Boots
I catch most of my fish from dry land, occasionally from a dinghy. My boots are Blundstones, Ozi working man's boots with elastic sides. Cost in Oz $55 (US$35). Normally they last out two years before becoming too tatty.

You can't carry waders all round the world. If wading is essential then I go in BootsnAll, or in bare feet.

Fishing Rod
The rod I take with me when travelling is a special backpacker's rod designed by the American company "Shakespeare" and made in China. The outfit consists of rod and two reels, a fly reel and an open face spinning reel without lines, costing A$75 or US$48.

The rod is Shakespeare's "Snake River" model, a 5 piece graphite (6 really as the handle pulls apart), 7 feet long (2.13 meters) and takes a #7 weight fly line. The handle is reversible so as to fit a spinning reel for spin fishing. It is ideal for small stream fishing yet strong enough to cope with big fish on larger rivers.

I carry one floating line for all types of fly fishing. To fish a feathered lure I may use a swivel, or lead shot on a long leader to get some depth, or use a weighted homemade lure. For lure fishing I use a level leader of 10 to 12 lb strength, ditto the monofilament for spinning.

Do not be fooled into thinking that it is sporting to fish fine when lure fishing - it is only necessary to do so for success when imitating insects on the drift.

Flies
What is required are 4 or 5 favorite "flies" and the confidence to fish them successfully anywhere in the world.

Red Setter style lures

My ones are a scruffy Red Setter style of lure, size #4 to long-shank #1 for medium to large rivers and lakes, and for small stream and dam fishing a Mrs Simpson and Hamill's Killer size #6, or a pheasant-tail nymph.

Playing a Fish
Hooking a fish is just the beginning. If you try and crank it in usually you will loose it! Let it fight until exhausted, then land it. Keep the line taut (not tight) and lower the rod tip to slacken the line when the fish jumps.

Guide the fish away from hazards (e.g., snags, rapids). Let the fish run if it's safe to do so then gently wind in (easier with a fly reel). When spin fishing do not rely on the slipping clutch but keep it off until landing the fish. If the fish runs let the reel rotate backwards. All the time manoeuvre yourself to the best landing place.

Landing a Fish
Forget about landing nets. Large fish can be a problem. You have to play out your fish and then guide it ashore onto a sandy beach (ideally). If this is not feasible then get in the water and carefully take hold of the fish by the gills and heave it onto the bank.

Be Legal
In some countries and places it may be necessary to buy a license to fish for trout and salmon. Enquire at the nearest angling shop or tourist information center.

Often there is a countrywide license as well as specific licenses for tourist fisheries and National Parks, and special rates for foreigners e.g., Chile, Argentina and New Zealand.

You will find out what methods are legal and where to go and not to go. Park rangers invariably stop a roaming angler to check on his credentials and to have a chat.

Always check with local inhabitants before venturing onto private land to fish. If possible, go with a local angler; it's lots of fun.

Sometimes a hotel or resort will have its private lake or pond stocked with trout for the benefit of guests. Visiting anglers are normally welcome and you may have to pay per kilo for trout caught. Trout farms have fish-out ponds and you can buy fresh or smoked fish here, also at markets.

Chile, Argentina and New Zealand have exceptionally good fishing and there are many fishing lodges that cater for fly fisherman, providing guides, transport and meals. All inclusive cost ranges US$200 to $950 per angler per day. Maybe one day you will be a customer.

Cooking of Fish
I carry a wire rack in my backpack for cooking on a little camp fireplace made of stones. Aluminum foil is useful to wrap the fish to cook over hot embers.

Hot smoke cooking doesn't require any gear. Soak fish in brine for a few hours. Split open large fish. Hang to dry. On the river bank fill a shallow hole with hot embers, cover with dry wood, then fish on a rack, cover with large leaves or damp newspaper. Don't let it burst into flames. Alternatively, just arrange your fish over a smoky campfire for an hour or so.

¡Buen provecho!

The Author

Barbecueing a salmon at Hornopirén, Chile

Recreational fishing is the most popular of activities devised since Isaak Walton, born in Stafford, England, set out the broad principles in his book "The Compleat Angler" (first edition 1653). His methods of using bait, lures and artificial flies to catch a wide variety of fish species is especially relevant to the traveller.

It has puzzled me that on only a few occasions have I met backpackers fishing while thick on the ground are photographers, bird watchers, kayakers, hikers and mountaineers. Maybe fishing has been relegated to the "too hard basket"?

Why go Fishing?
Back home, going fishing is for some a means of avoiding chores, such as mowing the lawn or painting the house. Much pleasure is derived from fishing even if no fish are caught. You will spend a relaxing time communing with Nature at a river or lake, possibly sighting our feathered and furry friends. This makes it all worthwhile.

Allano hooks salmon, Isla Navarino, Tierra del Fuego

What is important is that you have been enticed into the countryside to enjoy its offerings and to meet the local inhabitants. While travelling, rather than always experiencing humdrum tourist activities, you will find yourself exploring new areas of a foreign landscape.

What Gear to Take?
The traveller has to be selective so that fishing gear represents a minor part of luggage. You will be like a golfer confined to 5-iron and putter, but you will catch fish and have fun, all for US$5 to $100 maximum capital investment. A hand line and one fishing rod is all that is required.

