Cook goes Bassin'

I got an email the other day from George Cook (Northwest Sage/Redington/Rio and Tibor Rep). Seems that he found himself in the Southeast side of the country and took in some Bass fishing along the way somewhere in the Carolina's. George knowing the Bass fanatic that I am, kindly shared his experience. It's not very often you find George wielding anything but a two hand rod but make no mistake about it, Georgies prowess with a single hand fly rod is a tough act to match as witnessed here.

Bucket Mouth

The Crimson Red Tibor Back Country reel really glows with the Sage Bass II Series Smallmouth Rod. While all Sage Bass II series rods are serious big-bug, big-fish weapons if you could only choose just one let it be the Smallmouth for its all out versatility with all species of freshwater bass to Bonefish on the flats. The action of these rods impresses me every time I fish one.

Read more on the Sage Bass II Series rods...Not just for Bass!

8 Pounder

Also in the quiver was a Sage One 790-4 equipped with a Sage 3880CF fly reel loaded with a Rio Grand Fly Line and a Redington Vapen Red 890-4 lined out for big big bugs with a Rio Power Fly line also on a Sage 3880CF fly reel. I have one of the Sage 3880CF reels I use on my Sage One 4116 Switch rod and carry extra spools for the different lines I use for two hand trout fishing. These reels really perform great and the minimal price of the extra CF spools make it a great choice when multi-lines are needed.

George's fly arsenal included Solitude's Bass Master in Black and Crayfish Orange / Jawbreaker in Black and Orange / Walt Cary Popper's in Fire Tiger. Black Bee, Yellow Bee and Frog.

Pictured here in perfect fashion sportin' his Sage trucker hat is George with an 8 pounder taken on a Solitude Bass Master in Crayfish Orange color. Is it really 8 pounds, I guess we'll never know but I do know George isn't a small guy and that's an impressive Largemouth so I'll give him the benefit of doubt.

Thank you George for sharing your fishing adventure. We look forward to the next one!

Greg Darling 

Gorge Fly Shop Internet Sales Manager | Product Specialist

"Fly Fish the World with Us"

Argentina: From one end to the other!

Golden Dorado

Argentina, January 2014: 

In January, I was fortunate to fish the extreme north and south of Argentina at lodges that are over 2000 miles apart. The weather ranged from lows in the 30’s with winds of 20-50 mph in Tierra Del Fuego to temps in the 90’s at the Ibera Marsh. Packing was crazy. Below is a brief description of each location. If you would like to know more about either trip feel free to email or call.

Tierra del Fuego - Kau Tapen Lodge

Sea Run Brown Trout

The best Sea Run Brown Trout fishing in the world is on the Rio Grande in Tierra Del Fuego. I had the pleasure of fishing there with Kau Tapen Lodge in early January. It was their opening week and the 30th year in operation. They have miles of water and each two anglers are assigned multiple runs each morning and evening session. We never covered all of that water, there was such a bounty—no low-holers, poachers or racing up or down stream to get at the water first. A diversity of types of water keeps you engaged in the fishing and solving the puzzle. This is truly world-class fishing with a lodge and staff to match. The food, wine and hospitality are as good as it gets, without any formality or pretentiousness. The fishing ranged that week from one to six fish a day and in size from 3-4 lb (one salt) to 19 pounds. The record on the river is 33 pounds!

All of the anglers fished with Spey rods during the week, with various tips ranging from intermediate to MOW tips of T-11 and T-14. My favorite rods were the Sage Method 6126 (it’s no 6 wt!) and the ONE 7126. These fish really move to the fly this time of year. Flies range from skaters to swung nymphs to traditional steelhead and salmon flies to leeches at dusk. 

We fished until 11:30 PM each night, ate dinner at 12:30 AM and went to sleep about 2:30 AM.

Ibera Marsh – Pira Lodge

Fly Fish Argentina from one end to the other.

Golden Dorado are bad-ass predators! Their strike is meant to kill, and the softer “steelhead grab” is not too common. This fishing took place in the Ibera Marsh, which is over two times the size of the Everglades, host to over 300 species of birds and various mammals etc. This is a magical tropical place to swing streamers. Pira Lodge is an oasis in the midst of all this. The spacious rooms, generous and warm hospitality, comfortable lodge, delicious food and a pool (yes! a swimming pool) make for the perfect place to experience the Ibera Marsh.

Bad-Ass Golden Dorado!

RODS USED

Sage One's!

Single handed 8 to 10 wt. The Sage 990 ONE was best all around rod, throwing the four- to six inch flies with relative ease. Lines range from floating, intermediate head to sinking 24’ head such as the Rio Leviathan. The leaders have wire tippet as Dorado have teeth. Most all of the fishing is done from the Hells Bay flats skiffs because there is little dry ground, and wading with freshwater stingrays and piranha is not a good idea. Streamside friends are capybara and black cayman. Both have teeth and are faster than us anglers. The larger fish we caught ranged up to 17 pounds. They grow to over 30 lbs!


Jerry Swanson
Fish Head Expeditions, LLC
jerry@fishheadexpeditions.com
503-539-1451

NRX vs ONE...Who rules the flats!

Margaritaville

Recap Trip

2013’s Mexico trip came to an end on May 3rd. The gang packed it up and headed out of the little town of Punta Allen on our way to catch a flight in Cancun. The long bumpy gravel road from the lodge to Tulum seems twice as long on the way out. We had a great time at the Palometa Club. Good food, good drink and lots of good company swapping stories back and forth. The Permit were elusive to us this week but we had some good times with the Bonefish, watched Tarpon tail dance while spitting flies and the occasional Barracuda rip towards our fly at lightning speeds. A warm thank you goes out to Dick and Kaye, Host of the Palometa Club, for providing plenty of entertainment and Margaritas. Watch out for the third Margarita!