Flymage magazine #27 english

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ISSUE #27 - FEBRUARY 2016 FLY FISHING & PHOTOGRAPHY MAGAZINE

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Flymage Fly fishing and Photography Magazine. Issue #27 - Feb 2016

Transcript of Flymage magazine #27 english

ISSUE #27 - FEBRUARY 2016

FLY FISHING & PHOTOGRAPHY MAGAZINE

Jeff Hickman releases a feisty chum salmon between close-call grizzly encounters on British Columbia’s Kimsquit River. Jeremy Koreski © 2016 Patagonia, Inc.

The New Rio Gallegos Waders

Get an inside look. Patagonia’s 2016 waders: re-engineered from the booties up.

An improved upper-body fi t,

articulated legs, newly streamlined

gravel guards and poly-lined

anatomical booties take the Rio

Gallegos to a new level of comfort,

performance and durability for the

most dedicated anglers.

Get inside a pair at your favorite local fl y shop and see for yourself.

Jeff Hickman releases a feisty chum salmon between close-call grizzly encounters on British Columbia’s Kimsquit River. Jeremy Koreski © 2016 Patagonia, Inc.

The New Rio Gallegos Waders

Get an inside look. Patagonia’s 2016 waders: re-engineered from the booties up.

An improved upper-body fi t,

articulated legs, newly streamlined

gravel guards and poly-lined

anatomical booties take the Rio

Gallegos to a new level of comfort,

performance and durability for the

most dedicated anglers.

Get inside a pair at your favorite local fl y shop and see for yourself.

WHERE EAGLES DARE. FISHING FOR SALMON AND PIKE IN SCOTLAND.By Paul Sharman

ESTEROS DEL IBERÁ. SHINING WATERS. By Carlos Margineda and Vanesa Pegoraro

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NACHO HEREDERO. FLIES MADE IN SPAIN. 28

4 FLYMAGE MAGAZINE #27 - FEBRUARY 2016

#KEEPEMWET 68

EditorJosé H. Weigand

English version coordinatorJohn Langridge - http://johnlangridgeangler.com

ContributorsPaul Sharman, Carlos Margineda, Vanesa Pegoraro, Bryan Huskey (keepemwet.org), John Langridge, José L. García. DesignA. Muñoz

[email protected]

CONTENTS

6

Swinging round in the current, the Juliet (named for the estate owner’s wife) was working her magic on the Farrar, a stunningly beautiful rushing highland river that tumbles down Glen Strathfarrar to eventually become the Beauly at its confluence with the River Glass just a mile or so downstream. Hints of gold were just starting to highlight the birch trees along her banks as autumn took a grip, perfect timing for seeking a salmon migrating upstream, a scene Bonnie Prince Charlie may well have witnessed on his famous journey through the highlands trying to avoid government troops as he hid in a cave for a while further up the Glen. Juliet’s magic today was strong as I had already missed one fish but I was ready for this second take and the battle of Colonel’s Pool had now commenced.

W H E R E E A G L E S D A R E

F i s h i n g f o r S a l m o n a n d P i k e i n S c o t l a n dText and Images by Paul Sharman

FLYMAGE MAGAZINE #27 - FEBRUARY 2016

The view down Strathglass from the top of the hill behind Eagle Brae where golden eagles can be seen crossing the valley

between the mountains.

The road north to the hi-ghlands of Scotland is a long one when you live as

far south in England as I do. 12 hours and 660 miles after setting out, my father (who I had invited along) and I fi-nally arrived at our lodgings just beyond the tiny village of Struy on the road from Beauly near Inverness and just nor-th of Loch Ness making it the perfect base for fishing and family. The stunning and lu-xurious cabins at Eagle Brae (brae meaning a hillside in Gaelic) are a result of the hard work and vision of Mike and Pawana Spencer-Nairn who have created an award-winning self-catering paradise of the highest order with 7 beautifu-lly constructed and furnished eco-friendly log cabins made of huge western red cedar logs and finished with top quality details like relief carvings in-side (ours had a trout in the wall and deer footsteps on the stairs) and built-in benches and tables outside. Each one melts itself away into the landscape with natural camouflage and for nature lovers the wealth of birdlife and the local red deer that pay daily visits is an added bonus that will get you peeking out the windows frequently to see what’s about.But it was the fishing that had

