The following are my random thoughts and observations throughout my trip to Argentina.

Getting There

I left the house at 6 a.m., leaving another beautiful day in Redding with a projected high in the mid-seventies. I planned on being at Sacramento International three hours early due to recent news of delays getting through security checks during spring break and the government shutdown. As always, the news was overblown, after I checked my bags and made my way to the checkpoint, I found a whopping fifteen people in line ahead of me. Oh well. I’d rather sit in the terminal for a couple of hours than miss a flight. There will be plenty of sitting in a terminal on this trip anyway, with a total of thirty-one hours of travel anticipated from my house to the hotel in Ushuaia.

The flight to Houston was full, not a single seat left. They were requesting thirty volunteers to check their carry-ons. Knowing that I would have trouble carrying on fishing gear overseas, all I had was my backpack full of electronics and a sandwich from a deli at the airport. They had also oversold the flight and needed volunteers to take a later one. I’ll never understand that. What if I oversold a lodge and on the day you were leaving I asked you to go a later week? I don’t think I ever will understand an “oversold” flight.

Houston airport is ridiculous. It took twenty-two minutes to navigate to my connecting gate. I had plenty of time to make my flight, but others did not. At the time we were supposed to depart, we were still missing eighty passengers. When we finally departed, thirty minutes late, I moved to the window because I had the row to myself. I thought I might actually get some sleep on this flight.

I was wrong. I hardly slept at all. I don’t know how people do it. Maybe I need drugs, or one of those first-class seats that turns into a bed. I dozed a little throughout the night, but I’m glad I planned an extra day in Ushuaia to adjust. I hadn’t sat in a window seat in a long time, and in the middle of the night I had this tremendous urge to shout, “There’s a man on the wing of this plane!” I was delirious.

Arrived at 9:10 a.m. The immigration line was so long they’d run out of tape. It took an hour to get through before they finally sent a group of us through their equivalent of Global Entry. Grabbed my bags and headed through customs, at the X-ray, the guy asked “¿Qué es?” to which I replied “fishing rods,” and he said go ahead. No screening, no paperwork, no interview. Aside from the hour wait in the cattle line, it was pretty easy.

You have to walk from there to the literal other side of the airport where the domestic flights are. EZE is not that big, though, so it wasn’t a big deal. Just waiting for Johnny to show up and check bags to Ushuaia.

Finally met up with Johnny. It took him two-plus hours to get through immigration. We checked our bags and were just in time to board our flight. Next stop, the end of the world.

They lost John’s rods. We hung around and tried to get someone to help and no one was helpful. I may be a dumb American, but so few employees spoke English. We finally got to the Hotel Lennox and even the front desk clerk had trouble communicating. The taxi driver spoke zero English. I thought this was a resort town.

Thirty-three hours of travel with 3.5 more to go before we get to the lodge. I’m a wreck. The day of rest here in Ushuaia will be needed. This town is buzzing at 7:30 on a Thursday night. The Lennox is right in the center of downtown.

Grabbed a bite to eat at a restaurant down the street, and again, the waiter spoke no English. Went back to the hotel and crashed. Ten hours of uninterrupted sleep. I felt like a champ this morning.

Ushuaia

I had some coffee at the hotel and watched whales breaching in the bay. Coffee shops around here don’t open till 8 or 9, crazy. I’m a coffee snob, and luckily the coffee at the hotel was pretty decent. I spent the day cruising around town, found a great spot for lunch, and had the local specialty: king crab. Visited a couple of museums that were super interesting about the local area and toured some local artisan shops. They even have a food truck park here, I would never have thought that. I had a beer at the southernmost brewery in the world and finished the afternoon with a maté at a local café. Ushuaia is a wonderful town.

Had dinner at Kaupe. This restaurant has been voted the best restaurant in Argentina. Dinner was outstanding and the service was top-notch.

The sunrise this morning was unbelievable. Had some coffee and a quick breakfast while watching the whales in the harbor, then did some last-minute strolling up and down the main strip in Ushuaia. Found a sweatshirt for my son from a local snowboarder who started his own brand, pretty stoked on that find. I walked over to the southernmost post office in the world and sent my folks and grandma a postcard. Hotel checkout was at 10 and our transfer to the lodge is scheduled for 11.

