Finally the rain has arrived! The week started with the usual low-water conditions we’ve seen through Jan. and Feb., but by midweek it poured. In the headwaters it rained hard and the river swelled a couple of inches, got murky, and sent a pile of debris drifting toward the ocean. The mainstem eventually came up another 4 to 6 inches before clearing, while the spike sent fish moving upstream—fast.
Our wind situation was also notable… for its nuclear qualities. One day, in particular, we got pummeled with 80-mph (120-km/h) gusts. The wise thing to do was to avoid it until evening time, when it dropped and we ventured out to catch fish.
Even with all this weather madness, fishing has been excellent and the river continues to deliver formidable sea trout. The usual setups of short, heavy sinking-tips with small flies produced early on. But we changed to longer tips and bigger, starkly silhouetted flies when the water clarity diminished. Of course, we stuck with Skagit heads because they’re best for throwing those long, heavy tips and leech-style flies.
We had three first timers at the lodge and they did great. Tony landed 22- and 23-pound fish. Dave had a 21 and 23 pounder. And John caught a cracking 25-pound hen! Congratulations guys, well done.
Largest fish of the week: 25 lbs.
Fish over 20 lbs: 6
Fish over 15 lbs: 25
Alejandro Martello
Villa Maria Lodge Fishing Manager
