Our recent hosted trip to the Bahamas was a flying success. The islands of the Bahamas are widely considered to be the bonefishing capital of the world. Fly fishing in the Bahamas has a lot to offer: high fishing counts, LOTS of fishable water and trophy sized fish. Although some permit and tarpon can also be found on the islands, the primary target is bonefish. Large barracuda are also common as well as high numbers of lemon sharks which can be also be targeted on the fly. Because there is so much water to be fished on hotspots like Andros and Abaco Islands the fish are lightly pressured and you don’t have to be too diverse with your fly selection. Bahamas bones like big flies, especially with rubber legs. Size 4 is the standard and in windy weather or deeper flats size 2s are often preferred. We mostly fished mantis shrimp and spawning shrimp patterns about 80% of the time. Both of these patterns have rubber legs and chain eyes. For deeper flats I fished a lead dumbell eye pattern similar to the spawning shrimp. Bahamas bonefish are big so we used 8 weights and 9 weights equally. I preferred the 9 weight on the windy days and the 8 weight on the calmer days. These fish are not leader shy and I mostly fished 16lb flourocarbon on Andros where bonefish get very big and 12lb on Abaco. We fished in March but there is good fishing in the Bahamas from October until July. In the mid summer the water is often too warm in mid day and the fish move off the flats.

Bairs Lodge – South Andros Island

Andros Island is widely considered to be the Mecca of bonefishing and is notorious for regularly producing giant specimens. The island is several bights that prevents road travel from North to South. We fished South Andros which is the most remote part of the island and stayed at Bairs Lodge. Bairs has an ideal location and is directly between Deep Creek and Little Creek. “Creeks” are tidal channels that traverse the island. Sometimes they are narrow and in other locations they open into huge lagoons that resemble very large lakes. The creeks also connect the Ocean side of Andros to the wild West side. Bairs is also close to the wild South end of South Andros which offers a maze of endless flats and keys. The beauty of fishing out of Bairs is that you can target a different set of flats every day that each have their own personalities. It also offers numerous locations that are protected from the wind so even if the weather turns rough you are still in business. Our group of six anglers fished four days out on the flats of South Andros.

On the first day the weather was windy and the ocean swells were large. All of the boats made the short trip to the entrance of Little Creek to get out of the wind and then cut all the way to the West side in the lee of the island. Within an hour of fishing we spotted 2 monster bones that were well over 10 lbs. I was on deck but caught a bad case of bonefish fever and blew a perfect shot at these monsters. After a few more blown opportunities we settled down and hooked up on some great fish. Even though we didn’t land any trophies by South Andros standards several of the fish I caught were the largest bonefish I had ever landed. The beauty of these flats is that 4-5 lb bonefish are very common which are very large fish in most places in the world. 7-8 lb fish are also relatively common which will just about rip your arm off. The only boats we saw on the first day were from our group.

On our second day the wind was still blowing hard so we headed to Deep Creek and spent the entire day working the flats in the middle of the island to stay out of the wind. We had a nice day and spent most of the morning fishing out of the boat while the tide was in and then after lunch I had some awesome wade fishing while our friend Bryan Hunt decided to chase barracude with our guide Gary. I’m not sure who was having more fun because I could hear Bryan and Gary hooting and hollering all afternoon. Bryan hooked one monster cuda that jumped completely out of the water before throwing the hook. The wade fishing was very good and I hooked up on about 5 nice bonefish – there are few things that compare to walking hard sand flats watching big bonefish come motoring in!

On the third day the wind was still blowing but was letting up a bit. Ann and I were fishing with Tee and he took us on a choppy boat ride down to Grassy Creek before tucking in to get out of the wind. We didn’t see another boat all day. Right out of the gates we found some big bonefish on a large flat and I landed a 6lb fish which was my largest to date. The remainder of the morning was slow. After lunch our luck turned and I hooked a monster that ended up weighing 7.5 lbs. I have a new respect for bonefishing after targeting these huge fish on South Andros that come in as singles and doubles. Ann also hooked and landed a 7lb fish. Most of the fish we caught that were over 5 lbs that day.

On our last day at Bairs we headed south to the magical bottom of the island. Most of the flats here are bright white sand flats. This area is truly expansive and even though just about every guide on the island headed this way (there are only about 20) since the wind had finally let up, we didn’t see another boat once we moved into position. Right out of the gates we spotted a HUGE bone that Nat estimated was over 12 lbs. It was truly enormous but was moving away from us and Brian never got a shot at it. Nat is one of the most experienced guides on the island with over 33 years fishing for bonefish. All of our guides were amazing and the most “junior”guide still had 16 years experience guiding the flast. Most of the morning we targeted singles, doubles and small schools which is the ultimate in my opinion. After lunch we went after some numbers for an hour or so and found some massive schools of well over 100 fish and easily pulled a few out of it. This isn’t too challenging but it is still fun and very cool to see. To top the day off we poled across the same expansive sand flat multiple times to intercept some more big bones. Everyone in our group had a great and very memorable final day out of Bairs.

Abaco Lodge – Abaco Island

Before heading back to Montana, Ann and I made a short stop at Abaco Lodge. Abaco is located on the famed Marls which offer 400 square miles of flats. Most of the flats are best fished from the boat because of the softer bottom. The Marls are filled with countless small islands or keys and are considered to have the highest density of bonefish in the world. The bones in the Marls are not as big as on South Andros but are still large compared to those in Mexico and Belize. There are also some ocean side flats that are occasional fished when the tides are right and they are home to some 10lb fish.

On our first day out the weather was very tough and a cold front had produced a lot of wind and cold water. The bonefish were mostly in deeper water and the few we did find on the flats were sluggish and not feeding. Although we got skunked on the bones we had a fun time casting to lemon sharks and had several follows with sharks putting their noses right on the fly.

