By Alejandro Martello - Villa Maria Lodge Fishing Manager
We have finished another fantastic week of fishing at Villa Maria Lodge. As has been happening, the weather played a leading role but without being decisive this week. However, we missed a fishing session on the 2nd as the wind backed up and reached speeds of 120 km/h, which made fly fishing quite difficult to do. So, the boys decided to take the morning off, rest, and recover strength for when the conditions were a little more appropriate.
Apart from this, the weather was very good for the rest of the week. Generally, the mornings were sunny and the afternoons were warm and cloudy, which allowed for good and sustained fishing during most of the day. The wind was light and changed direction but it never became difficult or annoying beyond the aforementioned day.
As I have said before, the fishing was good in several sectors of the river. For example, we can talk about Sandy, who in his first session of the week, managed to land fish of 20, 19, and 16 pounds, and a few smaller ones. Two guests, Hans and Mark, both achieved the best catches of their lives with fish that tipped the scales at 23 lbs.
Regarding equipment used, there were almost no changes compared to the previous week. You don’t fix what isn’t broken, right? We used rods between 11 and 13 feet in length, floating lines, and short sinking tips between 5 and 10 feet with low to medium sinking speed. Also, the selection of flies used did not vary too much. We kept choosing small flies, mainly nymphs, for the hours of greatest light, and we increased the size and switched to medium-sized streamers when the sun disappeared below the horizon.
Heavier rains are expected for next week, so there might be some changes in the water level, which will cause the fish to reposition along Villa Maria beats.
Fish over 15 lbs: 25
Average Weight: 11.2 lbs
