Fishing Chronicles from The Fly Shop’s Destination Specialists

Here is an opportunity to read, first hand how a fly fishing trip played out, written by some of the most experienced and knowledgeable fly fishing destination specialists in the world.

From departing your home to returning, you’ll get an inside look and feel for a destination, with all the trimmings, most of them good and some not so good.

Tanzania Trip Report

November 2023 - Erik Argotti

We landed in Dar es Salaam at 2:40 am. I paid $100 for a Tanzania Visa, made it through customs, and an hour later showed up to find my Patagonia Black Hole duffel on the carousel, but not the rod bag that I checked late. There were at least 30-40 people without bags. There was a long line of people waiting to fill out a lost luggage form and everyone was pushing forward to get the help of two people behind the desk, who were very patient. Passengers, on the other hand, were getting restless and irritated. I got my paper filled out and turned in and told them to send my stuff to the Sea Cliff once they got it. I accepted I would be without rods, one reel, extra lines, and my rain jacket.
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Alaska Hosted Trip Report

August 2023 - Mike Mercer

Mike Mercer visited both Royal Wolf Lodge and Lava Creek Lodge on this trip in August of 2023.

The Royal Wolf Lodge charter, Lake and Pen Air, left Merrill Field on the 4th at 4 pm, the Caravan stopping off briefly at Port Alsworth (LPA’s home base) before continuing on to Iliamna, arriving at about 5 pm. The 30 minutes prior to landing at Port Alsworth is a spectacularly beautiful flight, flying just above the mountain tops on clear days; I’ve done it a lot over the years and it never gets old.

Landing in Iliamna, lodge owner Chad Hewitt and crew...
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Oman Trip Report

2023 - Justin Miller

My small group of guys and I were super excited for our fly fishing mission to the Middle East. We headed down to Oman, which sits on the Arabian Sea, to target the rarest permit species in the fly fishing targetable slam, the Trachinotus Africanus. We were headed straight to Oman following a week in the Seychelles, so after a last meal in Mahe, we crashed early and caught a taxi to the airport for an 8:00 AM departure to Dubai. We had just a 4-hour layover in Dubai, then hopped a quick 1.5 hour flight to Salalah, Oman.

Arabian Fly, the company name of the outfitters,...
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Casa Vieja Trip Report

2023 - Justin Miller

I do a lot of saltwater fly fishing, but it has always been on the flats, the shallow water, sight casting to tailing permit or cruising tarpon… Casa Vieja Lodge in Guatemala was going to be my first excursion into the deep Bluewater. Casa Vieja’s reputation precedes them, the top destination in the world to target sailfish on the fly. I was super excited to enter this new world of fly fishing and go toe to toe with these jumping missiles of the deep.

We flew from SFO directly to Guatemala City where we were met by a representative of the lodge and then drove...
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Montana Familiarity Trip

April 10 – 18, 2023 - Chris King

Flying out of Redding is convenient. But it sure doesn’t save much time. Was at the airport at 05:30 PST. No troubles with the flight to SFO. Was scheduled for a 3-hour layover. Flight was delayed, they changed gates on me and when it was all said and done the plane took off an hour late. I was thinking I could have driven down there in that amount of time, and if I flew out of SMF it would’ve been a 2-hour drive. But like I said, it’s convenient. Got to Bozeman and rented a car, a Toyota Corolla (hope it doesn’t snow). The rental agency wanted an extra $200 for an all wheel drive vehicle. Headed out to DeMissouri House.
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Bahamas Trip Report

March 1 – 18, 2023 - Erik Argotti

Whether sight-fishing from a poled skiff over skinny water or stalking a white sand flat, the Bahamas are the ultimate bonefishing experience.

Last month I embarked on a three week familiarity trip to the Bahamas, concentrating on Andros Island followed by a hosted week to the two remote out islands of Crooked and Acklins. During my trip I visited seven different lodges and had a chance to sit down with the owners/hosts of each operation and discuss and thoroughly analyze not only their individual programs, but...
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Pinnell Creek Trip Report

Sept./Oct. 2022 - Pat Pendergast

Pinnell Creek is named after Bill Pinnell, a pioneering adventurer and brown bear hunter that with his partner, Morris Talifson, traveled to Kodiak Island, Alaska, and carved out a life in the bush during the Great Depression. You can read about their story and adventures in a book called: Last of the Great Brown Bear Men.