On our second day our fortunes changed. It was much warmer and there was no wind and high sun – ideal conditions for bonefishing. At our first stop we saw “nervous” water in every direction as schools of bonefish caused disturbances on the water. The fish were in the mood to feed and we saw waves of fish all day. Often we just planted the boat and let fish come to us – sometimes it seemed like we were completely surrounded by feeding bones. We rarely went more than 5 minutes without another shot at a bonefish and the action was fast and furious. At the end of the day we had landed around 20 fish – a great way to end the trip!

Our trip to Argentina in 2013 proved to be a diverse adventure that spanned both the southern and northern areas of the country. After flying into Buenos Aires we spent a day in this beautiful European style city enjoying the sites and of course some incredible Argentine steaks. The first leg of the trip was an overnight fly fishing trip on the Chubut River in the center of Patagonia. The second leg of the trip was to the Ibera marsh ecosystem in the Corrientes province in the extreme north of the country in a quest to catch the unique golden dorado.

Chubut River and Carrileufu Valley Lodge
We returned to the Carrileufu Valley Lodge after a successful experience there last year. This a wonderful rustic lodge in the rural Cholila area which borders the beautiful Alceres National Park. Last year we fished the Rivadavia inside of the park along with the Carrileufu river which flows by the lodge. This year we set our sites on the Chubut river. CVL has a great team of guides and Pancho Panzer is a fantastic owner, guide and host. After an incredible meal and great choice of wines on our arrival night we left the next morning for a 3 day 65km float on the Chubut river. The Chubut flows east to the Atlantic and is in a dryer part of Argentina that is reminiscent of parts of Wyoming with expansive vistas, low lying hills with glacier capped peaks in the distance, and miles of pampas flats. The Chubut in the headwaters is a small willow choked river with high fish counts and gin clear waters.

Chubut day 1
The first day of the trip requires a lot of logistics. We arrived with two fishing boats and a gear raft that carried the chef and camp host. Our guides were Pancho and Facundo who are both very seasoned and on par with the best Montana fly fishing guides. For the first hour of the trip we did not fish due to the incredible labyrinth of willow mazes and tunnels. The river literally flows under a complete canopy of willow tunnels at many different locations and stringing a rod up would only result in broken graphite. Randy and I were with Facundo the first day and his display of oarsmanship was very impressive as he navigated tight corners with dangerous consequences. The gear boat had already gone down with a chainsaw just in case new branches had fallen into the water. After an adventurous morning it was time to rig up our five weights with stout leaders and big Montana style rubber legged attractor dry flies. My first choice was a chubby chernobyl and the action proved to be so good there was no need to change. By early afternoon Randy and I had already chalked up 8 doubles and although we didn’t count it was surely in the neighborhood of a 100 fish day. The action was incredible with every good looking piece of water producing a take. These trout rarely see flies and the rainbows average around 15” with larger fish pushing 20”. The aggressive takes were often spectacular as we saw big rainbows streaking towards the flies to smash them a small explosion of water. When trout missed they would often hit the fly again if you were able to recast to the trout as they frantically swam figure eights searching for the missing meal.

After a few hours of amazing dry fly fishing I switched to streamers in hopes of some larger trout. The streamer fishing was almost as fast as the dry fly fishing and although I didn’t hook any of the monster browns in the river we had one huge brown in the 25” class chase after a 12” rainbow that I had hooked on the streamer. At the end of day one we were all glowing in disbelief after enjoying one of the best days of dry fly fishing we had ever had.

Camp on the Chubut is similar to our Montana Angler overnights with great meals prepared over a fire. Our tents were already set up with cots and sleeping pads waiting for us. The first night we enjoyed a traditional lamb asado and the lamb was already cooking over the open fire. Good food and great wine capped a memorable day.

Chubut day 2
A small weather system pushed in on day two and the weather cooled a bit with some intermittent wind and rain followed by intervals of sun. It seemed like we were putting on rain jackets every 30 minutes only to strip them off ten minutes later. The fishing activity waxed and waned with the weather and when the system would stabilize the dry fly action would pick up and when the wind would blow the fishing would taper off a bit. The action wasn’t quite as fast and furious as the first day but it was still an impressive outing and we ended up racking up a lot of trout by the end of the day – probably still over 100 fish between two boats. I fished solo with Pancho on the second day and we did a lot of storytelling and comparing notes on international fishing destinations. Pancho is a very accomplished international angler and has fished Montana, Alaska, Cuba, and Canada in his own fishing travels. I mostly fished streamers on day two and had several awesome takes as big rainbows streaked across the river from over 10 feet away pushing a wake of water ahead of them. The other guys stayed with dries with continued success.

Chubut day 3
On the last day of the float we focused most of our fishing on the morning session where there were still relatively high fish counts. The last stretch of water can get low and warm in drought years and the trout numbers start to drop off. This was our lowest fish count day but still a banner day when compared to any other day of fishing and we still had plenty of action to keep a smile on everyones face. While the rest of our team stuck with the dries I decided to swing for the fences and went with big streamers on 250 grain sinking line. After a few nice 18” rainbows I hit a very heavy fish that ran straight up river without letting up and then hunkered down in weed bed at the bottom of a deep hole. Eventually the fly pulled out and we never got a look at the fish but he felt like the hefty brown I was after to put the icing on an amazing trip. Just before lunch Facundo stopped us across from a large stand of poplars where he had seen some big trout on past years. True to form on my first cast a big 22” brown took a swing and a miss at my streamer in the clear water just 10 feet in front of us. After a third cast a nice 18” bow slammed it and we landed it. A few casts later another nice bow. This run had some nice trout in it! We went around the bend for lunch and I couldn’t resist heading back up to the hole so Anthony and I made the short walk. After working the bottom of the hole where we saw the big brown I pulled out two more bows but never saw the big one. I walked up to the middle of the run and on the first cast a big 21” bow slammed in the streamer in an amazing take! Watching that big trout bolt 10 feet to nail the streamer in clear water was the highlight of the trip for me. After lunch we decided to put down the rods and enjoy the great scenery. The drive back to the lodge was a bumpy but spectacular 2 hour trip on gravel roads across the vast and rugged terrain. The glacier filled peaks near the lodge loomed in the distance while dry and arid crags and cliffs filled with condor towered overhead. We returned to the lodge to enjoy the company of Panch and the guides along with some regular guests from France that came every year. This was New Years Eve and Pancho pulled out a few special bottles of Mendoza’s fine Malbecs while we told fishing stories and enjoyed great company to usher in 2013.

