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John Boreck, USA
I arrived in the town of San Martin de los Andes. It was like coming home. A man, who was my fishing guide, met me. His name is Kike Osornio. Kike has a smile and a heart that are every bit as big as he is.
San Martin de los Andes can be described two ways. First it is a jewel. A sparkling jewel nestled in the Andes. It is small, quaint and very diverse. The buildings reflect the generations that have settled there. It seemed a bit strange at first, but if you look closely you would swear you might be in Europe in the mountains. Second, regarding the trout fishing. heaven on earth. For me words can not do justice to something so special and beautiful. This is something that has to be experienced not talked about.
The rivers were crystal clear. There is no sign of water or air pollution because there are no industries in this area. The trout were absolutely incredible. I watched Kike and even timed myself on landing the fish. On the AVERAGE it took 1 minute per inch to land. Several of the brown trout were in the 45-47 cm range. They were incredible. These are wild fish. They are NOT planted fish. They are very strong.
We fished 4, 5 and 6 wt fly rods and used lines up to 7 wt. As the water was clear the leaders were longer than I was accustomed to, but I adjusted quickly. The flies of choice this time of the year were woolly buggers and small gray stone flies. I was fishing in December (winter in the Northern Hemisphere). It is early summer in the south. I was told the dry fly season would be starting a month or so after I left (January-March).
The roads are primarily dirt and gravel. But they were great to travel on.
Every turn, every river and every lake we saw was absolutely incredible. One
night Kike asked how many pictures I had taken. Thankfully I had a digital
camera and a place to off load them (my PDA). I was taking 120-175
pictures - a day. Over the almost 7 days I was there I shot over 1200
pictures plus numerous mpeg movie clips.
When you come to Argentina, you need to know a few very, very important
things. First you will only be there a few days. My advice is simple
enough - get a guide. The worst time you can have is to try to fish and find
out it is private land.
Or try to locate a decent fishing hole. Worse yet is
encountering a game warden and not be able to speak Spanish. The rules and
regulations are quite similar to regular ones. But there is something
sometimes missed in the interpretation. You see you can only get the
regulations in English. A guide also knows the local land owners and can get
you on the private waters most of the time.
During the 5 days we fished I was in awe of everything around me. Please
keep in mind I have lived nearly 30 years in the central and southern Sierra
mountains and in the coastal range west of the Cascades - so I know a little
about majestic scenery. I was so caught up with picture taking that it was
nice for at least one of us to stay focused! Kike took us DIRECTLY to the
fish. From the first cast to the last. He is absolutely incredible.
He is extremely knowledgeable about the area. He has lived in the area for
well over 25 years and flyfished it for at least that long. He is a superb
fly tier. And an incredible cook as well.
During the time I was there it was
not so much a client - fisherman relationship but more of a friend-friend
relationship. Kike is not just a guide. He is passionate about a sport he
truly loves. The work he puts in his flies and in preparation of the daily
trips is simply unselfish and beautiful.
If you are reading this and the gray of winter is settling in.
The rain or
snow driving you nuts. If you want to not fight the crowds at the sportsman
shows, the Bahamas or Belize and want to trout fish in a most beautiful
area. If you really want to get away. do yourself and your therapist a
favor. contact Kike, a travel agent and take a week. It won't be a vacation.
It will blow you away. Trust me when I say. you will be back.
Dr. Guillermo Di Nucci, Argentina
El viaje realizado a San Martín de los Andes fue realmente bueno, siendo lo más importante la información técnica recibida, la atención humana excelente, como así las comidas, además de buenas, abundantes. Fueron satisfechas las expectativas que tenía antes del viaje. Kike son un gran tipo, humilde, sencillo y culto. Te vamos a extrañar. Ojalá podamos volver pronto.
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