Estancia Maria Behety

Jumped in the van and headed to EMB. There were three Argentines headed to La Villa as well as David Backes, who was staying at EMB with us. As we watched the terrain go from mountains to rolling hills to prairie, we knew we were headed to the Río Grande. We made a quick stop at La Unión for a sandwich and made it to the lodge around 3 p.m.

We had a quick tour of the lodge, very laid-back and cool. The other guests were scheduled to arrive around 7. Glad we’re not fishing today, as the Tierra del Fuego wind was here to welcome us with 29 mph sustained winds and gusts to 40.

The rest of the crew showed up around 7. They’re a group of guys that have been coming this same week for several years, four Scotts, three Englishmen, and one American. And they are a hoot. We sat down to a steak dinner that rivaled the night before and told stories and jokes till nearly midnight. This is going to be an interesting week.

Genero said that the river is high and dirty. They haven’t touched a fish since Wednesday. He hopes that Sunday will be a decent day for fishing and that Monday will be our best of the week. We’ll see how it shakes out, but he thinks the rain forecast for Tuesday will blow the river out again.

Day One, The First Fish

Nice breakfast this morning with eggs to order, pastries, fruit, cereal, and bacon or ham. The chef who has been here several years just finished medical school and is working one more season before she does her residency.

I fished today with Ropo. Our guide was Sebastian. Fede, the old head guide from EMB, joined us as well for a while. We started at beat 15, the closest to the lodge. We got to the first pool and Sebastian gave me some instructions and let me start working through the pool. After getting my line out to working length, I made about four steps down the run and stuck one.

It was a bit strange to me that he didn’t want me to fight the fish as I would a steelhead, instead insisting that I keep my rod high and just walk back up on the bank. When we got it to the net, it turned out to be a dandy. This was my first sea-run brown and it was a 20-pound hen!

The fog on the river and light wind made for a magical experience to complete my Grand Slam of Swing, which is catching a steelhead, Atlantic salmon, chinook salmon, and sea-run brown trout on the swing. (There’s a great article by my friend Justin Miller on the subject that you can read HERE.) We gathered a few pictures and let her charge back into the run. I was fortunate that she hit my leech like a freight train and there was no mistaking the hook setting itself.

Throughout the rest of the morning I had a few more chances and was letting the fish eat the fly like we do for steelhead, and they all spit the hook before they were hooked. They want you to set the hook here as soon as you feel anything, as you would when trout fishing. This afternoon will be different! It’s a hard habit to break, but I’m going to bury it if I get the chance again.

We had a wonderful midday meal with octopus appetizer, followed by BBQ ribs and some kind of death-by-chocolate dessert. A glass of Malbec to wash it down, and it was time for a quick siesta. We head back out for the evening at 4.

Fished with Ropo and Sebastian again this evening on beat 12. The runs we had were extremely fast and I couldn’t hit bottom with a fist, twelve feet of T20, and a cone-head fly. The river dropped a little from the morning and hopefully will drop more overnight. We got zero bites, or as the guides say here, a papa (potato). The evening meal was delicious: a simple bowl of curry with pita bread. Everyone started to turn in around 10. I imagine with the asado tomorrow it will be a big day. It will be my first and I am very much looking forward to it.

Day Two, Asado Day

Got a great night’s sleep and am ready to rock this morning. It was pretty cold last night, down below freezing. There was frost on the ground and on the reels as we headed out for the morning. We fished beats 4 and 5 with John and Miguel was our guide. The pools we fished today were much slower than yesterday. It was still quite difficult to get down to the bottom. I caught a small sea trout that was five pounds. We saw one other fish roll and that was it. The conditions are very tough. The Menendez blew out yesterday and the lower river, where we are fishing tonight, got even dirtier than it was yesterday. Well, that’s fishing. Time for asado!

The asado was a really great experience. The BBQ house (or Quincho) sits right on the cliff and overlooks the river with a wall of windows. The fire pit is inside behind the bar and they had all the offerings perfectly cooked over the coals: entraña steak, skirt steak, blood sausage, chorizo, kidneys, intestines, and I tried them all. For sides they had green salad, coleslaw, potato salad, along with an olive mix and a whole mustard seed mix to accompany the meats. I overdid it and ate way too much. The only thing I didn’t care for was the blood sausage. Went back to the lodge and laid down for an hour-long siesta.

