As a webmaster, amateur photographer and novice fly fishing enthusiast, I came to Chile and Argentina to escape the stress of city life in Silicon Valley and try my luck at some fishing. Instead, I fell in love with this place and ended up developing a website for Patagonia Adventures (ArgentinaChileFlyFishing.com)
Amidst the beautiful Andes Mountains of Argentina and Chile there is a place of tranquil peace and natural surroundings. The early explorers overlooked this route and even to this day no roads penetrate this unique area called "Puelo" (which means in the Indian language, "waters that come from the east").
The Puelo River and its joining valleys create a natural water route from the Argentine Patagonia to the Chilean Pacific coast. It's low altitude is the reason that a Valdivian Forest flourishes and thus the Argentine National Park called Lago Puelo was created to conserve this rare natural resource.
The area was first populated by pioneers who developed small farms. The fa
rms are nestled on the side of mountainous terrain hidden among tall Coihue trees. Today the grandsons of those pioneers live on the farms. Things have not changed much from the early days as they still carry on the traditional life style. The common tool is the axe and oxen. Ox carts are still made by hand. Because of the need to travel for supplies, horse trails were carved into the virgin soil and thus isolated valleys began to be linked. Farmers traveled from Segundo Corral, Chile to El Bolson, Argentina for flour, oil and other needs. The Pass came to be called "Paso El Bolson", and is used even today by horsemen and tourists.
In Chile and Argentina the fishing is great, the lodges are comfortable, and the challenge of going after big rainbow and brown trout is exciting. These waters offer many challenging characteristics from shallow riffles, fast runs, deep pools, undercut banks, isolated channels, vegetation mats, and deadfall structures. Test the challenge and join us for an angling trip you will never forget.
The season runs from November 15 through April 15. During these summer months, the weather is very moderate, the days are long, and the fish are plentiful ... brown and rainbow trout are abundant throughout this time of year. The waters in the Andes Mountains of Chile and Argentina have produced trophy catches year after year, with records for the 1999/00 season including rainbow, brown trout over 30".We have a diversified selection of rivers, lakes and spring creeks. Normally we fish all these and in different areas so as to give the angler a more broader experience. Every avid fisherman, from novices to experts, will be challenged to perfect their "fly fishing" skills and to implement new techniques necessary for these special waters in Argentina and Chile.We fish the Rio Puelo on the Chile/Argentina border, Alerces Park in Argentina and the Rio Yelcho in Chile. All areas have very high catch rates and the natural surroundings are extremely beautiful.
We do a lot of drifting and casting to fish we could see. Most of the time we use dry flies. The fish are mostly rainbows, brown trout and Atlantic salmon (when in season). The average size brown and rainbow trout fish are 18-21 inches. All the fish are wild and very strong and will take some time and good strategies to land them.
Angling Note
This is one of the safest places on earth to be while enjoying your vacation. Since Chile as well as Argentina are in the southern hemisphere, the seasons and temperatures are the exact opposite of the seasons and temperatures in North America. Being in the sun can be very intense, so please take plenty of sun screen on your trip.
If you would like to explore a South American Fly Fishing vacation experience,
contact Kent Schoenuer at Patagonia Adventures 011-54-2944-493280
or email at patago@red42.com.ar or visit their website http://www.argentinachileflyfishing.com/