I fished and explored Pinnell Creek back in the early 90’s for wild steelhead, and it was amazing. When I learned that one of our Alaska outfitters had recently secured the only commercial permit granted by...
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Mongolia Trip Report

July/August 2022 - Erik Argotti

Follow along with Erik Argotti on his 2 week adventure to the land of Genghis Khan. Erik gives you detailed reports for each day of his trip, from getting there to the final day.

The trip started out with my flight from Redding to San Francisco with an 8:30 pm departure...Arriving just after 11 am Mongolia time. Honda, MRO representative, was waiting for us at the airport to transfer us to the Bayangol hotel and we arrived just before 1pm for a shower and to drop off our luggage we were leaving behind.
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Trout Week at Lava Creek

Pat Pendergast - July/August 2022

Boy was I excited about this trip! This was our first year of offering “Trout Weeks” at Lava Creek Lodge. We had set aside four weeks after Chinook season and before Coho season to specifically concentrate on and fully vet the trout fishing on the home-water the Cinder River and its major tributary Lava Creek. We were limiting these weeks to four anglers only for maximum flexibility in the fishing program, while at the same time allowing guests private accommodations. The year before we tested the fisheries and were pleasantly surprised to find a healthy population of wild and beautifully colored rainbow trout and hordes of hungry Dolly Varden.
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Royal Wolf Lodge Report

Pat Pendergast - July 2022

Our week at Royal Wolf Lodge in Katmai National Park and Preserve, Alaska was to precede our “Trout Week at Lava Creek Lodge”. My wife Lisa and I were really fired up for this trip, especially having the opportunity to visit our son Aidan for a week, who was working at the lodge for his second season, and meet the new owners and manager of the lodge. Our dear friends and cohorts, Chris and Linda Branham, after an over two decade history of operating one of the finest specialty rainbow trout lodges in Alaska’s history, were moving into the next chapter of their lives. It was bittersweet feelings that the Branhams, who were synonymous...
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Montana Wilderness Lodge

Mikey Kaplan - July 2022

At the trailhead some brief information about riding is given, and everybody is loaded onto their horses/mules. I was put on a mule named Milo. Mules are favored among backcountry packers for a number of reasons. They are smaller and stockier than horses, they tend to be much stronger, and they are very surefooted. They are also a bit narrower (great for folks that don’t ride very often).

We depart from the trailhead at 10am. It took us about 30 mins to get from the trailhead into “The Bob” and our first stop was about an hour in (11am). We all take a few minutes to stretch, and use the bushes if needed.
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Espiritu Santo Bay Lodge

March/April 2022 - Erik Argotti

Erik Argotti gives a detailed, day-by-day, report of his recent trip to Espiritu Santo Bay Lodge in the Mexican Yucatan. Erik caught his first Permit on this trip as did the new lodge manager, Martin. We had an unfortunate last minute cancellation and were unable to find a replacement so we sent Erik to see this amazing lodge in Permit country.

Espiritu Santo Bay is a fantastic fishery with lots of variety and of course the best Permit fishing in the world right now. I am glad I was able to get down there and see what all the hype was about. A truly spectacular fishery.
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Andros South Lodge

March 2022 - Eric Ersch

I’d previously met Liz and Max, managers at Andros South, a few years ago at Rapids Camp. They were managing both lodges at the time, and currently spend their summers in Montana, running Andros South from October through June. Liz is the “front person” on the team, interacting with the guests and seeing that their needs are met. Max handles the “behind the scenes” duties, boats, guides, vehicles, etc… They are obviously well respected by their staff. Liz is the contact person when you have any special client circumstances, and answers emails promptly. Both are very personable, and I couldn’t think of a better couple to run Andros South.
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Tanzania Tigerfish

September/October 2021 - Terry Jepsen

The fisheries of the Mnyera and Ruhudji Rivers in South Western Tanzania have fast built a reputation as one of the finest freshwater fisheries accessible to the discerning traveling angler. The trophy tigerfish that call these rivers home provide unparalleled fly fishing opportunities.

