White River

Brian proving that you don't need to travel all the way to Argentina to catch great fish.  Shown here with a beautifully colored healthy steelhead.  Nice fish Brian!

Patagonia - Letter to Hawkins Outfitters

Kudos to Hawkins Outfitters - our trip to Patagonia was a grand slam from start to finish.  Unlike most destinations the experience exceeded the hype and certainly exceeded my expectations.  I had a great time.

“Breaking in” for three days on the Traful River at the Estancia Arroyo Verde was a great way to prepare for the six days of non-stop action provided by the Flymaniacs of Bariloche.  I caught my largest brown trout ever to a sited fish on the Traful using one of your expertly crafted streamers, in the middle of a sunny day on a river so beautiful no photo can do it justice.  It doesn’t get any better, except perhaps for the outdoor barbecue provided by our gracious hosts.   The fact that the Traful also held willing land-locked Atlantic salmon made the Arroyo Verde a unique and unforgettable experience.

The hosteria you selected in Bariloche provided a good staging point for our river trips with the Flymaniacs, and the staff there was very attentive and eager to please.  Which leads me to an observation that seems universally true throughout Argentina – the people there are good spirited and generous of their time and culture, and glad to have American tourists.  This was particularly true of Esteban and his fishing guides.  They were not only some of the best guides I have experienced anywhere, but also engaging in a way that made me feel at home in a foreign land.  In the end it wasn’t surprising that Esteban treated us to a personally prepared feast at his home on the last evening, or that his guides took us shopping in Bariloche on our way to the airport (has to be the worst part of a guide’s job).

The Argentine cuisine from the restaurants in Buenos Aires and Bariloche to the campfires along the Calefu River was outstanding.  They have taken the concept of a “mixed grill” to a whole new level.   And the local wine was exceptional.  The irony is that upon returning home I had actually lost some weight.  Now that’s my kind of diet.

But we traveled to Patagonia for its famous trout fishery and were not disappointed.  In fact, I was amazed how good the daytime fishing was in full sun in the gin clear rivers we fished.   I was also amazed at how the brown trout fought like steelhead back home – especially in the Limay River.  We routinely saw browns jump completely out of the water in their fight for freedom, an uncommon experience here in Michigan.  And of course the rainbows were even more acrobatic.  To a river, there was never a cast that didn’t hold the promise of a trophy catch.

I would like to thank you for putting such a memorable trip together, and for your efforts to assure that everything went smoothly.  Your attention to detail was very much appreciated by all of us.  The packing list, travel advisories, and equipment (I can’t wait to try some of your streamers back here in Michigan) were all first class.

I went to Patagonia on the “trip of a lifetime”, and returned vowing to go back as often as I can.

Patagonia- Part 4

My companions on this trip (left to right): Steve Ladd, John Marcus, Chuck Hawkins, Rudy Stimac, and Tom Whalen, pictured here having a riverside lunch along the banks of the Calefu River.  We spent the last three days of our trip camping on the Calefu.  A camp crew would push ahead to set up camp and prepare dinner while we fished our way downstream on float boats.  On day 2 Rudy and I teamed up in what Rudy aptly described as a top 100 day.   Unfortunately my camera battery failed before I got photos of our camp.

Patagonia- Part 3

Here are a few more photos...

Patagonia- Part 2

As you can see we ate well on this trip.  The culinary highlight was a barbecue at the estancia Arroyo Verde.  It was hard to get used to the Argentine custom of eating dinner at 10:00 in the evening, but we all gave it our best shot.

Argentine Wine

Here are a few of the wines served and/or recommended during my stay in Argentina:  Luigi Bosca Malbec, Rutini Katena Zapata, Bodegas Del Desierto 25/5, El Boliche de Alberto.  Of course any wine tastes better after casting streamers all day.  A fellow traveler suggested buying Argentine wine from southernwines.com.

