Estancia Maria Behety, 1/14-21/17 Report

ESTANCIA MARIA BEHETY LODGE
January 14-21, 2017

 Last winter it did not snow much, so all the rivers in Tierra del Fuego are low. The Rio Grande is low for this time of the season, but excellent for fishing. Unlike other years the fish started to run up river in big numbers earlier, so it is full of fresh fish.
We landed 83 fish for the week

Water Conditions
River is low. Water is very clear.

Water temperature:
45°F to 59°F

Water levels:
The river stayed at the same level all the week – low.

Weather Conditions:
Wind speed ranges through the week: 5 to 30 MPH. On Tuesday it went up to 50 MPH

Air temperatures:
41°F to 75°F

Fishing Conditions:
Flies that are working the best: Mostly nymphs: Emb, Prince Nymph, Aurelia Prince, Beauty Camila, Red Butt, and Anadromizer. Yuk Bug and Wooly buggers also worked well. Big flies for the last session of the day: intruders, leeches, big tube flies.

Fly lines (tips, heads, lengths, densities):
We are using light tips. Due the river condition it is very important not to make too much noise on the water during casting. So we recommend Scandi heads. We use Scandi heads with poly or versi-leaders.
Also, it is important that anglers bring a single handed rod with a weight-forward floater for fishing the smaller water – very important.
When we have to throw T-14 tips, a Skagit head is the best option.
Length and strength of tippet and leaders: 
4 to 12 feet, 15 to 20 pounds.

Fish Catch Statistics:
Number of anglers for the week: 10
Total number of fish landed for the week: 83
Weight of the biggest fish landed for the week: 21 pounds
Number of fish landed over 15 pounds: 32
Number of fish landed over 20 pounds: 3