The afternoon was a complete bust. The pool we had was way down river at the mouth of the Río Ona, maybe five inches of visibility. It was blowing straight at us from the southeast and we were on the high bank. Futile. John made some casts for about twenty minutes while I took a walk to find a quiet place. My first asado was not agreeing with me. When I came back we decided to relax for a bit and see if the wind would calm down later in the evening. Ropo stopped by and he took out his Garmin sonar and sent it down the pool. When he and Miguel got back I asked what it said and Miguel replied: “It said we should go home.” We heard on the radio that some of the group were all headed to beat 19 right above us. When asked if we wanted to go join them, I said I’m not really in the party mood with the way I felt. And Miguel said, “What are we doing! We should go back to the lodge!” We were back at the lodge by 6:30.

Day Three, Rain and Redemption on Beat 13

I took it easy last night and had only soup for dinner. The guys had some kind of stir-fry with squid. I was in bed early hoping to get caught up on some rest, but sleep was not on my side, I was quite restless. Very windy this morning, as they predicted, and calling for almost an inch of rain in the next twenty-four hours. Probably the last day with any hope for the beats above the Menendez.

I fished this morning with Lautaro. He is Fede’s cousin and Genero’s brother, and he grew up fishing the river before the lodges were open, only Kau Tapen was around back then. We fished beat 13, where you had to park the truck and walk down the hill. This was the first time I felt like we were in fish all week. We caught several small three-to-five pound fish as well as two fish in the 14-15 pound range, and I found a 20-pounder hiding in the run, unfortunately, it was foul-hooked.

It rained relentlessly all morning and the wind blew 20+ mph. When it was all said and done, my jacket finally gave out and I was soaked all the way to my undershirt. I don’t think in all my years of fishing I have ever been so wet. We pushed back our evening fishing to 5 p.m. and hopefully my clothes will have time to dry. Another steak for lunch and I could only eat half. Today’s siesta will be a long one. What they call lunch around here is something I would have for dinner after having not eaten all day.

Fished at beat 16 where the mouth of the Menendez is. This main tributary to the Río Grande had almost no visibility. There was a distinct mud line coming down the runs we fished. It was again pouring rain and howling wind, pretty hard work for zero bites. John managed to find one fish, but it was foul-hooked. They were just not biting at all. Lautaro said what the river needs is a few days of consistent weather. Much like the trout rivers at home, the constant change of barometer and wind direction make for unhappy fish.

The night’s meal consisted of a nice plate of Chilean sea bass and a really neat take on peas and carrots. The peas were a mash and made a bed for the fish. The plate was then topped with thinly sliced carrot that was fried crispy. The dessert was amazing, a baked meringue cup filled with whipped cream and topped with a strawberry compote. Everyone headed to bed early. The morale is starting to fade with the lack of catches.

Day Four, Pizza and a Lesson for Steve

The rain quit around midnight and the famous TDF wind arrived, blowing straight down river like normal. We fished with Marcelo this morning on beat 22. Total bust, the river down there has maybe a foot and a half of visibility. We fished one run that I felt like we had a chance: a soft slot on the inside, but we were fishing from the high bank in 30+ mph wind. The second spot was a waste of time, so we packed up and headed down to where Steve and Howard were fishing. Steve is quite new to fly fishing and I had promised him a lesson.

I spent about a half hour with him explaining the basics of the spey cast. Then we headed back to the lodge about an hour early, they also had zero bites. We’re headed to the Quincho for pizza today. The guys that have been here before rave about it. I’m looking forward to it but I’m going to try not to eat too much again.

What an ingenious way to cook a pizza on a grill. They have a second slab of steel that they put over the pizzas and load the top with coals. And the pizzas just kept coming: pepperoni, sausage, onion, blue cheese, mushroom, shrimp, prosciutto. Interestingly, they were all single-topping pies. The crust was light, crispy, and had a great chew.

For the afternoon session we fished beat 3. I was anticipating moving up river to escape the muddy water from the Menendez, but the rain from the day before had arrived from the mountains and the water clarity was worse, only about six inches of visibility.

