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Rodrigo
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By Rodrigo Amadeo - Santa Cruz River guide
During the December to April season, sport fishermen will be able to capture perch and rainbow trout. But in late February, the incredible “Steelhead” trout come in from the Atlantic Ocean. The Santa Cruz is the only river in South America this anadromous species inhabits, and it is possible to obtain specimens weighing up to 9 kilos. You may fish using flies or spinners. The rules – permitted fish size and all other conditions are set out on the fishing permit which you must have before you do sport fishing here.
It all began about fifteen years ago when the first trout were caught; but of course we did not realize then that they were the precious Steelheads. In the years following our first catches we were able to learn about their ways, when they swim upstream, when they spawn, and what equipment it is best to use to catch them. But above all we learned to value and protect them.
It is believed that this species was planted in 1907 with roe from the Sacramento River in California. Since then it has inhabited the Santa Cruz River, but apart from some chance catches in 1970 and another around 1975, it was only in 1983 that its sport fishing began.
Specimens of 4 and 6 kilos are often found, and some of up to 9 kilos have been caught. But these trout aren’t always there, and they’re never easy to catch. You must know when they rise and when and how to catch them.
The ideal time for this is late February and mid-May. As to fishing gear, the river’s characteristics make spinning easier than fly-casting. A number 8 or larger rod is recommended as is a fast-sinking line. If you’re going to use flies, tardas are best.
The Santa Cruz demands different gear from that used on other rivers, because it is 400 kilometres long and from 100 to 500 metres wide, with a flow of 1300 cubic metres per second in the month of March. It flows at 2 to 3 metres per second and in places is 3 or 4 metres deep.
The Steelhead trout puts even the best fisherman’s skills to the test because of its size, the number of catches and its genetic quality. All these must be taken into account, of course, but so must other factors. We have to avoid introducing other species which might affect the Steelhead’s genetic quality, especially if those others are a result of fish breeding. We have to protect the purity of the water and keep the river banks clean – not just to protect the Steelhead but also to offer tourists an environment where they can enjoy everything around them – as well as the fishing. In spite of its remoteness, the Santa Cruz basin was one of the first in Patagonia to be sown with Salmonidae. The first loads destined for the river arrived in 1906 and were the roe of Rainbow Trout, Chinook Salmon, and North American Sebago. Also there were Brown Trout and Atlantic Salmon from England. Between 1908 and 1910 three further loads arrived.
These early sowings seem to have been successful for in 1924 catches of Rainbow Trout were reported in Lake Viedma, Lake Argentino and in the La Leona and Santa Cruz rivers.
Sowing continued with fish produced in the breeding season in Bariloche until the year 1970. Unlike the populations typical of the north of the region, adult specimens from some of the Santa Cruz basin populations migrate for several months to feed in the rich waters of the Atlantic Ocean. Up until now, the Santa Cruz is the only river in Argentina where this migratory behaviour has been reported. In the case of Rainbow Trout it’s called Anadromy and is seasonal. Every year, as summer ends and autumn begins, the Rainbow Trout swims up river from the ocean to continue its life cycle, to reach its spawning grounds in the depths of some unknown stretch of this great river.
Is this a Steelhead? This is the first question fishermen ask when they learn that the Rainbow Trout of the Santa Cruz river makes this oceanic excursions. They apply this term to what is also known as the Coastal Rainbow of the North Pacific, an anadromous variety of huge sport fishing value which can remain up to five years in the ocean, reaching a size of up to more than a metre in length and weighing nearly 20 kgs . In the majority of Northern Hemisphere populations, the young remain in fresh waters for two years before they migrate to the sea, but unlike these which can remain in the ocean for various years, Santa Cruz fish remain there only for a few months. Also populations in the Northern Hemisphere spawn once or twice a lifetime whereas here they spawn up to six times as they travel from fresh waters to the sea.
A 9 kg fish captured in the British Columbia River in Canada lives two to three years in the river, then four in the sea, and only then it enters the river again to spawn, possibly for its only time (in its six or seven year life cycle). Meanwhile a similar fish caught in the Santa Cruz river resided two years in fresh water and was coming back to the river in its seventh reproductive migration, each time having spent about six months in the ocean (thus reaching nine years of age).
EQUIPMENT FOR FLY FISHING ON THE SANTA CRUZ RIVER
Single handed rods: # 7 to 11, tiny lines from 250 to 450,
Two handed rods: # 8 to 13, long sinking tips 250 to 450, Shooting heads or Skagit type lines
Short heavy leaders are mandatory.
ANDES OUTFITTERS Head guide, Gustavo Sarthou will be stationed on the Santa Cruz river area from April 15th to May 31st (prime time), please call us for details and pricing.
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