Patagonia is a wild place. A well-travelled angler understands the importance of embracing the wild characteristics of a destination while simultaneously welcoming the luxuries and conveniences that, for better or worse, most of us have become accustomed to experiencing. Whether unplugging on a 5-day Smith River camping and fishing trip, chasing massive Taimen in Mongolia, or pursuing feisty trophy-sized brown trout in Patagonia, we are perpetually striving to capture the perfect balance of adventure and comfort. Achieving this balance is not trivial and can often be the difference between a good trip, and the experience of a lifetime. A fly fishing trip to Chilean Patagonia can do just that, while providing us with a great perspective on the powerful forces of Mother Nature, combined with some great fly fishing.
A 2008 eruption of the Chaiten Volcano created pyroclastic flows – fast-moving avalanches of hot gas, ash, and rock – that flowed near the Chilean coastal town of the same name. On a clear day, glimpses of wisps of gaseous vapor emitting from the volcano’s crater. Back-dropped by this homage to Mother Nature's power, the town has a niche flow of tourists that comes through the area in their pursuit of memorable whitewater rafting, trekking, or fly fishing trips. The imposing steaming fissures overlooking town serve as a humbling reminder of the grand power of nature and our relatively infinitesimal existence as rod-toting humans.
If you are seeking an answer to the question of "Where is the best fly fishing in Chile or Argentina?" Perhaps ask some of the lucky anglers who have been on any of our recent hosted trips--you will learn there isn't just one answer.
I was fortunate to host a group of enjoyable anglers at Chile's Martin Pescador. This trip has become an annual highlight of our Hosted Trip offerings, yet this was my first visit to the area. I've been traveling to and hosting groups in Chile for well over a decade, but this was my first trip to the aquamarine waters of the Chaiten region. I was thrilled to finally put a personal touch on my daydreams of all the magnificent photos and videos I've looked at over the years.
The One-of-a-Kind Two-Lodge Program
At its Martin Pescador program, Eleven Angling has done a fine job of striking this balance, perhaps better than any international fishing operation I have had the privilege of experiencing. The Martin Pescador program seamlessly blends two distinct lodges over the course of the week, Rio Yelcho Lodge and Rio Rosselot Lodge, allowing anglers to fish and experience two unique zones within the Los Lagos district of Chilean Patagonia.
Rio Yelcho Lodge is located on the banks of its namesake river, providing outstanding views of the water, mountains, and hanging glaciers across the waterway. An inviting great room with a fully stocked bar, cozy wood-burning stove, and attentive staff eager to fulfill any request provides a wonderful home base for the first half of the week. Witnessing, both visually and audibly, a glacial ice fall careening down a mountainside instantly puts the wild nature of Patagonia front and center, while the espresso martini and impressive charcuterie spread serve as a reminder to the visiting angler that they aren’t exactly roughing it.
Lago Yelcho serves as the crux of the fishery for the first half of the week. A massive lake, Lago Yelcho, covers a distance of approximately 20 miles in length with an average width of about 2 miles. Lago Yelcho is fed by the Futaleufu River (called the Rio Grande across the border in Argentina), which enters the lake at its southeast corner. The outlet of the lake forms the Yelcho River, which flows past the lodge along its 30-mile journey to the fjords of the Pacific Ocean. Between these two marquee rivers and Lago Yelcho itself, guests spend the first three days primarily float-fishing a new beat each day.
Like its sister accommodation on the Yelcho, Rio Rosselot Lodge sits riverside and boasts the same impressive catalog of amenities: a wood-burning hot tub, riverside sitting areas with fire pits, and a well-appointed main lodge. Similar to Lago Yelcho, Lago Rosselot serves as the linchpin for the second half of the week. At roughly 12 miles north to south and about a mile wide, Lago Rosselot is only about half the size, but no less dynamic than Lago Yelcho.
