Thursday, July 1, 2010

Barrett on the Ponoi














Got this message from my friend Barrett Mattison, author of Fly-Fishing in Patagonia: A Trout Bum's Guide to Argentina. He is enjoying his first guide season on the Ponoi. My dream of all fly fishing trips. With luck he will be able to start posting on his blog Faraway Fly Fishing. I can't wait to see the rest of the pictures.

Privyet (Hello),

An entire month has already passed since I stepped foot in Russia, so I figured it’s about time I shared a few fish pictures from the Ponoi. It took 3 entire days of being poked and prodded by various Russian doctors with dubious qualifications just to get here, but as you can see it’s been well worth it. Lots of salmon on skated dries, and the 24 hours of light allow for endless fishing. The guiding is good and there are plenty of fish in the river, but the mosquitoes are now so thick you can hear a constant buzzing even when indoors, and the 20 seconds it takes to urinate outside is a harrowing experience. Russians are good fun and certainly love their vodka, though personal hygiene doesn’t seem to be a big priority. In another couple weeks I will leave camp and head to Turkey or Egypt for a brief vacation. Hope you are all doing well, and I look forward to hearing from you soon.

Cheers,

Barrett Mattison

1 comment:

chaveecha said...

that is the dream, no doubt about it. though i have a feeling the fishing is actually too good there. i'd really like to get on one of their big-fish rivers. heard some wild stories.

one of these days...nazdaroviya!