Tierra del Fuego & Antarctica - Argentina - page 410

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Monster Trout on the Río Grande

The north of Tierra del Fuego is a br own plain of gentle , undulating hills and
meandering rivers, punctuated by the occasional lonely estancia. It is a serene
and desolate place without so much as a tr ee or a hedge for miles. Indeed, for
many years, the only things y ou could find her e were hardy ranchers, thou-
sands of sheep, and wild herds of graceful guanacos.
One of those har dy ranchers decided t o introduce trout to the local riv ers,
with the aim of creating a diversion for himself and his fly-fishing friends. Little
did John Goodall know, when he first slipped some fingerlings int o the gentle
waters of the Río Grande back in the 1930s, that the area would become world
famous for its trout. It's now a place of annual pilgrimage for thousands of fly-
fishing fanatics. The trout thrived on the riv er, but they did ev en better when
they disc overed the rich Antar ctic fishing g rounds out t o sea. The sea run
brown trout had f ound its ideal habitat and g rown accordingly; anglers ar e
astounded to find fish as hea vy as 30 pounds. Many say the Río Grande is the
world's top location for fishing this type of trout.
Overfishing depleted stocks in the mid-1980s. In response, several estancias
that controlled the upper R ío Grande introduced strict conservation methods
and cat ch-and-release r estrictions. Their methods w orked, and no w those
same estancias enjoy a st eady stream of visit ors seeking luxury accommoda-
tions on their fishing trips . The most famous is La Villa de Estancia María
Behety, owned by the affable Alejandr o Menéndez, who must be one of the
few people in the world who can boast a riv er named after his family. The ele-
gant family home, with a sparkling blue roof and commanding glass porch, has
six opulent rooms. When guests are not fishing, they can partake of Alejandro's
10,000-bottle wine cellar and magnificent full-size snooker table—a relic of the
Anglo-Argentines who used t o w ork her e. The pr operty has another mor e
modern but just as w elcoming Estancia María B ehety Lodge closer t o the
river that accommodates 12.
Estancia La Despedida is another popular fishing lodge . This ample log
cabin offers very comfortable rooms and an inviting lounge with bar. The char-
ismatic owner Danny Lajous speaks per fect English and r egales guests with
stories about the area.
For bookings from overseas, all three lodges work exclusively through a Cali-
fornian outfitter called the Fly Shop, 4140 Churn Cr eek Rd., Redding, CA 96002
( & 800/669-3474 or 530/222-3555; fax [phone]; w ww.theflyshop.com).
All-inclusive 1-week packages start at $4,895 (£3,308) per person. All the estan-
cias are close to the town of Río Grande, 180km (112 miles) north of Ushuaia.

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Roughly from October to A pril, several tour companies offer a catamaran ride to the
estancia, a 6-hour excursion for $85 (£57) per person; try All Patagonia, Juana Fadul 60
( & 2901/433622 ). Tour groups will also arrange a boat excursion to a penguin colony
from the estancia, an add-on excursion that costs about $67 (£45) per person.