Hello Everyone,
Once a year or so I get myself to sit in front of the computer long enough to write something that’s not for a magazine, and based on the response I always receive from our beloved family of guests, I am consistently reminded that I should probably do it more often. I hope everyone enjoys the news, and afterwards please do get in touch to send me some of yours from home as well!
First an exciting development from right here in Trevelin, our base of operations: |
|
 |
We had a great beta-test run with this one last year despite the mid-season low water and all the fires up in the park, and received nothing but positive feedback from everyone involved. So into the catalog it goes, and I am very much looking forward to hosting and guiding the groups we already have signed up for that this coming season as well as the ones no doubt soon to call.
This program is loosely based on the most popular one we’ve ever had, the original Trout Bum Rio Pico that’s been running at Vasco’s for over a decade, but with a few tweaks and twists that make for a whole different type of experience complete with restaurants, Los Alerces National Park (an UNESCO World Heritage site), and access to a lot more float-trip water than the long list of guests who have been coming back to just Rio Pico year after year are used to.
It’s a totally new experience in pretty much every way really, that is except for the price – same as Rio Pico, and same as always – twice the flexibility and fishing for half the price of any five-star lodge in the area. Check it out here on the website for details, and consider booking early because the calendar is already filling in fast, many groups planning for two weeks to see this new water/town in addition to Karina, Carla and all the old haunts they already know so well down South.
|
|
 |
On Saturday, February 6th of this coming season the Hemispheres Unlimited Chacra property between Trevelin and Esquel just happens to sit right in the center of what NASA says is the best place on Earth to experience that day’s Solar Eclipse (and if I know myself, which I do, likely while listening to Johnny Cash sing that old classic tune of his, “Ring of Fire”).
|
|
Anyone interested in an excellent Argentine Asado combined with a once in a lifetime astrological event in one of the most beautiful spots on Earth should get in touch right away; we’re expecting flights and rooms to be booked out well in advance for this one. Easy to build into either the Trout Bum Rio Pico or Trout Bum Trevelin programs (and best as a stopping point between the two), it’s just a matter of lining up the dates. Everyone’s invited; let us know!
|
|
 |
It’s no secret that Europe is in what we down here in Argentina call a great big “Quilumbo”. Look that one up and you’ll recognize it as a polite understatement for what’s kept us out of Russia now these last few years. But the Russian Embassy is now issuing tourist visas (I just got one myself), the process of obtaining one is not difficult at all, and we now have a route for the travel to get back on the water at Belousiha River Lodge for some of the most spectacular Atlantic Salmon fishing on Earth.
|
|
 |
Many of you will remember the Flats Bum Belize program we ran for several years on the back side of Ambergris Cay, and how sad we were to take it out of the catalog when Jeff sold the property. Well, as it turns out, the new owners Nick and Nickie Barns have opened the doors for business once again and overhauled the program to make it even better than it was.
I was as thrilled as I was surprised to get their call, and we’ve been in touch ever since getting ready for the first groups and their reports. Check this one out on the site now as well and get in touch for available dates. (It’s another one I may just show up to tag along for)
|
|
 |
Since its launch, our Trout Bum Slovenia program has become one of the most popular programs in the Bum catalog, and a quick review of trip reports will make it quite clear why. The fishing is incredible!
And now we are proud to announce that June 1st our partners there opened a newly built base of operations centrally located to the fishery, just in time for their first group at that lodge, one of our own, the story from which you can read here.It’s quite a place. Private and quiet yet surrounded by restaurants, cafes and bars within easy walking distance, guests find a relaxing space to retire, but in the center of the cities cultural and historic sites.
|
|
|
This is another one the Family and I will likely be on our way to soon, and we’d love to have you with us if the dates can be matched up. So give me a call or drop me a line and let’s get it on the calendar either way! Depending on the time of year we might even look for some of these…
|
|
 |
CHRISTMAS ISLAND LODGE
Maps are wonderful things, even if in today’s world most of them are showing up on screens instead of unfolded and held in hand or laid across tables. It will come as no surprise to those of you who know me though that I’m a fan of the latter, and that I’ve spent most of my last three decades more or less falling off the edge of those maps into places about as wild as they get. And that’s exactly where I met Dan Bailey, in the middle of nowhere Patagonia, by chance, on the bank of a river. Next time I saw him was on the bank of the Delger mörön river in Mongolia where we now run one of the best Taimen programs in existence. Dan and I became friends fast, and began collaborating on trips and destinations in a partnership that has now lasted for over a decade. So we are happy to announce the addition of his newest project, about as far off the edge of the map as you can get – Christmas Island Lodge.
The exploratory group for this program was made by Wally and Pam Hynes, long time Hemispheres guests from the A+ list, and their opinions are taken very seriously in our office.
The report? An A+ destination. In fact they went back for a second run at this water less than a year after the first. Check out Wally’s trip report if you’d like by clicking here, and look at all the program details in our catalog then shoot me an email to set up your trip; I’d love to try and meet you there myself!
|
|
 |
I have been scouring the jungles searching out new Peacock Bass programs for quite a while now, and the first one to make the cut just got added into the catalog and is well worth a look for anyone interested in targeting true trophies.
Rio Pasimoni Lodge is one of the most remote peacock bass fisheries in the world. Located in southern Venezuela, this is a blackwater river connected to the Casiquiare, that odd, natural link between the Orinoco and Rio Negro/Amazon systems. Its isolation and excellent habitat have allowed this system to maintain a fishery that offers visiting anglers what might just be the best shot at a trophy speckled peacock bass (Cichla temensis) anywhere in the world.
