On our last day in Puerto Montt, me and my brother decided to take it easy... A bit of souvenir shopping in the morning and then we headed off to a little beach in a bay that had a little stream running into it. I had already bought a cheap snorkeling mask and I wanted to swim about and see whats there out of curiosity. There couldn't be just rollizo!
The little beach was surrounded by rocky fingers and also had a couple islands close by so I thought it must hold some little fish. As soon as I dived I could see a large shoal of bottom feeding fish with a general rockfish looking shape but they weren't rollizo... Straight away I swam out, picked up the rod and with the true lrf line on the second spool, tied a 2g cheburashka and added a #18 hook on the clip.
I didn't have any gulp or Isome worms with me though, so I put on a 2" Jackall Peke peke that although a bit large for the fish intended, was being attacked every time. Unfortunately the unknown fish (possibly baby robalos?) had really small mouths and I failed to hook one. I then used a 0.8" Crazy-fish Whitebait lure that didn't manage to arouse their interest though and by then it was time for another quick dive and back to the car for my last fishing session.
I drove down the same way of the past couple sessions and decided to stop first at a small harbour with shallower water and another stream running into it, in order to try and get a robalo. After fishing for about half an hour though I only had one follow (possibly rollizo) and nothing else. Thus I decided to move to the previous day's mark. Although the weather and tide state was the same, the fishing proved much slower (could it be a result of the previous day's many catches?), but after persevering, I got a couple nice rollizo among a few smaller ones. After a while I decided to work only metals hoping for something different and true enough I got a good strike close in and a scrappy fight with strong head-thumps. The fish wasn't very big and I soon hoisted it up. Then I realised that it was the fish I was looking for! A robalo! But as I tried to get my hands around it and take my mobile out, it thrashed and fell, breaking my frayed leader! I was glad that at least got it on video so it still counts...lol
The video of the session.
It was already getting late but I drove further down the road for a last look along the coast. After a couple miles I reached a truly beautiful mark but unfortunately it was too difficult to reach and having limited time I decided to head back and pick up my brother from the beach.
Conclusions.
All in all it was a very enjoyable trip and a proper adventure despite the mishaps and difficulties at times. Fishing for rollizo made me feel as if I was fishing for greenling in Japan (!) and its an extremely fun species to fish for. A true rock fish!
I believe that Chile has much more to offer an angler (with an open mind) than the introduced Salmon and Trout. Obviously I would have like to fish for them as well, and also try all the little estuaries for other species but in the end I'm a rock angler and the ease and fun of rollizo fishing was just what I needed in my holidays. Moreover tackling the salmonids would mean paying for access to waters and license and I just couldn't see the point in that when I realised there was such fun to be had on the rocks, for free! Had I spent more time there though, I would have definitely fished the freshwater as well.. Something for another time perhaps...
Below some notes that may be of use to anglers visiting Chile.
The little beach was surrounded by rocky fingers and also had a couple islands close by so I thought it must hold some little fish. As soon as I dived I could see a large shoal of bottom feeding fish with a general rockfish looking shape but they weren't rollizo... Straight away I swam out, picked up the rod and with the true lrf line on the second spool, tied a 2g cheburashka and added a #18 hook on the clip.
I didn't have any gulp or Isome worms with me though, so I put on a 2" Jackall Peke peke that although a bit large for the fish intended, was being attacked every time. Unfortunately the unknown fish (possibly baby robalos?) had really small mouths and I failed to hook one. I then used a 0.8" Crazy-fish Whitebait lure that didn't manage to arouse their interest though and by then it was time for another quick dive and back to the car for my last fishing session.
I drove down the same way of the past couple sessions and decided to stop first at a small harbour with shallower water and another stream running into it, in order to try and get a robalo. After fishing for about half an hour though I only had one follow (possibly rollizo) and nothing else. Thus I decided to move to the previous day's mark. Although the weather and tide state was the same, the fishing proved much slower (could it be a result of the previous day's many catches?), but after persevering, I got a couple nice rollizo among a few smaller ones. After a while I decided to work only metals hoping for something different and true enough I got a good strike close in and a scrappy fight with strong head-thumps. The fish wasn't very big and I soon hoisted it up. Then I realised that it was the fish I was looking for! A robalo! But as I tried to get my hands around it and take my mobile out, it thrashed and fell, breaking my frayed leader! I was glad that at least got it on video so it still counts...lol
 |
| What a fish! |
 |
| On a crature.. |
 |
| Texas rigged craw. |
It was already getting late but I drove further down the road for a last look along the coast. After a couple miles I reached a truly beautiful mark but unfortunately it was too difficult to reach and having limited time I decided to head back and pick up my brother from the beach.
 | |
| Maybe some other time... |
 |
| The breakwater of the little harbour. |
 |
| The little beach. |
 |
| Lots of fry at the pier's legs. Unfortunately I didnt fish there... |
Conclusions.
All in all it was a very enjoyable trip and a proper adventure despite the mishaps and difficulties at times. Fishing for rollizo made me feel as if I was fishing for greenling in Japan (!) and its an extremely fun species to fish for. A true rock fish!
I believe that Chile has much more to offer an angler (with an open mind) than the introduced Salmon and Trout. Obviously I would have like to fish for them as well, and also try all the little estuaries for other species but in the end I'm a rock angler and the ease and fun of rollizo fishing was just what I needed in my holidays. Moreover tackling the salmonids would mean paying for access to waters and license and I just couldn't see the point in that when I realised there was such fun to be had on the rocks, for free! Had I spent more time there though, I would have definitely fished the freshwater as well.. Something for another time perhaps...
Below some notes that may be of use to anglers visiting Chile.
- Bring a heavier, longer rod! Especially away from the fjords the coast is open to the Pacific and the swells can be significant.
- Metals, metals, metals...
- Bring all you gear over and don't count on the local tackle shops! Especially braid, line etc are very hard to find..
- Lip gripper a must, as these rockfish have serious teeth.
- Try the estuaries and beaches as well. I had limited time but I realised that particularly the South is full of fish!
- Isome/gulp worms indispensable for species hunting. Not everything is as aggressive as the rollizo.
- No need for fancy/expensive lures. There will be plenty of losses so a good mix of softplastics/ metals and a few hardbaits should be fine. Best soft plastic sizes for rollizo 2.5"-3".
- Paddletails and curlytails the most effective styles. Creatures were good too but very 'slow'.
- Tides not so big in the North but much more like the UK in the South.
- Fishing harbours that allow access should be taken into serious consideration, especially when the coast is too rough.
Back to UK now and to my usual targets. Already I have been out once and have found the fish in very good condition... I believe this mild winter has helped in that and cant wait to get my heavier reels back from service and get out!
Thanks for reading!
Gear used.
Rod: Spro Mobile Stick 80UL
Reel: Shimano Stradic 1000FC
Mainline: Sufix 832 0.24mm 17.7 kg !
leader: Pline Halo 10lbs.
lure: Various
Thanks for reading!
Gear used.
Rod: Spro Mobile Stick 80UL
Reel: Shimano Stradic 1000FC
Mainline: Sufix 832 0.24mm 17.7 kg !
leader: Pline Halo 10lbs.
lure: Various
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