For dinner we had a lovely dish of stir-fried scallops, calamari, and prawns served over a delicious rice mixture. Ropo came in during dinner and offered to take us to La Villa tomorrow for an asado and a trip to the wine cellar. We all agreed that would be a wonderful idea. The plan is to get a later start and quit early due to the water being pretty much unfishable.

Day Five, La Villa and the Dropsies

 

Fished this morning with Nacho on beat 9 and we actually found some fish. The visibility was about a foot, and I hooked three fish in a pool on the far side, a hell of a cast and a wade to waist-deep water. Landed two of them: a five-pounder and a 12-pounder. Gives me hope for tomorrow and the rest of the week.

We went down to La Villa for an asado today with a traditional whole lamb. It was amazing. I sat with Ropo and his wife Carolina as well as Anna, the host from La Villa, her husband is the head guide at Kau Tapen. They really have quite a small community here where everyone is connected in one way or another. Got to tour the facility as well as the largest sheep-shearing shed in the world. It’s hard to imagine that this entire operation, from the sheep to the fishing lodges, is only three generations old.

We fished beat 13 again tonight. I had a case of the dropsies. Hooked four fish and only landed one, and it was foul-hooked. It was an absolutely stunning evening, the wind was a bit rough and in our face to start, then it settled down and we had a beautiful calm sunset in the last pool. John landed a couple of small fish in the three-pound range. Nacho was my favorite guide so far: young, energetic, and fun. His English isn’t very good but he tries and laughs at himself when he doesn’t know the words. Tomorrow we fish with Genero, the head guide. We have a couple of beats on the lower river and I don’t anticipate it getting much clearer. We’ll wait and see. Tonight we had “salad” for dinner. I’m really curious as to how these people are not all 300 pounds. The food has been incredible and there is just way too much. You won’t go hungry here, I guarantee it.

 

Day Six, the Final Sessions

John and I fished with Genero on beat 26. The water was huge. And dirty. I fished my single-hander from the high bank and it was actually a joy to cast a light rod without needing to manage line in the water. We fished for maybe an hour, then sat and chatted about the area and the river. There are some very

famous pools down there, but it was hard to get a sense for them with the river being so swollen.

EMB has been fantastic. The hospitality team is incredible, the food outstanding, and this group of guys that are here this week are all great guys. Tonight we will fish one more time and then have a party where the staff will join us for some drinks and music after dinner.

Made a few casts from the high bank on beat 23. It was a waste of time, we knew this going in but went to look anyway. Had a nice chat with Genero about his interest in becoming a certified instructor for the THCI program with the FFI. Back at the lodge and packing up for my transfer to Kau Tapen tomorrow.

The party was great with delicious food once again: sliders, empanadas, a potato and onion pie, guacamole, everyone hanging out and chatting about the week. I turned in around 11, completely exhausted. The boys from the UK were up past 1, even with the long day of travel ahead.

Kau Tapen

In the morning I met everyone for breakfast and they took off around 7:30 to make their way to Ushuaia for their flights. I was picked up at 9:30 and taken to the Río Grande Hotel where I waited for my transfer to Kau Tapen. The hotel is nice and looks like it would be a fine place to stay for the evening when flying in and out of Río Grande, but I enjoyed Ushuaia so much that I would definitely recommend a stop there, even with the 3+ hour transfer. Once again, neither the driver nor the front desk clerk at the hotel spoke any English.

Got picked up in Río Grande by a couple of the guides, Chris from Norway and Santi from Buenos Aires. Nice guys, and the drive to the lodge was easy, taking around forty-five minutes. When we arrived at the lodge I was greeted in the entrance by the entire staff, with an offering of fresh juice and introductions to all. I felt like a duke entering a castle.

This place is amazing. I was given a tour by Manuel and Gaia, the couple that manages the lodge. The bedroom is spectacular, like a fancy hotel suite in a ski resort. The mud room where you hang your waders is complete with a fireplace in the middle to warm up by, a lovely sitting area in the main lodge, a separate deck where lunch and asado is served, and a dining room for breakfast and dinner. They have a spa with a steam room, sauna, stationary bike, and a treadmill. I have no words. The pictures will have to do it justice.

