Fly fishing

In Patagonia, the stellar guest of the fishing is the trout, which with several species appears in lakes and rivers in the area. Specimens of up to 8 kilos of weight have been found. The salmon also appears, swimming against the current to return to its place of origin. Considering that many of the species of animals that live in Chile are exclusive, that is, they exist only in this part of the world, here we present the most important trout species, which live in great numbers in Patagonia.

Rainbow Trout: (Onchorhynchus mykiss) This fish is one of the most abundant trout in Chile, and can be found from the central zone to the south of the country. It is an animal with a robust body and a short head. It is recognized because the upper part of its body is green-brown, while the lower part is silver. It has a violet stripe on the sides, with more than a hundred scales and with black spots on the head and body. It can measure up to one meter long and grow very fast, feeding on small animals (they are carnivores). They reproduce in running water, preferring deep lakes and torrential waters.

Trout Fario or Coffee: (Salmo trutta) Smaller than rainbow trout, brown trout can reach 80 centimeters long. Its head is long and large, while its snout is round. It can appear in several colors, but its upper part is always dark, with green and brown tones. It has red and black spots on the sides, which most of the time have a wide rim of a lighter color. It inhabits torrential waters, but it can also appear in the sea or in fjords and channels of Southern Chile. In any case, they prefer to live in lagoons, where temperatures do not exceed 20 C. They reproduce in running water and the spawning season occurs in autumn.

Arroyo Trout: (Salvenilus fontinalis) This type of trout only appears in the Magallanes Region. It is a compressed fish, with a large mouth and rounded snout. It is green with yellow spots, its lower part is yellowish, but it turns red during the breeding season. It measures about 25 cms, but it can reach the subway, and specimens weighing 8 kilos have been found. It can survive in waters whose temperatures do not exceed 16 C, and the transparency of the water must be extreme, since they are very demanding animals in terms of the characteristics of their environment. Spawning occurs in autumn.

Steelhead Salmon: This fish has the same characteristics as rainbow trout, the same scientific name, body, colors, etc. The difference is that the Steelhead salmon returns to the sea and is able to spawn several times.

King Salmon: (Oncohynchus tshawytscha) The King Salmon is a robust fish with a fusiform body. It has a pointy head, a long snout and a crooked hooked mouth with strong teeth. His eyes are small. It is gray with spots on the back and tail, and can reach 80 cm in length. It is carnivorous and lives in cold waters, so it is located in the South of the country.

Silver Salmon: (Oncorhynchus Kisutch) This cold-water carnivore is found in the south of the country, from the tenth region. Its body is fusiform, tall and compressed laterally. The head is large in the adult males and the eyes are very small, while the mouth is somewhat oblique and deformed in the males, with the end twisted upwards. The maxilla extends behind the eye. The males have black spots on the back and tail, and are silver on the bottom and tail. They can reach 98 cms., And weigh 5 kilos.

Atlantic Salmon: (Salmo Salar) This salmon appears in the tenth region, mainly. It is a robust fish, with a fusiform body, and the males have black spots in the shape of an X on the back. You can reach six kilos in weight. It is carnivorous and lives in cold waters.

To practice fly fishing you need a fishing rod, hooks, reel, lines, flies and backing. In addition, you should have clothes for water, sunscreen, hat and sunglasses.

Fishing rod: They are the most precious element of the fisherman and many of them enjoy exhibiting their collection, with different materials, colors and origins, to other fishermen. Its importance is that it is what allows the fisherman to launch and give direction to the line to catch the fish. Hence, each fisherman must find the type of fishing rod that suits him best, according to their length and weight. The canes have different numbers, from 1 to 15. Houses number 1 are occupied for small fish, while number 15 are used for larger animals, in bodies of more extensive water, such as the sea. There are houses with many materials too. Before they used to be constructed with bamboo cane, which is quite flexible, but today its construction has been refined and most of the fishing rods are constructed with fiberglass or graphite, which weigh less and have greater resistance and a degree of flexibility safer.

Leader-Tippets: It is the most important tool for a fly fisher, which must have several types and numbers in its box or rig. Its function is to tie the fly on its tip to deceive the fish. It is transparent and is made of nylon or monofilament. Its literal translation is "tip" but is commonly known as hook.
The "leaders" are differentiated from the "tippets" by their diameter and length. An inch or more can mean the difference between success and failure of a session. The diameter of the "tippets" is measured in inches and marked with an X to specify them.

Reel: It serves as a counter balance when casting, to store the line and to produce tension when a fish decides to escape. It is required to have a spare coil, to use with different types of line, although the reel depends more on the bearing and the tenacity of the fish, which fight to get rid of the fisherman at any cost. Its pressure system makes the coil not overdraft when the fisherman throws the line, preventing entanglements, and, in addition, tires the fish with the tension of the line while it tries to escape by swimming towards the opposite side.

Lines: Is the one that the fly transports to the fish. It is composed of three parts: the hook or leader, where the fly is tied; the line, which allows the fly to be launched; and backing, which gives more extension to the line. There are two types of lines, the floating one, designed for use with dry flies, which float and mimic the form of dead insects; and the submersible, which is heavier and allows the fly to sink. There are also lines that have different structures, such as the Rock Taper (it has weight on the tip and they are easy to cast, it is WF category), the Double Taper (to fish in streams and small rivers, they are soft, DT category), and the Shooting Taper (for long distances, it also has weight at the tip, it is WF category).

