The close of the last 2 weeks saw brooding rain clouds, which promised much needed water but never really delivered.  This weekend however the conditions really gave us something to think about.  Saturday morning was time for a bit of test fishing and seeking out new pools, an ever-present opportunity on 40 kms of changing river.  Having waded across the river to an island in search of new water the first indicator that something was amiss was the river filling with weed and algae, a typical indicator of the approach of a strong wind.  This however was in fact a regular Tsunami with the river rising so fast you could actually see the change.  After a frantic dash back to the home bank we watched the river rise by 1cm / minute over the next 80 minutes.  Further down river a military rescue team were called in to rescue a picnicking and by then panicking family that had become stranded.

By Sunday the river had risen again and the water visibility made fishing almost impossible.  As a countermeasure we drove much further up the Gallegos and the team were rewarded with a couple of Sea Trout and some decent Browns up to 4 lbs.  The river had dropped back to a fishable height by Tuesday however it was now the winds turn to cause problems, the water turning coloured having been whipped up by the waves.

It was only by Thursday that our unlucky party finally started to make headway with 9 fish in the morning and by Friday conditions were close to perfect with our team of 5 catching 13 fish in the morning session alone.  All in all a dispiriting week as a result of most unseasonable conditions.  Sinking & sink tip lines were required to compensate the heavy water and lack of visibility using big flies such as Woolybuggers, Conehead tubes and Zonkers in black/red or black/green combinations.
 
The river is still dropping and conditions are close to perfect….

No. of fish:  37 
No. of rods: 5
Biggest fish:  15 lbs
Avg. weight:  8,2 lbs