First asado here at Kau Tapen was off the charts. There were empanadas and hummus with homemade crackers available as the managers and guides gave an orientation. Then a great selection of salads and fries to start the meal, followed by sausage, blood sausage, beef flank steak, beef tenderloin, and pork flank steak. For dessert: a dulce de leche crêpe with homemade banana ice cream. Unreal. I can already see why this is the Kau Tapen group’s signature lodge.

We had a warm-up session this evening and went to the river with Santi and Andrew. The river is starting to come into shape and I actually felt like I was fishing. Believe it or not throwing T14 on an Airflo fist was a joy. The wind was ripping and over the left shoulder. We are on the other side of the river now SA I was able to cast off my right shoulder but the wind was a bit at our backs so the d loop was pretty non existent. Just aim high and let it fly. I caught a small rainbow but got no other touches. Andrew did not get any bites at all. Tomorrow is a new day and the river is dropping.

The folks at Kau Tapen have a laundry bag in each room. You simply put your clothes in it and leave it in the hall. When it’s done it comes back to your room folded in a basket at the end of the bed.

Dinner was incredible: shrimp soup followed by sweetbreads, Chilean sea bass, and homemade ice cream with strawberry foam. Then they brought out a cheese and fruit plate. Your weeks here are full with all of the fishing and the meals, but I obviously need to find the time to get in some exercise. I’ll bet we are being offered 6,000-8,000 calories a day if we were to eat it all. Seth got a fish tonight during the warm-up session, giving us all hope for tomorrow. Borrowed a maté cup for the morning. Going to embrace the Argentine way, may even have another fernet and Coke. Taking it all in, because like most trips, this is about far more than the fishing.

The Menendez Saves the Week

Fished beat 13 this morning with Andrew and Nauhel, the head guide. He guided for ten years at EMB. His wife is the hostess at La Villa. Andrew got a few fish this morning on a floating line, smaller fish, but still. I didn’t find any fish on the big river. Then we went over to the Menendez and fished a run that was narrow but deep. Stuck a couple of really good fish: a 19-pound buck and a 14-pound hen. Got them both to the net. We got some nice photos of the buck, but the hen was hooked in the tongue and bleeding a little, so we just let her swim. There is hope for this afternoon!

Lunch was ridiculous. You have a choice from a menu here, usually two entrées and a few desserts. I had a panini and salad, which was a nice change from the heavy roast and grilled meat we’ve had for lunch since I’ve been here. The dessert was a pear and almond tart with cinnamon ice cream and was to die for. No time for a siesta today, lunch finished about forty-five minutes before we met up with the guides again. Glad I was sipping on my yerba maté all morning.

I fished the Menendez again this afternoon. Got into a few decent fish and lost a really good one. The fish we saw this afternoon were really bright, fresh from the sea. With the river up and big tides, the guides said there were likely a bunch of fish that just came in. Andrew had a tough afternoon, as did the others in the group. All of the fish I hooked came on the strip. I tried a traditional swing, jigging the fly, and stripping, alternating between casts, and the stripped fly was the only method that produced fish today. For apps we had onion soup and beef croquettes. Dinner was shrimp risotto followed by chocolate lava cake and ice cream.

More Fish and the Big Rain

Fished the Río Grande this morning with Santi and Andrew. Four casts into the pool I landed a nice 14-pound buck. I gave up the spot to Andrew and had Santi switch our places. I saw a different fish roll in the same spot. Andrew had a nice little five-pounder out of the hole as well. That was it for the morning. It poured rain all morning and I can confirm that my Orvis jacket is officially kaput, absolutely soaked several layers down, just like last week during the big rain.

Fortunately they have laundry here and I was able to put some of my clothes in the dryer. Every time you come in from fishing you are greeted by one of the staff with a fresh juice drink and a hot towel. I’ve asked twice not to be greeted. But there they are every time. I am just not used to being looked after hand and foot, it’s a little uncomfortable for me. But for those that appreciate that level of service, this lodge would be perfect for them.

Lunch was a chicken dish cooked on the Argentine grill in a plow disk. It had a tomato gravy and was served alongside sliced roasted potatoes, perfect for a cold wet day. The dessert was a berry crumble with homemade ice cream and was outstanding. It continued to rain throughout the rest period. I tried to convince Andrew to push the evening session back an hour, but he hadn’t landed a big fish yet so he wasn’t having it. He also refuses to fish a sinking line, likely why he has only had a couple of smaller fish.

