Martin Pescador Lodge

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We enjoyed our fifth annual visit to Martin Pescador Lodge in Southern Chile. Here's a link to their website: www.martinpescadorfishing.com. It’s such a wonderful experience that we have continued to use MPL as our Chilean fly-fishing escape. Hosts, Frans & Anna Jansen, run a great operation. Frans focuses on the daily fishing routine and is continually scouting for new opportunities (witness a new outpost on Lago Verde). Anna focuses on the lodge operation and spoils her guests endlessly. Guides are outstanding; meals are fabulous; staff members are always cheery and helpful; and it just feels good to be at one of the Martin Pescador lodges. Our two-week adventure included time at the Rio Yelcho lodge, the La Junta lodge and the outpost camps on the coast and on Lago Verde). Check out the fishing and fun we enjoyed this year.

Thu, 12 Feb: Today was primarily a travel day. We returned to the Santiago Airport for a domestic flight to Puerto Montt. Puerto Montt is set on a beautiful fjord, is the northern-most town in Patagonia and is our “jumping-off” point for travel to Patagonia and Martin Pescador Lodge. We arrived in mid-afternoon and took a taxi to our hotel, the Holiday Inn. It sits over a mall so we spent the balance of the day there. We especially enjoyed the huge supermercado in the mall which features all kinds of Chilean beer, wines, produce, seafood, meats and other delicacies.

Fri, 13 Feb: Happy 13^th! We spent the day relaxing before beginning our 5^th trip to Martin Pescador and some 14 days of fishing. While at the hotel, we hooked up with our fishing companions from prior years – Hyde & Meadie and Alan & Barbara. Accompanying them were John & Dale, who were first-time guests at the lodge. So, we had a chance to catch up with old friends and get to know new ones before the start of this year’s fishing experience.

Sat, 14 Feb: Happy Valentine’s Day! Mireya Gonzalez, operator of Patagonia Air, picked us and six other anglers from the Holiday Inn. She then transferred us to the Puerto Montt Aerodromo for our flight to La Palena. Previously we had always flown into the community of Chaiten. However, the volcanic eruptions there last year caused the closure of the entire town. So, a visit to La Palena was a first for us. The flight took about an hour after we had a two-hour delay due to cloud coverage in La Palena. Our flight was uneventful except for a pretty exciting landing through the clouds. We had to circle the strip several times as the pilot had to lose the considerable altitude we had attained before we could land.

We then took a two-hour drive with Blake to reach the Rio Yelcho lodge. After setting in and enjoying a delicious lunch of casuela, we went fishing for a few hours beginning at 4:00PM. Mike was our guide and that is always a great start to the trip. Of course, we told Mike that it didn’t count as one of our days with him as our guide. Anyway, we went up river and then floated back to the lodge. We had a great start to the trip. We caught double digit numbers of fish but only photographed one since most were average size – nothing too big. We also had one double – each of us hooking and landing a fish at the same time. So, a great way to start our fishing experience.

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After happy hour with wonderful appetizers and a delicious dinner prepared by Chef Anna and her staff, we enjoyed our lovely fire-warmed room and called it an evening.

Sun, 15 Feb: Today we fished Los Cabañas at Lago Yelcho with Braden. We had an excellent day of dry fly fishing. We each caught lots of beautiful rainbows. Lindy’s first catch was a bit unusual – a brook trout. We stayed primarily with dry fly fishing which is always great fun. We finally took a break at about 1:30PM for lunch. At the end of our delicious meal (thank you, Sra. Anna), a storm blew in. We tried fishing streamers along the bank where the Futaleufu River meets Lago Yelcho. However, the wind turned so severe we had to try to move to a sheltered part of the lake. It was amazing how the lake had white caps and swells. Braden did a great job navigating us into a protected bay. Ed was able to hook another couple of fish and the storm seemed to clear. So, we once again crossed the lake to finish the day at the mouth of Rio Futaleufu. However, en route a second storm blew in from the opposite direction. We did manage to make it over to our destination and took one pass but the weather once again turned foul. We called it a day and Braden took us back to our launching point where we gathered up our things while he secured the boat. We returned back to the lodge and were accompanied the whole distance by rain. We at 5:30PM after a full and productive day and then enjoyed a relaxing evening with great food and wine.

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	Braden holding Lindy's rainbow - the size of many caught today
	Ed and Braden with a 22" rainbow!
	Lindy and Braden with another rainbow

Mon, 16 Feb: The rain that began yesterday afternoon continued to fall throughout the evening and night and was accompanied by severe winds as well. After breakfast, we and four other anglers opted to set out for some fishing. Our guide, Garrett, originally was going to take us to Los Leones on Lago Yelcho. However, due to the weather, we all agreed it was best to fish on Rio Yelcho. We tried several spots along the river and did hook fish. During one break in the weather (no stop in rain/wind but a bit less severe) we did head into the mouth of the lake. Ed managed to catch and release a very nice rainbow. Then, conditions got even worse so we decided to make an early day of it.

