6 of the best fly fishing destinations
Words: Gentleman's Journal
From the emerald flats of the Seychelles to the icy waters cascading through Iceland’s dramatic landscape, Tarquin Millington-Drake shares the most incredible and action-packed spots on Earth to cast a fly.
ICELAND, For the intimate…
Whether trout or salmon fishing, Iceland offers challenging, world-class fly fishing in dramatic and beautiful scenery. The salmon rivers are extremely clear, thus require stealth and accuracy and small flies, and this makes for the most interesting and intimate salmon fishing of all.
The trout fishing is equally, if not more varied, with technical dry fly and nymph fishing on rivers and lakes for wild trout we can only dream of, to the more diverse options of trout and char rivers in the highland interior where there is literally nobody to be seen. There is also the option to fish for trout inside volcanic calderas. The convenience of Iceland is another bonus, with plenty of flights, including good budget carriers, and only a three-hour flight with no visa requirements. If one wants to sightsee in Iceland, it is easy; simply look out of the window of your car, around almost every corner is something to marvel at.
Recommended: Grimsa, Thvera/Kjarra, Nordura, Midfjardara, Vididalsa and Big Laxa, Price for salmon fishing: £3,000 – £5,500 per three days. For trout fishing: half this for the same time period.
RUSSIA, For the roaming…
There is no better place in the world to go salmon fishing if you want space and time. Of course, all the rivers provide guides but the opportunity for time alone on the water is limitless and there is no greater pleasure or learning opportunity than working things out for yourself and enjoying success.
Speaking of success, if the objective is to be absolutely 100 per cent certain of catching an Atlantic salmon, there is no more reliable place in the world. All the main rivers operated today can almost guarantee, and I mean guarantee, catching a salmon – that is not the case anywhere else.
One of the greatest pleasures, again not really possible anywhere else, is fishing under the midnight sun – in Russia in May, June and July one can fish all night and enjoy some of the best salmon fishing, if not the best the world has to offer.
Recommended: Ryabaga Camp on the Ponoi and the Atlantic Salmon Reserve, Price: $5,000 – $20,000 per week
BOLIVIA, For the adventurous…
You only have to book flights to Santa Cruz, Bolivia to realise that this trip is going to be different! From there, a flight into the jungle to meet local Indians in their dug-out canoes and the adventure starts for real. The beautiful camps built by the local tribes have to be rebuilt periodically because the rains wash them away, but once the water settles the baitfish start to run and they are followed by yellow and green monsters: the freshwater dorado.
This style of fishing is not for the intimate dry fly man – it is a dog eat dog world and what the angler is looking for is feeding frenzies where the dorado (sometimes 20 or even 30lb) have cornered some baitfish and are pounding them, coming in for attack after attack. Cast a fly into this frenzy and the chances of a take are high, but then follows the high-speed runs and lofty jumps and staying hooked up is the challenge; all this action in plain sight, on a pretty freestone river in the middle of the Bolivian jungle.
Recommended: Tsimane, Price: $7,650 per week for 7 nights/6 days
GUATEMALA, For the adrenaline junkie…
(Photo: Matt Harris)
So, enjoying the sunshine, cold beer in hand, perhaps wife or girlfriend relaxing beside you, the rumble of the engine and the pop and bubble cycle of the teasers you are watching are almost soporific.
But then the mate starts to call and comes running, confirming what you think you saw: a bill at the teasers. It is a sailfish, all neon blue and lit up like a Hong Kong street. A 6-8ft fish is now charging towards you growing ever more frustrated and excited by the teasers, which are being wound in at speed by the mate. The cast is made, the fly is retrieved slowly ensuring it pops and makes surface noise, the fish sees it and to your disbelief it rolls on it like a chalkstream trout! Now all hell breaks loose…
In Guatemala, the home of sailfish, it is not one, not two or three, but dozens of these opportunities a day, enough to make many a mistake and still have success.
Recommended: Pacific Fins Resort, Price: $6,995 for two for 6 nights/5 days in a suite
THE CARIBBEAN, For the considered…
One might be older, or more of a trout fisher, or perhaps care more or equally about decent lodge accommodation, or one might simply not be one of those that seeks the next species and actually enjoys the intimacy and intriguing visual game of sighted bonefishing. One might also be putting the comfort and happiness of his wife or girlfriend at least on an equal par to one’s own fishing objectives. The Bahamas, Mexico, Belize and, at a stretch, Los Roques, Venezuela all offer superb and not-tobe- underestimated bonefishing.
There are more hardcore lodges in these countries, but many do a superb job of looking after the non-fisher while providing a quality fishing experience. This may not seem like a recipe for ranking these destinations among the best in the world, but today family or non-fishing partners are a very serious consideration and many a fly fisher does not feel they can get away without the comfort of knowing the family is well taken care of. What can be better, therefore, than a combination of this comfort and some good fishing?
Recommended: Delphi Lodge and Deep Water Cay in the Bahamas; Grand Slam Lodge in Mexico; Turneffe Flats and El Pescador in Belize; and Los Roques, Venezuela, Price for fishing: $3,500 – $6,000 per week depending on single or shared boat etc.
THE SEYCHELLES, For the dedicated…
From a fly fishing point of view, compared to freshwater the oceans are altogether different places, where everything is eating everything else from top to bottom of the food chain. There is no better example of this, where it is literally happening before one’s eyes, than in the Seychelles. The atolls and lagoons that have been protected and allowed to thrive are teeming with fish.
This makes for not only superb fishing but great variety because if it can be seen it can be caught, and thus in the Seychelles it is possible to catch over 30 species on the fly in a week, from big dogtooth tuna and sailfish through to small snapper and trigger fish. The list goes on and it is the reason why Seychelles saltwater fishing is the best in the world.
Recommended: Alphonse Island, Farquhar, Astove and Cosmoledo, Prices range from $8,500 – $14,500 per week
To ensure you end up at the right place at the right time, contact Tarquin Millington-Drake, who has over 25 years experience and knows all these destinations and more on 0845 299 6212, tmd@frontierstrvl.co.uk, www.frontierstravel.com
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