attracted me and particularly the chance to combine a trip targeting the salmon primari-ly but also with a good shot at pike and brown trout too and I had just 3 days to fit it all in. Eagle Brae have their own fi-shing on the lower reaches of the Farrar and Glass down to their junction where they be-come the Beauly, as well as on Loch Monar and two other hill lochs. They can also arrange further fishing on the main part of the Farrar which belongs to the neighbouring estate (which also belongs to a family mem-

ber) as well as other local fi-shing in the area. For non-an-glers there are plenty of other activities on offer from hiking and biking to fun things like Husky sled-dog rides, canoe-ing, pony trekking and red deer stalking with gun or camera. Then you have Inverness, Loch Ness and the natural delights of Glen Affric all within an easy drive too if you can tear your-self away from the comfort of your cabin that is.

The cabins at Eagle Brae are beautifully crafted from western red cedar.

Salmon on the Farrar

My first full day in Scotland star-ted with a pre-dawn alarm to hike up the hill behind Eagle Brae following the path to their litt-le hydro weir hoping for a good view of the sunrise over the Glen. Climbing up through the birch fo-rest to the open moorland above, the only welcome I got was the cluck of a grouse hidden in the heather as I reached the top and the view of a solid bank of cloud sadly. Still at least it provided a much-needed dose of cardio-vas-cular exercise after the confines of the car journey the previous day.

Once back down the mountain, a fisherman’s cooked breakfast set me up for the day ahead and we went down to Eagle Brae’s recep-tion cabin to meet our host for the day, Frank Spencer-Nairn of the Culligran estate and long-ti-me Farrar ghillie Dennis Ross who had drawn the proverbial short straw and now had this salmon fishing veteran of one solo trip to try and impart a lifetime of wis-dom to whilst also trying to find a fish or two along the way. Frank talked me through the pools on the top, middle and bottom beats of the river before we jumped in the cars for the short drive along the road and up Glen Strathfa-rrar. We had the middle beat for

the morning and because I was a total beginner to Spey casting (necessary due to the tree-lined banks), I was given a quick cour-se in the basics by Dennis along-side the river.

It would be hard to describe a more typically beautiful highland scene with the river rushing from pool to pool down its rock-lined course between the scots pine and silver birch trees, dippers dashing up and down the river to look for underwater morsels and the occasional rise of a sma-ll brown trout in the slack water, very occasionally punctuated by the splash of a salmon making its presence known. Red deer

The Juliet - tied by Dennis Ross and named for the estate owners wife. A killer fly on the day I fished the Farrar raising 3 fish.

Because the road follows the ri-ver, access is fairly quick to all the pools although some require more of a scramble to reach than others. During one such scram-ble Dennis told me a story of his initiation on the river many years ago from the previous ghillie who had taken him to a pool and as-ked Dennis to wade across the river to retrieve a fly stuck in a bush opposite. After half a dozen easy steps he suddenly found himself neck-deep after stepping off an unseen ledge. “Aye, that’ll be where the salmon lie” came the retort from the bank with a wry smile knowing full-well this bit of sage advice would now ne-

The Farrar is a typical highland river, set amongst beautiful rocky hillsides and wild woodland scenery.

are stalked up on the hills above and otters occasionally are spo-tted in the river too, a truly wild and special place.

ver be forgotten. The reason I will never forget that story is be-cause that is where my first take happened, in that exact spot. I’d like to tell you the glorious story of how I then proceeded to batt-le my first Farrar salmon to the bank but alas I cannot. Unfortu-nately a lifetime of trout fishing and muscle memory caused me to forget all the instruction I was given about letting the fish take the fly, turn and hook itself and I struck, yanking the fly up and out of the salmon’s mouth before it could find a hold. We trudged back to the car to move spots but not before Dennis and my father had taken great delight in teasing this poor hapless salmon newbie on his mistake and remin-ding me of the fact that chances do not come easy and that could have been my one and only shot for the day. But I took it in good heart and vowed not to repeat the mistake again.Reaching a nice long pool known as the Colonel’s we got back in the water once more and out came the Juliet once again to swim her way down the river to entice any salmon with her siren song. My casting was co-ming along and when I got the rhythm right in the lift, the sweep and the push, I was quite plea-

