Welcome to the 2013/2014 fishing season in Patagonia, Argentina.
I left the USA on December 16th, a day after we received one feet of white powdery snow (0.304 meters of snow). I flew on Delta and the total bill was $1,400.00 USD. From Atlanta, it's an over-night, easy 10 hour flight. As the plane landed in Buenos Aires, the following day at 8:00am, the pilot announced the outside temperature. It was 28 degrees celsius, or 82.4 degrees Fahrenhiet. My immediate thoughts; I was glad to be out of the sub zero temps of New Hampshire, but I was not ready for +80 degrees and humidity (I expect no sympathy from my northern hemisphere friends). To beat the temps and humidity, I called an audible and jumped the next flight to Bariloche; where I was met with slightly cooler temps, no humidity and a steady Patagonian breeze = much better. Thereafter, I took the next bus, traveling the beautiful 7 lake route to San Martin de los Andes. Finally after 24 hours of planes, buses and taxis, I arrived in Junin de los Andes. The next morning it was off to work with two young anglers from Munich, Germany.
Johannes Liecher and David Arnold are beginner/semi-beginner anglers with a will and desire to fish hard. Their effort, perseverance, and superb guiding by my partner Gustavou and myself, paid off tremendously. Also, fishing the second week of December, due to cold water and good water flow, helped them catch more large fish...timing always helps!
As you continue reading and viewing photos, the purpose of this post is to give you a clear understanding of what FCFF offers the DIY walk-wade angler. So, if you love to walk-wade, explore, stalk-hunt trout like my friends from Munich, then you'll want to put the rio Malleo on your Patagonia to-do-list.
Rio Malleo Facts
Location: Junin de los Andes, Argentina. Approximately, +/- 1 hour from Junin.
Province: Neuquen
Fishing Season: Generally, November 01 till May 31st.
Licensed Required: Yes, general fishing only.
Floating: Floating the Malleo is prohibited.
Entrance Fee: Currently $30 pesos (per day) to enter the lower section or Mapuche reservation.
Camping: Yes, only on the Mapuche reservation, $15 pesos per night.
Length: 64 Kilometers or 40 miles.
Origin: Lago Tromen (third major lake tributary to the rio Alumine).
Termination: Alumine.
Termination: Alumine.
Fly Rods: 9ft/4wt through 9ft/6wt. Switch = 11ft/5wt.
Fly Lines: Floating for dry flies and nymphs. Seasonal use of sink tips for faster-deeper water.
Flies: Sorry, but we only share this information with our guest.
 |
| Caught on a dry fly, Johannes with a fine Malleo brown. Johannes just finished his master degree in business and was fortunate enough to complete his final semester in Buenos Aires. Before leaving for Germany and starting his career, Johannes wanted to experience fly-fishing in Patagonia. |
 |
| Lots of Arcos Iris in the 12"18" range. |
 |
| David, with a colorful 16" brown. David also finished his master's degree and finished his final semester in Bogota, Columbia. He plans to stay in Bogota and open up a German style sandwich company. David is a true beginner fly fisherman. I work with him and stuck to basic, yet highly effective, casting strokes = he caught plenty of fish for a beginner. |
 |
| Johannes, with another Malleo brown. Johannes needs to refine his casting stroke; he's all wrist; powerful wrist, at that. But, to catch fish in Patagonia, and contrary to what the industry sells, 90% of all the fish we catch are within 30 feet or 10 meters. |
 |
| Argentina asado; a great way to end a great DIY walk-wade fly fishing trip. As they enter their new careers, I wish David and Johannes all the best. Come back and visit Gus and me, anytime. |
Fishing with FCFF
Please remember, all of our fishing trips are 100% customized to meet your personal needs. We hope you enjoyed reading this post. If you have questions or comments, please feel free to do so. Many thanks and hope to see you in Patagonia...Petri Heil!
Gone Fishing,
Mark
Please remember, all of our fishing trips are 100% customized to meet your personal needs. We hope you enjoyed reading this post. If you have questions or comments, please feel free to do so. Many thanks and hope to see you in Patagonia...Petri Heil!
Gone Fishing,
Mark
PS. Further reading on the Rio Malleo and client testimonials
http://firstcastflyfishing.blogspot.com.ar/p/raves.html
Day 01: http://firstcastflyfishing.blogspot.com.ar/2013/02/mission-upper-rio-malleo.html
Day 02: http://firstcastflyfishing.blogspot.com.ar/2013/02/patagonia-upper-malleo-day-02.html
Day 03: http://firstcastflyfishing.blogspot.com.ar/2013/02/patagonia-upper-malleo-day-03.html
http://firstcastflyfishing.blogspot.com.ar/p/raves.html
Day 01: http://firstcastflyfishing.blogspot.com.ar/2013/02/mission-upper-rio-malleo.html
Day 02: http://firstcastflyfishing.blogspot.com.ar/2013/02/patagonia-upper-malleo-day-02.html
Day 03: http://firstcastflyfishing.blogspot.com.ar/2013/02/patagonia-upper-malleo-day-03.html