Despedida Lodge
Jan 29-Feb5     (2 rods)
Mar 5-12         (4 rods)
Mar 12-19       (6 rods)

Kau Tapen Logde
Feb 12-19        (2 rods)
Mar 5-12         (1 rod, no charge for single room)
Mar 12-19       (4 rods)

Estancia Maria Behety Lodge
Jan 22-29         (3 rods)
Jan 29-Feb 5    (2 rods)
Feb 12-19        (2 rods)
Feb 19-26        (2 rods)
Feb 26-Mar 5  (1 rod)
Mar 5-12         (1 rod)
Mar 12-19       (1 rod)

La Villa at Estancia Maria Behety Lodge
Feb 5-12          (1 rod)
Feb 12-19        (2 rod)
Mar 5-12         (1 rod)

 Subscriber Brad Neff has filed an upbeat report on a trip he took to Argentina this past January. He fished the Limay, Caleufu and Manso rivers, plus Hess Lake, on a trip arranged by Fly Fishing Patagonia (888-486-8972; www.flyfishingpatagonia.com). Neff says that both brown and rainbow trout were abundant and eager on this trip, and that services across the board were excellent: “The guys at Fly Fishing Patagonia did an amazing job,” Neff writes. “Our guides, Martin, Juan and Alex, were fun to hang out with. They made this experience the trip of a lifetime.” Neff tells us his was a three-part trip and they floated or waded depending on the location. He writes: “We started with a four-day, three night float on the Caleufu River. The fishing was incredible! We fished big Chernobyls and, when the winds picked up, switched to streamers on sinking lines. We took 20 to 30 fish a day averaging around 17 inches, with several over 20 inches. The big boy of the trip was an eight-pound, 26- inch brown. Each day, when we stopped to eat lunch along the river, the second boat with our gear would pass us and go ahead to set up camp for the night. When we reached our camping spot each night, our guides (Martin and Juan) would cook amazing dinners and we would drink wine and beer by the fire. “After the Caleufu, we drove two hours to our next destination – a 25,000-acre working sheep ranch. We fished the Limay River for two days here, and we quickly discovered that the average fish here was even bigger than on the Caleufu. We had a BBQ along the river for lunch one day and the meals at night were amazing. “Our last destination was Rio Manso Lodge in the Nahuel Huapi National Park. The drive up there was stunning. The rain forest areas were particularly noteworthy. The views were simply beyond imagination. The lodge itself was the newest and most modern of the places we stayed. Each room had a great view of Hess Lake. “For the next two days, we fished Hess Lake and the Manso River. The action on Hess Lake was a little slow, as it was really hot with no wind. We still caught fish on big dragonflies, however, and it was exciting watching hungry fish hit those big dries. The average rainbow was probably 22 inches. The last day we floated the Manso River. The fishing here picked up a bit and we caught some really nice rainbows. We floated through rain forest that was straight out of the movie, Gorillas in the Mist…” Among the highlights of the trip, Neff lists getting completely spooled by a big brown twice before finally losing him only a few feet from the net. “That was still one of the more memorable fights of my life!” he writes. He gives the cost of his trip as around $3,700.

Monday, February 8, 2010 | South America Patagonia, Argentina On January 21, 2010, four wounded warriors embarked on what is now Project Healing Waters’ longest foray afield.

Read it here or on The Fly Fishing Forum:

U.S. Army CSM Patrick Valdez, SFC Brian Mancini, SPC Josh Cadenbach and U.S Air Force SSGT Shaun Meadows joined PHWFF President Ed Nicholson, Board Chairman Douglas Dear, and volunteers Jerry Nonnemacher and Cleve Van Haasteren on a fly-fishing expedition to Patagonia, Argentina to test their skills on some of the world’s most famous trout waters.

This wonderful expedition was made possible through the generosity of Fly Fishing Patagonia’s co-owners Oscar Dono and Justiniano Campa, who offered to host four PHWFF participants on a two-for-one basis, with the PHWFF escorts paying their own way. Finding four willing escorts was not a problem, and after a year of planning, eight fishermen from all corners of the United States boarded jets for the long flight to Buenos Aires, Argentina. Upon arrival at the Buenos Aires International Airport, the group was met by Fly Fishing Patagonia’s representative, Monica Ferrari, who provided ground transportation and other logistics services. That evening, the group dined at the famous La Cabana restaurant accompanied by renowned Argentine bamboo rod maker Marcello Calviello, who shared his vast knowledge of fly fishing in Patagonia. Mr. Calviello recently donated one of his beautiful rods to Project Healing Waters for auction at the PHWFF 2010 2-Fly Tournament.

The next morning, all hands hit the deck early for a short ride to the Buenos Aires Jorge Newberry Airport for a two-hour flight to San Carlos de Bariloche, a lovely resort city on the shore of Lake Nahuel Huapi in Argentina’s Patagonia region. Upon arrival, the fishermen were greeted by Fly Fishing Patagonia’s Oscar Dono, who accompanied the group throughout their stay. After a great dinner and good night’s sleep at a Bariloche Hotel, the group loaded their gear aboard a bus and headed north for a two-hour ride over dirt roads in the Patagonian back country. At mid-day, the bus arrived at the put-in for the four day, 46-mile float on the Rio Caleufu, which flows through an uninhabited and inaccessible region.