I was able to join Mike Michalak and a group of anglers on a trip this fall to chase these ultra aggressive predators. It was definitely worth the flights and time in the air. This was an amazing experience that I would highly recommend to the adventure seeking angler. These fish are amazing creatures and may be the...
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Alaska Steelhead Company

September/October 2021 - Chris King

I recently had the opportunity to host a group of anglers at one of our newest lodges in Alaska. Alaska Steelhead Company is perched on a bluff at the mouth of Deep Creek overlooking the Cook Inlet on the southern end of the Kenai Peninsula. Justin Miller scouted this area and program in 2020 and realized the potential for it to be a great destination for those anglers looking for an easy to get to steelhead lodge without needing to go outside of the country. We had a group of 11 anglers on this trip and I was joined by Pat Pendergast, the Director of The Fly Shop’s travel department, in hosting this group of steelheaders. Each time I am on a trip I like to keep a daily log...
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Teton Valley Lodge, Idaho

September 2021 - Erik Argotti

Since starting our lower 48 program last year(2020) at The Fly Shop, I wanted to get over to visit Teton Valley Lodge in person in order to see the fishery and better represent the lodge. Teton Valley Lodge has been around for 102 years and I have heard so many great things about the place that when I had an opportunity to host a trip there in September, I jumped at the chance. I rounded up some anglers to go hit the Henry’s Fork, Teton and South Fork of the Snake for a week of action packed fly fishing.

I flew out of Redding at 7:30 am. Not the best schedule but one that didn’t arrive in Idaho falls too late. I met my...
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Tarpon Caye Lodge, Belize

Patrick Pendergast

A couple years ago, Brian O’Keefe and I had the opportunity to visit and fish with the folks at Tarpon Caye Lodge located close to the Barrier Reef in Southern Belize. Brian and I had spent the prior week at Espiritu Santo Bay Lodge and we were looking forward to extending our Carribean Permit quest in Belize. The following is an account of our trip and I hope you enjoy this travel chronicle.

Sunday:
We are headed to Belize and Tarpon Caye Lodge this morning. Wake up at 6:00 am. Breakfast @ 6:30 am, and a sharp departure @ 7:00 am with Chiara at...
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Robby's Place - North Andros

March 2019 - Michael Caranci

I left my house around 5:00 pm for the 2+ hour drive to the Sacramento Airport. The airport was pretty quiet. I checked in, grabbed a quick bite of dinner, and before long was boarding the slightly delayed redeye flight to Charlotte. It proved one of those miserable overnight flights. I can usually sleep on planes just fine, but my seat-mate had other intentions, as he jammed his elbow deep into my ribs and promptly fell into an un-budging sleep, until the point when he shifted and nestled his head on my shoulder. I begrudgingly watched a movie, elbowing him every few minutes but he was not moving. Finally he flopped over to the other side and I was able to...
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Mike Mercer’s New Zealand Trip

March 1 - 12, 2019 - Mike Mercer

March 1 – The flights between the States and New Zealand are largely overnighters, so on March 1st I drove down to Sacramento to catch a late afternoon flight to San Francisco (they issued all my connecting boarding passes through to Christchurch here), where I had a couple hours of layover before catching my Air New Zealand flight to Auckland, on the North Island. Most international travel to New Zealand begins with a stop in Auckland – their largest city by far (though Wellington is actually the capital city). As 12 hour non-stop flights go, this one is not too bad, thanks to Air New Zealand’s comfortable seats and extendable leg rests, standard on...
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Providence Travel Journal

December 2018 - Michael Caranci

I left the house at a few minutes after 8 am, picked Allan up at his house in Redding, and we drove down to the San Francisco International Airport. It was a smooth drive until we hit Berkeley then bumper to bumper all the way to the airport, even on a Saturday morning. Still, we arrived in time and checked in for the Emirates flight to Dubai.

Emirates now only allows one carry-on bag in Economy, not even a “personal” item. I had two small bags, so I had to consolidate some of my stuff into my checked bag so I could squeeze the rest into one bag. Not a big problem,...
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Fanning Island Journal

January 2018 - Michael Caranci

Our group of intrepid adventurers all arrived in Honolulu on various flights from the US throughout the day. We planned to meet up around 5:30 at the hotel lobby to enjoy a dinner together. Maurizio was already in Waikiki with his wife and said he’d just meet us at the airport in the morning. The rest of us — Don, David and Matt — would still do dinner and start our pre-trip excitement.

Unfortunately, just before I was to head down to the lobby, I learned from Juliette at Pegasus that there was a problem with...
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Mongolia Travel Report

August 2017 - Michael Caranci

The first flight of the long travel day took off early from Redding Municipal Airport, a few minutes before 5:50 am. 35 minutes later we were touching down in San Francisco. Allan and I grabbed breakfast and coffee, then found our way to the International Terminal to settle in and wait for our next flight.