Castaway Films

At the airport in Buenos Aires I met Dr. Grant Wiswell while waiting for our return flight.  Grant is a surgeon at the University of Michigan Medical Center, and spends his leisure time on far flung fishing adventures with a twist - he and his companions film the experience.  Check out his website:  www.castawayfilms.com

Patagonia

Fished the Calefu, Limay, Manso, and Traful rivers.  This may be the most beautiful place on earth.  Casted streamers for 9 days to browns, rainbows, and landlocked atlantic salmon.  Stayed the first 3 days at the Arroyo Verde Estancia on the Traful river, followed by 6 days on other rivers guided by the Flymaniacs.  Both the fishing and the food were fantastic the entire trip, and the guides were some of the best I've had anywhere.  Argentines know how cook beef - and drink wine.  I booked the trip through Chuck Hawkins Outfitters.  More to follow...

Old Town Canoe #78,795 was purchased used by my father and his buddy Don Newton in 1946 for about $30.  How the craft ended up in Grand Rapids after being initially sold to a customer in Akron, Ohio is unknown.  Their first outing was to Log Lake near Kalkaska, although much of their time in the early years was spent on the Muskegon River which was closer to home.  I took many trips down nearby rivers as a teenager, including the Flat, Muskegon, and Rogue.  I restored the canoe around 1974 after many years of disuse and neglect.  This photo of my son Brad and his daughter Madeline was taken in 2006 on Lake Helena.

May 1925

The Old Town Canoe Company is just waking up as dawn emerges from the shadows along the eastern bank of the Penobscot River.  Soon the plant will be bustling with activity and the sweet smell of fresh sawdust will permeate the crisp spring air -- a ritual nearly as old as the town itself.  Craftsmen, many of American Indian descent, have been building the flat bottom bateaux and canoes for the river drivers now for over 100 years in this quiet inland town in the heart of Maine's great logging interior.

The collection of buildings bordering Middle Street that make up the company's manufacturing facility are the pride of the community, the reason Old Town is known as "Canoe City."  Throughout the long cold winter its skilled workers labored over seven models of canoes to be shipped by rail throughout the United States and Canada, each stamped with a serial number in the stern.  Here on the first floor of Building No. 2 the crew begins preparation for the day's shipment.

Thanks to the business acumen of owner Sam Gray and his family, the company outperforms other manufacturers by controlling logging operations, the sawmill, and production facilities.  Tools and equipment are supplied by Gray's Hardware, and their unique national marketing effort relies on a sales force also peddling Bickmore's Gall Cure, another Gray enterprise.  Unlike the Penobscot Canoe Co., the St. Louis Meramec Canoe Company, and hundreds of other competitors, the Grays are neither craftsman, nor boat enthusiasts.  They are entrepreneurs, turning challenges and risks into opportunities.

In 1925, post-war America is heading outdoors and clamoring for more canoes.  Sam Gray is only too happy to oblige.  The New England boathouses and recreations clubs are once again thriving, and the craze is moving west.  Amusement parks are springing up alongside lakes and rivers, sparking a new wave of demand for watercraft.  And there is something else ratcheting up demand.  Individuals are now buying canoes apart from clubs for their own private recreation.  The Old Town Canoe Co. is running full tilt.

Canoe number 78,795 is lifted off the rack in the staging area.  It is a red 17' OTCA model, introduced in  1908 and now a best seller.  The design incorporates many of Old Town's best features from older proven models.  The graceful yet stable craft has the hallmark open spruce gunwales, eastern white cedar ribs, and western red cedar planking covered with No. 8 seamless canvas.  Its wider, more stable beam makes it an ideal choice for the novice boater.

It is wrapped in oiled paper and then placed on the floor over a large swath of burlap covered with hay.  The burlap is drawn up over the canoe and sewn shut to form a cigar shaped cocoon.  Later today it will be loaded on a boxcar in the rail yard for delivery to a customer in Akron, Ohio.  Included is a bill-of-sale documenting the $85 paid and certificate describing the model shipped.  It reads:

"Old Town 'OCTA MODEL' canoe"

The "otca" model is the widest, deepest and roomiest.  These

features make it the steadiest, safest and most capacious canoe

that we build.  The floor is flat and wide, and carried far into

the ends.  The sides are convex, thus producing a handsome

tumble-home.  Is equipped with 20" long decks having low

coaming or deck end finish, and only with open gunwales.

Not built for speed but for comfort, safety and fine appearance.

The model is suited for any use under any conditions, anywhere.