Is a hosted fishing trip right for you? CLICK HERE TO FIND OUT.
Argentina Trout and Golden Dorado
I’ll be hosting two amazing fishing opportunities for you in Patagonia & Argentina with Andes Drifters. Do either trip or both in two consecutive weeks!
February 20-27 2016 Patagonia Trout
This is nothing less than a week of the best trout fishing and greatest hospitality on the planet. I made this trip last year and it was the coolest fishing trip I’ve ever made. While your friends shovel snow at home you’ll throw big dry flies to hungry brown and rainbow trout of 18-24 inches, drink Argentinean wine, fish at the foot of a giant volcano, eat goat roasted on a spit and sleep under the Southern Cross.
The fishing is truly remarkable. Think Montana times 10. There will be ample opportunity to cast to rising trout or work the bank with hoppers. If you like to throw streamers, hold on baby! These fish are aggressive. We’ll spend the first few days floating the Chimehuin and Alumine Rivers, and wading the beautiful Malleo River at the foot of the Lanin volcano.
We will stay at the Spring Creek Lodge, which is as comfortable as it is charming. The Argentines are gracious folks and they are proud to share their country and their culture. There will be local wine tasting, music, tango dancers and food that you just can’t believe. If you never touched your fly rod it would be a bucket list trip. And just when you think it can’t get any better…it does.
We’ll end the trip with an epic three-day float and camp on the legendary Limay Medio, The River Of Monsters. Although your average fish on this river will likely be 20 inches, it’s quite likely the best place in the world to land a brown trout of better than 20 pounds. These leviathans migrate into the river to feed on minnows and if you are up for throwing streamers on sinking lines, you’ve got a good shot at landing one.
The camping experience is remarkable. We’ll fish until dark and arrive at a camp that feels like a Patagonian pirate festival. Our tent will be pitched, our beds made, our wine poured. Lavish meals are cooked on open fires under a sky with more stars than you thought possible. You’ll be embarrassed at how well you’re treated.
Patagonia is a place like no other on earth. Llamas lounge on the river banks while giant condors soar above. The rivers run free and clear like nothing I’ve ever seen. The people are soulful and proud and genuinely excited to have you there. This truly is the trip of a lifetime.
Read more about Patagonia Here.
Here’s a fun video from last year of giant trout eating chicken nuggets!
Cost $4975
Get all the details here.
Email me at hookups@ginkandgasoline.com to reserve your spot!
IS A HOSTED FISHING TRIP RIGHT FOR YOU? CLICK HERE TO FIND OUT.
Feb 13-20 2016 Argentina Golden Dorado
Maybe you’re interested in seeing the dark side of Argentina fly fishing? Perhaps a trip with some real teeth? Well then, how about throwing six-inch streamers for Golden Dorado on the Upper Parana River?
Week two will be completely different. We’ll spend our days sight fishing on big water for one of the most aggressive predators that swims. Brawny Golden Dorado in the 12-30 pound range. The fish that Kirk Deeter, of Field and Stream, called “pound for pound, the toughest fish in the world.”
These fish are bold fighters that make reel-melting runs and acrobatic jumps. They are pure unchecked aggression. They’re apex predators and they have a mouth full of teeth to prove it. If you’re looking for an adrenaline rush, this is it.
You’ll also get the chance to catch Pacu and Pirapita, two unique species from south of the equator. This is crazy dry fly fishing on wire leader. These fish are as tough as they are unusual. Personally, I’m glad we will not be wading this river!
We’ll be staying at Parana On The Fly Lodge, with our own chef and more of the famous Argentine hospitality, including more local wines. If you’re looking for a fly fishing trip that’s a true adventure and pits you against the toughest predators the Southern Hemisphere can offer this week is for you.
Check out this video of mind-blowing dorado action!
Cost $4450
Get all the details here.
Best of all, you don’t have to choose. Do both trips in two consecutive weeks and save the air fare. That’s my plan! I look forward to fishing with you in Argentina. Unless you’d rather shovel snow.
Email me at hookups@ginkandgasoline.com to reserve your spot!
IS A HOSTED FISHING TRIP RIGHT FOR YOU? CLICK HERE TO FIND OUT.
Exciting new Bahamas Bonefish School Abaco Lodge
With all of the controversy surrounding the Bahamas lately, I’m excited to share some good news! I’ll be hosting a trip to the famed Abaco Lodge, March 15-22, 2016!
This week promises to be pretty amazing. The fishery surrounding Abaco is revered as one of the most productive bonefishing destinations anywhere, while also offering legitimate opportunities to catch permit and tarpon.
The Abaco Lodge sits right on the world famous Marls, a 400 square mile complex of flats that teams with bonefish and permit. They say you can fish the Marls your whole life and not see it all, but we’re not stopping there. The Abaco lodge trailers boats to the ocean-side flats where you’ll find some of the biggest bones in the Bahamas. It’s a diverse fishery with some amazing opportunities.
Awesome fishing isn’t the end of the story. The Abaco Lodge is a first class operation. Fine dining, shiny new Hell’s Bay flats boats, an infinity pool and even satellite TV. Everything you could ask for on and off the water. Easily accessible by direct flights into nearby Marsh Harbor. Abaco has a lot to offer and I’m excited to be hosting there.
I’ll be teaching my popular Bonefish 101 class plus fly tying, leader building and open discussion on any topic related to fly fishing. As always, I’ll be working with anglers one-on-one to shorten the learning curve and get you bonefishing like a pro.
