Happy New Year!
The first week of the season has just ended.
A Scandinavian group of great fishermen visited us for the first time. Helge V., Ola T. and Robert L. from Norway; Johan W. and Kent H. from Sweden enjoyed the fishing and atmosphere of La Villa.
Before sharing the statistics of the fishing, I would like to introduce you a new member of the guide team at La Villa: Gabriel Cilla, a fantastic guy that has been guiding on the upper Rio Grande for more than 5 years, he guided last year at EMB Lodge, and also has experience with Dorado in the jungles of Bolivia. A true fishing addict!
On behalf of the guides of Maria Behety I want to wish the best to Colo and his family.
The fishing has been very good, despite the difficult weather conditions we faced. It was the coldest New Year we have had in 15 years. Since Christmas we have been experiencing a cold spell with the maximum atmospheric temperature reading 12°C (53.6°F) and the lowest was 1°C (33.8°F) on Thursday morning. We had periods of rain and sleet, a total of 25 mm (.98 inches) of rainfall. So the river level rose about 25 cm (9.8 inches), but by Friday the river level went down about 10 cm (3.9 inches). The current river level is a bit lower than last year in the same week. By the New Year, the river got dirty but not muddy, so the fish were still on the bite. The water temperature was on the cool side, between 6 and 11°C (42.8°F – 51.8°F).
The average catch per angler for the week was 2.9 fish per day.
And here comes the surprise and disappointment! Only 3 fish over 15 lbs were caught, being 16 lbs the catch of the week for Robert L. from Norway. His biggest ever! Congratulations! The average weight was the lowest we remember: Only 7.5 lbs.
The positive side of this is that the fish were in optimal condition, very aggressive, strong and almost all chrome silver. And that many of the guests had new records for sea trout!
The top rod was Kent H. from Sweden with 27 fish landed. A great Scandinavian style caster and fisherman! He was only one session away of the No Blank Session club.
The fishing techniques were good fun, despite the low temperatures, we got almost half of the fish on floating lines with Sun Ray Shadows and Green Machines on top! Skagit, Scandi and shooting lines did the trick. We used sink Type 3 to 5 tips and also floating, intermediate t10, t14 and t17 on various lengths. We used long leaders between 10 and 15 feet long. Monofilament or fluorocarbon 0.27mm to 0.33mm diameter tippets (0X to 01X)
Small nymphs such as Aurelia Prince, TDF and EMB also worked. Leeches and big black tube flies worked well in the evenings.
Even though the lower than normal averages size of fish landed (after all, size does matters!), the guests had a magnificent experience on the river and at the Lodge, enjoying Chef Fernando’s meals, Heather’s attention to detail, and are willing to come back next season.
See you soon!
Tight lines,
Federico Zimmermann
Head Guide – La Villa de Maria Behety
