Lago Nonthue

 By Mario Capovía Del Cet
 

This beautiful lake is located in the west of the Lacar Lake close to the Chilean frontier and flows its waters into the Hua Hum River, one of the fewest rivers in the Argentinian Patagonia which ends in the Pacific Ocean.
Although this is an ideal lake for fording, it is not advisable to do it at present as this is the season when the river reaches its highest level. So, it is ideal to try casting from a boat  towards the dense rushes, which at this time are under water.  Augusto Matus, a professional guide who operates in San Martin de los Andes accompanied and helped us with his knowledge and had his boat at our service. The motorboat was tied to the Hua Hum wharf,  a beautiful spot with a terrace from where an amazing view can be enjoyed.
 
 

A distance of two hundred metres along the same coast was enough to see the first rainbow breaking through the surface with its looping.
 

The persistent and constant breeze obliged our guide to show his expertise in the handling of the boat, having to correct the way so as to locate it according to the position of  our flies.
Our target here on this side of the coast was the limit of the submerged rush walls, their openings and some banks of aquatic vegetation.
 

As this is the routine here, the fly must fall down really close to the rush wall, the area along which the trouts usually dwell. After that the fly must be soon picked up so as to avoid entangling, or, on the contrary, let it down deep into the water according to the depth marked by the colour of the water.

According to what Augusto told us, fishing in this lake is much more attractive in the forthcoming months due to the fact that the temperature is higher and the water lower. Having these conditions in the coming season, there are a lot of dragonflies and, as a result, there is a high level of activity and the trouts can be seen jumping more than a meter above the level of the water. Fishing with dry fly in this situation is really amazing. After one hour and a half we had fished about 10 rainbows of about 1 kilo and 1 ½ and many of them had gotten stuck in our hooks.  

We came back to the coast to have lunch and some “mates” (a typical Argentinian beverage). We all agreed that, eating in a place surrounded by such a beautiful landscape, turns a simple sandwich into a special dish.
After one hour and a half  we got back to the boat, this time towards the opposite shore. There are not so many beaches on this side of the lake but wide areas covered with rocks and half sunk tree trunks as the forest ends right over the river.
Again, the results were excellent. The flies were caught once and again by very active trouts which would not give up easily. Most of them looked strong and healthy except for a couple of them which were thinner than usual and with rather dark colour, possibly due to the end of the spawning period.

In these cases the ideal thing to do is to use a rod for lines number five or six. At the same time, and for the deep banks, it is advisable to use fast sinking shooting lines. Wet Tip are recommended for the rush beds and floating lines with long leader for either shallow waters or surface activity situations using dry flyes.  The results of our second outing was fifteen rainbow trouts and a brown one.
We came back very pleased after such a satisfactory fishing day. Then we  reflected upon the fact that if this beautiful lake is properly looked after, it will keep on being one of the major attractions for the tourists who come to visit San Martin de los Andes and its surrounding areas.

Services:

Fishing Guide, Augusto Mathus
Telephone  011 54 02972-429143 or 011 54 02944-1556-3429
E-mail : tiempodepesca@smandes.com.ar
Website www.tiempodepesca.com  

Cabins “Las Cumbres”
236 Piren Street – San Martín de los Andes

Telephone 011 54 02972 – 422660 or 011 54 02972- 422661
E-mail: lascumbres@smandes.com.ar
Website www.lascumbresapart.com.ar

Fishing Guide “Coco” Funes
Cabins “Humo Azul”
344 Rudecindo Roca  Street .
San Martín de los Andes.
TE: 011 54 02972-427678  or  011- 4304-2249
E-mail humoazul@smandes.com.ar 
Website: www.humoazul.com.ar