We met Ross and Brandon at the gate. At about 10:00 they started boarding, and soon we were in the air for the long flight over the Pacific. The plane was nowhere near full, which enabled me to get a row to myself towards the back of the plane..
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Ponoi River Trip - Fall 2017

Sept. 26 – Oct. 08, 2017 - Pat Pendergast

A couple of friends, (brothers) have been fishing the last week of the season at Ryabaga Camp on the Ponoi River for the last five years; this would be their sixth trip. They have been hounding me to get a pass from Frontiers (exclusive agent) for years to join them. I got the go-ahead and a couple friends from Redding were coming along as well, there would be five us total. I had been hearing and reading about the Ponoi River for better than two decades, since the days of Gary Loomis and Tim Rajeff and was pumped to finally get a chance to see and fish the most famous Atlantic salmon river in Russia.
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Yucatan Familiarization Trip

August 2017 - Eric Ersch

All flights were on time, and customs/immigration process in Cancun was efficient. Hotel shuttle was easy to find, with an english speaking man outside the terminal holding a Marriott sign. He told me that the shuttle would be there soon,arriving every 30 minutes, at the parking stall right behind him. Transfer to the hotel was quick, and the people at the reception desk spoke english. I checked in, exchanged dollars for pesos, and went to my fourth floor room overlooking the pool and courtyard.

The Courtyard Marriott is clean, modern, with hammocks...
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Mike Mercer's Alaska Trip - 2017

June 23 - July 8, 2017 - Mike Mercer

A quick and easy late morning flight on Delta delivered me from Sacramento to Seattle to Anchorage, arriving in plenty of time to check into my room at the Lakefront Anchorage, freshen up, then walk downstairs and enjoy a wonderful sweet-and- sour halibut dinner in the hotel's waterfront restaurant. If I was a drinker I would have strolled 100 feet over to the hotel's highly popular bar, after dinner, to watch sports and enjoy a favorite libation. Instead, I took a nice long walk down Seward Ave, enjoying the floatplanes taking off Hood Lake in the full daylight of 10 pm (Alaska in early summer) and burning off the giant ice cream sundae...
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Tarpon Caye Lodge - Belize 2017

June 16 - 24, 2017 - Michael Caranci

We left our house in Redding to drive to the Sacramento Airport at 1:30 pm. We hit some heavy traffic the last few miles to the airport, finally pulling in about 4:00, still with plenty of time for our 5:30 departure. We got checked in, cleared security, and didn’t have long to wait before the flight boarded. We sat on the tarmac for an extra hour waiting for some reason, grateful to have a long layover in Los Angeles. Finally, the plane took off, and an hour later we were touching down in LA.

LAX was packed with people, but after a 30-minute wait...
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Zapata - Cuba 2017

May 27 - June 3, 2017 - Michael Caranci

Travel is relatively smooth. Getting in and out of Cuba is daunting at first, but is way easier than one would think given the politics of it all. While it is still technically illegal for US Citizens to travel to Cuba for purposes of tourism, all tour packages (including fishing trips) are designed to cover the legal allowances for travel.

We were able to purchase our flights directly on-line. Because of the embargo, most travel agents (such as Alicia Regueiro from Holdy Tours) cannot actually book flights into Cuba. But a handful of US-based airlines now fly...
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999 Ways Not To Catch A Permit

ESB Lodge - May 2017 - Pat Pendergast

This was a trip I had been anticipating for 20 years. Finally, I was going to get to spend an entire week fishing Espiritu Santo Bay, THE last frontier of Caribbean fly fishing. I had fished the bay several times in the past, first with the former owner and late Tom Woodward of Paradise Lodge and more recent a few time out of the now closed Paradise Lodge with my friend Alejandro de Tomaso. But this was a full week, every single fishing minute on Esb from the new Espiritu Santo Bay Lodge, owners Dane and Chiara Emerson. And after Esb, I was headed to Belize for a week at Tarpon Cay Lodge. And finally, I would be traveling and fishing...
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999 Ways Not To Catch A Permit

Tarpon Caye Lodge - May 2017 - Pat Pendergast

After a successful and enjoyable week at Espiritu Santo Bay Lodge, four of us (Brian O'Keefe, Charles, Ken and I) are headed to Belize and Tarpon Caye Lodge via an all-day auto transfer and short flight to Placentia in southern Belize.

