Chilly in North America… Sunny in Chile

It’s not much of a secret that I am in love with South America; its liberation, fishing, scenery, food… what is there not to love?

I had heard of Marc Whittaker from Rod and Gun Fly Shop in Santiago, Chile through the guys at IF4.  When we discussed teaming up to do a potential showing in his neighbourhood, the ideas began to fly.  Before long, I was on a flight south-bound where I was scheduled to see my way around the country and work with both Marc and the Chilean government  (http://www.sernatur.cl) to try and educate the youth (and their parents) on their importance of catch & release (suéltalo en español)… and the impacts of the dreaded didymo/rock snot (a horrible algae that covers the river banks and affects insect life/fish… a single drop of water can devastate an entire fishery if introduced.)

I was to meet up with the talented Brian O’Keefe of Catch Magazine (the best $12 you will ever spend online) and Mr. Blue Eyes where we would all road trip through the country and see what sort of trouble we could get ourselves into.

The first few days were spent enjoying Santiago and hanging out at Rod and Gun.  Marc is an American who fell in love with Chile years ago and never left… it was a major sigh of relief to do business with someone who was so well-versed in two languages.  Before long we were off to the amazing tourist town of Puerto Varas and checked into the beautiful Hotel Patagonico (strongly recommended) and on our way to getting to know each other better.

A photo blog to better tell the story.  🙂

 The view from Hotel Patagonico.

 Mr. O’Keefe…  cool dude.

 Local Patagonia store!  Fitting!

The next morning we were off to the scenic Estancia Chollinco for the launch of the Suéltalo and the signing of certificates for new youth to the sport.

 The Sernatur folks who helped make this all possible.

 Caption really needed?

 Signing the kids casting certificates.

 Proud!

 With a short casting class in between…

Then off to the Chosuenco waterfront for a much-needed translated demo.

 Watching Brian’s demo.

The whirlwind tour spun us to the hospitable Hotel Rinimapu on Lago Riñihue  www.rinimapu.cl 

 Fishing with guide Sebastian Lepeley.

 Eeek!  Lol, I don’t mind spiders but this guy was a little intimidating.

 And then off to the most beautiful river I have ever seen; the San Pedro where guides Roberto Crespo and Sebastian Lepeley guided us into some fish through www.verdexpediciones.cl

I was devastated to hear of the plans to stop the river’s natural flow and dam it…  http://www.internationalrivers.org/blogs/250/grupo-matte-initiates-blasting-on-chile-s-san-pedro-river

 Gearing up.

 Blue Eyes and a nice bow.

 The infamous pancora crab that the fish feast on.  We used buggy streamers and stripped them on sinking lines.

 The most beautiful ever I have ever fished; the San Pedro.

 Exceptional shoreside lunches.

 After two days of getting to know Chile a little better, we were off to one of the finest lodges I have ever had the good fortune of staying at…  http://www.cantarias.com

 An exceptional lodge with owner/designer/manager Havier.

 The Chilean drink pisco sours (my favourite).

 We cast huge dragons at browns and bows.

 After hours fun…  😉

 Off to Yelcho!

Yelcho was our next stop… the scenery just kept getting better…  http://yelcho.cl

 The gorgeous Yelcho Lake.

 The findings in the belly of a fish who didn’t make it.

 Chile asado is enough to keep me coming back…

 A trip wouldn’t be a trip without one of these!  http://www.eaglesnestoutfittersinc.com

 Back to (dries).

Courtesy of www.tamaya.cl

 One of the gorgeous rivers that flows out of Yelcho.

 Sanitizing to rid of the didymo before fishing another river.

 Grilling rights!

 Chilean browns take tube flies!

And a healthy big boy in Coyhaique…

It was certainly a whirlwind tour but Chile blew me away… I think I may honestly be able to say that this is the most beautiful country I have ever been to…

The people of Chile were astoundingly kind and open to education.  The children’s programs were far advanced from most I have seen in my travels (North America included) and I feel a major responsibility to share their efforts.  Please contact Angel Beroiza Irureta <[email protected]> if you feel you could donate any fishing gear or apparel to this wonderfully inspirational program!

Happy New Year everyone!  ~AV.