Patagonia dreaming

Yuk Bug

Bitch Creek

I'm just off to Patagonia to swing some flies over the biggest sea trout in the world. So the late night fly tying has been a bit frantic in an effort to make sure the fly boxes are well stocked - particularly as I know my mate and fellow instructor Brett O'Connor will be raiding my boxes as soon as we get there.

Here are a couple of typical Patagonia flies that I've tied, the Yuk Bug and Bitch Creek, both with those trademark rubber legs that seem to drive the sea trout nuts down there. They're not the prettiest flies in the world, but if they work, who cares?

The season down on the Rio Gallegos in southern Argentina has been stunning so far, with fish up to 28lb and regular 20lb+ fish. Can you imagine a 20lb sea trout?

I can't expect anything quite that big but the nerves are certainly jangling already.

Our mate Jim Curry at Halstead & Bolton has organised the trip so it'll certainly be a great laugh. But I'm not sure we'll be laughing if we hook into one of those big bruisers.

I'll let you know how we get on...

Salmon science

Just back from a fascinating day up on Scotland's mighty river Tay with the fisheries biologist and author Richard Shelton. No salmon around, but the conversation was sparkling, covering threats to salmon from global warming and intensive fish farming, conservation, and I even managed to pick his brains for some scientific fishing tips.

Richard has just published a new book on the life of the Salmon, To Sea and Back, but really it's much more than a natural history book - it's a treasure trove of stories about Victorian naturalists, ghillies and gamekeepers and a personal history of his relationship with the fish.

And no-one knows more about salmon. Richard was research director of the Atlantic Salmon Trust, and spent years tracking and recording salmon at sea.

Threats to salmon abound, but Richard's scientific knowledge was a source of great optimism. This is what he says in his book: The enduring power of this remarkable fish to capture the imagination of naturalists and sportsmen has so far proved a sure shield against its extinction.

So what did I learn? Read all about our day in a forthcoming issue of the Financial Times Weekend Magazine. It will be illustrated by the usual stunning pictures from Ashley Coombes at Epic Scotland, who took great advantage of the wonderful Highland light.