Flies: The perfect hook for this type of fishing, built to mimic the insects that fish eat and by which they are attracted to the surface. The size, color and shape are characteristics that require dedication to be able to imitate them. They are made of feathers and skins. The head of the fly is just behind the hook, while the body occupies a large space in it. The abdominal part is sometimes created in spiral, as well as the wings, which makes the fly can float in the case of the dry fly, or imitate the legs of an insect in the case of the wet fly. Flies are attached to the hook according to specific patterns, perfected with practice or taken from books or conversations with other fishermen. Some patterns are up to a century old. The trout, which are the main target of those who practice fly fishing, have defined patterns to reproduce, which makes them return to certain places to spawn. It is there when the fisherman takes the opportunity to enter their habitat to catch them. These fish, as well as salmon, feed on aquatic insects that live as larvae underwater. They are vulnerable when their wings start to come out, when the fish take advantage of them to feed on them, both on the surface and closer to the bottom of the river or lake.

Backing: It is the longest component of the line, the part of the rod that ensures the use of the line, which has about thirty meters of rail on average. Sometimes more line length is needed to fight with a large fish. The rest of the equipment consists of clothes for water, usually a wader is used, which is a garment made of PVC, neoprene or other waterproof material. In addition, it is advisable to protect yourself from the sun, which is why a hat, sunglasses and ultraviolet protector are added to the equipment list.

This sport has developed to the extent that more people and places are added to practice it. This is how fly fishing modalities appear, with specific rules. The best known is the modality of "return or catch and reléase", which is a fishing modality in general, not only applicable to fly fishing. Here is captured fish is released immediately, introduced back to its habitat so that it continues to live. The fly fisherman, in general, is a fisherman committed to the conservation of the environment, and understands that the return is part of the practice.

On the other hand, there are regulations related to fishing with return, which varies according to the countries in which it is practiced. In Argentina, for example, the regulation says that all the fish caught must be returned, unless it is expressly clarified otherwise in a particular place. It can happen, so it is worth consulting about the measures of the countries to which you intend to visit.

Each fisherman has his own style, his own technique that he shares with other fishermen and those who are interested in fly fishing. The general technique of this sport means projecting the lure by moving the fishing rod, which is transmitted to the line or to the line. On these the launch is based, not on the fly. To launch the decoy a flexible and light rod is used.
The lure is the one used to attract the fish. To achieve this goal, lures imitate insects, pupae or nymphs, drowned or dried, in the most natural way possible to deceive fish in lakes and rivers, as well as in the sea.
There are several types of decoy, and their use depend on the depth to which the fish on the surface you have chosen are located, whether they are near the bottom or closest to the surface:

Dry fly fishing: The decoy floats on water, just like the insects that fall to it and can not fly again. To achieve this effect, hairs and feathers are used, which help the hook to float. The most popular dry flies are known as Elk Hair Caddis, Adams and Royal Wulff.

Fishing with Streamers: It is the easiest lure to use, so it is recommended for those who are just beginning to practice fly fishing. Its shape mimics that of small fish or crustaceans, as well as other insects and small animals that are part of the daily diet of trout. The most popular are called Wooly Bugger, Marabou Muddler and Zonker.

Fishing with Nymph: The lure mimics the shape of fly larvae while mimicking their aquatic life. It is a thicker decoy, with fewer feathers or hairs, so that it is submerged. The most used nymphs are the Hare's Ear, Woolly Worm and Zug Bug.
To be successful with these lures and choose the right one for each occasion requires practice, practice and more practice. It is recommended to read a lot, get into the world of fly fishing, exchange ideas and advice with other fishermen. Fans of this sport consider it an art, expressing that it is the most pure and challenging type of fishing, where man and fish confront each other in the most basic way.

We have already said that fishing dignifies practice, experience, gathering data and suggestions from other fishermen and from the sessions themselves to develop an activity that brings man and nature together directly. To be successful in practice, knowledge is required. Water, the chosen place, the type of fish that lives in the water, to be able to predict movements and anticipate difficult situations.

To begin, we describe the sectors or areas that can be found in a body of water like a river. In the we have the well, which is a deep area and fast waters in its beginnings or terms, but which is quieter in the middle. In addition, there are currents, which separate one well from another, are shallow, but turbulent on the surface.
Then, there are the pocket waters, which have large stones, which cause the water to break abruptly. Finally, there are the banks formed by the current, which form a hole. Now that we know the sectors with which we work fishing in a river, we can talk about trout, the main objective of the fly fisherman.
Trout, especially the river trout, is an animal that needs a certain habitat to develop and reproduce. It is very fun, since the water must be at a certain temperature, the algae of the habitat must be of a certain density, etc. Generally, they choose places with strong currents, to find their food there and, in addition, where they can hide from predators or rest while waiting for food. It is a nervous animal, which has two sensors that warn of the nearby danger: the vision and the lateral system, where it has vibration sensors.
At the same time, it is necessary to know the surface of the water, since before launching the line, you must anticipate the movement that the hook will have in the water, if you can find the fish or not. The best way is to throw the line at an angle of 90 degrees downstream, so the fly on the hook will swim with the current towards the trout, which waits for food in the stream.
The hitch, lift the tip of the rod to tighten the line, should occur only once the animal has bitten the fly, not before, since the fish spit immediately the hook if it does not feel good the fly. As for fighting with the trout, once you have taken the bait, it is only recommended to give the fight with large trout, as they resist more. The little ones will have less chance to get out alive if they fight with them for a long time.
The less time fish are handled, the better their chances of survival. The fly, if it does not come out easily, can be removed by grabbing the fish by hand, so as not to hurt it. You must wet your hands, and without removing the protective layer, take the fish by the belly, without squeezing it and without putting your fingers in the gills, which allow you to breathe. The hook is removed and the fish is returned to the water.
If the fish floats on its side, you should try to revive it immediately. This is done by holding the tail, with the head facing upstream, so that the water enters through the mouth and out through the gills.