Huechahue has private access to three excellent beats on the crystal clear Rio Alumine, which is famous for willow worms and incredible dry fly fishing.  Drive times to the river are short and guests last week landed up to twenty powerful rainbows per person and enjoyed sight fishing almost exclusively.  Some enjoyed wading and others enjoyed floating from PRG North’s drift boats.
Floats on the Rio Collon Cura are also possible with a short drive of about twenty minutes from Huechahue.  The Collon Cura is one of Argentina’s most productive rivers and guests can enjoyed a variety of fishing for both rainbows and browns from our drift boats.  Willow worms were also present on the Collon Cura and the river offered exceptional “dry” willow worm fishing just like the Alumine.  Alex reports that he’s expecting the incredible minnow run from Embalse Alicura to start moving up stream on the Collon Cura around the middle of February.  During this “run” thousands of line ripping hot rainbows and browns from 18 to 23 inches will be exploding on schools of minnows and many guests enjoy the best fishing days of their lives!
Walk-wading trips are also possible from Huechahue on on the Rio Malleo, and our guests enjoyed fishing about twenty miles of spectacular water on the Mapuche Indian Reservation.  The Malleo is ideal for those that like wading on small rivers and it is one of Argentina’s most well known and surely the most productive “match the hatch” dry fly streams in the country.
Finally, floats on the Rio Chimehuin are also possible from Huechahue and our guests enjoyed some excellent fishing with several browns over 22-inches landed on the scenic Chimi this past week.

The lodge is comfortable, welcoming, and an ideal base for PRG to enjoy four of Argentina’s best rivers.  We expect to be using Huechahue more and more in the coming years but already have about fifty of our guests signed up for fishing from the estancia this season.  If you are looking for an exceptional trip in Northern Patagonia, you should consider a stay a Huechahue.  You are not too late for 2012 and thanks to the Puyehue Volcano, there are still great dates available.  Contact us today for more information and detailed itineraries with PRG North.  We’re expecting one of the best willow worm years in the past five due to the warm and dry spring, and we’re happy to report that the volcanic ash is a non-issue.

As just about everyone knows, we purchased a new lodge last year and remodeled the whole place.  We continue to add touches to the lodge as most of the big projects have been completed.  So now the fun stuff!  We found an antique Brunswick Arcade pool table manufactured in Argentina around 1918.  Our great friend and dorado guide extraordinaire, Pablo Orfeo, hauled it down a few weeks ago from the north of Argentina.  You know what they say, “they don’t make um like they used to”.  We now have a 1-ton pool table with 2 1/2-inch Italian slate set up in our second living room!  It fits the lodge perfectly and for those that like pool, it is truly a pleasure to play on.

In addition to the table, we are adding top shelf cigars | scotch | whiskey | tequila | cognac to the existing bar that is already set up in the billiard room.  So, now guests can enjoy a great single malt, blended, or American whiskey along with a good cigar in the evenings.  (And for those that want to take a cigar on the river, we also have a selection in individual tubes to enjoy riverside.)  Our offerings at the moment vary from Johnny Walker blue, gold, green, black; Chivas Regal Royal and Royal Salute; single malts like Glenfiddich and Mcallan; Gentleman Jack; and Remmy Martin and Hennesey Cognac.  We’re also hunting down some other American whiskeys and some special tequilas too.

Just behind the cigar bar and billiard room, we have a new wine cellar holding over 300 bottles of great Malbecs.  It is amazing what you can do with a linen closet!  And with our relationship with Andeluna, we are assured some of the best wines to serve to our guests throughout the season and room to let some special wines lay down and age for a few extra years.

Our on-site green houses and gardens are at full capacity and are growing over 40 varieties of herbs, lettuce, tomatoes, beats, potatoes, carrots, fruits and berries.  This year guests can enjoy the freshest and most delicious greens and vegetables right from our own organic gardens.  Currently, we are producing about 90% of the vegetables we serve and guests are raving about the quality!  We also have our own laying hens putting out the best country eggs for PRG’s world-famous poached eggs.  The PRG kidos love the farm and we’re looking forward to adding more and more each year for our guests and families enjoyment.

