While many of us learned to fly fish on a small stream while walking and wading, floating down a beautiful river and casting to the best spots while a guide rows the boat is one of the great joys of a fly fishing trip. Some of the best fly fishing in the world is also best fished from boats, either floating spectacular rivers or rowing on lakes, and at the end of the day, coming back to a world-class, purpose-built fly fishing lodge is one of the best parts of a destination fly fishing trip. Here are 8 Great Fly Fishing Lodges for Float Fishing Trips.
Madison River Lodge
The Madison River is famous for thousands of fish per mile, spectacular scenery, and excellent fly fishing guides. Montana's Madison River Lodge is a small, intimate, fishing-focused lodge with some of the river's most experienced guides. The location simply can't be beat--smack in the middle of the best section of the Madison River. The lodge is surrounded by protected public BLM lands that adjoin the Wall Creek Wildlife Management Area, which is home to abundant wildlife. Each guest room has its own private bath and walk-out deck overlooking the river. The Madison River is one of the most consistent in all of Montana. It fishes well in both high-water years and drought years, and with trout densities at over 5,000 trout per mile near the lodge, there are plenty of big wild browns and rainbows to keep every angler happy.
Fishing out of the lodge also extends far beyond the Madison River. Yellowstone Park is just upstream with numerous famous waters within. There are three trophy lakes (Hebgen, Quake, and Ennis Lakes) with huge wild trout that offer technical dry fly fishing within a stone's throw. Small mountain streams like the West Fork of the Madison, Grayling Creek, South Fork of the Madison, and several others are also close by. We can also make trips to the Jefferson, Missouri, Ruby, and Yellowstone Rivers to add even more variety.
Missouri Cliffs Lodge
The Missouri River is Montana's largest tailwater fishery and is home to thousands of trout per mile. A series of large reservoirs upstream results in stable flows and water temperatures moderated by a bottom-release dam. As a result of this tailwater effect, the Missouri is often referred to as a large spring creek. Anglers will encounter some of the most productive hatches in the Northern Rockies, high fish counts, and the prospects for larger fish. The productive nature of the river allows trout to grow fast, with an average size around 16" and larger fish common.
Missouri Cliffs Lodge is centrally located in the heart of the Missouri River Canyon at roughly the midpoint of the tailwater reach, which spans from Wolf Creek to Cascade, allowing for great access to the entire fishery. Many anglers describe the Missouri River tailwater section as a large spring creek with glassy currents, weedbeds, and an abundance of trout food. The productive nature results in several thick hatches throughout the season, including midges, baetis, caddis, pale morning duns, and tricos. During heavy hatches, trout are often rising across the river, and sight casting to surface-feeding trout is possible. The cold and stable flows generate a productive environment of aquatic insects and crustaceans. This ample food supply helps trout grow fast and the average size of the fish in the tailwater reach of the river is between 16" and 17" with larger fish common. High trout counts and larger-than-average fish help to make the Missouri one of Montana's most productive fisheries.
Martin Pescador Lodge
For anglers that love to float fish, this is possibly one of the best locations in Chile for a variety of waters that can be targeted from while fishing from boats. The lodge sits at the heart of an extensive assortment of fisheries, including Río Yelcho and Lago Yelcho, Río Futaleufú, Río and Lago Rosselot, Río Figueroa, Río Pico, and others that are too numerous to list, while jet boats, rafts, catarafts, and hybrid power drifters deliver never-repeated days. Martín Pescador Lodge was designed to up the ante on anyone’s idea of a great day on the water, with a view and a pisco sour to top it all off. With so much water available to anglers, big trout are always a possibility, and catches of 23+ inches are frequently a weekly occurrence.
An extensive fleet of boats and vehicles places anglers on Patagonia’s most wild, untouched stretches, where casting big streamers, sight-casting to cruising rainbows, and throwing dry flies make for action-packed days. Combine the diversity of water, notoriously large wild trout, and an angling program that leaves no stretch unexplored, and you’ve got a truly unique Patagonian angling experience--one of the most rewarding in all fly fishing in Chile or Argentina. With over 35 boats stashed in different locations, each day anglers are paired with experienced guides and take "off the beaten path" fishing to another level. This region of Chile offers some of the world's best trophy trout fishing in incredibly productive lakes and lagoons. Watching large, trophy-sized trout launch out of the water to intercept dragonflies is not uncommon when fishing the reed beds on these lakes and lagoons. Whether sight casting to huge fish patrolling weed beds or swinging for the fences with big streamers, these spectacular lakes and lagoons are a great way to add variety to floating and wading the many rivers in the region.
