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SUMMARY OF 07-08 SEASON
First off, the fishing was as good or probably better than we have experienced in the last twenty years of fishing this area. Reports of 50-60 fish/day/fisherperson were common with some reporting 100 plus days -- truly amazing! There seemed to be more Chinooks, especially in Rio Yelcho, (but still not enough, in my opinion, to offer it as a target species). The Steelhead and Atlantic fishing at the Blanco estuary was fantastic in the latter third of the season predominantly. The lower end of Lago Yelcho was very productive with some real mopnsters (on drys), to get the heart pounding! Rio Yelcho was very productive and monster Browns made their presents felt. Due to some governmental issues we were not (nor was anyone) able to fish the magical Lago Negro in Doug Tompkin's PUMALIN PARK, but we have been told that PUMA FISHING and only one other lodge will be granted permits to fish the lake in 08-09.
The new mothership/floating lodge, PUMA II was supposed to be finished and delivered to Lago Yelcho by the end of September 07, but is just now being completed in Puerto Montt and being readied for transport to the lake. It is indeed unfortunate that we did not have it for the season but it is quite a boat and we look forward to it being operational this coming season -- as many of our clients are.
We have experimented with some new flies for the lakes and have come up with some real productive ones. I hate to admit it but they out fished the dragon flies that our guides tie -- hands down, and they even produced during days when there was little sun and no significant dragon fly hatch.
We are considering going solar for some of our energy needs at the lodge. Patricio and the boys have made a road down to the river. It is about a mile downstream from the lodge where the creek that the bridge we walk across empties into the Yelchho. Therefore, if one does not want the 20 minute walk in, a 5 minute boat ride rather than a 20-30 minute boat ride from where the Rio Michimahuida comes into the Yelcho is now available and we still keep the tranquility and solitude that so many clients appreciate.
Clients (both fishing and nonfishing) have enjoyed PUMALIN PARK (one of the finest eco parks in the world); as well as trekking to glaciers.
Now booking for 08-09 --- don't get shut out on your desired dates.
GUIDE ALERT
This past season three USA guides were deported by Chilean authorities for not having proper papers and work visas. We expect this action to continue next season and even be stepped up. Our guides from the USA will be properly documented. Fortunately our Chilean guides are some of the very best in all of the Patagonia, have been with us for several years, know the waters that we fish very well and are truly members of our family. The same can be said for our guides from the USA, as many of you can attest to. It would be a shame to book a trip to the Patagonia and find that you have no guides, inexperienced guides, or guides that are not familiar with the waters. We feel that our clients deserve the best and we know that you get what you pay for when it comes to guides.
CHAITEN VOLCANO ERUPTION
The Chaiten Volcano located about 6 miles (10 km) from the town of Chaiten and about 20 miles (35 km) from the lodge erupted on May 2. This volcano, which has been inactive for over 9,000 years; sent ash over 20 miles into the air. Chaiten and the area of the lodge did not receive much ash accumulation because the ash was blown very high and the winds that were blowing in a Southeast direction at the time of the eruption sent the ash up over Lago Yelcho and on t0 the Chilean town of Futaleufu and the Argentine town of Esquel where it deposited over 20 cm of ash --- compared to only about 3 cm in our area nearer the volcano. There were several seismic tremors associated with the eruption.
I was informed of the eruption by my associate and manager, Patricio Soto shortly after the eruption at which time he said that they were told to evacuate Chaiten. Therefore he was going to have another employee, Adier, who was at the lodge stay there and Patricio would take his family and Adier's family to Puerto Montt on the evacuation ship/ferry as the authorities ordered. They arrived in Puerto Montt and since they had not eaten all day friends took them to a restaurant and when they came out they found that the car with their suitcases and Patricio's briefcase had been broken into and everything stolen. These poor people --- goes to show that a disaster brings out the best and worst of mankind the world over (even in the Chilean Patagonia). I sent funds to Patricio and at the present time (May 22), the two families are living in limbo in Puerto Montt where Patricio is monitoring the situation at Chaiten and the lodge while overseeing the final stages of finish work on the new floating lodge/mothership, PUMA II.
The Rio Blanco which runs through the town of Chaiten is the major body of water that is associated with the area of the Chaiten Volcano and after the eruption ash, mud, and debris in this river caused it to overflow and flood 90% of the town of 5,000 people --- Patricio since has related that the media reports of the extent of the flooding is significantly exaggerated as per conversations with pilots that have flown over the area and aerial photos that he has seen. There has been some rain which also adds to the flooding. The main thing that the flooding could do long term (other than the property damage from the flooding itself), is that if there is too high of an ash content in the flood water, when the water is gone the ash would tend to possibly set like concrete. Since ash in this area is not deep, hopefully this will not occur; but never the less the clean up is going to be a major undertaking and their will be significant property damage.
