We often talk about the road less traveled leading to some of the planet's best fly fishing, but what about those places where trout swim that are inaccessible by car, truck, or ATV? That hasn't stopped some of the planet's most enduring fly fishing guides and lodge operators from seeking out great fly fishing trips for trout. So, how do you find great fly fishing if you can't drive to it? You load up the helicopter and fly, of course. Here are four fly fishing trips for trophy-sized trout to rivers where roads don't go, but a helicopter does.
Cedar Lodge
For decades, anglers have ventured to the deep southern latitudes to chase the large trout swimming in New Zealand's crystal-clear waters. Cedar Lodge is ideally situated for anglers wanting to fish world-class, trophy-trout rivers. The remote rivers of the South Island of New Zealand are famous for exceptional sight fishing opportunities to large wild trout. Cedar Lodge offers unique helicopter fly out access on a daily basis to remote fisheries in the permitted Mount Aspiring National Park. Each day, anglers fly to a new fishery with their guide to test their mettle against big browns and rainbows.
The lodge has a very high rate of return guests and anglers should plan to book very far in advance to secure a date. Legendary anglers such as Lefty Krey, Mel Krieger, Ernest Schweibert, Doug Swisher and Dave Whitlock have all made pilgrimages to this world class lodge. The waters fished out of Cedar Lodge often produce some very large wild trout, with shots at 3-6 pound fish common most days. On some days, there is an outside chance of shots at 10-pounders, and the unique access a helicopter provides increases those chances. Similar to the waters fished out of Owen River Lodge, numbers of trout are lower than in many US rivers, but the spot-and-stalk opportunities to target large trout make quality over quantity win out.
River of Dreams Basecamp
Anglers have been exploring fly fishing in Chile for well over 50 years. The region around Cohaique is known for having some of the most diverse fly fishing options on the planet in one place--from small freestones, to spring creeks, to lagunas, lakes, and fjords; anyone planning a fly fishing trip to Chile will eventually discover this area. For decades, however, rumors had been building about an isolated section of a local river only accessible by helicopter or horseback. Several years ago, we finally explored this one-of-a-kind fishery where the river exits a large lake and experienced great fishing for large browns, we had to see for ourselves if this was indeed the place where angling dreams could come true. We were limited in 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. Over the past decade, we have explored this river more and more and have found two tributaries as well--a spring creek and a small freestone. This area is certainly an angler's dream-come-true area with over 40 miles of untouched classic wild brown trout fishing. The valley and the river are 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, with large browns recklessly attacking big foam dry flies, and the more we explore it, the better it gets. But, that is the often the case with places that can only be reached by horse or helicopter.
Rio Palena Lodge
As one of the original destination fly fishing lodges in the Futaleufu region of Chile, Rio Palena Lodge's experienced guides have been fishing the Futaleufu, the Rio Palena, Yago Yelcho, and a few other larger waters for years. These rivers are all known for consistently producing some of the largest trout in Chile. But, for anglers wanting one of the most unique experiences in the world and to fish for trout that may have truly never seen a fly, the helicopter fly fishing program out of Rio Palena Lodge stands alone. 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. Rivers and lakes here are in wild scenery back-dropped by snow-capped mountains. The trout in these waters grow fast, large, and strong. 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.
Owen River Lodge
The sister lodge to Cedar Lodge, Owen River Lodge, features helicopter fly fishing opportunities to target New Zealand's large trout as well. While not as heli-focused as Cedar Lodge, anglers out of Owen River Lodge have access to a helicopter to truly get some amazing backcountry waters. With quick access to over 30 trophy brown trout fisheries, anglers at Owen River Lodge only increase their chances at a trout of a lifetime by utilizing a helicopter. Owen River Lodge lies in the middle of the Murchison and Nelson Lakes region; anglers will experience an award-winning lodge and a proven fishing program that is truly unmatched in destination angling travel.
The lodge has a hard-to-get New Zealand government permit to allow helicopter fly-outs into the difficult-to-access waters of Kahurangi National Park and Nelson Lakes National Park. In these waters swim some of the planet's largest, freestone-dwelling trout. The lodge's fly fishing guides are highly experienced and adept at spotting large trout in gin-clear waters. Generally speaking, New Zealand trout are spooky, and reasonably long casts between 25 and 45 feet are often needed while casting a long leader. These trout do not see a lot of pressure and will readily eat basic dry fly and nymph patterns as long as they are presented correctly. While the trout are unpressured, if you are planning a fly fishing trip to New Zealand, being a moderately good caster and a patient angler will help tremendously in hooking into New Zealand's large brown trout.