Pira Lodge
Pira lodge is located in the Corrientes province of Argentina which is sandwiched between Brazil and Paraguay. The province is known for its colorful people and traditional music. We took a first class overnight sleeper bus which was surprisingly comfortable with large leather chairs that lay flat into beds along with bar service and meals. After sleeping on the bus all night we arrived refreshed in Mercedes and were greeted by the lodges transfer driver. Pira is located on the edge of the vast Ibera marsh system and the drive is about an hour an half from Mercedes across rutted dirt roads. The lodge itself is spectacular with an array of insects, huge toads and countless colorful birds making a never ending raucous chorus each evening. After settling in we met with Noel and the guides. Noel was the head guide for over 13 years at Pira and then went on to start Tisamane Lodge in Bolivia and is one of the most respected dorado anglers in the world. Unfortunately the news on the fishing front wasn’t good. All of Argentina had just endured an unusual three week stretch of very wet and cold weather. The same system that had helped bring the Chubut up to perfect levels had also brought the marsh system up and also cooled the waters. Dorado are a warm water fish and become lethargic in colder waters and just like trout they don’t love rising flows. Despite the dissappointing news we were determined to give it our all.

Pira Day 1
With the unexpected conditions and higher flows, Noel and the guides felt our best shot at fish was to go down deep in the main Corrientes river channel. Pira is known for its floating line fishing and aggressive surface takes but with the cooler water it was unlikely that the dorado would be very active and certainly not on the surface. At the end of the first day we hit pay dirt and Anthony and I each hooked and landed two nice 5-7lb dorado in the waning hours of the evening before heading back to the lodge. The fish are absolutely amazing and hit like a sledgehammer. The fight is just as impressive as these incredibly strong, trout shaped fish leap over and over and take of on blistering runs. When the dorado are landed their magnificent gold flanks and orange and black tail cap the experience.

Pira Day 2
The fishing at Pira is broken into morning and evening sessions. Each day we headed out in flats boats through a labyrinth of small channels. The marsh ecosystem is spectacular with over 350 species of native birds of all shapes, colors and sizes. The birdlife was absolutely spectacular and I can’t say I have ever been to an equal location in this regard. In addition to the birdlife we regularly saw large crocodile like caymen and huge rodents called capybara. Day two produced some very tough fishing and although we all had a few hits and follows no dorado came to the boat. Noel came along on day two and he and Anthony scouted some of the smaller tributary “creeks”. These are small channels through the marsh with current just like a spring creek and very clear waters. While scanning from the boat they successfully located a lot of large dorado in the system which lifted our spirits to at least know the fish were there. One of the challenges of the high water in the marsh is the fish are spread out and often relocate so finding the fish was a welcome discovery.

Pira Day 3
The morning fishing continued to be frustrating with a lack of success. With each hour of futile casting our team began to lose hope in the prospects of hooking the golden fish. Occasionally our hope would be lifted by a follow or take. I lucked into a hefty 7 pounder at the end of the morning and that was the only action to report. In the evening session I was solo with Noel and we decided to try some of the smaller creeks where they had seen some fish the day before with a floating line. We finally started to see the marsh begin to wake up in terms of fish activity and spotted a few dorado rolling from time to time. Noel explained under normal conditions dorado are frequently rolling and attacking bait fish in explosive disturbances than are easy to spot. This seemed to be a good sign and sure enough the action followed. By the end of the night I had hooked into 5 dorado and landed two along with several large piranha and an interesting fish called a san antonio. This still wasn’t on par with the regular catch rates which average 4-10 dorado per person per day but it was great to get a taste of what the fishing can be like. The takes on the floating line were a huge rush and it was incredible to see the dorado in the clear water producing a wake as they attacked the fly in a huge boil. Unfortunately the other boat didn’t find similar success on the larger river down current.

Pira Day 4
The rains that started the evening before continued into the night and eventually turned into sustained downpours. The amount of rain that fell was unprecedented and a true spectacle of nature. The swimming pool that was 18” from the top the day before was overflowing in the morning. The marsh grew before our eyes and huge lakes formed in all directions around the lodge. We gave up all hope of fishing in the torrent and focused our attention on getting out across the dirt roads early enough to catch our sleeper bus. Our amazing hostess Marcela decided to have the shuttle drive arrive 5 hours early to play it safe. When he was an hour late she loaded us up in her own truck and we started heading out hoping to meet him on the road out. The roads were terrible and just a few minutes from the lodge we were driving across flooded areas. Marcela crept along and stayed ruts to avoid sliding off the slippery clay road. After 30 minutes of progress our hearts sank as we came around a bend and saw the road completely under water as far as the eye could see with a Toyota Hi-lux truck nearly underwater in the ditch. It looked like our stay at the lodge would be extended for several more days. There were some local gauchos around and Marcela went out to talk with them. It turned out that her husband was the one that lost the truck in the flood but he was the manager of several estancias in the area and had guessed we were coming. Our transfer driving was waiting on the other side of the flooded road and the gauchos let Marcela know that they could ferry us across. The next thing we knew we were horseback and praying these horseman were confident in their assessment of the waters. The current was swift across the road and the level came up to the horses bellies. We had to ride at a bit of an angle so the horses could ferry into the current. After the longest 500 yard horse ride of my life we made it safely to the other side where our drive awaited. The gauchos crossed the flood again to retrieve our luggage via horseback and we were off again. Just when we thought we were out of the woods we encountered another flooded section (the water had kept rising since the drive had come from town). It wasn’t as bad as the other stretch but still very intimidating. We all held our breath as the truck headed into the flood with water coming in through the doors. It was a very quiet cab until we finally made it across the last obstacle safely. Nearly five hours later we finally made it to the bus station with only minutes to spare!

