Fly fishing for rainbow trout is one of the most exciting and yet relaxing things for me to do.  These beautiful fish seem to be scattered about in extremely beautiful places around the world.  Combine that with their fight to the death attitude and incredible jumping skills you have on exciting gamefish.

This page is just a little to wet your fly fishing appetite with a little instruction and a little fun. You can find rainbow trout at 5 of our destination countries: Alaska , Russia, Argentina, Chile, and New Zealand if you ever need help planning a trip to one of these areas please let me know.

       Table of Contents

1. Moraine Creek  Rainbows, a tale of a very big fish

2. Fly Fishing Egg Patterns in Alaska

3.The Sauce Worm Hatch in Argentina

3 A Few of the Best Trout Flys

4. Large Arbor Reels

5. Chilean Majesty< /font>

MORAINE CREEK RAINBOWS

I concentrated on the large shadow that was too big to be a fish, until it moved. “Oh my God!” was my only response when it finally moved a few inches to the side to pick up an egg. This trout easily outweighed the bright red salmon spawning all over the run. My guide estimated it was at least 30” maybe pushing 32” and well over ten pounds.

We were floating the Moraine for a week at the end of August. Our group consisted of Craig, Jim, Greg, Mike and our guide Ed. The float plane had touched down on Spectacle Lake, nestled in the snow patched mountains just the day before. The wind and drizzle had been an excellent motivator as we rushed to set up the rafts and start down fabled Moraine Creek. Our goal was the junction of Funnel Creek where Ed assured us there were lots of big trout. That was yesterday, today I was staring at the biggest trout I had ever seen. I was hoping to maintain control of my heart rate but I wasn’t doing very well, it was pounding. Wisely, we decid ed to make a few casts well short and up stream of the fish just to get the line out without the danger of spooking him.

This took my mind off my heart and we soon had the right amount of line out for the cast. Only 25 feet or so, diagonally upstream. The small orange glo-bug sank towards the bottom and I began to watch my indicator. I guess Ed was watching the fish cause he hollered and I instinctively set the hook even though I didn’t see the indicator move. The next scene is eternally engraved in my mind; the fish raced downstream and rocketed straight out of the water, suspended two feet over the water with the early morning sunlight adding to the surreal effect.

I guess my mouth was hanging open, because the next thing I heard was Ed yelling to run down stream after my trout. It was about 50 yards downstream in the next run, showing no signs of slowing down. I lifted the rod high to keep the line off the rocks and started down after him. The next 15 minutes were a tug of war that I finally won, sliding the fish into the shallows where it turned on its side. Thirty inches and 12 pounds of rainbow trout lay at my feet. A quick picture and we had the fish back in the current and it swam gently away disappearing into the clear water. The Moraine produced dozens of big fish for us that week but that fish will be the one I remember. The large trout from the Alagnak River and Kukaklek Lake travel miles up the creek in August to feast on the sockeye eggs. I for one am glad they do!

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FISHING WITH EGGS IN ALASKA

Egg fishing is almost as exciting to me as dry fly fishing. Before you say that I am nuts and you’ll never go on a trip with me again, hear me out! I have fished in Alaska for years and I have become a fairly accomplished egg drifter. The part that makes it exciting is that you have more than the dry fly to worry about. You have an indicator on top and a fly on the bottom and you need to keep track of both. Add to the m ix sight fishing in clear water where you can see the fish, the egg and the indicator and it starts to be clear this is fun!

During those encounters I actually watch the fish and my indicator at the same time. It’s sort of like an experienced videographer that watches through the cameras eyepiece and out of their free eye to see the rest of the world. With a dry fly you have to get the drift right just like you do with a nymph or egg but the strike is usually obvious, you watch the fly and the fish eats it and you’re on, Don’t get me wrong, that’s still the best but when you sight fish with eggs you add a third dimension.

