It’s a curios sensation to be trout fishing in two different hemispheres on opposite ends of the globe, just a few days apart. Immediately upon returning from Patagonia, I grabbed my motor home, infamously known as the “Eagle 6” among those familiar with her exploits, and set off with several friends in search of more rising trout. A few blizzards, a couple cases of beer, and 12 hours later, we finally arrived at our destination. I couldn’t help but notice the many similarities between certain parts of Patagonia and the western US. Of course the fishing is generally much better in Patagonia, but the scenery and climate are nearly identical in most aspects. In the week prior I had literally spent 24 hrs on a bus followed by 16 hours on a plane, and another 12 hours driving, seemingly only to end up exactly where I began. It was like a weird fishing episode from the Twilight Zone or something. Only the use of English instead of Spanish, Rainer instead of Quilmes, and size #20 dries instead of #8’s reminded me of where I really was. For what it’s worth, I’ll take the fishing in Patagonia over the US any day of the week, but we definitely have better beer here. Kinda a toss up.
Lastly, big thanks goes out Seth Berling of PebblePedalers.com, who successfully navigated the Eagle 6 through the blizzard over “Dead Man’s Pass,” and then showed us how to catch finicky browns on #26 midges. I met Seth and his brother, Parker, in Argentina a couple months ago. Over the course of 18 months they pedaled their bicycles from Prudhoe Bay, Alaska, to the southernmost city in the world, Ushuaia – fishing the entire way down. If that’s not impressive I don’t know what is. It was an honor to have him along for the ride.
You must be logged in to post a comment.