Posted on April 23 2015
Patagonia via Islamorada
“It was here also that for the first time, I saw a master fly fisherman.” Jorge Donavan
The Florida Keys seems an odd place for fly fishing in Patagonia to start. Its not the right hemisphere, the right continent, or even the right type of water. But running the flats out of Islamorada is precisely the reason the landlocked waters of the southern Andes are on our fly fishing radar.
The story involves a playboy trophy chaser from Argentina, a legend of American fishing, and chance encounter at a New York sporting goods store. It was the early 50’s when Jorge Donovan wondered into the Trail and Stream store in New York and started telling stories about his fishing in Patagonia. At the time Jorge was one of a handful of wealthy Argentine elites who fished Tierra del Fuego and Northern Patagonia for the world record sized trout. He used saltwater bait fishing tackle. In his estimation the fish were too big, the winds to strong, and the casting distance too far for fly gear.
The spellbound clerks at the Field and Stream called up Joe Brooks and told him they had someone he needed to meet. A week later Joe Brooks, one of Americas preeminent fly fisherman, and Jorge were motoring out of Islamorada onto the flats.
And having chased the story these two men have created, the story of fly fishing in Patagonia, for the last seven years I felt obligated to track it back down to the Keys where it all started. Like Jorge I drove down from Miami to the mangrove keys and shallow water white sand flats.
I rose early and pulled off the highway. I waded out in the warm Atlantic water and cast with hopes of a bonefish explosion. It was a morning not so different than sixty years ago when Joe showed Jorge the possibilities of fishing on the fly. He showed him the “back shoot” and double haul for distance and wind. With Joe’s help, Jorge landed his first bonefish on the fly and with it assured Jorge of the merits of fly fishing for big game.
In 1955 Joe met Jorge in Argentina. The two fished for sea run browns in Tierra del Fuego and the mythical boca fish of Northern Patagonia. When Joe returned to the states he penned “Boca Fever” a Field and Stream article that set the stage for Patagonia as a fly fishing destination.
My morning in Islamorada went without the tug of a bonefish. Perhaps I need more work on my back shoot and double haul. That always seems to be the case. Then, having Joe Brooks at my side wouldn’t have been bad either. Mostly I wade off the flats amazed at the world of fly fishing. Sixty years prior two strangers from opposite sides of the globe met up to cast salt water flies. They created a lifelong friendship and put the fly fishing world on a trajectory with Patagonia.
Cameron Chambers book, Chasing Rumor: A Season Fly Fishing Patagonia will be out in May for more on Joe, Jorge, and fly fishing Patagonia.
original content and photo Cameron Chambers