14 May 17 - Sunday:
We are headed to Belize and Tarpon Cay Lodge this morning. Wake up at 6:00 am. Breakfast @ 6:30 am, and a sharp departure @ 7:00 am with Chiara at the wheel of one of the lodge's Suburbans, headed to Mahujal to meet big Teresa and her driver Carlos @ 9:00 am for the 4 1/2 hour...
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Permit Pursuit - ESB Lodge

May 2017 - Pat Pendergast

I have been told hundreds of times over the last twenty five years that I must be the luckiest guy in the world…that I have the best damn job a person could ever dream of. I used to brush this off, downplaying it with some mumbo jumbo about it being great and all, but the job has its challenges and isn't always what it's cracked up to be, blah, blah, blah. Well, I am taking that all back! I do in fact have an amazing job, and feel blessed beyond my wildest dreams for the privilege to meet, help and befriend some of the most incredible people in the world.
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Fanning Island - 2017

April 2017 - Michael Caranci

The development of a fishing program on Fanning Island in the Equatorial Pacific has taken a lot of time and hard work from a lot of people. Starting with some of the people behind the scenes like Chuck Corbett and Tim Welch, and off course Ryder Thomas, Juliette Budge, and Alexander Budge with Pegasus Lodges. Jeff Jong in Tarawa. Naitiniwa on Christmas and Fanning. And our first two groups of intrepid anglers: Gary, Ed, Matt, Christiaan, David, David, Jed, Jeff, and Alex. Through the efforts of these people and more, and what we've learned over the course of the past year and especially the past few months...
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Patagonia - 2017

April 2017 - Michael Caranci

The flight from Houston to Buenos Aires lasted a bit over 9 hours. I was fortunate enough to have some empty seats next to me, so I ended up with my own row which was a real bonus. After a couple of restless hours of sleep and a couple of movies, I was touching down in Argentina.

Clearing immigrations was quick and easy, but when waiting for my baggage I noticed another, similar bag come down the conveyer belt. It was not my bag, and soon it was the only bag left. I went to the baggage counter, and they checked and quickly confirmed that my bag had been...
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2 Weeks in the Heart of the Amazon

Brazil - November 2015 - Michael Caranci

Our 3:59 pm departing flight from Redding to San Francisco was delayed due to storms and heavy winds in San Francisco. As we waited in the small Redding terminal the panoramic skies to the east were dramatic, dark and foreboding with towering thunderheads and flashes of lightning. I had just started re-reading Joseph Conrad's Heart of Darkness, perhaps my favorite book of all time and fitting for our own pending journey deep into the jungle. The darkness brooding in the words on page paired with the bleak skies outside to set an ominous tone for the trip. Still, our spirits were high and the three adventurers...
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Floating Patagonia

Patagonian BaseCamp - 2015 - Mike Mercer

Our first fishing day at Patagonian Basecamp we floated the Rio Claro Solar, also known as the Rio Quinto, a modest-sized stream large enough to float, but far from big water. It's beautiful, crystal clear water, filled with downed trees that harbor big trout. Greg Bricker was our guide, and we hit it off well - an excellent instructor who taught me a great trick to improve my streamer fishing hookups (keep stripping until you come tight to the fish, and never lift the rod to strike - same as bonefishing). We floated in a self-bailing cataraft with comfortable seats fore-and-aft for anglers, and the guide rowing from the middle. It was...
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Fly Fish Mongolia Journal

June 2015 - Michael Caranci

Thursday, June 11:
The long travel day started early, awake at 3:30 am to get to the airport for my 5:40 am departure. The flight from Redding to SFO went smoothly, and by 7:30 am I was sitting down to a hot Yankee Pier breakfast and much needed cup of coffee. I had about 4 hours of layover, so wandered around the airport for a bit before finding my gate in the International terminal, where Larry was already waiting. We chatted for a bit, then found Bob and Cord, and before long we were all boarding the plane for the next leg of the journey.
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Thatch Caye/Blue Horizon Report

September 2015 - Mike Mercer

Late in the summer of 2015 we were visited by a gentleman representing an operation called Thatch Caye Resort in Belize. Most interesting to us was that they had locked up the services of legendary permit guide Lincoln Westby and his crew of guides to fish any and all anglers visiting their place. After some back and forth it was determined that we should check the place out, and I was the only one free to make the trip. I'd fished with Lincoln before, and knew I was in for a treat...

So on the 22nd of September I left Sacramento...
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