Detecting the take is a combination of watching th e indicator and the behavior of the fish at the same time. Sometimes the take is obvious: the fish moves a foot to the fly and the indicator sucks down with a vengeance. Other times the indicator doesn’t move but the fish ate something when your fly should have been there, still other times the action of the fish can be followed by the tick of the indicator giving you just enough warning to set the hook just before they spit it out. The intense concentration needed is what makes it so exciting. The fact that these are the 5-1 5 pound trout of the Moraine doesn’t hurt either!

So the next time you are nymphing or egging with an indicator get three dimensional and start thinking about what is going on below the surface. In most situations you won’t be able to see the fish take the fly but there are a few things you can do to increase your odds in detecting the take. Here is the golden rule: the indicator should be downstream of the fly and the indicator should be fairly tight to the weight and fly. It seems obvious, but in order to see the indicator move the fly must be in the fishes mouth and then the leader must come tight to the indicator as it floats downstream before the fish drops the fly.

The first thing you can do to help is to watch your cast and notice where your fly lands in relation to your indicator. Most casts will be 3/4 up and across the current. You want the fly and the weight to land upstream of the indicator. This way if a fish takes it quickly you will notice the take right away as the fly is already tight to the indicator. If the fly landed downstream of the indicator the fly will start to sink to the bottom . If the fish takes the fly at this point then the indicator will float uninterrupted without any sign of a strike until it comes tight downstream of fly. The fish has had plenty of time to eat the fly and spit it out.

Eventually the indicator will float downstream of the fly and you will be able to detect strikes again. So make sure the fly lands up stream of the indicator or you will miss a lot of takes. Don’t be afraid to give the fly a little jig once in a while to make sure the system is tight. If you always keep in mind the golden rule that the indicator should be downstream of the fly and be fairly tight to the weight and fly then you can start to apply to different situations. If you are throwing the fly into fast water while the indicator is sitting in slow water, you’ll rarely detect the strike. The fly simply lifts off the bottom and swings downstream below the indicator. Sure, aggressive rainbows like we have in Alaska may still eat the egg or nymph even when it is not presented well, but there is no sense relying on the fish to be completely stupid.

The next thing I have learned while fishing egg patterns in Alaska is to get long drifts. The first few seconds after the cast you are just waiting for the fly to reach the bottom. If it ain’t at the fish’s eye level he probably won’t eat it. On an standard up and across cast in fast current, the fly may reach the bottom when it has drifted just about in front of you. Now you are fishing. If you pick it up here to recast you have wasted a cast. Lift the line off the water without bumping the indicator and throw a nice upstream mend and continue to feed a little extra slack in the line. If your fly line looks tight to the indicator you are probably pulling the fly off the bottom. I like to see at least a little curl of the fly line near the indicator to make sure it is a dead drift. Once you get the hang of feeding slack into the drift without yanking the indicator you can get some very long drifts. As some of you know we can get away with large yarn indicators in Alaska so I can see them 75 feet downstream. These long drifts can be deadly as your fly is at the fishes level for a lot longer period of time. This technique then creates a new problem. Setting the hook with more slack than you are used to.

A simple “water strike” will work by setting the hook sweeping the rod low and to the side. The water tension along the line will create enough movement in the fly to set the hook. Practice a few times by throwing too much slack and see what you can do to set t he hook and make the indicator jump a bit. If there is not much slack in the line, a standard lift strike will do the trick. Don’t be afraid to set the hook. If it might be a strike set the hook. I fish with some people that say “Oh, that was the bottom” Maybe, sometimes you can feel the difference but eight times out of ten that tick will look the same whether it is bottom or a fish. Set the hook!! You’ll see me rip the line out like a fool sometimes just cause I think, I sort of, maybe saw the indicator move. If you don’t overreact once in awhile ending up with the line and fly draped all over you then you probably are missing takes. Golden rule #2: When in doubt, set the hook. Maybe this will help take some of the mystery out of Alaska style egg fishing. It is an easy technique to master and almost as rewarding as dry fly fishing.

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The Sauce Worm Hatch in Argentina

As most fly-fishermen are aware, trout feed and behave differently as we move from one river to another. Also, hatches and food sources change from river to river.

But, what happens when we move to different continents and even opposite Hemispheres?? Well, the answer is LOTS !!!