Handcaster
As a minimum you need a hand caster, a 14cm diameter plastic or wooden reel to hold a thick monofilament line which enables easy distance casting of finer terminal gear. A 1oz sinker and running line with 1 or 2 small hooks to present worms or other bait for bottom fishing, or alternatively with a float for near surface fishing. On jungle streams a wire trace with a single bait hook is best. This is ideal for river, lake or sea fishing.

The hand caster is easy to use and takes up little space. Go for it. With this simple gear I have caught trout, salmon, perch, catfish, piranha, carp etc.

A "tincanner" near Coyhaique, Chile

In Southern Chile, the hand caster is widely used by the locals to catch trout and salmon. Called a "catalina", it is legal and seemingly possessed by all school boys to fish on the way home from school. Foreign anglers (using a rod) call them "tin canners" because the line is wrapped around a tin can, the open end of which has a wooden cross-bar to use as a handle. Watch the local experts catch trout this way at the Puerto Varas jetty, opposite the Plaza.

On Lago Llanquihue, Chile, I've been with local fishermen trolling for salmon from a row boat using a hand caster to trail a large spoon with a paravane on the line to get some depth; the line being passed over a springy sapling to absorb the strike of the fish, which is hand-lined in and gaffed.

Angling
Since the time of Isaak Walton, angling for trout has resulted in a voluminous literature written mainly by fly-fishermen. Their methods developed on the slow flowing chalk streams of England where the wily brown trout have an appetite for insects. The "Purist Model" trout is insect eating and can be deceived by presenting an imitation insect, either floating (dry fly), or sunk (wet fly), or embryonic insect (nymph), by using a fly rod and line. Fishing is passive or on the drift.

Such a model has limited application worldwide because the expanded system is more complex viz., there are brown, rainbow, brook trout and salmon of many varieties having different habits that live in diverse waterways and climatic conditions. Trout happily eat insects, but also minnows, worms, snails, shrimp, crabs etc. The culinary best trout are orange-fleshed ones that feed on crustacea.

More useful is the "Waltonian Model" i.e., the trout is an omnivorous, voracious creature with a strong territorial instinct. Besides being hungry, it can be moody, grumpy, joyful, curious, sulky and sexy - like humans! All these factors can be exploited to catch your fish!

Lure fishing is used to do this. Whether by fly rod using a feathered lure (2 to 6cm long) or a spinning rod with metal lures, the principle is the same. This is an aggressive form of fishing whereby you may interfere with the territorial instincts of a fish and provoke it to strike. Feathered lures can be used with a fly rod and sinking line or with a spinning rod using a lead ball weigh, casting across and down river or in a lake.

Lure fishing has nothing to do with imitating insects. At times the lure might imitate a minnow. The same can be said of Taupo-style nymphing (New Zealand) which would give an entomologist nightmares. The Lake Taupo fishery is unique in that the winter spawning runs of rainbow trout are fished in the lower reaches of the rivers that flow into the lake. A popular nymph rig has a bizarre bug-eye weighted nymph to sink a little "orange nymph", or roe imitation, to provoke trout with sex on their minds.

In Summary
Fly rod
Passive angling - ideal for insect imitations also natural insects and worms, especially in small to medium size streams and lakes in open country; very good for aggressive fishing of feathered lures on medium to large rivers and lakes, also with shooting head (short high density line), and Taupo-style nymphing.

Spinning Rod (with open face reel)
Spin fishing with metal lures and plugs e.g. spoons, wobblers (especially tobys), veltic spinners, Devon minnows etc; bait fishing with sinker or float; feathered lure with lead ball casting weight; artificial flies with a float; Good for closed, bushy terrain and long distance casting on rivers and lakes.

The travelling angler has to be content with only one rod. Fortunately, special backpacker rods are made that do all this and pack away to almost nothing.

Roaming South America?
These fishing spots are accessible by walking, bus, colectivo or taxi from the nearest town and provide inexpensive fishing for trout and salmon.

Success on the Rio Coyhaique, Chile

Chilean Lake District & South
Try the outlet river of any lake. e.g., at Puerto Varas fish the Rio Maullín, also the Rio Petrohué near the lake. At Hornopirén the Rio Negro and Rio Blanco. On Isla de Chiloé; try Lago Tarahuin near Chonchi, and river mouth at Cucao. At Chaitén the Rio Blanco. At Puerto Aisén the Rio Aisén. At Coyhaique both the Rio Simpson and Rio Coyhaique are within walking distance. Near the Paine National Park Headquarters is the outlet Rio Serrano with big fish. At Punta Arenas try the Rio San Juan near Fuerte Bulnes. Puerto Natales, try Lago Sofia beyond the Milodon Cave.

Tierra del Fuego
Try the Rio Grande tidal section and higher up. At Ushuaia try the Rio Lapataia and Lago Roca in the National Park.

Some high altitude lakes provide trout fishing in Bolivia, Peru, Ecuador and Venezuela.

Tight lines!

Salmon fishing on Lago Llanquihue, Chile

 

Questions?
If you want more information about this area you can email the author or check out our South America Insiders page.