sed to see the line shooting out across the river. I’m no stranger to roll-casting a fly line on trout streams but this was an educa-tion in long rods and long lines. Whilst doing all this I was also chanting a mantra in my head on every swing downstream, “don’t strike, don’t strike…”, which was just as well as all of a sudden I felt the line slip between my fin-gers as a fish once again took the fly. This time everything went as it should and I waited before lif-ting the rod into the fish which gave a healthy pull as it took its first run. The first few minutes were a tug of war as I retrieved line which was then duly taken back by the fish on another run, exciting stuff and just the action I had been hoping for. Then on one run the fish came straight towards me and it was all I could do to keep the line taught and the rod high. This ended with the salmon literally sitting at my feet stationery while I had to hold my arms stretched as high in the air as I could with the rod held vertically above so as not to get the knot of the leader inside the tip ring. Dennis was in the cus-tomary position a little downs-tream with the net so no chance to scoop it up there so the fish decided it would take another run

Ghillie Dennis Ross (r) guides the author’s father Allan Sharman (l) down the Farrar after a salmon.

or two across the river. It was obviously tiring now so I put a bit more pressure on it and fina-lly guided it back to the waiting net where 10lbs of cock salmon eyed me suspiciously through the mesh as we took it to the edge of the river to unhook. In his bre-eding livery of russet reds and browns the salmon had obviously been in the river for a while but it hadn’t seemed to have dimi-nished his fighting abilities and I could now appreciate even more why salmon have such an appeal to anglers. Once unhooked we faced the fish into the current to give it time to recover before fi-

nally allowing it to swim away back to its lie and ready to con-tinue its migration upstream, onward to its ultimate goal of the procreation of its species in the coming weeks. Smiles all around this time and some nice photo-graphs too to mark the occasion and I was now out of the doghou-se it seemed, for the time being anyway!

After a stop for lunch in the field overlooking the picturesque Green Stream pool it was time to swap to the bottom beat for the afternoon. Here it transpired I was still ‘not quite there yet’ in

The delightful Junction Pool is where the River’s Glass and Farrar meet to become the Beauly and can be fished from both sides as an Eagle Brae guest.

Visiting in the back end of September, this 10b cock salmon had been in the river a while but still gave a great account of itself.

terms of my discipline as once again I managed to trout strike at my third take, quite an excep-tional day by all accounts but one that could have been even better I was reminded wickedly by all had three salmon been brought to the net instead of just the one.

Piking on the Glass

It is hard to imagine two more different rivers than the Glass and the Farrar, especially as they are neighbours to each other, eventually merging at Struy to become the Beauly. The Glass is a much more sedate river, mean-dering across the fields in Stra-thglass and running relatively slow and deep above the Mauld bridge at Struy. looking more like the Wye or Severn in England to my mind. This bit of Eagle Brae (Struy estate) water though still harbours salmon of course, al-though the main fly fishing for them is below the bridge down to the junction pool with the Farrar and then again higher up-river on other estates. What this stretch of river does offer though is some good trout fishing earlier in the year owner Mike Spencer-Nairn told me, before the arrival of the main salmon run seems to spook them away to shelter according

The Plodda Falls. This part of the falls which you come to first on the trail is just a taster for the spectacular main event which awaits you a little farther along. Well worth a visit.

to local wisdom. But what I was interested in was the reports of some decent sized river pike into double figures being caught in back bays of the river away from the main current, presumably remnants of the main river chan-nel whose openings had since become choked up causing the river to take a new course around them.

