There is a latin expression, "Carpe diem" that essentially says, "Seize the Day!" Dr. Bill did exactly that. He had the opportunity to travel to and fly fish Lago Strobel, aka Jurrasic Lake, for a week thanks to his brother-in-law not being able to go! Well why not, what an opportunity!
After meeting with Rick Myauchi from our club, a veteran of the Jurrasic Lake experience, and doing some research, Dr. Bill had the right rods, lines and flies ready to go. Flies and equipment are not readily available so you better be prepared.
Bill started his journey on American Thanksgiving. That is the time of some very busy travel in the USA but he fortunately was able to get on his way to Buenos Aires and then on onto El Calafate. The plan was to fly from there but they had to drive because of the high winds. Once at Jurrasic Lake Lodge it was game on. The lodge is located quite close to the Barrancoso River where many of the gigantic rainbows were staging for spawning. The rainbows in the river were lots of fun to catch. Many of them gigantic!
Dr. Bill related that a size 12 baby damsel was amazing. It was scud like and that is the main food that makes these rainbows gargantuous. A lot of the lake and river fishing was sight fishing. That makes everything so exciting. A size 12 Glen's Leech and a Bruised Balanced Leech worked great out on the lake as did a hopper dropper set up with a big Chubby Chernobyl and a Copper John below. The dry fly fishing was sporadic but Bill did catch some on his big black foam chernobyl.
Wind, yes there is wind and at times it is crazy strong. That will make casting tough and will test your creativity! But the wind is all part of the experience!
Bill's largest rainbow topped out at 17 pounds. That is impressive. Yes, there are rainbows to 30 pounds in this system. Bill had days where he caught 40 of these super sized rainbows. That would definitely be an amazing experience!
At the end of the trip, the twin otter was able to fly in and get the guests back to El Calafate.
Below is a photo essay of his great adventure. Enjoy!
Note: The photos are courtesy of Dr. Bill Young and Llewellyn Claven (from the lodge).
How many gigantic rainbows can you see?
Yep, there is wind alright!
The guides are tracking the rainbows by tagging them.
A baby damsel is a great scud pattern!
Time to head home!
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