From: 03/11/2016
To: 05/06/2016
Type of Water: Freshwater
Species: Steelhead
Season Report and Highlights from our second season in Santa Cruz river at Los Plateados Lodge
Season started with an unusual phenomenon, the glaciers in the headwaters of the river block the path between lakes, till the pressure of the high water accumulated in one side breaks the ice barrier and all the water flows free again. This is supposed to happen every 10 years, but this time it happened right before the first group arrived, making the river raise and get colored immediately.
Luckily no better group could have arrived for the occasion. A team of die-hard anglers from east Europe ready to show everyone (even us) that they could manage the conditions. And so they did, having all the experience of fighting an Atlantic Steelhead!
From then on the river started to drop and clea View more...Season Report and Highlights from our second season in Santa Cruz river at Los Plateados Lodge
Season started with an unusual phenomenon, the glaciers in the headwaters of the river block the path between lakes, till the pressure of the high water accumulated in one side breaks the ice barrier and all the water flows free again. This is supposed to happen every 10 years, but this time it happened right before the first group arrived, making the river raise and get colored immediately.
Luckily no better group could have arrived for the occasion. A team of die-hard anglers from east Europe ready to show everyone (even us) that they could manage the conditions. And so they did, having all the experience of fighting an Atlantic Steelhead!
From then on the river started to drop and clear up, slowly getting back to normal, demanding to constantly figure the water and the pools.
The different groups had a chance of fishing over 50 km of river, finding and naming new spots along the season. Some of the new ones like Bank, Pyramid, Viking and Forest will certainly be among the major fish producing waters in this river.
Probably one of the things that amuse most guests is the weather in this valley. Totally different to most other Patagonian environments, the Santa Cruz valley has a mild-long fall season with very little wind and warm temperatures during the day. Normally there’s some frost in the early morning but it quickly picks up into beautiful sunny afternoons.
Seeing thousands of Guanacos, wild cats and grey foxes, and the occasional possibility of finding puma tracks in the banks of the river are part of the experience. Also part of it is seeing no other human being during the whole week. We are the only operation in the Santa Cruz river, and despite of a small town in the lower end, theres no people around. No need to rush to get the good water, its all there for you.
We kept the schedule used the year before, departing at 9am to the river, with 15 to 45 minute journey to the pools. For the lunch break, a fresh made, hot, riverside meal prepared by the guides, and then back again to chase Steel, usually switching zones between groups.
For the last two weeks, and due to the shorter days, we started at 10:30 going straight till 5:30pm with quicker lunch -like some gourmet sandwiches- to save all the time for fishing.
In most cases because to the smaller groups and capability of adaptation, we are able to adjust the rotation and schedule on the daily basis, for what our guests prefer and for the weather conditions at the moment.
For the first time in our second season we ran the program into the second week of May, and the result was still a stable number of fish caught and still most of them silver fresh, a clear sign of the long run that begins in late February and goes on waiting for a spawning time between October and November.
Finally, we welcomed all suggestions from guests and agents to make this special place better and better, and good things are still to come for our next years guests. The goal is to make the facilities more comfortable with more room.
For last, the result after 6 weeks of fishing averaged 1,1 fish per angler per day -our challenge and goal since day 1, and rising from 0,9 in 2015- a clear sign of how good as a fishery this river is.
Average weight was 7,5 lb and the biggest one caught during this season was roughly over 20 lb with 95 cm of length.
We at Tres Amigos keep working hard to make Los Plateados and the Santa Cruz experience the unique, intimate program with high quality service and guiding. Join us in the trip of a lifetime!