Mike has a couple of beautiful clinker-built wooden boats on the river that can be used to take guests fishing, and he offered to ghillie for my father and I one morning. Although I had taken my pike fly gear along and had already fished one shallow bay on my first evening with no success, I wanted to search the water quickly first of all so came pre-pared with bait-casting gear and a large double-bladed American spinnerbait designed originally for largemouth bass but a great pike and predator lure I had found elsewhere. Once launched, we motored up-river past the now abandoned nest-holes of sand martins in the riverbank, catching glimpses of Eagle Brae nestled comfortably up on the hillside and marvelling at how well the cabins almost disappeared com-pletely into the scenery before arriving at our intended location, a nice wide reed-fringed back bay that just screamed pike te-

rritory. With Mike now at the oars to row us gently around the bay I placed the first cast hard to the bank and just into the edge of the weed where I worked it back towards me. The water here was quite clear and as the lure came back to the boat a large pike was following right behind it, at least 15lbs I estimated and in great condition. It sunk away as it rea-lised something was up but this certainly was a very promising start. A few more casts to that area resulted in no hits so we switched to the other shore whe-re there was a promising patch of water lilies that I cast to the side of and half way back to the boat the line went a little slack.

Eagle Brae owner, Mike Spencer-Nairn, gently keeps one of his beautiful clinker-built boats in position on the River Glass while Allan Sharman casts for trout along the banks.

A typically-sized Farrar brown trout. The Farrar is the better river for numbers of trout, but the Glass has better quality fish. They fish best early in the season as once the salmon arrive the trout seem to take less readily.

This is not unusual as the pike often seem to take the lure from behind and keep on swimming forwards so I wound into the fish and struck. Solid resistance… was I hooked on the bottom? No, the-re was a big head shake but the fish was hardly moving despite the pressure I was putting on it - it had to be a serious pike and bigger than the one I first saw I was convinced! It finally deci-ded it didn’t like this game and started to move away and now I could really feel this was a good sized fish, staying low and slow, just raw power and then the hook pulled. I was gutted, this was the fish I really wanted, a big Scotti-sh river pike and it looked like my chance was gone.Could there be more pike in this bay though? That was two fish

encountered already so perhaps there was the chance of another one, although probably some smaller jacks I surmised but I was happy to try to get one for the camera. So we went back over near to where we first star-ted and drifted a little further down the shoreline when I had my second slack-line strike. As before I wound into it before stri-king and instantly new this was another giant pike. I couldn’t believe my luck. I use barbless hooks on my lures so knew I had to maintain constant pressure to keep the fish from getting off, the problem was that the wind had come up and was blowing us down the bay faster than Mike could row and twice during the fight the pike was able to sink down into the thick weed on the bottom of the relatively shallow bay and sulk there while Mike motored us back up-wind and I kept as much pressure on as I could, trying to persuade the fish to move up and out of any dan-ger of finding a snag. Both times I managed to get the pike up again, the first one resulting in a huge tail swipe at the surface which gave Mike a soaking but at least confirmed this was a big double-figure fish. A couple more runs after I raised the pike for the second time out of the weed it was finally looking beaten and I was able to lead it to Mike and

the waiting net and then it was ours - fantastic!

In the boat we could see this was even bigger than we perhaps thought and the scales gave us a reading of around 21b with the fish stretching from one side of the boat to the other. A beau-

tiful looking fish and in great condition, no doubt thanks to a high-protein diet of trout and maybe salmon too. It was quic-kly photographed and then I held it in the water next to the boat while it regained its strength. Once it started to kick its tail I knew it was ready and I released

This 21lb pike shows the quality of fish available in the River Glass, particularly in the back bays off of the main river flow.

it, watching it swim away back into the bay. A very different fi-shing experience than for the salmon but just as electrifying and both of which I can’t wait to repeat again on a future visit to Eagle Brae.

Eagle Brae offers the choice of 7 ca-bins, all with their own unique design points and including the same high level of comfort and furnishings. An online concierge service is offered to pre-order groceries - an excellent idea - plus you can order delicious home-cooked meals that just need to go in the oven once you get back from your day’s adventures - they were all superb! The well-stocked gift basket on arrival was also a very nice touch.

Eagle Brae has worked hard to be totally self-sufficient for all its utility and ener-gy needs. It has a micro-hydro scheme which provides domestic electricity and hot water, biomass wood-pellet burners provide under floor heating, and all water is abstracted from a natural underground source.

Fishing is extremely reasonable with pike from £10 a day, trout from £15 and sal-mon £35-70 depending on season (prime time being the Autumn run in September/October). Ghillies, boats and argo-cat transport to hill lochs are optional extras and fly fishing lessons are also available.