All in all our Argentina 2013 was a success and a great adventure even with the poor fishing conditions at Pira. Santiago from Nervous Waters who runs Pira offered our team a credit for a future year after learning of the poor conditions so hopefully we will have a return shot someday to see the Ibera marsh under normal conditions. Even with the unusual events it was an unforgettable trip and the blinding glory of the ravenous dry fly eating rainbows on the Chubut combined with the fleeting glimpses of brilliance of the exotic golden dorado will remain with me for years to come.

Patagonia is one of the great wild trout destinations in the world. This mountainous region of the Southern Andes is vast and varied. The variety of fly fishing opportunities is incredible, even compared with the great diversity that we have here in Montana. Although Patagonia receives less pressure than the Northern Rockies, it still attracts enough international anglers to put some pressure on some of the more famous fisheries. One of the least pressured regions of Patagonia is the central area near Esquel, Argentina and Futaleufu, Chile. I have been fortunate to have travelled to some of the world’s great trout fisheries including Alaska, Kamchatka, Scotland, Ireland and of course the Rockies here in the US. Each destination offers an incredible experience but few can offer as much variety as Central Patagonia.

Where is Patagonia?
Patagonia simply refers to the southern Andes and includes both Chile and Western Argentina. Most of the classic trout fishing that you read about occurs in Northern and Central Patagonia. The far southern reaches of Patagonia are better known for sea run fisheries of huge brown trout like in Tierra del Fuego or the Rio Gallegos in Santa Cruz district. In general the Chilean side of Patagonia is much wetter and is home to some very large volume rivers. Chile looks a lot like the Cascades or Olympics in coastal Washington. Most of Argentine Patagonia is in the rain shadow of the Southern Andes and is much dryer. The scenery in Argentine Patagonia looks a lot like Montana, Wyoming and Colorado. Some of the regions like Los Alerces National Park are densely forested and others offer near desert climate depending on how close to the mountains you are. In general Chile is less developed and more remote, but it also is harder to get from river to river since each valley is essentially in a rugged fjord.

Northern Patagonia on the Argentine side is the most famous for fly fishing. This region is roughly north of Bariloche and south of San Junin de los Andes and includes legendary waters like the Malleo, Traful, Limay and Chimehuin to name a few. When visiting Northern Patagonia you typically stay on one or two of the massive estancias and wade or float fish on the estancia or float one of the local rivers using public access at bridges.

Central Patagonia fishing is centered around the Argentine town of Esquel. Esquel is about a 5 hour drive south of the larger tourist town of Bariloche. The good fishing extends to the north in Los Alerces National Park, to the east with the classic multi day float on the Rio Chubut or the spring creek fishing on Arroya Pescado, The massive Rio Grande and Futaleufu (on the Chilean side) and the remote Rio Pico region about three hours south of Esquel.

Getting to Central Patagonia
If you are planning on fishing the Argentine side of Central Patagonia or the Futaleufu in Chile you should plan on flying to Esquel. Plan on spending one night in Buenos Aires upon arrival. Most flights to the capital city leave the states in the evening and arrive in Argentina in the morning. I sleep well on flights and feel pretty good upon arrival after getting 6 or 7 hours of sleeping on the plane. There is generally only one flight to Esquel each day and they only are offered 4 days a week. There are usually around 7 flights a day into Bariloche every day which is to the north but if you can design your trip around the flight schedule into Esquel it is much more convenient. Although it is sometimes possible to get to Esquel on the same day you arrive in BA I don’t recommend it. The domestic flights are at a different airport and the connections are pretty tight if you are trying to catch a cab across the city. Buenos Aires is an amazing city and is often referred to as the Paris of South America. Enjoying one or two nights in BA is always a very enjoyable part of travelling to Argentina.

If you are fishing Chile (with the exception of the Futaleufu river which is just across the border from Esquel) you generally fly into Santiago and then connect the same day to Puerto Mount. Usually the lodge that you are travelling to arranges a charter flight from that point. There aren’t really many independent guides in this area and fishing on your own isn’t realistic due to the terrain so the lodge you team up with should handle all of your logistics. Farther south in Coyhaique there are independent guides but the public waters in that area also receive more pressure.

I have visited every country from Mexico to Columbia and both Chile and Argentina. In my travels in both Chile and Argentina I have always felt very safe. My level of “safety radar” is about the same as when travelling in Europe which is a nice perk compared to some of the Central American countries that I have travelled in where you have to be much more alert to safety concerns.

DIY, Hiring Independent Guides or Fishing With a Lodge
Some of the best fishing in Patagonia is on private estancias or on larger rivers that are best float fished. I have had friends fly to Patagonia, rent a car and have a great trip fishing on their own but you are limited on what you can access. Fishing on your own is much more difficult in Chile due to the rugged nature of the landscape and the need for boats in many areas. Argentina would be the place to try some DIY fishing but do your homework and look for waters that can be accessed by bridges.

If you base a trip out of Esquel you don’t necessarily need base out of a lodge. There are several good independent guides in the area. You can often rent a room from a hosteria (bed and breakfast) and email them for contact information on good guides (make sure to book these far in advance). Make sure the guide has a license to fish in Los Alerces National Park to increase your options.

The nice thing about fishing out of the lodges in the area is that they often have agreements with private estancias that independent guides don’t have. Of course the added perks of nice accommodations and great food is also a bonus. On my trips south I am always hosting a group of anglers so we exclusively fish with a few of our lodge partners. One of the things I like about Central Patagonia is that we can easily link more than one of our lodge partners together on a trip. Often we fish both Chile and Argentina on the same trip while staying at two or more lodges which is a nice option. If you choose an all inclusive lodge option plan on spending around $4500-$6500 for a full week of guided fishing not including transfers. On the Chilean side it is sometimes more but they often include the transfers so it is about the same. We often like to go down for a bit more than a week since it is so far away and often plan for about 8 or 9 days of fishing which is about perfect. My favorite trip is to combine the Futaleaufu river out of the Futa Lodge in Chile with a sampling of rivers and lakes in Argentina with our friends at Carrileufu Valley Lodge. Another interesting option is to do part of the trip in Patagonia and then head to Northern Argentina to spend a few days fishing for golden dorado at Pira Lodge.

