The 8th week of 2022 Season at Villa Maria Lodge was a little different from the others. Not because of the fishing, which was great in fact, but some of our friends couldn’t arrive due to Covid related issues leaving the house half full.
Another major difference with prior weeks was the weather. Coming from a week that topped 130km/h wind’s gusts, having a full fishing week of pleasant weather was very welcome for both the fishermen and the guides who had been being challenged since the beginning of the season.
With this calm weather and the river with low water, we had to go as fine as we could to induce the fish to take the flies. That open the chance to try almost everything we had in the box having takes with almost every technique used, but dry or skated flies. Single hand rods rigged with floating lines and tiny nymphs were as effective as more traditional setups when they were used in the right spot.
Aside from the use of light setups, we did use more traditional systems (for Rio grande fishing) like sinking tips ranging 10 to 15 feet of length with sinking rates from a classic Sink 3 (3 inches per second) to the most modern T lines, especially T11 in a range of 10 to 12 ft. depending on the pool, speed of the water and size/weight of the fly. Another substitution we made was to change the ever-ready Skaggit lines for the more subtle and lighter Scandi lines.
March is around the corner and autumn weather is about to come. Probably next week we will see some scattered rains and, hopefully, some of that water will reach the river system and raise the level of it, speeding up the pools and waking up some of the lurkers that are hiding in deep and dark stretches.
Largest fish of the week: 21 lbs.
Total Average Weight: 10,75lbs.
For current updates from the river, be sure to follow our social media accounts (@villamarialodge and @nervous_waters).
By Alejandro Martello – Villa María Lodge Fishing Manager
