Banda Lechuga
Cheech - April, 2020
In Northern Patagonia runs a river named the Collon Cura that has a healthy population of rainbow trout, perca, and some monster brown trout. These trout have learned that insects are a decent snack, but the true protein comes from the minnows that start to run up the river in early fall. Beardy McBeardleton AKA Clint and I floated it with our guide Nico, and he assured us that we only needed to string up one type of rod - the streamer rod. I rigged with an 8' leader with a dropper tag tied about 4 feet down so I could fish two flies at the same time, and my weapons of choice that day were the Drunk Drea and some compound loop jig abomination without a name, but it didn't take long to know that those streamers would be a good choice. Clint and I both hooked up before ol' Nico could even pull the anchor! Throughout the day there was a bit of algae in the water which would cause you to stop and clean off the "lettuce" every 10 or so casts, so we were joking a lot about "lechuga" (lettuce in Spanish), which led to the guides start to make up Cumbia songs about lechuga and sing them back and forth on the radios. (I'll interrupt here to give the guides at Andes Drifters a strong plug! They were an absolute RIOT to fish with.) Nico started calling our group the "Banda Lechuga" (Lettuce Band) that day, so this fly was aptly named during a float that resulted in about 75 fish to the net.
A quick tidbit about this fly... The TMC 708 that it is tied on is one of the best streamer hooks I have used in a long time. It has a little bit longer needle point and was easily sharpened after pinging it off of jagged patagonian rocks (they are no joke.) Also feel free to sub the tail out for tan or cream colored marabou of your choice.
As an added bonus!!! listen to Brigham get stoked in our intro...
- Hook: TMC 708 Keel Streamer Hook - 6
- Thread: Danville Flat Waxed Nylon Thread - 140 Denier - Red
- Bead: Firehole Stones Plated Slotted Tungsten Beads - Copper - 4.5mm (3/16")
- Lead: Lead Wire Spool - .020
- Tail: Fox Hair Patch - Red - Small
- Body/Collar: Ripple Ice Dub - Gold
- Collar 1: Ripple Ice Dub - Mother of Pearl
- Collar 2: Ostrich Marabou - Ginger
- Alternate Ostrich: Ostrich Marabou - Tan
- Alternate Fox: Fox Hair Patch - Red - Large
- Alternate Bead: Plummeting Tungsten Beads - Gold - 3/16" (4.6mm)
- Tools Used: Loon D-Loop Tweezer, Stonfo Elite Stainless Steel Bodkin, Loon Gator Grip Dubbing Spinner,
