This story takes place in Limay Medio, that mecca for fishermen in northern Patagonia. It is that that section of the river that originates in Lake Nahuel Huapi about 20 km from Bariloche and that travels to the Upper Valley to converge with the Neuquén and give life to the Negro River, it is a wonderful place to go and try your luck with the rod and flies. And if it goes well, catch and return one of those giant trout that come up the river from the reservoir Ramos Mexia that generated the construction of a hydroelectric plant The Chocón with its 86 meter high wall. There, in that delta of arms and slides, the adventures of the guide Pablo Oscar Blasco and his friends from the Limay Medio Desembocadura group take place. Before the close of the season, guide Diego Rodríguez, who He was his teacher 26 years ago To teach him the secrets of this world that they are passionate about, he located him on social networks after so long without seeing each other and suggested he go fishing. What happened after? Here Paul tells the story.
Reunion in Limay Medio, the mecca of fishermen in Patagonia
“We met again with Diego Rodríguez, a great guide and fishing teacher,” Pablo begins.
«26 years ago, he was one of the great fishing teachers I had. Several of the good fishermen out there came from his hand, from those classes. And currently, he is one of the best guides that the Middle Limay has,” he adds.
«Diego located me through social networks to go on a fishing trip. Imagine that I couldn’t refuse the invitation. I told a friend, César (the Russian) and we went there,” he continues.
Heading to Santo Tomas
«We head to Santo Tomas, a town of 700 inhabitants, which is located before reaching Piedra del Águila, about 15 km. The access is at km 1429 of National Route 237. From there you have to do 20 km of gravel,” he details.
«In this town known for its mining water springsl, Diego set up a lodge that provides lodging and fishing services. We arrived on Sunday night. With a few talks in between, we went to sleep to start early », he describes.
«In the morning we were already in the river. With the effort we were able to catch and return some good trout and others left. We floated in a ranch, 10 km of incredible places. And while we were fishing we remembered some anecdotes and laughed. “It was fun,” he continues.
«After several bites we arrived at a place where Diego said that if we put the flies in the right place with a good shot we would have good bites. And so it was: indeed, the water ‘exploded’. The three of us said ‘there she is, that’s the one we came to look for. We tried to get her closer to the coast, but she wouldn’t let us. At one point, when we were about to take it out, it came loose. That was really big,” he says.
«Then we continued and Diego told us ‘We fish here for sure’. And so it was: she caught one of the brown ones in the photos. He already knew that the trout was there. Incredible. We took some photos, returned it, toasted and gave each other a hug. “After 20 years of not fishing together, it couldn’t have been better.”
