Patagonia Brooke Trout

Thursday, November 17th: Esperanza, Argentina

• We had the most flavorful bacon (though not as crispy as the American standard), scrambled eggs and toast with homemade jams for breakfast. Then we drove with Tomas 1.5 hours to Rio Coig (pronounced Coy-lay) to fish for brookies. The wind was already gusting ferociously, making it impossible to get a good cast without playing the wind right. We had to modify our approach constantly, sometimes roll casting, sometimes overhead casting, sometimes back casting, sometimes mending, etc. We each caught two brookies (two when Tomas had stepped away gone to the truck…maybe he should have left us more often). We mostly stripped streamers, a variety of wooly buggers and even some stone flies. Matt caught one (and Liz missed one) on a dragon fly pattern. Matt was fishing upstream when Liz caught the biggest of the day. It struck instantly as the fly hit the water in a narrow section, only two to three feet wide. 

• Tomas was a knowledgeable guide. His brother, Juan, started Tres Amigos with his two friends and they spend a lot of time managing operations for a bigger Swedish outfitter these days. Tomas grew up in Rio Gallegos and at the estancia in Esperanza. He has been guiding for 11 years for trout, Glacier Kings, steelhead and sea run browns. With a little social media stalking, we realized Jasper Pääkkönen, the actor that plays Halfdan “The Black” in Vikings, has fished with them several times and landed a trophy king salmon of 85 pounds. We both had a fangirl moment while scrolling through his Instagram. 

• We had a milanesa sandwich for lunch with an optional mustard chutney topping that Matt devoured. For our stream side dessert, Carla made these little parfaits of fruit, dulce de leche, cream and coffee cake. 

• We drove back to the estancia for dinner and had mushroom risotto.

• Accommodations: Estancia Rio Pelke, Esperanza, Argentina