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A special surprise had been set-up for my second day. The fishing manager had set-up a scouting helicopter trip for me to Navarino island, which is on the South side of the Beagle Chanel. Here the most Southerly rivers in the World where trout can be found forge their course.
These rivers are largely unfished because they are almost impossible to get to, unless you fancy a 8 hour walk! Thankfully the helicopter that came to pick me up from TDF-Lodge made the journey very easy. We were none the wiser about the fishing or what to expect. Indeed, the river and lakes could be devoid of life for all we knew! Thankfully this wasn’t the case...
The lake itself, lago Nararino, which is the last in a chain of three lakes connected by a river system that finally leaves lago Navarino and empties into the sea, was very deep and difficult to work out. A good sinking line was needed to explore this section of the lake for sure – where the lake becomes a river. However, some 100 metres further down and the river starts to take shape and pools emerge. From here we started hitting fish. The pools were very deep and a weighted fly was needed. A tungsten leech pattern was chosen with some rubber legs, which seem to be a prerequisite of any fly in this part of the world! Soon enough there was a pull on the line and the first fish of the day was landed, a brook-trout or brook-char as they should be named. A fine fish and in good order, bestowing some fantastic colours.
We continued down the system exploring every little hole as we did. Soon enough we came across brown-trout and big brown-trout at that. Indeed, one I would guesstimate to be my personal best. Yet further downstream we found rainbow-trout trout! Providing the full selection. It’s amazing to think how all these fish found their way into these systems in the first place.
Every pool yielded a fish and a few additional pulls to boot. It was fantastic fun to pick our way down this virgin stream, where we really had no idea what would appear next.
No sea-trout made an appearance, but in a full day’s treck we only made it half way down the system, and this was to the confluence where another river joined. From there down the river gets more open and I am certain sea-trout would be found, if not other species.
Soon enough 7.30pm arrived and the helicopter could be heard returning to collect us. They can land almost anywhere, as long as the ground is level. They are also twin-engined, which adds to the safety aspect. The ride to and from the river was very pleasant and the views were truly amazing.
The experience of fishing on Navarino island was fantastic and one that I am hoping Frontiers clients can start exploring in the future, be they fishing from the likes of Kau-Tapen and Villa Maria on the Argentine side or TDF-Lodge on the Chilean side. Watch this space...
These rivers are largely unfished because they are almost impossible to get to, unless you fancy a 8 hour walk! Thankfully the helicopter that came to pick me up from TDF-Lodge made the journey very easy. We were none the wiser about the fishing or what to expect. Indeed, the river and lakes could be devoid of life for all we knew! Thankfully this wasn’t the case...
The lake itself, lago Nararino, which is the last in a chain of three lakes connected by a river system that finally leaves lago Navarino and empties into the sea, was very deep and difficult to work out. A good sinking line was needed to explore this section of the lake for sure – where the lake becomes a river. However, some 100 metres further down and the river starts to take shape and pools emerge. From here we started hitting fish. The pools were very deep and a weighted fly was needed. A tungsten leech pattern was chosen with some rubber legs, which seem to be a prerequisite of any fly in this part of the world! Soon enough there was a pull on the line and the first fish of the day was landed, a brook-trout or brook-char as they should be named. A fine fish and in good order, bestowing some fantastic colours.
We continued down the system exploring every little hole as we did. Soon enough we came across brown-trout and big brown-trout at that. Indeed, one I would guesstimate to be my personal best. Yet further downstream we found rainbow-trout trout! Providing the full selection. It’s amazing to think how all these fish found their way into these systems in the first place.
Every pool yielded a fish and a few additional pulls to boot. It was fantastic fun to pick our way down this virgin stream, where we really had no idea what would appear next.
No sea-trout made an appearance, but in a full day’s treck we only made it half way down the system, and this was to the confluence where another river joined. From there down the river gets more open and I am certain sea-trout would be found, if not other species.
Soon enough 7.30pm arrived and the helicopter could be heard returning to collect us. They can land almost anywhere, as long as the ground is level. They are also twin-engined, which adds to the safety aspect. The ride to and from the river was very pleasant and the views were truly amazing.
The experience of fishing on Navarino island was fantastic and one that I am hoping Frontiers clients can start exploring in the future, be they fishing from the likes of Kau-Tapen and Villa Maria on the Argentine side or TDF-Lodge on the Chilean side. Watch this space...
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