Can’t stop without talking a little shop.  We just put away (8) new Winston Boron IIIx 9-foot 6-weights for this season, so we’ll have (12) BIIIx’s for each and every guest to try out.  And we have a bunch of Boron IIx’s and Boron IImx’s as well for those that like a lighter and softer rod or for those that need the speed and like stiff rods.  We also just put away a whole bunch of new Simms waders and boots too for our guests that like to travel light and use our gear.  Our Hatch Reels are so bomber that we probably won’t have to replace them for the life of our company and we’re all set to match all our Winstons with Hatch Reels.  We’re looking forward to seeing John and Danny (owners of Hatch) this year at PRG.  We hope to test out some new reels and other cool things they make.  Flies?  I almost forgot, we just put away over 1400 dozen flies (yes 1400) on top of what must have already been around 3000 dozen from previous years for our guest to use throughout their stay.  And this year we are giving Trouthunter tippet and leaders a try.  Our good friends at Trouthunter are making some great stuff and of coarse the packaging and spools are really sweet too.  We have every size of fluorocarbon and also nylon to help our guests land more fish and to haul in the big boys!  You could say that we’re over-geared, and that’s exactly how our guests like it!

We’re having tons of fun with the PRG kids, guides, families and in our beautiful new town of Trevelin and our PRG Lodge at Trevelin.  The lucky guests that are in this week get a New Year’s party, and have already enjoyed four of the most beautiful (and long) days of the year.

Happy New Year!…..may it be prosperous and here’s to good health and great fishing….cheers!!

Arrive January 10^th – Depart January 15^th.  Enjoy 5 nights / 4 days fishing at PRG’s Lodge at Trevelin.  This trip can be combined with stays in Rio Pico or in San Martin de los Andes with PRG North.  There are (4) spots available and because they are a cancelation, we’re willing to offer them at a discounted rate.  Contact us right away to take advantage of the cancellation special and some of the best dates of the year for big dry fly fishing and some of the longest days of the season.

Arrive February 25^th – Depart March 3^rd and March 3^rd to March 10th.   Enjoy 7 nights / 6 days lodging (or extend the stay to include Rio Pico or San Martin too).  We have (2) spots available each week and these are prime spots.  If you want to get out of the cold and enjoy some of the best dry fly fishing, terrestrials will be at their peak!  Put your name on these ones ASAP, they won’t last long!

Arrive March 8^th – Depart March 16^th.  Enjoy 7 nights / 6 days fishing with PRG and Baker Salisbury from Westbank Anglers of Jackson Hole Wyoming.  There are (4) spots available for an incredible terrestrial week with great fishing.  Baker is a great host and comes during this week every year!  There are still a few spots to join he and his group.  Contact us today for more information on this one.

Arrive March 20^th – Depart March 27^th.  Legendary angler, Mike Lawson will be hosting a trip for the Henry’s Fork Foundation.  PRG will match guest’s donations up to 15% of the price of the trip.  Enjoy great fishing as well as great stories and dinners with Mike.  Since we are just announcing that Mike will be hosting this week, we don’t expect the spots to be available for long.  There are (6) spots available for those that want to enjoy the beauty of Patagonia while helping the Henry’s Fork River.

Arrive April 12^th – Depart April 21^st.  Enjoy 9 nights/ 8 days fishing with PRG.  Guests may choose to “cast and blast” during this week as well.  This trip will be split between Rio Pico and Trevelin and hosted by John Hudgens of Yellow Dog Flyfishing Adventures.  John is an avid flyfisherman and guide from the Henry’s Fork River.  In addition John loves bird hunting, so if you want to hunt a few quail over pointers with incredible views of the Andes, this might be the week for you.  The price is right at $6,000 for 9 nights / 8 days fishing.  There are (6) spots left.

