which involved releasing over 15
monster bull trout on a tributary of the Elk River
in B.C. Now Pat Patterson checks in with another
Elk River Bull Trout episode that Pat termed “the
most exciting experience of my fly fishing career”
and he didn’t even land a fish! Pat was having a
wonderful day with several (he had lost count by the
end of the day) fat and feisty native West Slope
Cutthroat from 15 to 21 inches taken on dry flies
when a fish he had hooked began frenzied activity.
The smallish fish took off on a run up, around, and
across the pool and the guide shouted “bull trout –
it’s being chased by a bull trout!” Indeed, as the
fish neared the drift boat, they could see the
cutthroat wedged cross-ways in the jaws of a fish
that Pat said “would have exceeded the 24 pound, 35”
sea run brown I caught in Terra del Fuego.” The
guide instructed Pat to give the fish line with the
hope that he’d swallow the cutthroat. The rest of
the story from Pat – “I did give him line and the
bull trout moseyed away from the boat over to the
shallows, about 12 inches of water, and proceeded to
thrash around like a crocodile, as he tried to
maneuver the cutthroat into position to swallow. We
finally thought he had done so as the commotion
stopped, and I slowly reeled in the fish. Only the
cutty was left and he was the saddest looking sad
sack I ever saw.” They were able to revive and
release the fish, but he was “one unhappy fish.”
“SAN FRANCISCO DAY” – TUESDAY, OCTOBER 31
If you are in San Francisco, we have scheduled
Tuesday, October 31 as our next day in the City. To
view a list of the slide presentations we have
available, go to our website
www.flyfishingadventures.org Under the
link for “Newsletters/Trip Reports” is the list of
slide shows. I am available by appointment to stop
by your office or home for discussion and/or slide
presentations from our library. Also, I’m available
to get together for a cup of coffee or soft drink
almost anywhere in the City.
Either phone or drop us an e-mail if you have
questions or would like more information about any
of our destinations.
An enthusiastic traveling fly fisherman,
Don Muelrath
Fly Fishing Adventures
www.flyfishingadventures.org
888-347-4896
flyfish@napanet.net
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