On The Fly: Two Anglers, Two Epic Trips, Too Many Fish to Count
At Chums we're neutral on the saltwater versus freshwater argument, but this year we told two of our ambassadors to choose a side, a destination, and to come back with their best pitch for which trip you should go on next.
F R E S H W A T E R
WHO: JOE EVANS
WHERE: PATAGONIA, ARGENTINA
WHAT: BROWN & RAINBOW TROUT
"We're trout fishermen, so where there's trout, we go all in. The travel is long, but the culture in Argentina, the beauty of their streams, the wine, the food, and the overall experience brings us back every single time." — Joe Evans
We LOVE visiting our friends from Aguas Arriba ESPN. They are our family now. Pablo, the host of Aguas Arriba ESPN, is the kindest, most loving angler I’ve ever met in the fly fishing community. He always shows us the greatest streams, introduces us to the best guides, and gives us a hell of an experience. The trout fishing always just speaks for itself.
Travel Fish Film hosted myself and two friends for a week with Aguas Arriba Club’s travel program. We fished through POL (Patagonia Outdoor Logistics) for a week out of San Martín de los Andes. We stayed in a hotel, then set out for our first night and two days on the Chimehuin River. This river was the most scenic for sure, and the dry dropper fishing was epic.
We came back to the hotel, cleaned up, and went back out for two days and one night on the Alumine River. The small dry fly head hunting and trout spey on this river was rad. After that we set out for two nights and three days on the Collón Curá River. Here we captured the pullin minnow migration from the lake and the fishing was lights out. The small streamer game was out of this world. We caught so many fish 16–22” it was silly! Both Browns and Rainbows.
The coolest part of this trip was that we didn’t spend the majority of the time at a “lodge,” and instead we got to FISH sun up to sun down as we camped on the river. Nothing beats river camping.
WADERS & FOUL WEATHER GEAR
ALWAYS come to Patagonia regardless of the season. In March, it is spring in Idaho, but March in Patagonia is early fall! So we experienced all types of bipolar weather—from wet rain and cold to bright, hot sunny days.
FLY RODS AND ALL THE FLIES
It's difficult to bring them all, but there’s nothing more fun than presenting all the new modern patterns that exist in the USA to an Argentine guide. They always have a blast picking flies from our box, and the trout get to see new patterns they are not familiar with!
Sunglasses are one of the most important things on any fishing trip anywhere…for protecting your eyes and for seeing fish through the water. So bring a case that will keep those expensive lenses scratch-free through your travels.
This has become one of my favorite things to travel with. In here, I keep my AirPods, passport, wallet, airline tickets, gum, iPhone, cash, and a phone charger. This does not leave my person when going through airports and 24 hours of travel.
I always bring retainers down on my travels, and many extras, because I see guides all around the world treating their sunglasses like gold (as they should). So, my favorite gift to my guide for the day or week is a fresh CHUMS retainer. They always appreciate it and put them on right away to preserve the life of their sunglasses. As a fisherman, they are essential. The crowd favorite this time was DEFINITELY the brown trout retainer. Who DOESN’T love brown trout!? But then, a handful of the guides got excited about the brook trout because there are quite a few in the area.
S H O P F R E S H W A T E R G E A R
S A L T W A T E R
WHO: THE SO FLY CREW
WHERE: AMBERGRIS CAYE, BELIZE
WHAT: PERMIT, BONEFISH, BARRACUDA, TARPON, & TRIGGER FISH
"Although we're super lucky to travel the world to fly fish, one of our favorite saltwater destinations is Ambergris Caye in Belize. We love it because it's a "golf cart island" meaning we can patrol on carts looking east towards the flats, hop off the carts and wade in search of permit, bonefish, barracuda, and tarpon." — Aldo Pescatore
The island is off the mainland in Belize and shares a border with Mexico on the north end of the island. It's a quick flight from Belize City, about 15 mins, on a commuter plane through Tropic Air landing in San Pedro on the island. San Pedro is a bustling tourist town full of everything you need. You could stay in San Pedro at hotels, resorts, hostels or Airbnb it up and there's ample grocery stores, bars, and even two fly fishing shops to get you on the water.
We love it because it's a "golf cart island" meaning you land, rent a few carts, and you can explore from there. Fishing wise, the north end of the island is sparsely inhabited so we snagged an Airbnb in the northern part of the island. The island is protected to the east by the world's second largest barrier reef. Ambergris Caye is the only place ON EARTH where a barrier reef meets the land. Which makes for great fishing but also snorkeling/scuba. We love going there because of the ease of the DIY access to the fishing.
We brought four pals with us to explore the flats. We rented three golf carts and loaded them with fishing gear, food, and some cold beers and we hit the flats every day from sun up to sun down. We spent six days fishing, four days of exploring on our own and two days exploring with guides. On the days we spent by ourselves we'd patrol the beach on our golf carts looking eastward onto the flats. When we'd see some likely fish activity we'd hop off the carts and wade the flats in search of permit, bonefish, barracuda, tarpon, and trigger fish.
This is a must. Wether on the boat or wading the flats you want to keep all the gear we're listing DRY. You'll be in and out of the water and encountering rain so keeping your stuff dry is essential. We love the Rolltop dry bag solutions from the Storm Duffle to the Sling Pack. These bags keep your gear handy but dry. Plus these rolltops are also great for fitting oddly shaped things (like cameras).
FLY ROD
We were there in February so the likelihood of targeting tarpon from the beach were low, meaning, we were going to focus on bonefish and smaller permit from the beach. We'd say a 9 foot 8 weight — for the bones/reef fish/triggers/small permit it's a great all around set up. If you were to bring a second rod we'd say bring a 10 weight for the tarpon/barracuda/Jack Crevalle.
REUSABLE WATER BOTTLE
The bigger the better. Long full days under the sun require a lot of hydration so for us this is essential.
FLIES
It's honestly endless. But we think a strong-arm shrimp pattern in a tan color is an essential fly. Permit eat it, triggers eat it, bonefish eat it. If we had to bring one fly, this would be it.
You're fishing more with your eyes than your rod on the flats. You need to be able to spot fish cruising the flats before you ever cast to them so having a pair of polarized sunnies is ideal for the trip. But if you don't keep 'em safe with a Chums retainer you're insane. We love the original cotton retainers in the saltwater prints — the Spanish Mackerel pattern was the favorite for this trip. They hang off your back in a relaxed way and can be adjusted tight to hold them on your head in high winds or running the boat. Love 'em.
This is a no-brainer for when you're walking the flats. Keep your phone handy and salt-free. You can take wicked pics and have a quick "housing" for your phone.
S H O P S A L T W A T E R G E A R