Whether you’re new to saltwater fly fishing or an old hand you’ll enjoy the company of good, like-minded folks who love to fish and make new friends. G&G trips are an ego-free zone where all are welcome. Come enjoy the Bahamas with us!
Cost: $5350
Check out The Abaco Lodge Here.
Email me at hookups@ginkandgasoline.com to reserve your spot!
How Do Hosted Fishing Trips Work And Is It Right For Me?
I promise you, this is not going to be a sales pitch but a full disclosure.
A good friend of mine suggested I write this. A good friend who, as it happens, I met on a hosted fishing trip. It’s funny how that works. As I think about it now, there are a whole lot of folks, who I call good friends, who I met on hosted fishing trips. Guys who have turned out to be life long friends and fishing buddies. Some of them are now contributors to G&G. Tim Harris and Johnny Spillane for example. And friends like Scott McKenzie, who I talk to almost every day.
Before I ever went on one of these trips, I had a very different idea about what they were. Many of these trips are based around fishing lodges and, like a lot of guys, I thought of lodges as being stuffy, elitist deals where I would have nothing in common with anyone. And I still think lodge fishing can work out that way a lot of times. What I didn’t get at first is that the hosted trips are a way around that. A way to insure that you connect with the guys you’re fishing with.
I learned to host trips from my buddy Bruce Chard. Bruce does a great job and I started going along with him to co-host trips in the Bahamas. I don’t know if I was much help at first but it was sure a lot of fun. It always seemed to be such a great crowd. Finally it struck me. The reason the groups of guys who came on those trips were so awesome is because Bruce was awesome, and they were all guys who loved to fish with Bruce. There were guys still coming on Bruce’s bonefish school for ten years running. The host is there to teach, but these guys weren’t there because they had anything left to learn about bonefishing but because they had all become great friends.
Imagine that you have ten fishing buddies who have the same interests as you and they are willing to go on any epic fishing adventure you can think up.
That’s kind of what it’s like and after a while, that’s kind of what it is. In a couple of weeks I’ll be joining a group of guys for a week of tarpon fishing. One of the guys has a home in Florida and has generously offered to host the group. It’s not a hosted trip, but that’s how we all met.
I think it’s true that a lot of folks don’t understand how hosted trips work. Let’s say, I’m hosting a trip to the Bahamas, because I am several times a year. It costs you the same thing it does to go to the lodge without me. There is no additional charge, so how does that work? And I’m giving away rods and reels and lines and clothes. A lot of guys look at that and go, “what’s the catch?”
Their really isn’t a catch.
The fishing lodge business is tough and the lodge sees value in me exposing new folks to their service. They pay me a small commission. Usually enough to cover my tips and air fare. I help the lodge staff make everyone’s trip as good as possible. Happy clients means return business. Basically, I sing for my supper, which is how I manage to do a lot of awesome fishing. G&G sponsors donate gear because they see value in the G&G community. The way I make it work financially is to take photos, which I sell to folks like Simms and Orvis. It’s complicated but I eventually make a modest living.
So why should you come on one of these trips? Again, not a sales pitch.
• I do a lot of the leg work for you.
Before I ever host a trip anywhere I get to know the operation and the fishery. I don’t want to take a group of guys somewhere that turns out to be shady or have marginal fishing. I get to know the guides so I can match them to the right anglers. Destinations don’t always work out. That means I make the mistakes so that you don’t have to. I’m there when you’re packing or buying flies or booking flights to help you make it a great trip.
• I bring travel experience to the table.
In the process of putting these trips together I have learned a few things. Like, you can’t carry a fly rod or reel onto an airplane in Argentina. Or when your bags don’t show up at the airport in Nassau, you need to call someone on the island to go sit with them while another plane goes to get them because the airport closes after the plane leaves and your bags are sitting out front unattended.
• I help you become a better angler.
I’m not trying to play the expert. I have some skills and experience and I’m happy to share them. I like teaching people to fly fish. I get folks involved who feel the same way. We learn from each other. On our last trip to the Bahamas the best casting clinic we had all week came from my buddy Michael White. It was one of those moments that just clicked for everyone. It was awesome!
• G&G attracts the right people.
For me this is the whole point. I know too many guys who have had miserable trips because the group they ended up with sucked for one reason or another. When Kent and I started G&G the word that kept coming up was community. We wanted to create a place for a community of like minded anglers. We had no idea how many of you there were, out there looking for the same thing. That’s been the big payoff for me. Getting to meet and fish with that community. That has been amazing for everyone.
Ok here’s the sales pitch!
I’m not very good at making sales pitches so I’m just going to share an email I got this morning from John Hamilton, who joined me on the last bonefish school in the Bahamas.
“I wanted to thank you again for being such a gracious host / instructor during our time in South Andros. Reid and I both could not have asked for a better trip — in large part thanks to time you dedicated to answering our numerous questions and to teach us about everything from strip setting to casting to tying flies and leaders. I speak for both of us when I say that we learned more about fishing in our one week at South Andros than we have in our entire lives previously. It is easy to see why the island and the people there hold such a special place in your heart – it truly is a remarkable place filled with wonderful people, so thank you for sharing it with us.” – John Hamilton
And from Scott McKenzie,
“Also, as someone that has been traveling fishing for 25 plus years, now my preference will always be to go on hosted trips especially to those special places like Alaska, Bahamas or the like.”