The quiver

Shop owner Tucker Ladd and his wife Whitney are just about to disembark on a fly fishing adventure and vacation to San Martin De Los Andes in Argentina. In addition to exploring the trout fishing in this country for the first time, Tucker and Whitney will also be exploring other sights and sound in both the Mendoza region and the bustling city of Buenos Aires.

Here’s a quick Travel Spotlight and a pre-trip summary. We’ll be sure to follow up with a full Argentina Fly Fishing Report upon their return.

Trouts Fly Fishing: Who’s going on the trip?

Tucker Ladd (TL): Tucker and Whitney Ladd and… a boatload of fly fishing gear.

Trouts Fly Fishing: When are you going?

TL: Late December through early January.

Trouts Fly Fishing: Why Argentina? What’s the draw?

TL: Over the course of the last year, I have been working with various lodges and travel companies to find the ideal destination fishing trips for couples. Sharing this aspect of fly fishing with my wife has been an amazing journey, and it has opened up a whole new realm of angling experiences that we have been able to share together. Earlier this year we ventured to Ascension Bay in Mexico, so I thought more of a trout related trip was in order.

For this particular adventure I worked with the guys at Damonte Outfitters, a fly shop and guide service located in San Martin De Los Andes in Argentina. They put together a weeklong fishing package that is designed to keep my wife happy, but also allow us to experience trout fishing in Argentina. For our week of fishing, we’ll be staying at La Casona Del Alto Lodge, which will give us the opportunity to fish a variety of rivers and lakes located around San Martin.

Since traveling to and from Argentina is such a process, we figured we might as well take a little extra time on the front and back end of the fishing trip to explore other parts of Argentina. So we’ll be spending a few days on the beginning of the trip exploring the Mendoza region, followed by a short stay in Buenos Aires at the conclusion of the trip. All in all, it should be a fantastic time!

Trouts Fly Fishing: How will you be fishing?

TL: We’ll be primarily floating, but I’m sure there will be a day or two of wade fishing in the mix. Like fishing in the Rocky Mountain West, a lot of this will be dependent on weather and water conditions.

Bugs

Trouts Fly Fishing: With international fly fishing, the travel piece of the puzzle is half the fun. What does your travel dance card look like?

TL: Denver to Atlanta-->Atlanta to Buenos Aires-->Buenos Aires to Mendoza-->Mendoza to Buenos Aires-->Buenos Aires to Bariloche-->San Martin to Buenos Aires-->Buenos Aires to Atlanta -->Atlanta to Denver.

Trouts Fly Fishing: Whoa. That's a lot of plane changes. Moving on. This would not be a pre-trip report without a run down of gear, equipment and tackle. What’s in your boat bag and quiver?

TL: While I was never a Boy Scout, I have always believed in their philosophy of “always be prepared”. As such, I’ll be schlepping a variety of rods, reels, flies, etc. with me. Notables include 4wt-6wt Scott Radians, 4wt-6wt Sage ONE’s, 6wt Sage Method, and a variety of reels from Abel, Hatch and Bozeman Reel Company.

The Scott Radian in action

Trouts Fly Fishing: What are your goals for the trip?

TL: This will be both of our first time in Argentina, so our main goal is to explore the country and learn more about all that it has to offer. Fishing, drinking wine, eating great food, hiking, and whatever else we can come up with in between.

And there you have it…

Remember to check back to see the full Argentina Fly Fishing report in later January here at the Trouts News Page.