The Fishing
The fishing is very diverse and includes a blend of huge rivers, spring creeks, medium sized floatable freestone rivers, lakes with monster trout and smaller wade fishing streams on private estancias. It is very similar to fishing across Southwest Montana and many of the same flies and techniques are used.

Tackle and Equipment
I generally bring a 9’ 5,6 and 7 weight when fishing central Patagonia. A five weight is nice for fishing the spring creeks and smaller waters or as a dry fly rod on the bigger rivers when the wind isn’t blowing too hard. A six weight is a great all around rod and can punch wind or pull small streamers and a 7 weight is great for throwing sinking heads and big streamers.

For lines I use floating lines on all three rods and then a 200 grain shooting head on the 7 weight for stripping streamers on the bigger rivers. Shorter 7.5 foot leaders are best for streamers and 9 foot leaders are good for dries. On the spring creeks sometimes the leaders are longer. I mostly fish 2x and 3x on most of the rivers and sometimes go down to 4x on the more technical spring creeks or gin clear rivers like the Rivadavia but these trout aren’t pressured much and are rarely leader shy so matching the leader to your fly size is most important. When throwing streamers 0X or 1X is best.

We fish almost exclusively dry flies or streamers on our trips in Central Patagonia. Nymphs can be productive on some of the fisheries but usually the dry fly fishing is so good there is no need or you are targeting big trout with streamers. The fly selection varies based on time of year and location but an assortment of terrestrials, caddis, attractor dries and streamers is usually all that is needed. On some rivers like the Futaleufu there are also midging trout so some smaller dries in the 18-20 size can be useful but make sure to bring a lot of big foam dry flies too like beetles and chernobyl ants.

Los Alerces National Park
Los Alerces is in Argentina and provides both dramatic scenery and great fishing. The scenery is breathtaking and reminds me of Glacier National Park in Montana with lots of lakes. The rivers drain large lakes and as such they are incredibly clear so sight fishing is spectacular. The Rio Rivadavia is one of the world’s most beautiful fisheries and staring into aquarium clear waters teaming with big trout in the 18-22” class (some bigger but very few small trout) should be on every fly fisherman’s bucket list. Los Alerces is home to many fine lakes and rivers. Generally as each river drains a new lake it changes names but all of these fisheries are part of the same river system that eventually feeds the Rio Grande (later renamed the Futaleufu in Chile and then the Rio Yelcho after leaving Lago Yelcho). You could spend your entire trip fishing the lakes and rivers of Los Alerces but you should plan at least one day of fishing in Los Alerces and the Rivadavia should be high on the list. Carrileufu Valley Lodge is a great base for fishing Los Alceres. The early summer (December and January) probably produces the best fishing in this region.

Rio Grande/Futaleufu
The Rio Grande is near Tevalin and Esquel and is a massive tailwater that drains Los Alerces. When it crosses into Chile it is renamed the Futaleufu. The Rio Grande is reminiscent of the Missouri on the Argentine side and is a great dry fly river. Pods of big rainbows (they all seem to be 19”) are often found midging in large eddies and some big browns can be picked up on streamers. There is some pressure from locals in Esquel on weekends so it is nice to hit this on a weekday. The Futaleufu quickly picks up gradient and is a huge whitewater river on the way to Lago Yelcho. The Futa sees very little pressure (on our last trip we fished it for 5 days and only saw two other fishing boats on one of the days) and has some of the hardest fighting rainbows on the planet. It offers high quality site fishing for big rainbows (average about 19”) and nice streamer fishing for browns in the 18-25” range. The scenery is breathtaking with hanging glaciers and lush forests. Lago Yelcho also has some amazing dry fly fishing that jump completely out of the water for adult dragon flies in December (try you tubing Lago Yelco dragon fly fishing!). I would highly recommend planning at least three days of fishing on the Futa side of the border (we usually stay at the Futa Lodge which is run by my friend Brian McKnight).

Rio Chubut
Another great fishery in the area not to be missed is the Chubut. The Chubut is best fished on a three or four day wilderness float trip. Generally two gear boats go out in advance of the fishing boats each day to set up nice camps. When you roll into camp after a day on the water your tents are ready along with some nice Argentine wines and appetizers! The dry fly fishing on the Chubut is fast and furious with 100 fish days the norm rather than the exception. The fish average smaller than on the Rio Grande/Futaleufu but there are still trout over the 20” mark. These trout see very, very little pressure and act like it. Frequently more than one trout is rushing at your fly at the same time.

Spring Creeks
Argentina has some of the world’s greatest spring creeks. They are similar to our famous spring creeks here in Montana but see a lot less pressure. Fishing large foam beetles and even streamers to 22” rainbows that you spot in advance is always a rush. Arroya Pescado is about an hour from Esquel. There are also some spring creeks on private estancias both near Esquel and in the Rio Pico region farther south. Most of these gems are leased by some of the lodges in the area.

Corcovado and the Rio Pico region
The Rio Pico is about 3 hours south of Esquel in a very remote part of Argentine Patagonia. The Corcovado is about halfway between Esquel and Rio Pico. Often you can drive to Corcovado to float fish for the day and then continue afterwards to the Rico Pico area. The Corcovado is a fun medium sized river with some big browns and spunky rainbows (it is renamed the Palena in Chile where it is also a great fishery) as well as some huge brook trout in April. The Rio Pico area is full of small spring creeks, trophy lakes and of course the Rio Pico. Much of this region is on private estancias and is best fished with one of the local lodges or outfitters that has leased permission in the area. If you are on a longer 9 or 10 day trip I would highly recommend a few days in the Rio Pico area. In addition to some great small stream and medium sized river fishing there are some lakes with HUGE trout that frequently go over 10 pounds.