Trout were introduced in Patagonia in the early 1900s’ , and have shown a remarkable ability to adapt to these waters. To a first timer, the rivers in Northern Patagonia don’t look very different from the rivers of Montana, Idaho or Wyoming, with head waters high in the snowcapped mountains, running through a dense forest to drier plains and dessert like areas. But if you look a little closer, you see that the entire ecosystem is different. The rainbows and browns really behave differently than their relatives in the northern Hemisphere.

Hatches in Patagonia are not quite as numerous and dense as the ones seen in the healthy rivers of the Rockies, but instead are slow, timid and can last for long hours, with fis h rising occasionally almost all day long.

However, there are exceptions, and one of them is the sauce worm “hatch”.

The “sauce worm” is the larvae of a small wasp that get its nourishment from the willow trees. ( Sauce is the Spanish name for willow.) The sauce trees line most of the banks of the famous rivers in Argentina’s Northern Patagonia R egion.

This small, light green worm is anything between 10 to 25 mm long, and in the long days of summer they feed lazily on the freshly grown leaves of the “sauce” trees. In the second half of January, and some times until the first half of February, they are so numerous, that the “sauces” only have a few leaves remaining. They eat the upper sections of the trees first where the Patagonian winds sweep the worms away which protects the trees from extinction. It is during this time that the worms start to fall from the trees to the river. They are close to reaching their pupa stage and are slow and insecure in their movements. Since they have eaten all the leaves to which they cling, the slightest breeze will shake thousands of them into the water. The trout are waiting below every tree for this free lunch. This is one of the few ”hatches” that will move even the biggest fish away from their lies in deeper water to the waters near the banks under the trees to feed on this “rainfall” of worms. Trout will feed heavily all day long on these worms and they can become very selective, which will frustrate any angler that arrives without the proper imitations. The imitations need to float at different levels throughout the day. In the morning, with cooler air the surface film is stronger and most worms will not break it in their fall, so a floating worm imitation is needed. As the water warms up, some of them will start to sink very slowly, maybe only an inch or two, so you will have to be prepared with some very slow sinking imitations.

Hook size ranges from 16 to 12, with 14 being the most versatile imitation. These imitations should be tied on dry fly hooks, or very light nymph hooks as we want them to either float or sink very slowly. Casting has to be precise, as these fish are wild and thus very spooky. Tippets will range from 5x to 4x, depending on the size of the fish and how many flies are you willing to leave hanging on the trees above !!!

(Esteban Etchpare is the head guide of Flymaniacs a guide service in northern Patagonia. Ed and Lisa will be joining Esteban for the sauce worm season in late January. We will float the Alumine river for 6 days. The cost of the trip is $2495 per person)

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Large Arbor Reels - Should I get one?

Large Arbor reels offer some great advantages over standard reels but with all the reels out there how can you make a choice. The main advantages of a large arbor reel are the ability to retrieve line at a faster rate, a smoother start up to the drag, and a consistent drag setting even with lots of line off the reel. Some of the better large arbors will pickup about 10 inches of line with each revolution of the reel wh ich when faced with a large rainbow racing at you or a bonefish that turns toward you is a huge advantage. The drag starts smoother on a large arbor because of the added diameter of the reel. The added leverage just means that it is smoother and easier to pull the first inch of line off a reel that is 4 inches in diameter rather than a reel that is 2 inches in diameter. The drag will also be smoother as it is not racing at a million RPMS to keep up with the outgoing line. The drag will also remain more consistent if you get way into your backing. With a standard reel, the spool diameter gets smaller and smaller as more line goes out which means the drag actually gets tighter. With a large arbor the diameter doesn’t change nearly as much. One tip is to look for a large arbor designed as a large arbor which usually means a wider frame than a standard reel. Many large arbors are just as light as standard reels as well. I am using large arbors for all my fresh and saltwater fishing these days. I recommend you try one!!

