Tierra Del Fuego

If you like big trout and like fishing with Spey rods then you should fish Tierra Del Fuego. This is no doubt a trip of a lifetime which every fly fisherman needs to do it at least once in their life (preferably once every year). The food is great, the wine is amazing and, well, Argentine women are...well...perfect, only topped by Texas women or Venezuelan women. In fact I am pretty sure that the only way to decide the winner would be by throwing all three into a jello pit to fight it all out in a scantily clad battle. But in all seriousness I am pretty sure that the most beautiful women in the world are from one of those three places. Back to the fishing...

22.5 on the Boga.

This monster came from the Villa Maria and weighed 33.5 lbs. It is just amazing how big the fish are and how many big fish there are.

Spring Tease, Active Bass

It seems that just yesterday we had temperatures in the single digits (I'm not sure if the temps ever got that low but I know for sure we made it into the teens) but here we are now in the 70s and the bass are moving into the shallows and they are aggressive. Hit a couple of local spots and found bass that were willing to hit the big fly. just about all the fish hung on the edge of the drop offs. Most of the takes were on the pause as the fly dropped or on the initial cast as the fly sank to the right depth. The fly has a slow sink and almost suspends. On the cast I would count down 4-5 seconds and long slow strip...pause...long slow strip. Many times on the initial strip it would just come tight.

The Great Debate: Which Reel to Get?

A few months ago I was having a debate, both in my head and with others, on which reel to get. Guatemala was my destination and billfish were my targets. I needed a fly reel that would be up to the test. I had narrowed it down to the Tibor Pacific vs the Tibor Gulfstream. Both reels are bad mamma jammas and I would be happy to own both but due to monetary constraints and not having a fishing sponsor I had to choose one.

Tibor Gulfstream QC

Versus

Tibor Pacific QC


The year before we had fished The Gulfstream and tested it against an approximately 300lb Blue Marlin. The reel did everything it could and held up to the fish so I knew it could handle anything I threw at it. The Gulfstream also seems more versatile. With a few different spools it could handle several different types of fishing and the weight and size would lend itself to blind casting better than the heavier and bulkier Pacific but would reeling in the smaller arbor become an issue after fighting many fish.

The Pacific is attractive due to the speed you can reel in your line when the fish changes direction and charges you. With the larger diameter you can retrieve line considerably quicker.

It was finally decided (after many agonizing hours of scouring the web for similar debates and finally just going with my initial thought) that The Pacific is the reel to get if you only want a reel to use for billfish. It would be pretty cool to have a reel for every species of fish you chase and there is no difference in price between the two. However, I decided that because I only get to chase billfish once a year and can't yet afford to have a reel per species, that the more versatile Gulfstream would be the way to go.

ps: There are other reels that I would love to own including Abel, and probably my top choice for billfish, the Mako and I am sure there are others in this class. Once you get to a certain level of quality, any of the top reels would be up to the challenge of tackling a billfish and a prize to own.

Shallow Water Marlin

The other day Phil told me about a dream he had where he was chasing permit on the flats when he yelled, "Marlin!" and quickly changed to his bluewater rod and sailfish popper, and made his cast. The hookup was solid and the marlin tore across the flats greyhounding towards the horizon. He woke up before the fight was over and when he woke up he was upset. "It was such a stupid dream because I know that marlin don't show up on the flats, but it was pretty cool while it lasted. Later that very same day I was reading "Born to Fly Fish" blog and was shocked to see that this dream is actually a reality. So cool.

For the whole article: Marlin on the Flats