Arrival at Martin Pescador
A nice feature Martin Pascador has incorporated into the fishing program is an afternoon session of guided fishing on arrival day. “Day zero” provides multiple benefits. The most obvious of which, for the eager angler, is simply getting out for a few hours of fishing after a day and a half or more of travel. Perhaps more importantly, this can be a valuable few hours for guides to gain a sense of anglers’ skill level and goals for the week to fine-tune the week’s fishing itinerary. Dan, my primary fishing partner for the week, and I took advantage of this afternoon's arrival fishing session to sample the lower reaches of Lago Yelcho with guide Wyatt. A short jet up the Rio Yelcho from the lodge, within 15 minutes, Dan and I were making casts and taking in the classic Patagonian scenery. The trout weren’t jumping in the boat this afternoon, but between casts, and an eat here and there, Wyatt kept us entertained with a couple of the most hilarious fishing guide tales I have heard to date. Having satisfactorily knocked the rust off and shared some laughs, we floated back down to the lodge for some highly anticipated hors d’oeuvres and dinner, a thorough orientation and overview of the week’s itinerary, and some welcome rest.
Rio Yelcho Lodge Jet Boat Exploration on the Futaleufu
The next morning, we woke to some lifting fog and noticed a bit of glacier flour tinting the waters of the Rio Yelcho as we watched the river flow by while savoring the morning’s first sips of coffee. The week prior had recharged the system after a prolonged dry spell, and while guides mentioned that this abrupt weather shift might put the fish off for a day or two, it would be a long-term positive for the week. This guidance would prove to be spot on, as it seemed that both catch rates and size of fish caught increased as the week progressed. The realistic assessment was well received by the full lodge of eager anglers, as we tucked in the last few bites of made-to-order omelets, fresh fruit, and pastries before scattering to our various fishing zones for the day.
Dan and I were to head to the Futaleufu River with guide Brent, a river that has long been on my list and would now finally get to witness firsthand. Getting the lay of the land from Brent on the drive to the Futa, we were welcomed on arrival with parting clouds and a peek at the postcard-worthy Patagonian scenery.
As with the logistics of many river floats in this region of Chilean Patagonia, the morning started with a jetboat ride upstream. With the lack of boat ramps, roads, and large rapids preventing through-floats on certain sections, Martin Pescador utilizes both custom jet catarafts and jet-propelled G3s to gain upstream access, then stows the motor and substitutes jet propulsion for traditional oar-powered float fishing.
We spent the morning fishing a mix of dry-dropper rigs and streamers, which both produced fish in intermittent fashion, but it was apparent that fish were still recalibrating from the recent weather shift and were not feeding with reckless abandon just yet. Regardless, Dan netted half a dozen rainbows and browns while wade fishing a picturesque run of the Futa after lunch, and we were able to land a number of other decent trout before big afternoon winds told us it was time to reel ‘em in for the day. We heard corroborative reports from other anglers at the lodge that evening; conditions and catch rates were trending in the right direction, but the Rio Yelcho system hadn’t shown all its cards quite yet.
While en route to another new section of water the following morning, our guide Chris pointed out a massive landslide that had occurred a few seasons back; recent enough to still witness the slurry of debris on the valley floor that had once been a substantial portion of a mountain peak that was now absent from the rugged ridgeline above. Wild!
Lago Yelcho and Sight-Fishing to Large Brown Trout
Today, we would fish the “up-lake” zone of Lago Yelcho, referred to as the “Cabanas” section by the guide crew. As has been my experience fishing other stillwaters in Chile, this section of Lago Yelcho is incredibly dynamic. We spent the morning drifting the inlet of Lago Yelcho, where the Futaleufu reaches its terminus, drifting dry-dropper rigs over weed beds as we floated, resulting in several nice browns in the 18-22” range. Chris jetted us over to some shallow flats, no more than 3’ deep, in the afternoon, which proved to be the venue that would provide the highlight of our fishing day, allowing us to sight fish for cruising browns with dry flies. Chris did his best flats fishing guide impersonation, sans poling platform, and got us within casting range of several nice browns we spotted cruising the flats and a small inlet. If I closed my eyes and only listened, I might have well been on South Andros in the Bahamas, “Big fishing moving left to right. 40 feet, two o’clock. Cast!” Dan laid a perfect cast, leading the 20” brown just enough so it could see the fly but not spook, and inhale the fly it did! Hi-fives were made all around and were followed by a quick jet back to the truck, grinning all the way.
We arrived back at Yelcho Lodge for our final night's stay and a wonderful traditional Patagonian barbecue feast. Yelcho lodge chef Ignacio "Nacho" and lodge host Pepe pulled out all the stops to celebrate the halfway point of the week and the culmination of our stay on the Yelcho.