On May 6th there were two more significant eruptions and we were initially told that Adier was forced to leave the lodge by the authorities. But a week later we found out that he did not have to leave and was given an emergency network phone. One of Patricio's brothers is working at the emergency command center so Patricio has been able to communicate with Adier who reports that everything is okay as of May 22. Our water supply is not contaminated, there is no structural damage, there is less than an inch of ash, and the Rio Yelcho is okay.
The height of the eruption column has now decreased to a little over 4 miles in the air. Although it is just too early to accurately predict what is going to happen regarding this eruption, experts in the field have mentioned four possible scenarios. 1) The column of ash, molten rock and gases may continue to collapse and cause pyroclastic flows thus depositing these materials in fairly close proximity to the volcano, which may include Chaiten but most likely not the lodge. Environmental destruction in this immediate area could be severe -- one of the reasons for the forced evacuation. 2) The column may completely collapse and the dome of the volcano collapse on itself, then pressure build up and a large explosion occur like happened at Mt St Helen. The destruction from this would be severe but the area involved would depend on the size of the explosion -- another reason for the forced evacuation. 3) The volcano will continue to erupt as it has been doing -- thus keeping everyone in limbo. 4) The damn volcano will go back to sleep -- for another 9,000 years, I hope. The majority of volcano experts that I have read reports from on this eruption, including one that has been following this volcano for some years; feel that the most likely scenario is 4). I hope that they are right and that it happens soon!
As far as the watersheds that we fish are concerned, I believe that we are okay (barring a massive explosion). We should be okay at Lago Negro and Lago Blanco and their rivers as they are not fed from the area of the volcano (but they are only about 6-10 miles from the volcano so could be secondarily affected by some of the scenarios mentioned above). The Rio Yelcho should be okay as well and is no closer than about 10 miles near where it enters the ocean, and at its halfway point (from the lake to the ocean -- where the lodge is), the distance is over 20 miles. There is a remote possibility that heat from the volcano may cause some increase of melting of the Michimahuida Glacier/Volcano and this increase flow of the Michimahuida and Amarillo rivers which come into the Yelcho about 7 and 2 miles respectively above the lodge. . It is coming into winter so this will help offset any increased melting. The fish in the lake should be okay because the lake is deep and the fish are deep since it is winter.
Hopefully this will give you an overview of the eruption and its aftermath as well as some insight into how it will play out. The Chilean Government has went all the way from a scenario that the town of Chaiten is lost and all the people will have to be permanently relocated elsewhere -- to 2 years before they could go back to Chaiten -- to now saying that it will be up to 3 months before they can return. I imagine that this time frame will continue to shorten barring scenarios 1) or 2) explained above. These people want to get back to their homes, they want to assess the damage, and they want their possessions at least with them if they have to wait out the volcano elsewhere. Our hearts, thoughts, and prayers go out to our employees, their families, our friends and all of the people of the area including Chaiten. The same goes for Mr Tompkins, Mr Guzman, and the entire PUMALIN PARK personnel. Mr Tompkins has done so much for this area and I am sure that there will be a considerable amount of work necessary in the aftermath of the eruption of the Chaiten Volcano which is in PUMALIN PARK.
I will keep you informed of any significant developments -- good or bad. At least at this time, (May 22) it looks like my property is okay, the environmental impact on the areas that we fish is minimal, and my employees are safe. Thank God!
Chaiten Volcano is upper center; Lago Blanco is in upper center; Rio Yelcho is at lower left; and the lodge (not shown) would be about one inch below the lower right hand corner
Yelcho River where the Amarillo River enters it (about 2 miles above the lodge. Aerial photo taken about middle of May 08. Note ash is minimal.
Chaiten Volcano about the end of May (4 weeks after initial eruption
Chaiten taken towards the end of May. Note damage from flooding,ash and mud debris, but no new ash.
ERUPTION UPDATE---MAY 31
Unfortunately on about May 19, Adier was ordered to leave the lodge -- for what reasons we do not know. He reports that everything is fine at the lodge, (no ash, water not contaminated, all structures okay. There had been an increase in the magnitude of the seismic activity during the third week in May but the frequency of these tremors was down. Rio Yelcho was in good shape and no fish kill was observed. Adier has joined his family in Puerto Montt and his children are back in school there. Volcano experts say that the crater continues to dome more and a new eruption area has shown up at the margin of the primary crater that was formed when two areas joined earlier. The mandatory evacuation area has reportedly been decreased, therefore we hopefully will be able to return to the lodge soon (but will probably have to fly into another airport as the Chaiten airport will not be usable for some time). Again, I will keep you informed.
ERUPTION UPDATE---JULY 20
Unfortunately the volcano continues to rumble on, though at a much lower magnitude. As far as the damage to the town of Chaiten, the news is not good. The initial flooding of mud, ash, and debris was bad enough, but with the Rio Blanco's riverbed destroyed the normally heavy seasonal rains essentially about finished what the eruption started. Reports estimate 70-80% of the town severely damaged and the water, sewer, and electrical systems destroyed. There is serious question whether Chaiten can or will be rebuilt at its present site. Governmental decisions will probably not be made until the volcano goes back to sleep. Patricio and Adier were able to go to the lodge and also enter Chaiten about 10 days ago and begin removing possessions from their homes. I told them that we can build a building on the land near the lodge to store their items along with those of PF which we have to also remove from Chaiten. At that time they informed me that the lodge, Rio Yelcho, and Lago Yelcho are in good shape---THANK GOD! There is a no enter (now controlled enter) zone check point where the highway crosses over Rio Amarillo south of Chaiten. Our turn off to the lodge is less than a km north of the Amarillo bridge.
