I’d heard about trout fishing in Colombia and after feeling the cold mountain climates around Medellin, I felt better about this being an actuality. After fishing through a bunch of roadside rivers and lakes and catching a variety of species, none resembles anything close to a bass. The heat of Cartagena left me with zero thoughts of trout but the highlands of Barichara and the rivers around San Gil opened the door to possibility. Although these specific rivers proved themselves void of trout, I continued through the country until reaching the popular mountain tourist destination of Salento. Before reaching town, I crossed the Rio Quindio and although high from rain, it looked trouty so we pulled over and camped right on the river.
The river was swift running through a series of drops and pocket water that looked perfect for trout with all of the oxygen and the steady supply of cold water pushing out from the mountains and the wax palm forests high above. Before jumping in the river, I walked to a nearby cook cart for a quick bite and Shale quickly met the local dogs. I tossed a scrap at one sweet dog and scratched her head before setting off to fish.
After stringing up the rod, I walked to the river and noticed the sweet dog had followed and she was trailed by four others. Turned out she was in heat and clung to my side while the males fought and competed for attention. She hid under my car for several nights, leaving me surrounded by hourly fights and episodes of howling.
Despite the dogs, I fished on, working through every inch of water with streamers, dry flies and nymphs. The locals told me there were almost no trout left here but I pressed on, hoping to find one. After failing at this spot, I made the natural decision to work higher in the drainage where fewer people had access. The water was cleaner and colder but walking far from the roads and continuing with a variety of techniques still turned up zero fish. Locals also said this was fished out. The upper drainage is surrounded by coffee farms and wax palms, a beautiful valley with a perfect river despite not holding many trout.
Day three was a move way downriver on a dirt road, off the tourist track and into a section of river with a few local residents, a diversion dam and a small school. The water here was a bit bigger and it looked great with a tone of perfect holding areas for trout. I stuck to the streamer, figuring I might at least move one and know where it lives.
After prying the water for two hours, I figured my Colombia trout fishing game was over but I continued into one last stretch of great looking water and fished the streamer as low and slow as possible, through some really heavy water. I felt a tap, cast again and finally felt a tug. A rainbow trout jumped from the water, landed and ran, nearly wrapping me around a rock before stopping in a pocket where I could gain control. It was a nice 15-inch fish, not a head turner in Montana, New Zealand or Patagonia but in the middle of Colombia, it was a wild trout and wasn’t small either.
I kept on for a while and managed another local fish but no more trout. The locals fish them hard here and clearly do not release many but somehow they survive and with some remote headwaters in this drainage, they likely have a few strongholds deep in the mountains.
