Angling Report Features El Encuentro
This excerpt is from The Angling Report from July 2016, Vol. 29, No. 7, and mentions El Encuentro’s brook trout fishery.
J. W. Smith and his wife, Dawn, are not well known by many subscribers to this publication, despite the fact that J. W. at one point was co-owner of a well respected Alaska fly fishing lodge that is now known as Painter Creek Lodge (see item on Painter Creek in the June issue) and a remote fishing-camp operation called Alaska Wilderness Safaris.
Today, J. W. books a lot of traditional anglers into peacock bass fishing camps in the Amazon, and he also works with a ton of birdshooters in Uruguay and Argentina. That’s not to say he hasn’t stayed involved in fly fishing, because he has been actively creating a peacock bass fly fishing program in Brazil of late and generally poking around in promising trout waters in South America. He recently created a website devoted to these latter activities that complements his website devoted to wingshooting and traditional angling for peacock bass. I say all this to bolster the credibility of this report I just got from J. W. about some huge brook trout in Argentina. If you book one of these trips, do file a report. I’ve seen some photos from this area that are amazing!
J. W. Smith writes:
On an exploratory trip this past February in Argentina’s Patagonia region we landed five brook trout that weighed between eight and 10 pounds, and we saw trout we believe could exceed the current IGFA all-tackle world record of 14 pounds 8 ounces.
Benjamin Beale of El Encuentro Fly Fishing has secured exclusive access to four interconnected brook trout lakes in the mountains near the Argentina/ Chile border. We believe that these four lakes could hold a new world record brook trout. Three of the four lakes are unexplored, as is the previously inaccessible outlet river that drains the lake system and flows through the pristine mountains into Chile.
In addition to trophy brook trout fishing, Beale has also secured exclusive access to a prime rainbow spawning area on the upper Rio Corcovado. Giant rainbow trout migrate out of Lago Vintter to spawn in the upper section of the outlet river, the Rio Corcovado. These adult trout gorge on scuds (miniature freshwater shrimp in the lakes) and reach enormous size, measuring up to 30-plus inches in length. Some will exceed 12 pounds.
El Encuentro Fly Fishing provides a unique opportunity to catch trophy rainbow and the largest brook trout we have ever seen in the same general area. Prime time is November through mid-December. Our exclusive, remote Safari Base Camp on the Rio Corcovado is limited to six anglers. The seven-night/ six-day fishing trip is priced at $5,295 per angler and can be combined with a stay at El Encuentro Lodge on the premier Rio Futaleufú for brown and rainbow trout. To reserve your dates, call 800-584-1180 or e-mail dsmith@rodgunresources.com
