The Rio Yelcho is
a wild Chilean river and is a must visit for the Isla Monita guest. It is
essentially the bottom end of the Futaleufu River, as it changes its name
as the river exits Lago Yelcho. The Rio Yelcho has quite different characteristics
than the Futaleufu River, it is much deeper and its flows vary wildly. One
gets the impression of being on a coastal river in British Columbia when
floating the Rio Yelcho, and this is not too far off as you are only within
15 miles of the coast during a normal float trip. For that reason, you never
know when you are going to find yourself locked into a king salmon or steelhead
on this river-the anadromous portion of this fishery is a bit difficult
to predict but makes for an exciting bonus to the already great trout fishing
the river has to offer.
Sight fishing is the name of the game here in the appropriate spots,
you will find 18-20¨ suspended rainbows that make excellent targets
as you work out the details of what they are eating on any particular
day. In between these sight fishing spots, you´ll find yourself
throwing large bait-like streamers, we like whites and natural colors
so you can track your fly and properly fish it around the hidden trunks
and boulders, hopefully seeing those large browns take it when they decide
it is the real thing.
The Rio Yelcho will enchant you with its profoundly blue waters and its
wild atmosphere. There is nothing quite like a summer day here when the
heat of the direct sun is burning avalanches off of some of the hanging
glaciers which rim the surrounding peaks and you find yourself landing
large chilean rainbows to the thunder of it all. |