A little something I have been meaning to put together for a while.  Short little video on one of the coolest places to fish in the world!  If you are interested in a trip, or your group is interested in a presentation on the Lodge, let me know (contact box on right side of screen near bottom).  

(Click photo for video)

For additional information: estanciacameronlodge.com

Online Auction

 Due to COVID, the TU Chapter I work with had to cancel our annual banquet in March.  Since this is pretty much our only fundraiser for the year, we have decided to hold an online auction.  One of the items up for bid is a      20" x 30" signed canvas print I donated.  The print is titled "North Fork Gateway" and is listed under the "Art Prints/Photos" tab on the auction site.  This item, and many others, are open to bid on until November 19, 2020 (11:59 pm EST).  If you are interested and want to support a good cause, please check out https://dftu.tulocalevents.org/2020auction/

North Fork Gateway

Yellowstone/MT 2020

Obviously, this year has been a strange one.  Got back from Chile just in time before the shutdowns.  Fishing this spring got off to a decent start here in PA, but then major drought set in around mid June and pretty much killed the trout fishing.  I was definitely ready to get out west this year.  After a couple of flight rearrangements, we were able to make it out fairly smoothly.  The smoke from the Bridger Foothills and Lone Star Fires, not to mention others, made climbing up the sides of mountains somewhat of a chore.  Felt like I smoked a carton of cigarettes some mornings.  Crowds in the park were out of control.  Seemed like every trailhead was packed.  Although the fishing pressure and the amount of people doing stupid things like trying to pet bison and stopping in the middle of the road seemed to be on par with previous years. 

We were able to nymph a good number of fish, but the top water fishing seemed to come in spurts....not really unexpected for this time of year.   Most mornings were in the 40s, so it took some time for things to warm up and get going.  We took all the video gear with us this year with the intention of putting something short together, but never really got motivated to turn 25lb packs into 35lb packs, so it pretty much stayed in the vehicle.  On the last day though, I threw one of the action cams attached to a float through one of my favorite holes.  The pic quality is pretty poor, but still pretty cool (last photo).  

It was good to unplug for a week, catch up with some good friends, fish some favorite spots, and explore some new ones.  Hope  you enjoy the photos.  

There is a mountain behind that smoke.

Soda Butte one of the days the smoke was not too bad. 

Brad and Paul Weamer (weamerflyfishing) getting it done. 

Unfortunately, the yellowbrick road was 7 miles of hiking up and down a mountain in the smoke and prime bear habitat for subpar fishing this day.  Cool hike though. 

Big Bull in full rut, thrashing the ground and rolling around.  

Still frame from the action cam.  There are trout mixed in there with whitey....and this was just a small section of the hole!

  

Chile 2020

This year's trip to Tierra del Fuego was not without its travel issues.  Everything went smoothly on the way down, but 3 days into the trip, major screw ups by the airlines and Hotwire's horrendous customer service made for a long and interesting trip home.  Getting an email telling you to call immediately because one of your flights has been canceled when you are literally at the bottom of the world is not a fun experience.  Thankfully there is some cellular service on the island now, and long story short, numerous emails, phone calls, and hours on hold, I got to fly to Toronto to get to Baltimore on the way home, and Herb went to Baltimore via Miami (the original plan), all because of a flight number change. A few days later, a leaking diesel pump also threw a wrench into the operation.

As for the fishing, well its almost always good, but this year we caught some real monsters.  I'll let the photos tell the rest of the story.  Estancia Cameron Lodge is a special place, it is why we have been going there for so many years.  If anyone is interested in booking a trip down, contact me, and I can get you set up!

The Lodge.  For more images, including the inside, click here

View of the Rio Grande from the Lodge

Dinner

The Leaking Fuel Pump.....but it held till the end.

The Spring Creeks

The spring creeks on the property are what drives me, only 10-20 feet wide, and every turn (not an exaggeration) has a 18-20+ inch brown....it is surreal 

There never is a ton of Rainbows, but in spots, there are some nice ones. 

It is just amazing to me, that 20 inch fish come out of stuff like this.  The fish above was from this run. 

The Big River (Rio Grande) 

Setting up for some filming. 

Love how the river oxbows

Sea Run

No Exaggerations

Herb has been coming here so long, they have holes named after him haha

The Lakes 

28-29 inches, 12lbs

  

9lbs

Wildlife

El Zoro

 

Guanaco

Parakeet

King Penguins

Feeding time

Flamingos

 Not so Wildlife

Camp Life

Fresas del diablo (strawberries of the devil).  They look cool under a macro lens, but they are a royal pain.....stick to everything! 

Road Life

Estancia San Gregorio

Until next time