Patagonia Baker Lodge
The Rio Baker is Chile's largest river and is a natural tailwater as the outlet river for the largest lake in Patagonia (Lago General Carrera). The Baker flows clear year-round but always has a hint of glacial flour, producing a magical azure color that has to be seen firsthand to truly believe. This is truly one of the world's most beautiful trout rivers. The surrounding scenery is equally dramatic, with rugged mountains dripping with glaciers in nearly every direction. Although the Rio Baker is the crown jewel of the lodge's program, there are several other nearby fisheries to add variety to a week at the lodge. These include the outlet of Lago Carrara, Lago Bertran, Rio Maiten, the amazing Cochrane River, and a few other gems.
Patagonia Baker Lodge is inspired by its sister lodge, Magic Waters Lodge. Exposed wooden beams, spacious bedrooms, and panoramic views define the architectural style. Guests will be awed on entry to the lodge’s dining area and great room, which offers commanding views of the turquoise waters of the Baker and the glacially capped Cordon Contreras. A wraparound deck provides endless views of the river. Rainbow trout can often be spotted feeding on dry flies or nymphing in the enormous eddy that flows below. You can depart directly from the lodge and motor upstream to the base of the rapids flowing from Lago Bertrand, or drift downstream through densely forested banks to explore shelves, undercut banks, and seams full of rainbow trout. Brown trout are also present throughout the river but tend to hold closer to the banks and respond best to streamers presented with sink-tip fly lines. Dry flies and streamers rule the day, and very large trout are a real possibility when fishing both the Baker, the Cochrane, and the lake outlets. Because of this variety, the Rio Baker has something to offer all skill levels. Fish often rise to the river’s dependable and prolific caddis hatches. Anglers who like to fish streamers will have plenty of opportunities to cast large flies to entice some of the world’s largest wild trout. But the Rio Baker isn’t the only option for anglers. A variety of lakes are home to trophy-sized fish, so there are plenty of ideal waters for fishing from a boat.
Rio Palena Lodge
The riverfront Rio Palena Lodge features angling adventures on the Rio Palena and a variety of other nearby rivers, lakes, and streams. A Chile fly fishing trip at Rio Palena Lodge features a fishing program with a nice mix of quantity and quality—some days are spent catching and releasing lots of good-sized rainbow and brown trout, while others are focused on finding, catching, fighting, and landing large, trophy-sized trout pushing the 10-pound-plus barrier. Anglers can float or walk-and-wade right out the front door or enjoy heli-angling opportunities and then return to a lodge that is purpose-built as a destination fishing and adventure lodge for fly fishing in Chile.
The Rio Palena and the surrounding waters are known for producing very large trout. Large flies, unpressured waters, and the feeling of wilderness permeate each unique day when fishing and staying at Rio Palena Lodge. There are several floats within an easy drive from the lodge, including floats that start or end at the lodge. The Rio Palena is a medium freestone river flowing through a few small canyons. The river is ideal for all levels of anglers and for fishing large dry flies, streamers, or subsurface nymph rigs. With a helicopter on site, each Rio Palena Chile fly fishing trip gets one day of heli-angling. The heli-angling program at Rio Palena Lodge allows anglers to fish and explore a variety of lakes and smaller waters. For fishing the lakes, the lodge has left drift boats at the lakes for comfort and increased access. The unpressured smaller rivers and creeks accessed by heli-angling feature a variety of catch rates and sizes of wild trout.
Chime Lodge
Argentina is home to many famous float fishing rivers, and Chime Lodge is ideally situated to fish many of them. Expect to fish a large variety of waters on a visit to Chime. Float classic rivers such as the Chimehuin, Collon Cura and Alumine or wade the legendary Malleo or some of the smaller productive streams in the region. This area is also home to some incredible trophy lake fishing for additional variety. Once back at the lodge, enjoy elevated hospitality and an outstanding culinary program. The large decks offer sweeping views of the river below or the towering Lanin volcano capped in glaciers in the distance.