Patricio is overseeing the final stages of finish work on PUMA II in Puerto Montt-- this is work that we had intended to do at Lago Yelcho. The big question is going to be how to get PUMA II into Lago Yelcho. The highway north of Chaiten (which passes close to the volcano) apparently has significant damage; thus bringing the crane and truck from the north is now impossible. Therefore we will have to bring them from the south if possible. The other option that we are exploring at this time is to operate PUMA II in the fjord area between Puerto Montt and Chaiten, fishing the coastal rivers in this essentially unfished area. The few reports of fishing this area are truly mouthwatering to say the least! But there would be many logistic and scheduling problems to work out before I can offer it to clients. We most likely will not be able to fish Lago Negro this year and fishing the estuary of the other Rio Blanco is questionable at this time unless we go there via our covered catamaran or PUMA II. We may replace Lago Negro with another river/lake watershed further south. So we have several options which I believe is one of our biggest advantages and assets when compared to other lodge operations, and it is all close at hand.
I certainly am thankful that PF's assets are in good order, the fisheries appear to be fine, and my employees and their families are safe. Again, hopefully the volcano will go back to sleep as we are eagerly awaiting the start of the new season and look forward to sharing our amazing fisheries with our clients. I will keep you informed of our geologic drama.
UNDATE AS OF OCTOBER 10 AND PLANS FOR THE 08-09 SEASON
Finally the Chaiten Volcano has quieted down significantly and for the last several weeks water vapor is about all that is coming out. The road (Pan Am Highway) is now open again for travel to and from Puerto Montt and the south.
The Chilean government was going to remove the mud and ash (from Rio Blanco) off the end of the runway at the Chaiten airport and open it by the end of Sept., but have now changed their mind: apparently because they are afraid that the former residents of Chaiten will flock back in -- which the government is strongly opposed to. The government has not decided what to do about Chaiten and won't make a final decision until Nov. at the earliest; but most likely the end of the year -- if then. Not having the Chaiten airport open is an inconvenience because we will have to use 3 airports abit further south to fly clients into --- Futaluefu, La Junta, and Palena. So instead of a 30 minute drive to the lodge it will be a 1 1/2 - 2 1/2 hr drive. But at least our clients won't have to endure any significant "road trips" after they arrive as is often the norm with many lodge operations.
The lodge is in excellent shape and all the equipment being readied for the season. The waters that we fish are in excellent condition as well (remember that we received very little ash), with the possible exception of a small lake in Mr Doug Tompkins' PUMALIN PARK that we have had boats in for several years. This lake is closer to the volcano and Patricio will be checking it out in a few weeks.
Patricio is now busy with the final finish work detail on the new mothership/floating lodge, PUMA II, at the shipyard in Puerto Montt. Once this is completed all that is left is some final painting and testing of all systems. We hope to have the new boat travel to the Chaiten area and be brought by land up to its berth at Pto. Cardenas at Lago Yelcho in December. We are working on the details at this time as we are unable to bring the boat up the Rio Negro and load it on a truck with a crane next to the highway as originally planed because of silting in of the mouth of the river at the Bay of Chaiten. PUMA II is over a year behind schedule for its deployment in Lago Yelcho but it is a beautiful boat and we eagerly await its service, as do many of our clients that enjoyed the original PUMA so much in years past.
Therefore, since the volcano is finally quieting down, the road is open, we have airports to fly clients into, our lodge is in good order, PUMA II is almost done, and most importantly the waters that we fish are in good shape; we have decided to open for the 08-09 season. The first of the Chinook (King) Salmon have already been observed in the Yelcho River.
I will be getting the exact daily scheduling of the flights between Futaleufu, La Junta, Palena, and Puerto Montt soon and will post the schedule (and cost) here when I get it from Mireya.
There apparently will only be 1 or possibly 2 other lodges open in our area this season. So it will be like "the good old days" when I first came to the Yelcho as we will have everything pretty much to ourselves.
I am in the process of booking the clients that I have had to put on hold because of the volcano eruption as well as accommodate clients for lodges that will not be open this year. So I invite you to come and enjoy all that we have to offer, PUMALIN PARK, the glaciers, AND view an active (but quiet) volcano. Where in the world can a fisherperson experience this high quality fishing, beautiful scenery, AND a volcano? PUMA FISHING!
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HOPEFULLY THE CHAITEN VOLCANO IS IN ITS SUNSET MODE AND WILL STAY THAT WAY FOR ANOTHER 9000 YEARS!
