The Isle de Chiloe is a great place to explore with customers and offers a variety of things to see while you're visiting the island. Untouched beaches and vistas matched with endless countryside roads that lead to breath-taking ocean cliffs, tropical rain forests, and coastal communities where the people will go out of their way to give you a wave or say hello. Life is simple here on the island, Chilotes don't care or really want to know about world politics, or whether or not the United States or Iraq will get their "shiFt" together someday. Locals measure wealth by how many stacks of wood you have for your family for the oncoming winter, or by how many matés (Herbal Chilean Tea) you drink in the morning to start your day off right. Island favorites prepared by locals include: Curanto, Milcao and a drink called, Licor de Oro (liquor of gold). The island is about 180Km long (approx 120 miles) and half that in width. It is the second largest land mass island in South America, next to Terra del Fuego. It has 5 volcanoes, other glacial-peaked mountain tops and fiords (glacial valleys), which can be viewed from the shores of the island in several locations. The main cities are Ancud, at the top of the island and Quellon, at the bottom, with the capital city of Castro, being located in the middle on the east side. Since 1609, the native Mapuche and Chonos, have tried to be changed by Spanish Conquistadors, Jesuits and the Missionaries. Many churches are the remnants of these crusaders which and have left their mark in many locations on the island. The churches are beautiful in appearance, but it's the people who are truly priceless in their daily endeavors. Charles Darwin visited here in 1838, and recorded that 11,000 native Mapuche inhabited the island and continued on his journey up north of here to the Galapagos Islands. The island is picturesque, like out of a painting you once saw as a child, so innocent and free. Surreal in so many ways how the scenes of the island can elevate you to a horizon almost heavenly-like. The people are proud in heritage and tradition, and many of the homes you see on the island are like the countryside, painted in pastel colors of purple, red, pink, green & blue which to me, represents the dedication that these people have in keeping this island unique and theirs for all to see. It's a special place on earth, a romantic encounter in life where zen meets the mystic and five minutes from that place, there isn't a another person left on earth.jt
So there I was in an internet shop in the town of Futaleufu, when a man named Craig Mitchell, emailed me about coming down to Chile this season. He found me on the web, but after seeing my website adventures, he was convinced on coming down to check it out first hand! We fished him on the Rio Petrohue in high water and he hooked into many trout--even in the rapids. (Having knowledge about high stick nymphing can really pay off especially on the high water days..More weight please!)
Some of the bigger ones we just couldn't get landed, but it's the entire experience that makes for a great day out on any river. Craig kept saying it's just nice to be away from work as he cleared out the cobwebs and rust from not fly fishing for a while...
Meanwhile, Greta, Craig's daughter, and I headed over to check Petrohue Falls and shoot some photos. Greta is a freshmen at the University of Southern California, and is majoring in Spanish.
This was truly a high water year in Chile, I had never seen Pertrohue Falls so high this late in the season. But we enjoyed the high water and massive amounts of it spilling its heart over the igneous rocks that cradled the falls on its journey to the sea.
We then headed to Coachamo and had a great lunch in town, and took a 45 minute ocean lined drive over to the Rio Puelo for some more awesome views. *This is where the Rio Petrohue ends up after it leaves Petrohue Falls.(photo)
Greta and I then headed to the Isle of Chiloe. After taking the 25 minute boat ride across with the truck loaded on board, we drove to the top of a mountain where we could see the city of Ancud. I thought to myself, what a shame it will be one day when they put in a proposed bridge, extending from the mainland of Chile, across to the island thus disconnecting the need to use the ferry ships in the future, that run their lines 24 hours a day, bringing folks like us across on a short but sweet trip to nature's version of Disneyland.
Out in a boat near the Penguin zone, we could see the seasons were changing just by the amounts of water bashing against the ocean rocks and cliffs. A month earlier these oceans were near calm for Maureen Cargill from England, and now they seemed so much more angry and hostile. Fall was ever so present from our views off the bow of the boat, and the rising seas were eminent in their determination to reach shore at any means. (Just out about ten miles from here are the ginormous blue whales! I know what you're thinking, they don't make a fly rod that big....)
Yet the day was clear and the sky was blue. Perfect for taking photos. The lack of wind was another bonus none of us took for granted. Greta just went on snapping photo after photo and enjoying her time talking to the local guide who seemed to know everything about the migrating penguins, birds, and mammals that inhabited the tiny islands not out too far from shore.
We learned that the Magellagan Penguins migrate from the south up, and the Humbolt Penguins are from Peru and head south down to Chile. Penguins are birds. They have feathers, beaks and wings, and they lay eggs. They come to the Isle de Chiloe to mate and most of them lay 2 eggs. They arrive in September and leave in late March back from where they came from. Their closest relatives are other fish-eating seabirds: albatrosses, petrels and shearwaters. There are currently 17 species of penguins. They range in size from the small two-pound (the little blue penguin to the large 84-pound, 51-inch (approx) emperor penguin.) They've adapted to environments as different as Antarctic ice fields and the tropical Galapagos Islands. Yet all penguins share their ancestors' trait: they're at home in the ocean. The guide went on to say that once a penguins mates, they are together for life. (Wish we could be that way!) If the other one dies, the surviving penguin is solo for the rest of its life. (Wow! that's like a love story from the Mt Shasta area. "Shasta Shuffle" is gruesome Sizzlers, don't get caught up in that vortex!)
And yet another awesome view for us and you to see.