Got two nice fish tonight in the top of a pool that I had fished the week before from the other side. It was evident that fishing from the high bank the previous week was not the way to go. Andrew didn’t land any fish. He insists on fishing a full floating line and has been casting overhead with his two-hander the whole time. It looks like awful work. He’s managed to get a few fish in the five-to-six pound range, but in these conditions I don’t think he’ll raise one of the bigger fish. It’s always amazing to me that some people will spend so much money to travel to a place they’ve never been and not listen to the local experts they’ve hired.

Santi was telling us that the staff washes the vehicles twice a day. The level of service here is really over the top, no stone left unturned. They tidy your room and clean the bathroom twice a day. They iron the sheets when they do turndown service, complete with a chocolate on the pillow. They place your towel on the radiator in the shower during the second fishing session to keep it warm for you. They clean the fireplace window every day, there are four fireplaces here and they were all going all the time, which is funny because there isn’t a tree in sight. The place is immaculate every minute of every day.

King crab ravioli for dinner and one of the best dessert dishes I’ve ever had: dulce de leche cream over something like a French toast, cinnamon coconut ice cream, and a crumble made of sugar, butter, and flour, to die for. They have served this crumble with all of the ice cream throughout the week.

Yellow-Bellied Beauty and the Italian Group

I felt a little rough this morning, probably all of the rich food again this week. The weather is crazy: the rain has gone but the wind showed up, with constant 27 mph and gusts to 40. The morning session was tough conditions to feel like you were fishing. The Río Grande is tea-colored but still really big. The pool we fished was a little too fast to stay in the slot, and the wind was a chore to continually recast. We jumped over to the Menendez and at least you can keep your fly in the pocket. I caught a really beautiful male with an incredible yellow hue and perfect spots, weighing in at fifteen pounds.

On the way back to the lodge we got a glimpse of the upper Río Grande and the water was rising and dirty. It doesn’t look too promising.

At lunch, the group from Villa Maria came up and joined us for the afternoon. One of the guests, John, was eighty-nine years old and one of the original guests at Kau Tapen. They were a group from Italy, and Enrico immediately started chatting them up in Italian. We had a nice lunch of spaghetti with Guanaco Bolognese. They hung around for the whole break, and everyone except Jim, who caught an eighteen-pounder this morning, headed out for the afternoon session.

The wall of mud has arrived. The Río Grande came up a foot since this morning’s session and the visibility is zero. I didn’t even make a cast. Andrew made a dozen casts and asked if it was pointless. Both Nauhel and I said “yes,” so we headed over to check the Menendez, same story. Nauhel said this is the biggest it has been this season. We headed back to the lodge, and that’s that. Tomorrow will likely be unfishable as well. All we can hope is that the clarity improves for Thursday or Friday.

Back at the lodge the guys are taking it pretty well. It’s not something that anyone can control. We all know the food will be amazing and the drinks will flow.

Dinner last night was a salt-crusted lamb with roasted vegetables. I had a small portion to taste it but opted for the baked gnocchi, which was absolutely delicious.

Comparing the Two Lodges

I was thinking today about the difference between the lodges and the fishing programs. The guides at EMB are much more attentive throughout the day. The feel at EMB is like family, they still take care of your every need, but in a way like your grandma would. The guides and staff join you several times throughout the week for lunch and you feel immersed in the culture. At Kau Tapen it is much more formal. The staff is always in the wings, watching to see if you need anything at any time, they treat the guests like royalty. If you like this kind of service, then this is for you. They also mainly offer single occupancy, with only two rooms that have double occupancy capability out of a total of twelve anglers at times.

It was snowing this morning as fishing time came. After seeing the rivers in the shape they were in last night, I knew there was no chance of them being back down and fishable. With a wind chill of 16°F and snow blowing sideways, I opted to stay by the fire and relax after ten straight days of fishing.

With the way this week is ending up, I talked with Pat and we are going to take advantage of me being this far south, tomorrow I will head to Estancia Laguna Verde to check out the famous Jurassic Lake. It’s a lot of travel for one day on the ground, but it will be good to see it so I can answer questions about the logistics of adding on this trip to a TDF week.

