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The Pancora Crab - Reality vs. Fantasy
Jon Spiegel |
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| Prior to my November 2003 trip to Chile I set about tying a series of 'killer' Pancora Crab imitations. I knew a bit about these crayfish that can be found in abundance in the area surrounding the Lodge at Posada Puelo. It's situated directly on Rio Puelo southeast of the city of Puerto Montt - 1100 km South of Santiago. No problem, I'll whip up a couple of dozen of these flies and the guides at the lodge will be flabbergasted and amazed. In fact, they will be begging for a couple of flies as I reel in one huge fish after another. | |
 Jon's Version |
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| Upon arrival I displayed my patterns to Hernan,
the owner. The response I got was "ahaaaaaa-heh" which gave me
the distinct impression that my flies were something less than perfect.
This deficiency was confirmed as I put them to the test in the Rio Puelo Fortunately for me my host offered me two solutions that actually worked. |
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| Above and Below: Hernan's version | |
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The most effective way to fish a pancor is: cast upstream at a 45-degree
angle. Let the pancor dead-drift down. When the line is at a 45-degree
angle, start to swing the fly and strip back to you. I would recommend
fishing with a Teeny mini-tip or a sink-tip fly line.
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