I first encountered this on one of my earliest trips to Patagonia fishing the Caleufu just above the entrance to the lake. Imagine twelve fish lined up across the river with slashing rises on what appeared to be caddis emergers. I told my guide Gustavo Hiebaum that I had designed a great caddis pattern that would surely work.

He laughed as I tied it on. My first cast was perfect with a great drift over the closest fish only to see it float well over the holding position. After five more casts I decided that the fly needed action not just a good drift and began twitching the fly. I turned to Gustavo and said what gives. He reached in his vest and produced a tiny streamer pattern that had a very sparse wing and one strand of tinsel. One could say that it was more a bare hook than a streamer. Oh well always listen to the guide.

First cast and it was game on as a twenty inch brown wacked the fly just as it came into its feeding window. Interestingly the trout would not move any distance right or left for a fly or a baitfish that was not exactly in the feeding window. I would have thought that the fish would be chasing minnows all over the river but no they were content to hold position and bust away. Given the quantity of the prey little effort was required to actively feed while maintaining their position.