Clay pigeon shooting as well as stalking for red, roe or sika deer can also be arranged if you like to hunt as can came-ra stalking too where all you shoot are photos! Ask for details of all the other fun activities they can offer too.This is a superb and luxurious destina-tion which you will find extremely com-fortable for dedicated fishing buddies wanting excellent and affordable fishing

A C C O M O D AT I O NA N D F I S H I N G

practically on your doorstep, and of cour-se also excellent for couples and families as a touring base for exploring this beau-tiful corner of Scotland.

Culligran Estate Fishing & Cottages

To fish the main part of the River Farrar as I did (5 miles of mainly double-bank), this can be arranged through Eagle Brae for you as part of your stay. Alternatively you can find them online at www.culligrancottages.co.uk

Trout fishing £15 a day and salmon £35-70 depending on season (same as for Eagle Brae waters).

Further Afield

If you arrive via Beauly or are going out for the day and pass through it then be

sure to stop off at the “Corner on the Square” delicatessen in the High Street for a great range of freshly-made or pac-kaged treats in the middle of the town. We give up a thumbs up for the pies and pastries in particular.

I can also recommend a visit to the mag-nificent Plodda Falls higher up the valley beyond Eagle Brae in Glen Affric. Just ask at Eagle Brae reception for the direc-tions and take your camera.

Contact

Eagle Brae, Struy, Beauly, Inverness-shire IV4 [email protected]://eaglebrae.co.uk

Paul Sharman

“I have been a freelance fishing / travel writer & photographer since I was persuaded by friends to submit my fishing stories and photos to ma-gazines by friends whilst living in the “fishing paradise” of San Diego, CA. at the turn of the last millennium. This has led to photos, feature stories and articles being published in the New York Times, several fishing books and trade catalogues plus numerous magazines, ezines & websites around the world.

Through my Fishhawk Design subsidiary, I have also designed and produced digital pa-ge-turning magazines and brochures for several clients.

My wish is to return to live in the USA just as soon as I can work out how (or unless I receive a better offer!)”

http://paulsharmanoutdoors.com

INFINITY CAST

26 FLYMAGE MAGAZINE #27 - FEBRUARY 2016

Marco García, from Texas, casting to cruising barbel in a lake near Madrid, Spain. ©FLYMAGE MAGAZINE

Spain is a country where traditionally trout flies have long been tied.The history of Spanish flies dates back several centuries and there are excellent professional fly tiers. Our protagonist, however, has specialized in tying flies for predator species, mainly streamers.Despite his only recent entry into the professional market, Nacho Heredero already occupies a significant place, and has a bright future at international level.

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N a c h oHEREDEROF l i e s MADE IN SPAIN

Nacho Heredero never imagined that his friends and his Facebook profi-

le would lead him, in conse-quence, to devote himself to professional fly tying. He was assiduously uploading pictu-res of his own patterns to his wall and soon caught the at-tention of anglers, fly tiers and later, trademark companies. In just a few months Nacho took the plunge and set up his own company website, which ha-ppened in June 2015.

Maybe his leap into the pro-fessional world is recent, but Nacho is already a highly ex-perienced fly fisherman and fly tier. His story goes back to 1991, when his parents brought him a 3M fly fishing kit, from New York, those famous rod, reel, line, leader and flies combos, with which so many anglers worldwide have started. From there, and living in Madrid, the logical thing was to fish for trout. Then came other species such as barbel, bass, pike and carp, until the salt water came in. And it is on the coast of Cá-diz where he discovered the huge attraction (and difficulty) of saltwater fly fishing.

Tungsten La Loma (center) and Barred La Loma (sides)

Purple & Black Dart Minnow (left) and LL Dart Minnow (right)

The beaches of Cadiz are the fishing area and test laboratory for Nacho. European sea bass

and spotted sea bass are the main species. Photo: © Luís Guerrero

Buy flies,untie flies.

His beginnings as a fly tier were basic. He bought flies that he would patiently untie to see the materials used and how they were placed on the hook. Over time he learned the basic techniques and focused on his favourite fishing, using strea-mers; after all, “fish eat fish”.

