THE RIVER OF MONSTERS

On my Mac, on the walls of the office, on Le Mouching’s pages, in my heart, in my head, everywhere. Argentina, one of the few places in the world where I feel at home and I surround myself with pictures of it everywhere. And in Argentina we have several buddies, Chip Drozenski is one of them !

I have been lucky to fish many great trout rivers, but the Limay Medio in Argentina is a destination for everyone’s bucket list if trophy trout fishing is your game. The river features Bows on steroids up to 5k and BIGGG Browns up to who the hell knows ………. but 5 to 8 k fish are caught regularly. No sea runs here!! On my last trip in April 2011, I had (8) fish over 4k, one 5.5k and my personal best of 6.5k. Interestingly all were caught on #8 streamers with small profiles.   The mighty Limay River, flows for about 300 miles from its source, Lake Nahuel Huapi near San Carlos de Bariloche until it joins the Neuquen River to form the Rio Negro River on its final destination to the Atlantic Ocean. It has five dams and is a massive tailwater. It is the stretch between the Pichi Picún Leufú Dam and Exequiel Ramos Mejia Reservoir that is called  ‘ Limay Medio ’ ( middle Limay) or better yet  the ‘ River of MONSTERS’  a name justly earned.  As a result of the dam, the Reservoir creates a great source for minnows that are ‘ trout candy ‘ for these fish, producing rapid growth rates, allowing many trophy sized fish to grow fast and reach unbelievable sizes.  The minnow hatch is something to see– something you’re not likely to seen in many places…….. big fish rodeo style herding minnows into a confined area and busting them on top. If this doesn’t get your heart racing check with a doctor. You may be dead!!