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Fishing

First week of the TDF season 2014

by Charlie White

The first week’s fishing has been very good, despite the difficult weather conditions. It was the coldest New Year in 15 years and since Christmas they have been experiencing a cold spell with a maximum temperature of 12°C. They have had periods of rain and sleet and a total of 25 mm of rainfall. The river level rose about 25cms, but by Friday it went down again by 10 cms. By the New Year, the river got dirty but not muddy, so the fish were still on the bite. The current river level is a bit lower than last year in the same week. The water temperature is on the cool side, between 6 and 11°C.
The average catch per angler for the first week’s Scandinavian team was 2.9 fish per day. Surprisingly only 3 fish over 15lbs were caught, the catch of the week a 16lber for Robert L. from Norway. The average weight was the lowest we remember at only 7.5lbs. However, the fish were in optimal condition, very aggressive, strong and almost all chrome silver.

The top rod was Kent H. from Sweden with 27 fish landed. A great Scandinavian style caster and fisherman – and he was only one session away from the No Blank Session club. The fishing techniques were good fun, despite the low temperatures, almost half of the fish were caught on floating lines with Sun Ray Shadows and Green Machines on top. Skagit, Scandi and shooting lines did the trick. Sink Type 3 to 5 tips and also floating, intermediate t10, t14 and t17 on various lengths were used, with long leaders between 10 and 15 feet long with 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.

For further information on fishing in Tierra del Fuego, please contact Charlie White or Hannah Treliving.