Overlooking the Chimehuín River, Chime Lodge offers front-door access to one of the greatest diversities of trout water in Northern Patagonia. Unique to the lodges on this list, Chime Lodge offers the unique possibility of incorporating an "Unplugged Camp" within a lodge stay. Guests begin and end their trip at the lodge—enjoying the comfort of their room while leaving main luggage safely stored—before spending two nights camping on the river during the week. This combination provides the perfect balance between wilderness adventure and lodge comfort. The camping program occurs on the Caleufu, Aluminé, and Limay Medio Rivers; guests choosing to “unplug” and get away from it all enjoy long, unforgettable fishing days in some of Patagonia’s most remote and scenic waters. Camping is often the highlight of the entire trip, especially for those wanting to fish a few extra hours and fully immerse themselves in the experience of float fishing on some of Patagonia's best fly fishing waters.
Sage Lodge
Ideally situated for quick and easy access for any number of days of guided fly fishing on the Yellowstone River, as well as the Boulder, Stillwater, and various other private ranch waters. Sage Lodge is located on a bluff overlooking the beautiful Paradise Valley and the mighty Yellowstone River, while the 10,926-foot Emigrant Peak and Absaroka mountain range looms in the background. At Sage Lodge, you can enjoy the great outdoors by day and then return to after a day on the water to pamper yourself with a full-service spa, excellent dining, and luxury accommodations. This is also an ideal lodge for non-angling companions.
The Yellowstone River drainage is the stronghold for the wild and native Yellowstone Cutthroat trout (and don't forget about the always-present Rocky Mountain Whitefish), as well as an abundance of wild browns and rainbows. The main fishery at Sage Lodge is the Yellowstone River, and it is best floated. It provides outstanding fishing from its headwaters in Yellowstone Park all the way to beyond Columbus. From Yellowstone Valley Lodge, we can fish both the "Upper Yellowstone" from Yellowstone Park to the town of Livingston with a nice mix of rainbows, browns, and cutthroat trout, as well as the "Lower Yellowstone" from Livingston to Columbus where huge browns and big rainbows wait. A variety of hatches come off in the spring and early summer, followed by outstanding terrestrial fishing with hoppers, ants, and beetles in the late summer and early fall. Late season produces some huge pre-spawn brown trout on streamers and big nymphs.
River of Dreams
Over the years we had heard whispers of a remote river in Patagonia that was accessible only by horseback, and The River of Dreams is worthy of the name. Several years ago we hiked into the upper reaches of this fishery where it exits a large lake and experienced great fishing for large browns. We were limited by travelling further into the system due to a steep gorge and massive rapid. The lower reaches of the river near the coast could be explored by jet boat but again access was limited by another massive rapid and gorge if you tried to get too far upstream. A few years ago, our partner outfitter, and owner of Patagonia Baker Lodge and Magic Waters Lodge, Eduardo, and his team cracked the code to access the remote "River of Dreams" by enlisting a local gaucho to ride over the mountain.
In the remote central regions of the river system lies 40 miles of untouched classic wild brown trout fishing. The valley becomes broader, and the river is reminiscent of Paradise Valley on the Yellowstone River with side channels, productive riffles and structure-laden banks. On the first forays into this hidden valley, the fishing was off-the-charts good. Large browns recklessly attacked big foam dry flies. To make matters more interesting, the team discovered a productive spring creek filled with big fish patrolling the currents for dragonflies. The final discovery was a classic freestone wade fishery from a tributary that tumbles out of the coastal mountains, filled with classic pocket water and hungry medium-sized dry-fly-loving trout. Shortly after exiting Lago Caro, the river dives into a steep gorge with massive rapids. Likewise, near the mouth of the river, another rugged gorge filled with whitewater prevents upriver travel by jet boat. In between the two large cataracts is a 40-mile remote valley where the large Rio Blanco meanders through one of Chile's most scenic valleys.