We then took a drive to a section of beach I knew from the past and saw a local Chilote gathering up sea-weed to sell at the market probably in Ancud, to be later made into a local traditional soup. Other than that we saw no other people except the ones helping the man on the beach, taking the sea-weed by horse back out on our way back.
Greta enjoyed this playa completely covered by shells from the ocean.
I showed her this part of the island where there were caves carved out from the ocean tides, obviously this force of water that comes in here in the winter months must be massive, if not destructive in their nature. Of course this didn't happen overnight, or over one winter.This was an event that took place over thousands of years. Earthquakes, tsunamis and other natural phenomenons helped shape the structure we had in our views.
So later that night another phenomenon happened that we had no control over, a fire in the Colones Hotel in Puerto Varas! It started in the kitchen in the vent over the main stove and burned the hotel down. Many people from the United States were seen outside of the blazing inferno in nothing other than robes and underwear at 1am. in the morning. So when we got the call the next day that this had happened, and many of the same tour people would be on the same airplane we needed for Craig and Greta from Chaiten to Puerto Montt for March 19th. Later their flight was cancelled due to this tragedy. People lost passports, money and all means for their travel and had to be taken to back to Santiago. This completely changed the dynamics of our trip. We had no flight back available from Chaiten to Puerto Montt on Craig and Greta's last day! Their flight left from Puerto Montt at 4:20 pm, on March 19th and believe you-me, this is no U.S. when it comes to quick changes. Poncho and I sat down and tried to devise a new plan. We decided to fish one more day on the Rio Maullin and take a ferry over to Chaiten, which only goes there on Mondays and Thursdays (our only choice with such little notice!). In other words, we would do the trip backwards and come out through Bariloche, Argentina and on the last day drive Craig and Greta back to make their flight just in time! *This was a picture of Craig in front of our ferry boat in the town of Quellon, on the Isle of Chiloe*
We made it over to Chaiten, picked up the boats that were already there and then the rains came in! And I mean it rained, like no rain I had never seen before in my entire life! We spent the better part of a day inside not doing much. Craig and Greta made the best of things, though, Craig reading and Greta studying for her Schooling at USC. Later on the rain slowed, and Poncho and Greta headed out to Amirillo Hotsprings, while I took Craig out on Lago Yelcho. This can be a low-point as a guide outfitter cause you always want the best for the customers. You want them to have good weather, catch big trout and have a memorable trip. Especially someone who is as nice as Craig, coming down at the last minute bringing his daughter along for the trip of a lifetime, but some things in life we just don't have control over. Weather can always be a factor in Chile, on any month, on any day of the year. It's just not like California here and maybe that what makes it so special in an intrinsic sense.
So Craig and I put on our waders and headed out on Lago Yelcho. Things started out good by Craig having a good trout bite, but it ended up just being a bump. The rained stopped completely and off in the distance we both saw this beautiful rainbow that seemed to be pointing us in a direction where we needed to be. I shot a picture, and then headed over towards it remembering in past guide trips this season with Clay Hash and Henry Hossfeld, trout were caught in this vicinity.
It was like someone or something was pointing us in the right direction, could it be the Sky Pilot? I rubbed my lucky trout ring and continued closer and closer and the rainbow grew larger and more brilliant, I knew we were on to something. In all my years of guiding I truly believe in signs, this seemed to be one if you know what I mean!
And though it was meant to be written some day in a book, a trout of enormous proportions bit Craig's hook and sent his reel a fly'in!! The first time I finally saw it come to the surface I knew it was big. I knew it was the biggest trout Craig had ever had on his line! This is truly classic, Sizzlers, cause the stress from all the changes on this trip and the rain had left in an instant when that fish hit his fly on that special "Rainbow Gathering Day!" Craig landed the trout after a long fight, and I would like to mention he did it in pro form.
Craig, CONGRATULATIONS!!! YOU'RE MY SIZZLER OF THE WEEK!!!
The next day we had more action on the Rio Yelcho, and saw many trout rising in the eddies. Craig caught a nice steelhead shown here in the picture.Then the rain started up again and I was rowing in the worst wind I had ever encountered in my life! Craig said he loved it and work was so boring compared to this, I laughed, agreed and continued rowing in stiffest wind, possible 50 miles per hour gust!
And like that we made it to the Argentine border, where Craig and Greta posed for a shot under the Argentine border map. All in all, the trip was longer...more driving than any of us wanted to do, but in the end it was worth it. I've talk to Craig and he's ready to come back next year. Chile is magical and Chile has weather. It's wild and undiscovered, undammed and unpredictable. In some of the rivers, it has the biggest trout, and in some of them it has no trout at all. It has unbelievable scenic beauty, mountain glaciers, and it has wind, rainstorms and clouds. In a given week if you can witness most of the things that are special to you, you've had a good trip. Once you leave here, there are Chileans that live in it for the entire winter, and then it's worse than what you saw. After Craig and Greta left, it got sunny again for almost a week. Fall cycles in and out this time of year, but remember in Patagonia, Chile the weather can change for the good or bad at anytime.**STAY TUNED SIZZLERS AS I TAKE MY GOOD FRIEND CHRISTIAN BENITEZ OUT FLY FISHING ON THE RIO PETROHUE AFTER EVERYONE LEAVES AND HEAD OFF TO THE NINTH REGION TO CHECK OUT SOME OTHER RIVERS!!!** THANKS FOR WATCHING, JACK TROUT
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