When to go
Good fishing starts in October (the equivalent to May in the northern hemisphere). November really gets hopping and even though the waters can be higher they are generally clear because so many of them drain large lakes. January and February are probably the most popular time to visit because of the summer weather but March is still very pleasant (like September here). If travelling later in the summer a few of the fisheries like the Rivadavia that have seen a few boats get tougher so plan on spending more time on the remote waters like the Futaleufu or the Rio Pico area where the trout receive very little pressure. April also produces great fishing for fall run browns and brook trout (like fishing Montana in October).

Patagonia Trip Report: Chile and Argentina Fly Fishing 2012

Overview:
After much research coordinating we set out for Patagonia on March 9th. We had some hectic last minute changes to our trip in the final weeks. Our first hiccup was an unexpected airport closure in Esquel which is just across the border from the Futa lodge in Chile. A volcanic eruption near Bariloche had rerouted jet traffic to this smaller airport and had generated wear and tear on the runways so when the Bariloche airport reopened the Argentine government closed Esquel for repair. After some deliberation with our team we decided to spend our entire trip in Patagonia and forgo the Goldern Dorado fishing in northern Argentina at the Pira Lodge. Just before we set out for our venture we got word that there had been seven straight days of hard rain in Chile and the Futaleufu had risen to flood stage after a season of low water conditions. Our partners at Nervous Waters did a great job at setting up an option for fishing at the Carrileufu lodge in Argentina as a fall back which we opted for on the last 3 nights of our trip just in case. On March 9th most of our group set out which included Anthony Rosini from Denver, Bryan Hunt from Fresno and Randy Buckley from Houston. I had a 4 hour delay on my international flight and missed my connection to Bariloche which resulted in missing the first day of fishing. The rest of the guys flew in a day early and spent the night in BA to enjoy this great city that is often described as the Paris of South America. Our concerns of unfishable waters were quickly dispelled as our crew experience great weather which allowed the waters on the Futaleufu to drop quickly and bring back good clarity to the river.

The Futa lodge is located in the spectacular Las Escalas valley along the Futaleufu river which. The Futaleufu is a massive river that runs between about 10,000 – 25,000 cfs during its fishable flows and goes much larger when it is at flood stage. The river originates in Argentina and most of the upper drainage is found within the spectacular Los Alerces National Park. Previous glacial activity has resulted in a chain of large lakes interconnected by rivers. The lakes filter out all sediments resulting in aquarium clear waters with a magical turquoise coloration. I estimated clarity to be 15-20 feet once the river had dropped at the end of the week. The Futa lodge is located in a magical remote valley. The small estancia includes an old restored ranch house that serves as the main lodge along with three newer and well appointed cabins with picture windows overlooking the windows. Two of the cabins have twin king size beds and the third has two queen size beds. Horses graze the property as well as a healthy flock of sheep. There is a massive garden of roses, lupine and other flowers as well as a large green house where all of the vegetables are grown. Most of our meals came right from the estancia including the fabulous lamb asado. Each morning coffee was delivered to our rooms and a fire lit in the wood burning stoves in each cabin. When we returned from fishing we were always greeted with a local cocktail and a blazing fire in the fire pit.

The lodge was originally developed as a destination location by the legendary Jim Repine who was a famous alaskan fly fisherman. Well known anglers including Joan Wulff, Lefty Kreh and Mel Krieger have all made frequent trips to stay at Futa and it was a pleasure to visit such a fabled location. Nervous Waters took over the lodge in the mid 2000s and brought their trademark outstanding service to an already great lodge. Each day our host Brian McKnight and guide Royce Olney took us fishing on the many great floats near the lodge. This region of Chile receives very light fishing pressure and on all but one day of our trip we saw no other fly fishing boats and just the occasional local Chilean fishing from a bridge with their coffee can hand reels.

Day 1:
On the first day of fishing (the one I missed) Randy went with Brian McKnight to the Ramansco Poson de los Reias (the pool of kings). This massive eddy is about the size of three or four football fields and is in a spectacular setting where a tight canyon ends in a massive rapid that empties into this huge tranquil pool. Fishing the Poson is like floating on a lake with subtle currents. Trout magically seem to appear out of nowhere cruising just below the surface while sipping on midges and terrestrials. All of the rainbows in the Futaleufu seem to run between 17-19” with a few in the 20-24” class. Randy had a great day sight casting on the Poson which was a great place to be while the river was still very high and up in the willows along the banks.

Bryan and Anthony spent the day on the Limite float that begins at the Argentine border and terminates at the furious Inferno canyon class V whitewater run. The waters were very high and most of the fishing was limited to the eddies and backwaters where trout were cruising and sipping on dries. Even with the tough conditions the guys managed to boat about ten nice rainbows while sight fishing in the Aquarium and other large eddies.

Day 2:
This was my first day of fishing and I was excited to get out on this legendary river that I had heard so much about. I was encouraged by the clear waters, only a few days before the river was running milky white and was above the banks. I teamed up with Randy and Brian McKight to try our luck on the Limite float. The waters were already dropping but still very high. It reminded me of the Yellowstone at about 10,000 cfs when we first start fishing it (although it was probably closer to about 20,000cfs). We started in a wide riffle on the Argentine border. The guys dropped me off for some wade fishing which felt great after a few days of sitting on airplanes. This was one of the few places on the river where it allowed wading at these high flows and I was wading in waist deep water that just a week before was a high and dry gravel bar. I had several good hookups and managed to land 4 or 5 trout all on a large black beetle. Even in the faster water the rises were slow and deliberate. The ferocity of these trout on the reel was amazing – they are some of the hardest fighting trout in the world and even a 17” rainbow will make blistering runs on 3x tippet across the river.