One of his most famous flies, the Loma Minnow, is named after a famous hill (loma) the-re on the beach of La Barrosa in Chiclana, Cádiz. There he caught a spotted sea bass with the first prototype, which then would lead to many more like the Loma Squid, the Barred Loma or the Tungsten Loma.

Action, balance and silhouet-te define Nacho patterns. Flies that any experienced angler knows will work, just having them on hand. The secret, various natural and artificial materials combined masterfu-lly, on high quality hooks, and topped with a couple of really attractive eyes, are a perfect blend in designing a streamer.

Dart Minnows in different colors.

The daily life of a professional fly tier.New ideas are written down in a

notebook and after trying out the flies, he decides whether they are included

in the catalogue.Those who “do not work”, he puts

into an instant cocoa jar.

The Loma Squid. Articulated fly imitating a squid. A must on coastlines around the world.

Big flies for fresh and saltwater predators.Doofekip and BF Minnows in a quiver with arrowheads from a

Yanomami tribe (Venezuela). We´d have loved to have these flies last time we fished for peacock bass there!

Let to right:Dart, Furabou and Jawa Minnows(Jawa, as a tribute to native species on the planet Tatooine in Star Wars)

Saltwater fishing,going to cast.

Originally from Madrid, B.Sc. in Nautical Sciences and living in Cadiz since a few years ago, Nacho is passionate about sal-twater fly fishing:“Going to the coast means going to cast. It captivates me. Catching a fish is a gift. It is undoubtedly the most difficult fishing. Here on the coasts of Cadiz, the beaches are many kilometres long and finding fish is not easy. Wind is another factor that hinders the fishing. But when you have a bite and fight a saltwater fish on fly gear... “

Spotted sea bass and especia-lly sea bass are the predomi-nant and favourite species for Nacho. As is evident from some of his early patterns that imi-tate mullet and small sardines. In addition, his home is just 5 minutes from the coast.

Dart Wing Olive. We can think of many places to try this fly that can imitate

a sand eel.

Most of his clients are from USA, UK and New Zealand. Some of them will ask for cus-tomized patterns or just take advice from him. It is not surprising that some brands such as Deer Creek, Partridge or Flymen have included Na-cho in their Pro Staff and his name starts being heard loud-ly among professional fly tiers worldwide.

Furabou Minnow

To learn more about Nacho´s work and purchase his flies: http://crrflies.comfacebookinstagram

IBERÁESTEROS DEL

WATERSSHINING

By Carlos Margineda and Vanesa Pegoraro

44 FLYMAGE MAGAZINE #27 - FEBRUARY 2016

Alligators, capybaras, shad, bream and dorado.Dorados in crystal-clear

water, in an area of the “shi-ning waters” (translation of the Guaraní word Iberá), an ex-tensive water system between 15,000 and 25,000 square kilometers in the province of Corrientes, Argentina. A giant aquarium, where dorado fly-fi-shing is different, unique in the world.

With the help of the pole, the boat glides through the shallow waters as we move. Two me-ters from the bow, a group of dorado between 8 and 12 kilos swim peacefully. It’s incredible. In the distance, more dorado attacking shad, while the guide looks for the best place to fish for them, and he finds it in a small channel free from vege-tation. After a few minutes cas-ting, the dorado are in range. It’s on the third cast that the fly lands in front of the second

dorado in the school. Setting the hook the water explodes, the dorado flashes half of its body out of the water. It´s huge. It swims down and tur-ns towards a reedbed, seeking shelter. I press the fish with all the power of the rod and make it change direction into deep water. After several minutes of struggle and several jumps, it becomes entangled in some camalotes and it is Carlos who manages to unravel it and get it into the boat. It is a very large, beautiful female, easily surpassing 10 kilos.

The dorado of the Esteros has a deeper color than other spe-cimens from the Parana basin. After a few pictures and care-fully reviving the fish, it disa-ppears into the water. It is a dream come true.

We stay in the area and see more groups of dorado hun-ting. The spectacle is impressi-ve in these clear waters. I have a failed attack and on the next cast, the fly disappears into a large mouth. It is another big dorado, jumping out of the wa-ter several times, only to di-sappear into the depths of the channel at full speed downs-tream. It is stronger than the previous one and uses all its power against my gear. Minu-tes pass by. Now near the boat, Carlos grabs the fish by the tail and lifts it, a male approaching 10 kilos.

