I left Portland January 14th and arrived in Balmceda, Chile, the next day. We then traveled by pickup to Ardillas Lodge, which is 70Km. from the airport on a dirt road. The country is some of the most beautiful I've ever seen. What few homes I saw along the way took you back a century. No indoor plumbing or electricity.The people let their livestock wander because there are no predators to harm them.

We arrived at the lodge early afternoon and immediately went fishing on the lake. Standing on the shoreline looking out over the lake, we could see the beautiful snowcapped Andes. Needless to say, it was a 4-fish afternoon with our brown trout ranging from 17" to 19" long. During the week, Joe Warren caught a couple of trout over 8 pounds.

The accommodations were great, very modern, and the food was excellent. Even with the Patagonian winds that seem to blow all the time - I would go back to this lodge in a heart beat. The owner, Rodolfo Quiros, even brought in a local villager to barbecue a whole lamb over an open fire, just like the natives do it. It was excellent. If you want more pictures of the country and the lodge I can send them to you. The lodge website address is www.ardillaslodge.com.

A friend sent me some dark elk hair caddis flies for my arsenal. Needless to say, when the winds came up the temperature dropped, and the presentations were with a heavy sink tip line and quick strips with black and blue beaded woolly buggers. When the sun came out and the wind stopped blowing, out came an unbelievable hatch of midges. I saw a few rises and immediately went to a dry line with my friend's brown caddis. My first cast was from on the lake to the shore line through a cloud of midges, and I let the fly be in a dead float. When I was ready to skip the fly slightly, I hooked and landed a 21" brown. I’ll tell you more when I see you.