Before lunch we floated down to the “aquarium” which is a large eddy/backwater where a smaller channel joins the main river. The big rainbows in the Futaleufu love this kind of water. It is hard to describe this type of habitat if you haven’t fished a really big volume trout river. The only other places I have seen trout behave this way is on the Yellowstone and Missouri in Montana and the Tongariro in New Zealand. These holes are often 15-30 feet deep and the fish are completely interacting exclusively with currents and not the bottom or shore. These current features pulsate and change and fish suddenly disappear and then show up 30 seconds later in a different location. They produce site fishing at its best and you must first get a visual on a trout and then make an accurate cast to lead the fish. The calmer the water the farther you need to lead the trout. In nervous water leading by 4 or 5 feet is enough but in glassy currents leading by 10 or more feet may be necessary. These trout seldom get hooked but the gin clear water results in spooky trout that are picky about presentation. If there is any drag they will nose the fly but not take which adds to the drama and excitement. When the fly is properly presented they almost always eat it even if it is a large terrestrial pattern. My favorite fly of the day was the gaucho which is a black beetle style attractor with an elk hair down wing for visibility. After lunch we hit one or two more productive eddies to site cast and then pulled streamers in the bigger water below. The river was still up so the water between the big eddies was tough to fish and mostly unproductive. By the end of the day Randy and I had netted about 15 trout between 15-20” – mostly high quality hookups on dries while sight fishing!

Bryan and Anthony stayed with Royce for day two. After a long night of strumming the guitar and enjoying the local brew “Escudo”, Bryan opted for a few extra zz’s in the morning while Anthony and Royce explored the upper reaches of the home waters. This float is completely isolated and the Futa guides have the only access. You start in front of the lodge and slowly eddy hop for about a mile up the river. Anthony had a great morning stripping streamers and site casting dries in had about ten trout to the net by lunch. Bryan joined in after lunch for the float down to the McKnights house on the other side of the river for the takeout. The lower waters were still high and produced slower fishing both guys got a few more fish into the net.

Day 3
All four of our Montana Angler team headed for the lower Futaleufu just above Lago Yelcho on day three for the “McCall” float. This is big water with big scenery. The climate quickly changes and the forests are lush temperate rain forests with towering mountains filled with hanging glaciers. Magical is the best word that comes to mind when attempting to describe the scenery. Most of the day our heads were on a swivel as we tried to take in the overwhelming beauty of our surroundings.

I teamed with Anthony and Royce and Bryan and Randy fished with Brian McKnight. This is streamer water at its best and we pulled out the seven weights with T-250 sink tips and lead eyed rubber legged streamers to go after the big boys. In the gin clear water you can see your fly to depths of 10 or 15 feet. I opted for a white version of my home cooked “Home Wrecker” which is a big rabbit fur concoction with lots lead and rubber legs. The white color helps to see the fly which allows you to guide it over logs and into troughs. The amazing facet of stripping streamers on the Futa is that you see the trout rocketing toward your fly from up to ten feet away. Sometimes they do figure eights around the fly then chase it and leave just to come back from 15 feet for a big eat. We had some hookups where the trout followed the fly for at least 25 feet before eating! On some instances they would grab and not get hooked and we would recast and seal the deal. After warming up on some nice 17” bows Anthony connected with a reel testing 20” brown that finally made its way to the net. Just before lunch I connected on something huge that schooled me in some big currents…exciting stuff!

Randy had the hot hand of the day and seemingly every time we looked over at our friends in the other boat his rod had a deep bend in it. Bryan and Randy stopped at a few inside corners on riffles to put a lot of fish in the net. After lunch we spent a half hour or so in our boat fishing a giant eddy where the El Malito joins the Futaleufu. We spotted about a dozen rainbows cruising in the foam and managed a few hookups on dries sight casting. Anthony also tagged a nice 15” colorful brook trout just above the confluence that probably came from the Malito. All in all a great day with some very nice trout to the net.

Day 4
This was Randy and Bryan’s day for the home waters in front of the lodge. Randy spent the morning solo and repeated Anthony’s success from the previous day with Royce on the upper waters eddy hopping. After lunch Bryan jumped on board and they floated the lower section of the home waters which produced a few more fish on streamers.

Anthony and I fished the very special Poson de los Reias on this day. The water had been dropping and the river was gin clear when we fished it. The drive in is worth the price of admission as we travelled overland across a private estancia across open fields. After dropping over a steep hill the river appears and you feel like you have been transported into a secret fly fishing haven. The massive rapid thunders at the head of the pool. This is by far the largest eddy that I have every seen in my angling career. The fishing was good from the beginning and we had a blue bird day which made locating the trout easier. Fishing the Poson is like a combination of bone fishing and stalking trout in New Zealand. The complicated currents slowly shift and trout suddenly appear moving just below the surface. In some ways it reminds me of fishing the gulpers at Hebgen lake except at in Montana you usually just see rises and not the hole trout. The waters are so clear on the Futa that it seems like these big rainbows are levitating in air. The midge hatch was on shortly after arriving and we were rewarded when we made long and accurate casts with a delicate presentation. The key was to get enough lead time so the fish didn’t spook and still have enough of a drag free drift when the trout arrived at the fly. Because of the subtle currents the trajectory of the trout was easier to predict than on a lake where cruising fish are more random. These fish are just like wild trout in New Zealand in that they are not too picky on the fly pattern as long as there is zero drag. They are also spooky like New Zealand trout and I had several big fish scurry off when they saw my bright green fly line in the air while false casting – I wished I had my drab olive spring creek lines for our day on the Poson. Even with the challenges we had plenty of hookups and average one or two eats per lap around the massive lake like backwater. We also had plenty of moments where are targeted fish moved for our fly just in time for ever so subtle drag to set in which produces a casual refusal at the last second. The great thing about these wild trout that rarely if ever see flies is that they seem to always give you another chance. Even if at trout eats and doesn’t feel the sting of the hook you can almost always get them to eat again by making a better cast or changing a fly. What an amazing place! By the end of the day we put about 15-20 trout in the net – each a very high quality fish that was targeted in advance; by far the ultimate fly fishing experience in my book.