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The return ride home was rough with white caps on both the lake and the river. Garrett did an excellent job in getting us home despite the wind/rain blowing directly into his face. We arrived safely back at the lodge at 1:30PM. Anna, in anticipation of anglers quitting early due to the nasty weather, had made a wonderful Chilean “camposita” lunch which warmed us all so that we had the energy to battle the rain and ultimately make it back to our separate cabins. Ed and I showered and relaxed there for the balance of the afternoon as the rain continued to fall.

Tue, 17 Feb: We once again fished with Garrett and this time we made it to Los Leones on Lago Yelcho. We had to endure constant rain and some pretty nasty waves and swells for about an hour to get to our fishing destination. However, once there the lake was calm and the rain slowed to a drizzle. According to Garrett, we had a total of 23 fish landed. Each of us had rainbows and browns. Lindy had four fish so Ed had an especially productive day. We all enjoyed ourselves and the excellent fishing. When we returned back across the lake to access Rio Yelcho to the lodge, we again encountered some waves but not nearly as strong as those we had for the morning crossing. Again, it was an excellent day!

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	Garrett holding Ed's first rainbow; a great way to start the day (no rain hoods on either)
	Lindy gets into the action too
	A beautiful brown trout
	A healthy rainbow trout
	Catching a final rainbow as the rain continues to fall

Wed, 18 Feb: Today we fished with Master Frans on the Lago Yelcho. We once again had to contend with rain but thankfully not too much wind. Frans took us to some sheltered bays where we fished until time for a late lunch. We both caught rainbows and browns of good size. The highlight of the day was Ed’s 27 inch rainbow. Wow, what a beauty with a huge girth (you can tell by seeing how small Frans’ hand looks while holding it). It alone was well worth a morning in the rain. We returned to the lodge to enjoy an empanada (yum, yum) before Frans left to pick up a client at an outpost camp. We did go out for another couple of hours on Lago Yelcho with Blake but it was pretty uneventful. Then, we returned back to the Yelcho Lodge and subsequently drove two hours to the lodge on the Rio Rosselot, our home for the next two nights.

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	Ed and Master Frans with one of Ed's first rainbows
	Again, the boys have another rainbow
	The highlight of the day - Ed's beautiful 27 inch rainbow!
	Lindy finally getting a fish late in the day

Thu, 19 Feb: Our fishing today was tough. We went to Lago Rosselot with Forrest. The water was so high it was amazing. Our put-in spot is directly below a bridge crossing the outlet of the lake and it looked as if we could touch the underside of the bridge if we stretched up and tried (which we didn’t). The lake had risen about 25 feet!!! (No, not an exageration!) Lindy landed two bows and missed a brown while Ed landed one brown. Despite the slow fishing, it still was a nice day with minimal winds, mostly sunny conditions and we got to catch-up with Forrest on what he had done between seasons at Martin Pescador Lodge.

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	What usually is our boat dock (now way under water)
	Forest holding a small bow caught by Lindy

Fri, 20 Feb: We opted to try the Rio Rosselot and its side channel; Forrest drew the short straw and had us two days in a row. We took the “Cobra” out on her maiden voyage. The Cobra is a pontoon boat with a jet engine so it can travel lots of places and was quite comfortable and a wonderful fishing platform. The water on the Rio was still very high so again some tough fishing. We did manage to get about 12 trout – most of which were brown trout but Ed slipped in a few rainbows. Of course, there were some fly casualties as one would expect with streamer fishing in fast water. We still had a great time but all of us came home tired – us from casting and Forrest from rowing. So, after recovering in a long, hot shower, we went to the Quincho to enjoy wonderful Chilean barbecue (Asado) and hospitality.

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	The boys getting the Cobra ready for its maiden voyage
	You can see the flooded river is almost up to a bench overlooking the river
	Forrest holding a nice brown caught by Lindy

Sat, 21 Feb: We said good-bye to our great fishing buddies, a group of wonderful individuals, and then enjoyed a leisurely breakfast. We then drove with Blake to fish the Cabañas on Lago Yelcho. It was an excellent day! The weather was overcast but we had no wind and no rain. Ed started the day with a great 24” rainbow and many more fish were caught. We enjoyed excellent fishing until late afternoon. Then, we returned to the lodge of Rio Yelcho to enjoy the company of the anglers with whom we would share our second week of fishing. We knew two couples in the new group. We had fished with Arnie & Aggie at another lodge and we had met Dave & Pat at MPL last year. We got to know Joan & Bob during the week.