The Late Season from April 20^th.  Enjoy fall colors and fishing at it’s best.  Bring a group and enjoy incredible cast and blast trips at a great price of $600 per night.  Small groups of (6) anglers/hunters are mandatory.  Enjoy well trained English and German shorthair pointers and thousands of California Quail.  The views are spectacular and both the hunting and fishing offers millions of acres without other people in the area.  If you are interested in casting or just blasting, let us know and we’ll send you some details!

We are very excited to have such a knowledgeable and experienced guide join our staff.  Leo is an charismatic guy with a great personality and a big smile.  We are sure that all of our guests will enjoy getting to know and fishing with him.  Pat Pendergast, Director of Travel at The Fly Shop, has fished with him numerous times in Chile, and has had hundreds of guests fish with him over the past seven years.  He told us simply that we should “clone” Leo and that he expected that Leo would be running PRG at some time in the future.  Those are pretty strong words and a great reference from a good friend that has fished with hundreds of guides throughout his tenure with The Fly Shop.

Leo, thirty five years old, is originally from Bahia Blanca, where he walked by a park one day and saw a man casting a flyrod and became fascinated with flyfishing at age twelve.  From that moment on, he passionately studied and learned how to flyfish eventually becoming a guide to follow his dream.  He speaks impeccable English, native Spanish and some Portuguese.  Leo studied business management in college; is a Mel Kruger certified casting instructor; has traveled and fished through New Zealand, Chile and Argentina; loves tying flies and reading about flyfishing; and makes beautiful bamboo rods.  Leonardo is married to Carolina and they are enjoying their beautiful two-year old baby girl named Emilia.  They are expecting their second child in April of this year.

Welcome to the team Leo!!

January 24th to the 31st, 7 Nigths/6 Days of fishing at $5250 split between Tipiliuke Lodge and Huechahue.  This is the perfect opportunity to stay at one of the nicest lodges in northern Patagonia for four nights and then three nights at beautiful estancia Huechahue known worldwide as the best horse-riding destinations in Argentina.  The time of the year is perfect, great weather, good water levels, awesome dry fly fishing and access to many different rivers and lakes including the Aluminé, which flows through the property.

February 18^th to the 25^th, 7 Nigths/6 Days of fishing at $5250.  This is the peak of the season offering great hatches, warm weather and a chance to get out of the freezing cold at home.  Reason not to come? None.   From mayflies and caddis to willow worms and minnows, plenty of food meaning big, strong and healthy rainbows.   This trip would include three nights at Estancia Huechahue and 4 nights at Quemquemtreu, the biggest working ranch in the area.  With over 200.00 acres, 30 miles of the Collón Cura and about 15 miles of the Quemquemtreu Creek, this is one of our all time classics and it just gets better every year.

April 11^th to the 18^th 7 Nigths/6 Days of fishing  at a discount rate of $4900.  Just throw some warm clothes in your bag and come enjoy the beginning of fall.   Yellow poplars, orange ñires, great midday hatches, migratory brown trout…..all for a special end of the season discount rate!  This trip would include a few days at San Huberto Lodge for fine dry fly fishing and a few days at Collón Cura to combine strong minnow fed rainbows on the Collón Cura River and monster migratory brown trout on the Limay Medio.  Hard to top for those searching for large brown trout!

Many of our guests have traveled to Mendoza in the past and many more will travel in the future.  A stop for lunch at Andeluna should be on the list, but we recommend that guests enjoy it last because it is an experience much like visiting PRG.  Amazing views of the Andes, welcoming people and arguably some of the best Malbec’s in the world.  It is and unbelievable experience and one to remember for a lifetime.

If you can’t make it to Mendoza, you’ll still be able to try Andeluna’s best wines while fishing with PRG!  Cheers…….