Day 5
Since the Limite float was so high the first two days we decided to try it again on our last day in Chile. We were also transferring to Carrileufu Valley Lodge in Argentina at the end of the day so logistically being close to the border made sense. It was amazing how much the waters receded over the course of 5 days and this seemed like a completely different float. Still high by March standards, but the river had dropped about 4 to 5 feet. One of the channels that was deep and swift on our first day was now a small shallow trickle. We had a great time in the morning sight casting to some fish in the aquarium and wading some riffles. Shortly after pulling in for lunch we heard a shout and turned in time to see Bryan with a deep bend in his rod and a huge trout tail walking across the surface. I collected some great photos of the fight as the drifted by a 200 foot waterfall before pulling up in front of us to net the monster. We didn’t tape the big rainbow but I would safely put it at 23 or 24 inches – the biggest landed at Futa lodge for the season – nice work Bryan!

The afternoon float was great and the fun faster water with giant boulders that was too high to fish on day one had dropped to fishable levels for pulling streamers and I had some great action on some nice browns on the last hour of the float. After pulling out Carlos and the crew at the lodge were waiting at the takeout with our luggage to transport us to the border where we met Jorge Miglias. Jorge is the spitting image of the “Most Interesting Man in the World” from the Dos Equis commercials and even more interesting! We drove the the spectacular Los Alceres National Park before arriving at the Carrileufu Valley Lodge where we were greated by our new host Pancho Panzer and a terrific dinner.

Day 6

We fished the legendary Rio Rividavia on day six. The rivers in this region all begin and end in lakes and are gin clear. They are smaller waters than the giant Futaleufu (where they later drain into). Prime time on the Rividavia is in December and the fish were exceptionally spooky. This might be the most beautiful river I have ever seen – on par with some of the smaller wade fishing waters in New Zealand that I fished but with more trout and larger. The water is emerald green and very clear. You have to be careful jumping out of the rafts because what seems like ankle deep water is often 3 or 4 feet deep. We spent the first hour or two at the exit of the lake site casting to big cruising rainbows. I had 2 hookups and one 19” bow to the net along with lots of refusals and spooked trout. The Rividavia sees more pressure than the Chilean waters and the trout were very selective. This was definitely the hardest day of “catching” with only a few eats. All in all it was well worth it to see this famed river and I hope to return some year when the dragon flies are hatching in December to see it when the trout are more willing. The highlight of the trip was watching our Argentine guide Facu hucking bread at lunch to giant 20” rainbows that bull rushed the bread but ignored our flies…talk about adding injury to insult. Our lunch on the Rivadavia was amazing as we sat under the shade of a large tree along the banks of the gorgeous river enjoying empanadas and some great Argentine wine.

Day 7
Both boats hit the Rio Carrileufu on our last day. This reminded me of a big version of the East Gallatin or Beaverhead with more down timber. It was also gin clear and we spent most of the day stripping big streamers on sink tips. The morning fishing was productive and I managed a few nice 17” bows and with a lot of chases from bigger fish and a lots of small fish chasing and tugging at the rubber legs. The streamer fishing turned off after lunch but we found some fish eating fat alberts and small parachute adams. It wasn’t a huge numbers day but a great float all in all and nice to put some more fish in the net after our tougher day on the Rivadavia. We never got to see some of the trophy streamer eating browns that the river is known for, but that will have to be for another trip!

Summary
What a great trip to Patagonia. The Futa lodge was definitely the highlight of our stay. There are larger and more opulent lodges in the world but Futa had a special charm that is hard to describe. There is something special about being in a valley that is so pristine and untouched by the modern world. The fishing on the Futaleufu is very special and of the highest quality. We were fortunate to experience nearly perfect weather during our trip and enjoyed the best of company with our motley crew. A big thanks to Bryan, Anthony and Randy for joining me on this adventure as well as to our great guides and hosts at both lodges. And a very big thanks to my beautiful wife Ann that gave me the green light to spend 12 days away from home while she tended to our lovely but energetic three children!

Winter comes early and stays late in Montana.  Although we still like to get out in the winter months to wet a line and enjoy some cold weather Montana fishing, the allure of aggressive wild trout and tropical ocean flats is sometimes too hard to resist.  Myself and many of our guides have long enjoyed traveling to legendary fly fishing destinations to sample some of the best wild trout and flats fishing that the world has to offer.  Over the years our team has visited legendary locations like Kamchatka, New Zealand, Argentina, Chile, Mongolia, Mexico, Belize, Honduras, Alaska and more.  Several of our guides have also guided at destination lodges abroad and developed a wealth of knowledge on these international fisheries.  Montana Angler has recently teamed with Nervous Waters to offer our guests eight of the globes finest destination locations in Argentina, Chile and the Bahamas.   Nervous Waters lodges are recognized as some of the finest in the world.  With an occupancy rate of 93% and a return client rate of 82% there attention to detail and reputation for working with the finest guides and providing outstanding cuisine and accommodations has helped them develop a loyal following.  In 2012 one of our top guides, Sean Blaine, will be working as the head guide at Villa Maria lodge in Tierra del Fuego in pursuit of the world’s largest sea run brown trout on the famous Rio Grande.

Brian McGeehan will also be hosting a trip to Chile and Argentina the week of March 10th.  We are planning on visiting two very different locations.  Our first stop will be the Futa lodge to target the Futaleufu River and some of its neighboring tributaries and lakes including Lago Yelcho.  The “Fu” is a large tailwater that receives very little pressure.  It is filled with dry fly loving browns and rainbows on the upper floats and streamer eating monsters on the lower.  Lago Yelcho is a massive lake that is fed by the Futaleufu.  The lake is famous for its reed bed fishing where large trout cruise shallow flats and launch out of the water as high as five feet to intercept flying dragonflies out of the air.

After leaving the Futaleufu region we will head north to the Iberian marshlands wilderness which resembles the Florida Everglades (but twice as large).  At the Pira lodge we will target the magnificent freshwater golden dorado which looks like a golden salmon but fights like a small tarpon.  The fishing is in small streams and larger rivers and is very similar to streamer fishing for big trout.  The waters are clear and the strikes are visual.  Dorado nearly always jump upon being hooked and are a world class game fish.  We currently have 2 rods available for the Futa/Pira trip.