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	Blake holding Ed's 24 inch rainbow - a great way to start the day!
	Lindy gets a nice trout too
	The boys with another beautiful rainbow
	Blake getting ride of some water in the boat as we had across the lake

Sun, 22 Feb: Today we fished the Rio Yelcho and Lago Yelcho with Braden. It was an outstanding day! We enjoyed our best fishing ever on this combined water system. Highlights included each of us catching a sea-run brown followed by many, many browns and rainbows. (Our only photo's are of the sea-runs as it was rainy most of the day and our digital camera wasn't very happy.) All in all, Braden said we caught some 60-70 fish! Boy, we could sure feel it in our casting arms. Anyway, it was a wonderful experience and we enjoyed it thoroughly.

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	Wow, a beautiful sea run brown!
	Lindy gets a brown too
	A great spot for a delicious lunch
	Ed with a fish on the line

Mon, 23 Feb: It was our turn to head to the coast for an overnight adventure. Frans drove us as well as Mike and Christie (chef and housemother) to the pick-up point where Captain Eric met us with his boat to take us to our final destination.

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	En route with Christie & Mike
	Beautiful Black-Neck Swans along the coast
	Home, Sweet Home (for the next two nights)

We were on the water by 11:00AM and it was a full day of non-stop action. We caught almost a fish a cast (with an occasional miss, of course) and we each landed our largest coastal fish yet. Lindy managed to hook and land a beautiful 27” rainbow early in the morning. Ed hooked and landed a gorgeous 28” rainbow. These monsters were in addition to three doubles (each of us with a hook-up). We each also had a 25” rainbow. Fantastic! Every rainbow we caught, and that was some 35-40 per Mike, was in excess of 20” (except for Lindy’s miniature rainbow, her first fish).

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	Ed gets the day started with a beauty
	Mike holding Lindy's first fish (can you find the little guy?!)
	Mike holding Lindy's 27 inch rainbow; what a beauty!
	Mike netting Ed's catch (see how it fills the net!)
	The fat rainbow at the end of the line!
	Lindy with another beauty - a 26 inch rainbow!
	The guys are at it again - landing BIG rainbows
	Releasing this strong fish
	Another BIG, beautiful rainbow
	Captain Mike in action
	THE BIG FISH... Mike is holding Ed's 28 inch rainbow. WOW!

After a great day, we returned to our house and were awestruck by the size and number of fish that we caught on the fly. Wow, it was an amazing day!! Some of the best trout fishing we’ve ever experienced! We enjoyed a cocktail followed by dinner and a show from Volcano Chaiten. We were approximately six miles from it and had a great view. We finished the evening enjoying a glass of wine and then called it a night.

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	One of the locals enjoying a fresh dinner
	Chaiten Volcano
	A toast to a great day!
	Christie and Chaiten Volcano

Tues, 24 Feb: We began our day fishing close to the outpost and it was a hot spot. We had our first triple – Lindy; then Ed; and then Lindy with a fish on while the other individual had a fish on. We had Mike doing some running to be sure. Again, we had spectacular fishing. We caught and released seven trout today being 25” or better. That was in addition to the many other 20” rainbows. It was terrific!! We fished until 3:00PM and then called it a day. Eric met us at 3:10PM and we headed to our pick-up spot and met Frans. Wow, what an incredible adventure!! We returned that night to the Puerto Cardenas lodge and enjoyed a wonderful Asado featuring a whole, roasted baby pig and fresh mariscos. Delicious!!

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	A salmon to start the day
	Mike holding a nice trout
	The careful release of a beautiful rainbow trout
	Ed and Mike with Mike holding this 25 inch rainbow
	Lindy gets into the action with this beautifully colored rainbow
	Look closely - there is a rainbow swimming in the stream
	Ed with another 25 inch+ rainbow
	Ending the day with a Chilean Ravallo

On an aside, while we were fishing, Chaiten Volcano decided to put on a show. The sequences below are pretty amazing! Thankfully, no one is in an area affected by the blowing steam and ash. Hopes are that the volcano will once again return to dormancy.

	Chaiten Volcano spewing steam
	The steam begins to rise
	The gray cloud to the right and below the white steam cloud is ash and pyroclastic materials beginning to erupt
	The show continues as the ash cloud rises further
	Here the ash cloud catches up to the steam cloud and great volumes of ash and pyroclastic materials are spewing out of the vents

Lastly, when we went to/from the Coast, we drove through the village of Chaiten. The devastation caused to town by mud and water following the initial eruptions of Volcano Chaiten was amazing. Some parts of the town were totaling missing while a few lucky homes and businesses were untouched. The debate continues as to whether or not to relocate the town and its residents or rebuild the town in its current location (the latter being favored by the residents of Chaiten).