The program is limited to 10 anglers per week and operates during the lower-water period from September through March. Check it out on the website by clicking here and get in touch to arrange some dates; you won’t be disappointed.
|
|
 |
JURASSIC BUM FAMILY HOSTED TRIP REPORT
This last May I headed down to Jurassic Lake Lodge for a week hosting one of the groups we fill that space with every year since starting the only discount program on the fishery, and this time with the whole Witt crew! We had a big group of awesome guys that week and everyone had a spectacular time. Fishing the same as it always is that particular month, which is to say, better than at any other time of year. All the guests were hauling them in one after another and both Khadizhat and Aya got in on the action too. New chef in the kitchen and the best food I’ve ever seen there. Thanks so much to him and the rest of the kitchen staff, the whole team of guides, and the girls serving at the table. This is one of those programs we just flat out lucked into, developed ourselves, and fill up the calendar on every single year because it is the best deal out there on one of the most famous rainbow trout fisheries on Earth. Half price for the same great service and twice the fish. It’s a long (though beautiful) drive from Trevelin, but I’d be lying if I said I wasn’t strongly considering heading back down there again next year. Shoot me an email or give me a call if you want to line up some dates; you won’t be disappointed.
|
|
 |
2027 TARPON BUM PROGRAM
We’ve been running this program now for the last four years, and it’s proven itself to be a masterpiece of Rocky’s doing four times over. But he’s a perfectionist to say the least. Any of you who have been in his boat in Rio Pico know that all too well. Finally, he felt it was ready though, and I’ve now been able to put it officially in the catalog and feature it as a permanent addition to our offerings on the website! Check it out here folks – this is a special, special deal, and only offered two weeks of every year, with a maximum of twelve total spots. What are you doing this coming July?
|
|
 |
Many of you who have been down to Rio Pico over the last decade have taken a look at the shelf full of Khadizhat’s published Nick and Aya Travel the World series; a whole catalog of books at this point that are both educational and entertaining - perfect for kids aged four through ten. These books were inspired by our travels with our own two children, which began for each of them at the age of just six weeks old, and have so far routed us through twenty-eight countries together as a family.
A wonderful resource for parents and teachers alike who want to expose children to the history, culture, and environments of foreign lands, the stories of Nick and Aya traveling with their parents (Kate, a cultural anthropologist, and George, an environmental scientist) have proven to be a far greater success than either of us imagined might be possible.
And the project has come a long way in that process. Each edition has undergone a complete redesign with all new artwork and also been amplified to include even more content on the featured country.
The whole catalog is currently available for purchase through Amazon.
In addition to that, Khadizhat has developed a set of free downloadable PDF’s for use as educational resources to accompany each book, great tools for teachers and parents to use in helping children process and remember what they’ve learned from the stories of Nick and Aya’s travels with their parents. Check it all out via the links above; the truth is even for us adults, these books are really neat.
|
|
 |
|
PATAGONIA BIKE TOURS BETA-TEST SEASON
Folks - for those of you who enjoy two wheels and pedals this is going to be really, really cool. I’ve been toying around with the idea for years. Now, having developed the network of accesses required to create an all off-road and environmentally diverse catalog of tours through our amazing Patagonian landscapes, all without the sound of cars and trucks going past or the dust that follows those, we’re going to have a lot of fun. Shoot me an email for rates and details if you’re interested in participating in one of the first rides of the beta-test season. These will be deep-discount trips, basically modeled after our existing one week Bum programs in the area but with bikes on single and double track instead of fly rods and rafts (although there’s plenty of water around too if you want to mix it up). I’m excited.
|
|
| THE BACK-LOG OF BUILD-INS
This is almost a confession. The truth is we are and have been working with a number of programs for years now that I have not found the time to build into our website, and as such have not included in these newsletters. We’ve sent a good number of folks to them though! It comes up at the dinner table in Rio Pico, or guests who have been with us and trusted our work for years have simply asked about a fishery and found out I have contacts there and have even sent many groups. Off the top of my head it’s currently two rivers in Mongolia, three lodges in Alaska, a couple of places in Mexico, one in Brazil, a whole host of them here in Argentina as well as Chile, and so on, and so on,…. Point is – I’ll try to get around to it but in the meantime know this: If there’s some place you’d like to fish but it isn’t on our site, call me anyway. Even if I don’t already have someone I am working with there I’ll be happy to make some calls and connections for you free of charge. I’m always interested in new fisheries anyway, but there’s a lot more already in the basket than my typing, mouse sliding fingers have yet managed to present online. |
|
|
 |
|
ONE MORE THING
(Read this if nothing else)
Those of you who know me will not be too surprised. The truth is that despite my having “settled down” quite a bit since the kids were born, the parts of my psyche that made me walk the length of Patagonia alone up the length of the Andes for seven months straight a couple decades ago are still very much alive and well. And these crop up every now and then with enough force to have me strapping on backpacks, boarding float planes, or climbing atop horses.Right now we’ve got a project started in Chile that involves the planes and arrives at the boats, then opens up into a whole world of possibilities ranging from horses to good old wading boots and of course… fish.
I’m not going into details here yet. I’ll host ONE group this season, and at a rate significantly lower than what is planned for once the program is in the catalog - get in now for only $600 a night. Currently planning for the first week of March. There are ONLY FOUR spots. Get in touch now if you’re interested and we’ll sort out the details.
|
|
|
|