Dinner last night was again incredible: pork shoulder with sweet potatoes. The chef must have the sharpest knife in the world because what appeared to be a slice of pork completely fell apart when I touched it. We also had a repeat of the French toast dessert with the dulce de leche sauce. Wow.

Said some goodbyes this morning and settled my bill. The driver arrived early so we left the lodge a little before 9 a.m. I thought the guy on the way in was driving like a maniac, but I guess that’s just the way they drive around here. We spent the majority of the trip straddling the middle of the road, and he passed every car he saw like it was a race, eighty kilometers per hour through Ushuaia, where the speed limit was twenty in most areas and forty in others. Coming over the mountain pass with snow from the night before, I honestly thought this was it. At least I completed my Grand Slam of Swing.

I arrived at the airport three hours early and was able to check in and check my bags. Fifteen-kilo limit on weight, that’s 33 lbs., which surprised me. But it was only 48,750 pesos for the overweight charge and the extra rod tube, roughly $50 USD. Not bad. Security was a breeze, you don’t need to rush to get there with a ton of time to spare. I was the only one in line.

Estancia Laguna Verde, Jurassic Lake

Got picked up in Río Grande by a couple of the guides. The driver that picked me up at the airport was unlike any other driver down here, slowing down on corners and over bumps, two hands on the wheel, using a blinker on the rare occasion that he did pass someone. Then we made the switch where the pavement ends and I jumped in with Ivan for the rest of the journey to the lodge on the windy dirt road. Ivan drove like a true Argentine, the back wheel of the truck getting a little loose from time to time like he was Butch Cassidy leaving a bank.

The lodge here is quite modest compared to those on the Río Grande. This is desolate country and it is a wonder they got all of this infrastructure here in the first place. It reminds me of an old motel on the west side of the Rockies, or something you might find on Highway 1 through the redwoods. Carina, the host, was extremely welcoming, and we had trout lasagna for dinner that was way better than it sounds.

The view out the window of the room is quite nice, overlooking the lagoon. There is an option to fish there, but the fish are a bit smaller than on the main lake. I requested that we fish Lago Strobel.

I fished with Ivan today, but first we needed to sanitize my waders and boots, something they do here with all guests’ equipment to stop the spread of invasive species.

This is a top-five most extreme fishing experience of my life. We started with a dry-dropper setup, a Chubby Chernobyl and a balanced leech. Landed four nice fish right out of the gate. I couldn’t believe how strong they were, not more than five or six pounds, yet they jumped and pulled like freight trains. One even came on the dry. I was wondering if it was always like this, because this was all in the first thirty minutes. Then I hooked one about 12-14 pounds that showed me just what this place is all about. Monster strong fish! He ran out and back, and he was so fast that I had to give up on reeling and start stripping the line. Then he ran down the shoreline and I was unable to stop him. He wrapped the fly line around a rock and got stuck. In the process, I actually broke the fly line in half trying to get it free. Unbelievable. Luckily Ivan had a spare. We switched it out and I caught another small one. By then I was frazzled. Throwing straight into the wind on a straight twelve-foot piece of 20-pound tippet instead of a leader, I’m not sure why we were fishing that way. It was so difficult. We went to another spot and tried both the dry-dropper and stripped flies with no luck.

They cooked lunch over an open fire because they ran out of propane in the cook house. They have three different cook houses on the lake. Chicken stew, delicious.

Then we went to a spot out of the wind (kind of) called Monster Cove. I got a few more on stripped flies, even got to throw my full-sink line, which was way better than twelve feet of tippet. One of the other guests caught a fish about fifteen pounds and was ecstatic. If it weren’t for fish like that I don’t know if anyone would fish here. I’m not a big lake fan anyway, but it was cool to come and experience the famous Jurassic Lake. Then Ivan and I went and took a look at the river. I wanted to see it. There are some monsters in those little pools, but they wanted nothing to do with flies.

Back at the lodge we had yet another Argentine grilled red meat dinner. The ribeye was quite good, but after two weeks being down here, I could use a California health plate no dairy please..

The Journey Home

I headed home today and the Patagonian sunrise was incredible. What an amazing way to send me home after an incredible journey. And then, good feeling gone. The truck blew a hub about forty-five minutes down the road. With no way to fix it, we were now missing a few lug nuts, all we could do was wait for someone from the lodge to come retrieve us and swap trucks. Making my flight was going to be tight.