At 1100 hours, all fly lines were in the water and the expedition was underway! Guiding eight fly fishermen on a four-day trip is a daunting task, but Oscar Dono and his staff of seven professional guides and camp hands made it look easy. Rio Caleufu is a fly fisherman’s dream river. With long runs, deep pools and undercut banks, the gin clear water contains an abundant population of wild rainbow and brown trout, which rose readily to hopper and attractor patterns. These are extremely strong and healthy and average about 16 inches. Fish of this size hit hard and can take a lot of line with them. Larger fish in the 18 to 20+ range were also caught and released. One rainbow, measuring a full 27 inches, was caught by SSGT Shaun Meadows, who also claims to have landed the largest brown, of the trip as well (a claim hotly disputed by Ed Nicholson).

Camp life along the Caleufu was very comfortable and the excellent Argentine cuisine prepared by the Fly Fishing Patagonia staff was what one would expect to find in a top restaurant in Buenos Aires. Each day after breakfast, the PHWFF group boarded the 16- foot catarafts and fired their first casts into the stiff Patagonian wind. Casting into the wind for 10 hours is hard work, but no one complained because the rewards were plenty of wild trout, breathtaking scenery and memories to last a life time.

On the fourth day, the six-boat flotilla landed at the take-out and boarded a waiting bus for a two-hour journey to the town of Junin de Los Andes, the unofficial trout capital of Argentina. At Junin, the group settled in at the lovely Rio Dorado Lodge, their base camp for the remainder of the trip. The very next morning, Oscar Dono divided the group in two, with half floating on the Rio Colon Cura and the other half wading the Rio Malleo. The following day, four fishermen floated the famous Rio Chimehuin (which runs through Junin) and the other four returned to the Malleo. It was during these two days that some of the largest fish of the caught and released, despite constant wind sometimes gusting to 30+ knots.

On the last night before traveling home, the PHWFF fishermen, the Fly Fishing Patagonia staff and others gathered for a group dinner prepared over an open fire by the Rio Dorado Lodge staff. At the dinner table, the fishermen, guides and lodge staff bonded as good friends, with plenty of compliments and laughter. The staff of Fly Fishing Patagonia also had the unique experience of fishing with men close to their own age, who had been to war and found recovery through fly fishing.

In keeping with the PHWFF mission, the Patagonian trip provided our wounded warriors with a first-rate, on-stream classroom, where every conceivable fly-fishing challenge was encountered and overcome. By the journey’s end, all hands had greatly benefited from the experience.

CDR Cleve Van Haasteren, U.S. Navy (Ret) - Project Healing Waters Fly Fishing, Inc.

Justi and Oscar,
I want to thank you for the amazing time in Argentina. It was more than anything I could have imagined and is an experience i will never forget. Thank you for the generous gift you gave us, without the two for one deal I don’t know if anything would have happened. You did an amazing job planning and executing everything. The guides were the best. They knew exactly were to go and were both very fun and knowledgeable. Everything about the trip was top notch and you have my extreme satisfaction. It means a lot to have your support in helping wounded soldiers recover from their injuries. Once again thank you for everything.
Thanks,
Josh Cadenbach

We are truly indebted to you, for without your support, it would have been impossible for us to bring our wounded warriors to Argentina. It turned out to be a wondrous trip for all of us and the memories will be last a lifetime. My thanks go out to the two of you and certainly to all of your guides and staff for they did to make our fly fishing experience one we’ll never forget.

Most sincerely and with fond regards,

Ed Nicholson, PresidentProject Healing Waters Fly Fishing, Inc.

Rate: $5,595 per rod. 

These dates are during the height of the run, prime, prime season.  As usual, all the Rio Grande lodges are booked solid for this week and it’s a rare occurrence to get prime weeks this far into the season.

If this is something you’d consider, we strongly recommend you call us today.  First come, first serve.

Call or Email Us Today.   888-486-8972

As you may know, Argentina experienced a bad drought last year. Although we still had great duck hunting in the drought-resistant Paraná Delta, it took us twice as long to get to the blinds and the shallow lagoons scattered across our ranches were reduced to a small few, which shrunk almost daily.  This year, however, we’ll see a totally different scenario. Over the last 3 months, an abundance of rain fell in the Corrientes Province, filling both the Paraná & Corriente Rivers to levels we haven’t seen for 8 years.  Every lagoon on our properties is full.

The May of 09 picture on the top right shows the Corriente River bed and the main channel in the far background. The Dec 09 picture on the bottom right was taken only 200 yards further up river. If this hunter where standing in the same spot today, his feet would be wet. 

The wet spring should significantly increase survival rates among young ducks and we forecast a boost in duck numbers for this 2010 season and for the next few years. Perdiz hunting should also improve dramatically. With lush grassland, there will be no need for them to wonder off property in search of greener pastures. Additionally, crop farmers have already seen a swell in dove populations and although they may curse dove with every crude and clever profanity, we are rubbing our shotguns and grinning.

Looks like we can all enjoy a bumper crop this season.

Fatty Argentina Rainbow Trout

We are 2 weeks into the 2009-10 Patagonia trout fishing season and as usually, we’ve had some mixed weather and great spring fishing. Last week the foul weather slowed the fishing on the Chimehuín but it kept up on the Limay. It seems this time of year the Limay Rainbow fishing is almost always good. Now with better weather that’s moved in it should improve that much more. Typically these spring rainbows are aggressive and sometimes a little thin from the winter. But we’ve seen mostly chucky fish with think shoulders.

Spring is also a good time to be on the Pichi Leufu. Last week we landed lots heavy rainbows on dries and a few browns in the 20+ inch class.

Water levels are of course up and with a healthy snow pack in the Andes, we should be seeing good levels throughout the season.

Hope you can join us this season; it’s off to a great start!