TWENTY IS PLENTY, TATTOOS AND LONG BUMPY ROADS, by Clem Booth

Twenty is Plenty, Tattoos and Long Bumpy Roads, By Clem Booth

Over the years, I’ve been afforded at least three chances to have my portrait up on Luciano’s “Wall of Fame”; reserved for photos of fish of 20 pounds plus. Alas, none of these three leviathans came to the net; the first reefed me after a good 20 minute battle, the second broke both tippet and rod tip and the third was last seen jumping it’s way to the other end of Lago Strobel!

Occasionally, others would successfully land one of these monsters and I would console myself with the (patently flawed) thought that “size isn’t everything” and “fishing isn’t only about catching big fish”. At the customary evening celebration to celebrate another mighty catch and hang the image of a grinning angler and monster trout on this sacred wall, I’d grown accustomed to smiling between gritted teeth.

 Damn it! I really wanted one of those big beasts! Being OCD by nature, I often lay awake at night thinking about these giant fish; worse still, I frequently dreamt of them; entirely normal according to my therapist and I’m going with him on this! 

Even at home in the UK, there were reminders everywhere; in the little villages near my beloved English chalkstreams, one often sees signs avowing “Twenty is Plenty”, aimed to dissuade normal people from speeding but in my case quite obviously mocking my inability to land one of these creatures. Or so it seemed. 

But, as both friends and family will attest, I’m nothing if not persistent and I intensified efforts to secure my eternal place on the “Wall of Fame”. An oath had been taken to acquire a tattoo of a leaping trout on my not huge but still perfectly adequate bicep should my life be enriched by said twenty pounder. And, I’d gone so far, as to design a fly specifically dubbed the “Tattoo Nymph”; there was seemingly no end to this gnawing obsession. 

Fast forward to 2018 and another trip to Estancia Laguna Verde; an awfully long way from our home in Ascot in Berkshire but always a more than worthwhile journey.......somehow the many miles enhance the moment of arrival at what has become a “home from home”. The weather forecast for the week wasn’t wonderful; heavy wind was expected more or less every day but we “Strobelers” are made of sterner stuff; we aren’t easily deterred. We battled along, caught plenty of fish although none were - by Lago Strobel standards - particularly huge. Anywhere else, they’d be fish of a lifetime though; the quality of the Strobel “chromers” is truly unique. 

A couple of days into the trip and Luciano and the guides suggested that we head off to the other side of this giant lake to experience both the new lodge - with the uncanny flair for originality we fly fishers have named - “Lago Strobel Lodge” and of course also the fishing. The wind was to be at our backs! That would certainly make a change; no one travelling to Patagonia should begrudge the “Roaring Forties” but the idea of casting with the assistance of a firm breeze from behind was appealing! 

It’s a long and winding track to get there; a good two hours of bone-jarring, kidney scrambling bumping along but eventually we made it to the new lodge. A Herculean effort it has been too! One can only admire the hardy souls who transported everything along the route we’d just travelled to erect this formidable and very comfortable abode. Absolutely worth spending some time at Lago Strobel Lodge during a ELV week! I will certainly be making it part of my programme in the years to come. 

We quickly made our way down to the water and it was apparent that conditions were very different to those we’d become accustomed to. The wind was indeed not an issue; mostly it was from behind or slightly across and it was fun sending out long casts with little to no effort. The major difference however is the lake itself. There are far fewer rocks and some excellent wading beaches where one can wade out a good distance before reaching the shelf which drops off into deep, turquoise water. 

A good few fish were caught during the late morning and we all met up at the wooden shelter for the traditional communal lunch. Over the years at ELV, I’d made a point of having a quick lunchtime snack and then heading back to the water right at the shelter, whichever one where we happened to be at. Extraordinary as it may sound, I’d made a tradition of getting into a fish first or second cast; so much so that my friends starting running a lottery of how long it would take before the post-lunch trout would affix itself to my line! Exactly why this happens so often, I can’t say but sometimes in life, one just needs to accept that “what is, is.” 

On this occasion, I followed the usual pattern and - on the first or second cast - had a mighty take and eventually landed a beautiful 15 pounder. The assembled group who’d been understandably chuckling at my enthusiasm fell silent and I heard a few murmurings suggesting that others would soon follow me to the water.

One cast later and my fly - not the Tattoo Nymph as it turned out but one of master ELV guide Nano’s formidable and beautifully tied Black Woolly Buggers - was eaten by something that felt truly submarine like. You know the feeling.........”thump, thump, thump” in the way that really big fish shake their heads (anatomically, I’m not sure if they can do this but it surely feels like they do!)

The indomitable Nano leapt into action; he had clearly deduced that this was indeed one of Strobel’s monsters and, having witnessed my other false starts, was determined to give me the best shot at landing it. Eventually, the fish was brought over the shelf into the shallows and after a couple of high speed bonefish like screeches across the shallows, Nano netted this magnificent creature. It was measured, weighed and photographed in the presence of my dear friend Pete Cockwill; truly the most honest of anglers I’ve come across when it comes to piscatorial dimensions. He took one look at the fish and said: “You’ve done it Clem!” 

Indeed, the personal hurdle had been reached with a 33 inch beauty tipping the scales at just over 20 pounds. Maybe I’ll get another, maybe not, but I won’t forget that wonderful after lunch specimen in a hurry. Twenty is indeed plenty! 

And the tattoo? I compromised and donated an equivalent amount to the breast cancer charity. Seemed more appropriate in the end; tattoos don’t always go so well with a 60 something year old. 

Do yourself a favour at ELV. Go visit the new waters on the other side of Lago Strobel. It’s another world over there, the accommodation is, as you would expect, outstanding, and the fish, well they aren’t too shabby either!”

Clem Booth

*Clem was born in South Africa, and has fished since a little boy in his home waters as well as extensively all over the world chasing many different species with a fly rod. Now living in England, not rare to be seen chasing trout at beautiful chalk streams with a bamboo rod.