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Chilean Majesty

The snowcapped Osorno Volcano loomed on the horizon overshadowing the other beauty surrounding us. We were in the town of Petrohue on Lagos de los Santos where we boarded the 18 foot Lund and motored across the lake to the inlet of Cayutue Creek. I was accompanied by Rene the head guide at Yan Kee Way . Rene’s family owns a farm in this preserve and is the only guide who has permission to tread on these private lands. The forest like you would expect in Brazil or Costa Rica with huge tress covered in vines and moss. It is a sub tropical rainforest is that makes this area the prettiest place I have ever fished. The green forest, the aqua stained water and the huge volcano with its glaciers shining in the morning sun is something I yearn for as I write this. We hiked a short distance up stream searching the water for signs of a big trout. The water is so clear that we had to stay well back from the bank. Rene spotted a large brown and sent me 20 yards upstream to give it a go. My Olive sculpin hit the far bank and bounced back into the current. As the fly swung near our intended target Rene ‘s yell of “ he’s on it” was just what I wanted to hear. To our dismay the big brown turned and headed back to his lie. A few more casts with different flies did little to change his mood. Rene moved us cross country reentering the stream a mile up river at a gorgeous pool littered with submerged trees that had fallen in the river. They were angled and tangled at different levels but obviously a home for big fish. The olive sculpin brought success on the first cast. A 3 pound brown , unlike any I had seen before, extremely silver with fewer but brighter spots. I lost another good brown quickly as it raced under a tree coming out the other side without my fly in its mouth. I waded carefully out one of the fallen trees with its trunk about 36 inches in diameter until I was almost in the middle of the creek. I looked straight upstream and saw a large swirl about 40 feet away. I threw the sculpin with a curve near the target and stripped pretty fast to keep the fly moving down stream. The fish rocketed out from its lair under a tree and missed the fly altogether. A few more casts yielded nothing. I tied on a white wooly bugger, made the same cast with the same results; a spectacular attempt at a take. A few flies later and it was clear he had me figured out. On the far side of the pool there was a cliff with a few dense limbs overhanging the edge. Out of the corner of my eye I noticed a ripple in the water and then a fish charging the edge of the cliff with 4” baitfish leaping from the water. The next scene was amazing, this brown trout charged again but this time launched itself out of the water landing on a small ledge on the cliff. It flopped calmly once and fell back in the water. This was a big brown, maybe 8 pounds! I gathered my jaw and my wits and threw the white wooly bugger at him, too much at him as it landed on its tail. The fish rocketed forward under the overhanging tree limb and I thought I had blown it. It turns out the trout was racing after more baitfish when I thought he had spooked! This time I was calm and even though I couldn’t see the fish I knew by the commotion that he was still headed upstream. I threw the fly on the upstream side of the tree and gave a few short strips and saw the fish glide towards my fly as he sucked it in and relaxed. The next strip went tight I was into a silver leaping running brown that luckily liked the surface more the trees strewn on th e bottom. A few minutes later and the fat 26 inch long, 18 inch round, brown trout was released. Wow, I love this place!

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My Favorite Trout Flys
Table of Contents:
1. Wool Head Sculpin
2. Prince Nymph

The Wool Head Sculpin

HOOK: Tiemco 300 #4.

THREAD: Olive 3/0.

TAIL AND BODY: Olive Rabbit (Zonker style) strip

UNDERBODY: Lead wire (optional)

FINS: Olive hen saddle hackle.

HEAD: Wool

1. Wrap thread to rear of hook
2. wrap some lead wire around mid section of the hook
3. Tie in a rabbit strip for the tail leaving a few inches in front (for body)
4. Wrap the thread forward (leaving plenty of room for the head)
5. Palmer wrap the rabbit strip forward to form the body, tie off and trim
6. Tie in a pectoral fin (hen hackle) on each side.
7. Clip a 1/4' squarechunk of wool from the hide and place on top just in front of the fin, tie off tightly ( it doesn't spin like deer hair and you want most of the bulk to be on top.
8. Clip some more wool and push back your last bunch and repeat the process till you complete your head ( I use about 3 or 4 clumps)
9. trim the head flat on the bottom wedge shaped when viewed from above and round the top as shown above.

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Prince Nymph