Swapped into the second truck and sped off down the road. We met up with the other transfer vehicle where the pavement begins, and it looked like we would make it to the airport in plenty of time. That’s why we always leave early. We stopped only for a brief moment to take a couple of pictures overlooking the lake with Fitz Roy in the background. It’s funny, I always thought that mountain was in Chile.

I also saw my first choiques on the drive out, they look like an ostrich, in the same family as an emu. Didn’t have time to get a decent picture as we were driving.

I had plenty of time to make the flight and everything went easy on the way to Buenos Aires. Got picked up by the driver arranged through Posta Experiences for the transfer from the domestic airport to the international. Again, the driver spoke zero English. Got to see a little bit of BA as we drove through, next time I am down here I want to spend a couple of days on the ground there.

I got to the international airport with plenty of time to spare, wandered around a bit, and called my wife for about a forty-five-minute conversation. I had thought I made a terrible mistake when I headed upstairs to the gates and saw the line for immigration, I was sure it would take longer than I had to get through and make the gate on time. But I spotted an express lane and knew just enough Spanish to read the signs. I knew I was in the wrong line, but it was shorter. When I got to the end, I pretended to understand what the officer said, smiled, and continued to the express kiosk, scanning my passport, standing for facial recognition, and got the green light. I even had time to grab a bite to eat before my flight.

The flight from Buenos Aires to Houston was one of the worst I have ever been on. I got near-zero sleep throughout the night. The guy next to me had sleep apnea and no CPAP. The flight attendant told me they didn’t have any whiskey and that all that was available was beer, wine, and vodka. I have been on enough flights to know that was not true. I was finally able to flag down the attendant taking care of the passengers in the big seats up front, and he took mercy on me and brought me a double bourbon. After that I was able to doze in and out for a few hours of the ten-hour flight. Still a horrible flight.

When we got off the plane, people were literally speed-walking and even jogging to the immigration line at Houston. The lines were pretty long, but I had uploaded my entry information into the MPC app and walked right up to the Global Entry line. The officer said, “Welcome back, Mr. King,” and I was through. As I waited for my bags at the carousel I saw some of the people that had been running past me show up long after I did, and I couldn’t help but snicker a little.

The last flight from Houston to Sacramento went by quickly and I even got an hour or so of sleep. Got to Sacramento and rode the bus to the parking lot to fire up the old Dodge diesel. After taking a few tips from my Argentine friends on driving skills, I made record time on the drive home. Thirty-six hours after leaving the lodge at Estancia Laguna Verde, I pulled into my driveway exhausted and filled with a sense of reflection on a trip that will be in my memories for a lifetime.

Final Thoughts

Throughout this adventure I experienced so many different scenarios and feelings: a few solid fish, got humbled by others, completed my Grand Slam of Swing, had moments where I questioned my sanity trying to fish in hopeless conditions, met new friends, drank delicious wine, ate incredible food, fished through mud lines, rising water with zero visibility, wind that was hard to stand up in, and saw guanacos, condors, foxes, choiques, whales, majestic mountains including the iconic Fitz Roy, glaciers, pampas, the Beagle Channel, and so much more.

I really enjoyed Kau Tapen. Having the ability to fish the Menendez saved the week. La Villa and EMB share the majority of the water on the Río Grande and they definitely have the most water of all the lodges. Villa Maria has access to the lower river, which might be great in January but the last couple of weeks would have been nearly impossible. Despedida and Kau Tapen share the Menendez, and Despedida shares a portion of the lower Río Grande as well. Kau Tapen has a share of the middle Río Grande as well as twenty kilometers of water upstream of EMB’s border, shared with another lodge upstream. It’s quite an operation splitting up all the beats each week, but they seem to do a good job of it, no guests at any of the lodges repeat beats throughout the week, fishing new water during each morning and evening session.

Tierra del Fuego is not easy. It’s not forgiving. And it certainly doesn’t care about your expectations. But when it comes together, even for a moment, it delivers something unforgettable. Nowhere else in the world can you trophy-hunt for the biggest brown trout of your life, with a chance to add on a couple of days chasing the biggest rainbow of your life. If big fish are your thing, it’s time to take a trip to the End of the World.