After lunch, the afternoon con-tinued active with several lar-ge dorado biting that I could not capture. Definitely, luck plays an important role in do-rado fly fishing in the Esteros, first by finding big dorado in these channels and lagoons, and second, because they are very strong fish, relentless, and conditions are in its favour when using a fly rod.

Returning to the lodge at the end of the day I admired the magnificent landscapes of the Esteros, with the sun already approaching the horizon and making these shining waters a really special place. Despite the fatigue of a long, hot and very exciting day, I cannot sleep; I can only see more giant dora-do.

The next day we chose to fish closer to the lodge and it was very interesting, taking seve-ral dorado, palometa and some San Antonio fish.

I can really say it was an ex-perience I will never forget, not only because of the fishing and the environment, but also to share this moment with my lifetime partner, Vanesa. And I’ll never forget such big fish, chasing my fly in these incredi-bly clear waters, only 5 meters from the boat! Sight fishing for dorado is tricky. For those of us who are used to fishing in mur-ky waters, watching the take often leads to mistakes until we adapt. We must work hard so that our anxiety does not play against us.

Los Esteros del Ibera is a national treasure. It is a credit to the Corrientes government, which very appropriately declared it Provincial Reserve in 1983, that it is still in excellent conservation condition today and with a variety of species that amazes anyone who loves nature.

Gear: I used #8 and #10 line rods. Clear sinking tip WF line. Flies like classic Andinos, Tube Andinos, Cubandinos in several colours (hooks 2/0-4/0) and Steel Swinner ((3/0 hook and Fish Skull) all flies with barbless hooks as part of the Esteros fishing regulations.

El Dorado Lodge or Estancia El Dorado offers fly fishing guiding in the heart of Iberá where the Corrientes River rises. It is 60 km from the city of Mercedes, and a paved gravel road ensures run off in case of rain. The Lodge is very comfortable with air conditioned rooms and dining room and excellent food.

www.eldoradofishing.com.ar

Facebook Page

A C C O M O D AT I O NA N D F I S H I N G

Brown and rainbow trout, atlantic salmon or sea trout, carp,

barbel, wels catfish, pike, bass, bonito, bluefish, tuna and even white marlin.

Fly fishing in Spain, both fresh and salt water, is amazing

Join us and let us guide you to the best waters of Spain

www.flyfishinginspain.com

#Keepemwet

“Keepemwet is about releasing fish in the best condition possible. It’s a motto for minimizing air exposure, eliminating contact with dry sur-faces, and reducing handling. It’s a movement to empower anglers to take small, simple steps to res-ponsibly enjoy and share fishing experiences. Our goal is to redu-

ce angling impact on fisheries by uniting conscientious companies, organizations, and anglers to pro-mote science based practices for handling fish that are caught then released.

Keepemwet is the evolution of re-leasing fish. Our fish! Your Fish!”

Bryan Huskey, founder of keepemwet fishing is a photographer and filmmaker from the US. In 2010, he coined the phrase "keepemwet" as a way to inform other anglers/photographers about the benefits of keeping fish wet - both for fish health and more interesting photographs. With the rise of social media he began tagging his fish images

68 FLYMAGE MAGAZINE #27 - FEBRUARY 2016

Sea trout release. Barents Sea, Russia.

We love this initiative and we want to contribute with some images of fish re-leased in the best conditions.

Potato Cod, Andaman Islands, India.

Permit. Ascension Bay, Mexico

Rainbow trout, Chile.

Largemouth bass, Spain.

Carlos del Rey releasing a mirror carp, Spain.

Atlantic Salmon release (cotton gloves). ASR, Russia.

The Great White SturgeonAcipenser transmontanus

9ft 2in - 524lb 110 years old

Caught and released in the River Fraser, British Columbia, Canada in August 2015 by our friend and coordinator of the English version of Flymage Magazine, John Langridge.

On March 1, 35 tinsels from the new Mikel Elexpuru´s fly tying materials collection will be in a draw among all

Flymage Magazine subscribers.

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