PART ONE OF OUR ADVENTURE TO CHILE
When one thinks of Chile the Andes Mountains, the longest mountain chain in the world, jumps to mind. Most of us might not realize the incredibly diverse geography and climate this country possesses. Chile is more than 4000 kilometres in length and ranges in width from 64 kilometres to 356 kilometres at its widest! The climate is extreme, with the far north boasting alpine desert or semi-arid conditions while central Chile exhibits Mediterranean and Subtropical conditions. In the southern half the climate ranges from temperate, sub polar, tundra, semi-arid, to icecaps.
I have always dreamed of venturing there and a couple of years ago I decided to make it happen. Normally I would never plan a trip in such far advance but securing a space with one of the few salmon guiding outfitters in the region required a commitment of one year in advance. It consisted of three overall trip legs: Patagonian fishing trip, Central Chile fishing & camping road trip, and the Northern Andes motorcycle trip.
The logistics to this kind of venture were monumental. It included various rentals, flights, and limited occupancy reservations, all to be pre-booked, important details understood well in advance.
It took weeks of searching and reviewing for a suitable salmon guiding outfitter that would provide the experience we wanted. This included region, length, budget, reviews, and accommodation. Finally, we settled on Persica Spa. The man in charge, Juan, was attentive and knowledgeable and made the preparation, training, and coordination streamlined.
The first leg of our Chilean Salmon and Trout fishing trip consisted of twelve-day remote Northern Patagonian adventure. It would take three days, four flights, a stopover in Santiago and Hornopiren. After that two separate vehicle legs, one ferry ride, and a two and a half-hour private boat ride down an ever narrowing fjord finally terminating at a tiny ocean side village. The village was adjacent to the Mon River estuary and surrounded by towering peaks up to 1800 metres high.
Before readers search for the Mon River. I must state the actual name of the river and village will not be disclosed. We were asked to preserve the secrecy of the river and its location for the sake of conservation and privacy of the small multi-generational family groups that live off the land and make this small valley their home.
EXHAUSTED FROM TRAVEL
Exhausted from three days of travelling and at one point not sleeping for 52 hours neither of us was deterred from immediately suiting up and getting lines into the Mon River. Juan was cautious and encouraged us to relax but I said we have been waiting for one year plus to fish Patagonia, no more delays! Before we could hit the river, we had to sanitize our boots and waders to limit any accidental bio contamination into this new pristine ecosystem. Once the formalities and briefing were complete, excitement overshadowed tiredness and off we walked upriver with Juan and Fernando (Juan’s helper, local resident, and boatman). It was not long before we hooked into some fat three to five-pound rainbow trout! They were aggressive and happily wacked flashy spoons and with Juan’s blessing we retained one for the BBQ.
ACCOMODATION
Our accommodations consisted of small comfortable rooms in a mid-size multi-level rustic family home on 25 acres. The property was mostly natural bush with incredible views of the fjord and surrounding mountains. Through the week we would regularly enjoy visits by the free-range chickens, sheep, pigs, and cattle. The home cooked meals where fantastic, made mostly of organic home-grown vegetables and livestock.
Over the next week we embarked on many mini adventures within this leg in our larger Chilean Adventure. We fished the estuary and tidal lower river having luck for various ocean fish, feeding migrating trout following the tides up and down, and even some Coho Salmon feeding in the bay where the Mon River emptied into the fjord.
We spent days hiking up and down the river, following closely the tides. We were chasing larger sea-run rainbow trout, resident upper river rainbow trout, and always hoping for the elusive Chinook salmon. We discovered fantastic fauna and flora in the dense jungle like forest. This included long forgotten logging equipment and large stumps that harkened of the valleys once industrial past. I was smitten by the Cantaria Beetle and its unbelievably large mandibles! It is hard to believe this two to four-inch long insect can fly.
STRIKING GOLD
Midway into our week Fernando and Brandon struck gold when they both caught Atlantic salmon. This raises an interesting question about the unusual mix of Chinook, Coho, Atlantic salmon, and Sea-Run Rainbows. It should be noted that in route to the Mon River we saw more salmon farms then I had even seen before. We learnt that salmon farming was prolific in Chile and poorly or essentially non-regulated. You could tell some of the larger trout were farmed fish escapees with small deformed tail fins and rounder head indicative of hatchery trout.
FISH FARMING RUINING WILD STOCK
We discussed with Juan and Fernando the implications of the fish farming and it was confirmed by Fernando that indeed many fish escape the farms and find local rivers to live and/or spawn in. This made for an interesting and unpredictable fishery as invasive and natural fish stocks collided. The Mon River extends 12 kilometres into the Patagonian Mountains; the lower five km are best for fishing as the nearly unreachable upper half is separated by a large section of cascading rapids leaving few fish to migrate that far.
A MIXED BAG
Over the course of our eight-day Patagonian fishing adventure we caught and released a steady flow of Coho, Atlantic salmon, and Rainbow Trout. The group had to admit that the target fish, Chinook salmon had not been seen or caught. It had been a particularly dry summer and fall and perhaps the run was late or small this year. Regardless, Patagonia had offered us so much more than just fishing and what disappointment we had over missing the Chinooks was made up by the surrounding natural beauty and the surprisingly good trout fishing and bonus Coho and Atlantic salmon. Juan is a certified spey casting instructor, therefore Brandon and I made time to practice under his watchful eye.
As our Patagonia fishing trip came to an end, we enjoyed a moonlit evening with music, BBQ, Pisco, beer, and fire. Chilean beer was excellent with many variants to satisfy most beer connoisseur; however, my favorite Chilean drink was Pisco. Pisco is a delicious Chilean Brandy drank on ice or mixed well with some pops or juice. Under the moonlight on our last night on the Mon River Brandon and I enthusiastically discussed the next leg of our adventure, fishing, hiking, and camping road trip.