North American Trout – Bear Lake Cutthroat

Bear Lake Cutthroat

The turquoise waters of Bear Lake, bisected by the state lines of northern Utah and southern Idaho, are home to a beautifully hued cutthroat trout, known locally as a “bluenose trout”. The snout and back of this fish can be deep azure; its flanks are silvery blue and green with black spots; and its pectoral, pelvic and anal fins are tinted orange.

Bear Lake is surrounded by high chaparral desert and situated at 6,000 feet (1,829) above sea level. The days are hot and clear, the evenings are cool, and the water is deep and clean. In late winter and springtime, and again in autumn, anglers flock to the 20-mile-long (32 km) lake to catch large cutthroat and lake trout (Salvelinus namaycush). Bear Lake cutthroat trout have been known to reach well over 20 pounds (9 kg), but anglers can generally expect to catch fish from 22 to 24 inches (56-61 cm) and 3 to 4 pounds (1.4-2.3 kg). Lake trout are stocked heavily and commonly grow to be 10 to 15 pounds (4.5-6.8 kg).

When trout in Bear Lake reach a certain size they become piscivorous (fish-eating) and grow large on a diet of the lake’s endemic forage fishes, such as the Bonneville cisco (Prosopium gemmifer), the Bonneville whitefish (P. spilonotus), the Bear Lake whitefish (P. abyssicola), and the Bear Lake sculpin (Cottus extensus).

Joseph R. Tomelleri has traveled more than 135,000 miles to collect fish for his extraordinary drawings. More than one hundred of his illustrations appear in Trout and Salmon of North America (The Free Press), which Nick Lyons calls "a long overdue-and remarkable-book! [A] crowning achievement."

I have the pleasure of owning the “Trout of North America 2012 Calendar” and enjoying Joseph’s illustrations, habitat and natural history details for each month’s featured fish. I hope you enjoy them too and seek out these fish in the natural environment.

Amazon

The word speaks for itself. Just reading the word gives me goosebumps. You don’t even need a picture here. Just close your eyes and say it. Amazon

Then I remember how pressed for time I am and I start feeling nervous. Why did I wait to do everything at the last minute?

I guess I was side tracked with other stuff, but in preparing for an upcoming trip in November to Manaus, I realized I couldn’t get the Brazilian visa.

Well… I can get it, but there was one other obstacle to resolve first. My passport has every page full of stamps. If that doesn’t sound like a lot of travel, consider that I’d already added pages previously. Now I need to add more pages before I can submit the passport to the Brazilian Consulate.

So I’ve got my fingers crossed, I’ve done everything I can and it’s just a matter of waiting… and repeating that word. Amazon

Mmm. There they are again. The goosebumps.

Tacunarè.

Do you know that one? It’s pronounced pretty much like you might expect. TAK-U-NA-RAY (roll the R a little and you’ll sound like a native)

I always preferred to say Peacock Bass, but now that I’m going deep into the… Amazon… I like saying Tacunarè. It sort of compliments the goosebumps. Makes me feel a little like Joseph Conrad and Marlow, and tales of a river into the ‘heart of darkeness’.

I know pictures are supposed to accompany blog posts. They say its better for the reader; keeps ’em coming back. But sometimes the imagination is the best window into a new adventure, especially during the anticipation. Isn’t that when the trip really starts anyway?

I’ll reward my readers with pictures when I get back. I hope that will create some anticipation on their part... on your part.

In the meantime, close your eyes and whisper the word…

Deep Sea – Panama

Michael Q shared a video with me from a recent trip to Coiba Island, Panama, which is a regular trip for his crew… they’ve been doing this for a few years now.

The group’s guide was Coiba Sport Fishing’s Tom “Tarzan” Yust.

The video looks best in 720p resolution.

Enjoy!!

In search of a record

A couple of weeks ago I posted an article written by Martin Maffioli of MyM FlyCast in Tierra del Fuego. I promised to take a shot at translating the tale for my English speaking friends. What follows is what I hope to be a pretty fair representation of Martin’s account of a trip he took at the end of last years fishing season with his good friend Sebastian.

Since Trout Season is now opening again for the new year, I’m sure Martin and Sebastian are already back on the water looking to relive a little (or a lot) of last year’s experience. For the moment at least, I’m living vicariously though this experience and others. I think I’ll have to do something about that very soon…

JB

Toward the end of the fishing season, my friend Sebastian called me and we started talking about his desire to do some fishing, but his call had an ulterior motive as well. After some time, he finally confessed his desire to achieve a personal record; the largest trout of his life. I didn’t hesitate for a moment and we started to put the trip together. Soon we had reserved our location, one of the most spectacular fishing spots on the planet: the Río Grande.

Why the Río Grande? Because it has the best Sea Run Brown Trout (or “inmates” as they have been referred to a Spanish bibliography). Stocked in the 1930s, they are born in the river and at the appropriate age they migrate into the ocean to feed and grow. Meanwhile they take on a silver coloration in order to adapt to the environment and eventually return to the river, usually to mate and reproduce. Very often this does not depend on the maturity of the fish. Unlike Salmon, Trout don’t die in the process and may return several times over the years. Another advantage of the Río Grande is protected and free from pollution, excess food sources, nets or natural competitors.

The pool we fished during the morning of our trip is located in Sector 10 and is known as the “Ojo Negro” (Black Eye). There, Sebastian caught three trout of 4, 6 and 5 kilos on a #7 Sage, intermediate line and Green Machine fly.

After lunch we went back to our pool. Sebastian was shocked to see so many trout leaping about. We decided to use a similar set up to what we had used in the morning: #7 rod, extra fast line, 2.5 meter leader and the Green Machine.

Sebastian caught 4 more trout in this order; 5kg, 4kg, 6kg & 3kg until about 8pm; the magical hour of sunset, at which time we decided to change the line for a sinking 3, 1.8 meter leader and a “humpy” fly tied with a salmon hook number 4.

On one of his first casts, just as the tip of the pole started a few light taps and as the line began to tug slightly, the surface of the water exploded! A magnificent trout leapt into view. After the amazement and the spectacular runs and jumps, the 20 minutes of adrenaline were burned in Sebastian’s mind… and the camera. A spectacular 7 kilo brown trout (15.4 lbs).

By Martín Maffioli

 

River Run Brown: +15lbs

MyMFlyCast.com.ar

Tierra del Fuego – Argentina

 

Trout Season Opens – Patagonia 2010-11

I’ve started getting the fever now that trout season is upon us once again here in Argentina. Browsing through some blogs, fishing forums and other sites, I’ve accumulated a few pictures from the last 10 days to share. Enjoy.

Río Perdicitas (Córdoba)

Río Perdicitas - Darío

Río Jaime

Río Jaime - Maxi

La Hornilla

Lago Exequiel Ramos Mejía - Picún Leufú - Neuquen

Fishing Regulations 2010-2011 Patagonia

It’s finally out, just in time for trout season and anyone planning to make the journey to Argentina and fulfill a dream. I try to re-fulfill the dream every chance I get!!! 😉

Click on the image below to download the PDF document.