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	A former street
	Mud or ash is everywhere
	Once a very large home
	A mud flow partially fills Chaiten harbor at the end of a fjord. On its way to the sea, it picked up the house shown in the center
	The mud/river flow with Volcano Chaiten in the background

Wed, 25 Feb: We again fished with Braden on Rio Yelcho and Lago Yelcho. Today, unlike the previous Sunday, we had to work for the fish we caught. We began the morning using streamers in the river. We finished the balance of the day fishing dry flies on the lake. All in all, we had a double-digit fish count and we only had a few missed fish. We returned to the lodge at 4:00PM and then drove two hours to the Rio Rosselot lodge to begin the last days of our 2009 adventure.

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	A view of the river and surrounding setting
	A beautiful rainbow on a beautiful day
	A close-up view of this fellow's kype (lower lip)
	Captain Braden
	Ending our day with another fish

Thu, 26 Feb: Our final days of fishing were at the outpost camp on Lago Verde. Frans drove us as well as Garrett and Chef Peter. Frans and Anna plan to add a road to access the property but currently it can be reached only by boat. So, we left the truck at a dock at about noon and took the lodge boat to the outpost camp. It is beautiful! It is located on a rocky cliff and is comprised of a central building with kitchen, living area and a bathroom. Guests are accommodated in two luxury wood-floored tents, each having two twin beds and a wood stove. Guest bathrooms and showers are located directly behind the tents.

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	The lodge as seen from Lago Verde (Does this answer the question why the lake is Lago Verde (Green Lake)??)
	Our accommodations
	Inside the luxury tent
	The fireplace keeps it cozy

We went fishing immediately on the lake and had a great time. We hooked and landed over 30 fish including six percha – a new outpost record! (Percha is a native Chilean perch; trout were introduced from America). The percha are incredible fighters and you feel like you have a monster on the line when you hook one.

	Captain Garrett with the Lodge in the background
	Hey, it's a percha
	The guys with a small brown
	Lindy gets a percha too
	Hey, it's now percha number 6 (Also, Garrett does a great job of advertising the Lodge)

We returned back to camp at 7:00PM, showered and then relaxed on the deck overlooking the lake. Peter prepared a delicious dinner followed by more wine on the deck under the stars (Peter turned off the generator so there were absolutely no lights other than the star). Fantastic!

	The kitchen area in the lodge's Great Room (In NM, we refer to a large room with multiple functions as a Great Room)
	The living area in the Great Room
	Chef Peter hard at work (with Frans looking on)
	Sunset from the veranda

Fri, 27 Feb: This morning we took the lodge boat back to the truck to drive to a launch spot for a float into the lake. We had to first pump up a tire on the truck thanks to some local prankster who stuck a stick in the tire valve. Then, we drove through Lago Verde and headed up a four-wheel drive trek. We ultimately reached our launch site at about 10:30AM and Garrett and Frans set up the raft. In the meantime, we did some fishing upstream and each of us managed to land several fish. Ed served as “guia” and helped Lindy find, catch and release a really nice brown of 18 inches in a tiny creek.

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	Our flat at the dock which Frans & Garrett quickly changed
	Four-wheeling to get to our put-in spot
	Our first glimpse of this incredible river setting
	The guys begin setting up the raft
	Lindy's 16 inch brown caught while the raft is being set-up

Next we began our drift to reach Lago Verde. The setting was beautiful as we primarily were in a steep canyon. The water was crystal clear with only a slight tinge of green. It was one of the most beautiful rivers we have ever floated. We caught great numbers of fish on dry flies. We got rainbows only and most put up a great fight since they had seldom, if ever, been caught.

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	Our view while in the boat on the water
	A nice rainbow
	Another view of this beautiful and clear stream
	Ed and Garrett with another bow
	The final stretch of river

We popped out of the river at about 4:30PM. Frans and Peter met us with the lodge boat and everyone helped get all the gear collapsed and put into the bigger boat. We then crossed the lake to return to the dock where Frans had left the truck. We gathered up and headed back to the Rio Rosselot lodge, returning at 7:00PM. We took a quick shower and then enjoyed our final Asado, this time featuring a baby goat cooked by Victor on skewers over hot coals. Yummy!!

What can we say in closing…. FANTASTIC!! In our five years of fishing at Martin Pescador Lodge, this was one of the best (if not the very best) as far as fishing goes and Anna and her staff continue to spoil us on every other front!!