Classic Dry-Dropper Fishing on the Yelcho
The final fishing day out of Rio Yelcho Lodge had me fishing with Keith back on Lago Yelcho with Wyatt. We revisited the flats we had fished briefly on the first afternoon, as there was a bit of color in the river in front of the lodge due to some overnight rains. Wyatt was confident the river would fish better in the afternoon, so we spent the morning throwing large Chubby Chernobyls with dragonfly droppers over weed beds and along the perimeter reeds of the Lake. Wyatt motored us over the lake’s outlet after lunch and, sure enough, the water looked ideal on Rio Yelcho. We stuck with the same dry dropper rigs and were treated to a fast action filled a couple of hours as we cast our flies behind boulders, over submerged logs, and along the river’s bank. Keith and I doubled up on a pair of small browns, then were treated to an all-time aerial display as we approached the lodge.
A classic risk-it-for-the-biscuit situation, Wyatt encouraged me to cast over a pile of exposed logs into a deep back eddy and to “ask questions later” in the case we hooked up on a fish. Sure enough, an energetic brown darted out from under the tangle of logs and devoured my dragonfly nymph. My chances of landing this fish were slim to none as it thrashed about within the confines of logs, branches, and vegetation surrounding its protected lair. Just as I was about to attempt to horse him over the logs, this fish, surprisingly but welcomely, launched 4+ feet in the hair, vaulting over the pile of downed logs between it and the boat, landing in the skinny channel between the logs and the boat, allowing us to swiftly deploy the net and put an exclamation point on a banner last afternoon of fishing out of Rio Yelcho Lodge. After a quick celebratory cervesa, Keith and I loaded up into Wyatt’s truck for the 90-minute ride over to Rio Rosselot Lodge. Some guests had completed this transfer in the morning before fishing, and we were greeted at the lodge with exciting stories and anticipation of what the rest of the week had in store.
Rio Rosselot Lodge and the Rio Figueroa
One of the primary tributaries to Lago Rosselot is the Rio Figueroa. The “Fig” is a large river, flowing through the Patagonian rain forests and then entering Lago Rosselot from the east. The Figueroa provides three distinct sections, each providing a full day’s worth of fishing for guides and anglers to explore. The downstream (north) end of the lake forms the outlet and the start of the short but exciting Rio Rosselot, traveling just 10 miles until its confluence with the Rio Palena and final jaunt to the Pacific.
Craig and I would join guide Mark on the middle Figueroa section for my introduction to fishing out of the Rosselot lodge. The scenic drive to the put-in brought us through a large private estancia to gain access to the river. The team at Martin Pescador has developed relationships with several local landowners, resulting in numerous exclusive access points to otherwise largely inaccessible rivers. Many of these landowners live off the land and, by necessity, embrace the rugged individualism the Patagonian landscape and climate require. For example, this particular landowner partook in a hobby of hunting red stag with his dog, lasso, and knife. Why? Because that’s the way his family had always done it.
After accessing the river and staged cataraft via a network of hand-built stairs and paths snaking through the forest, the three of us motored upstream to the top of this section of the Figueroa, impassable both upstream and down (at least in our vessel) due to significant rapids on either end of the section. As we transitioned to fishing, Mark set me up with a black streamer and Craig with the standard dry dropper setup of the week: a large chubby and a girdle bug dropper. I flopped my streamer in the water and began to strip out some line. As I lifted the rod tip to make my first cast, an 18” brown came nearly to my feet and ate the streamer. In my experience, this can either be a very bad, or a very good sign for the prospects for the rest of the day. Luckily for us in this case, it proved to be the latter.
Craig had the hot hand today and landed too many browns in the 18-22” range to count. We abandoned the streamer after getting consistent eats on the surface, and both continued to enjoy explosive dry fly eats on large foam dries. As most fishing days do, this one seemed to end too soon, though our spirits remained high as we returned to the lodge for a soak in the hot tub, some fine Chilean wine, and another wonderful culinary experience around the dinner table.
A Rare Brook Trout and Lago Rosselot
The weather had stabilized, our casting was in the groove, and Dan and I were ready to sample Lago Rosselot with guide Gavin. One note about Dan: A Michigan angler, Dan had mentioned numerous times how he would love to catch a brook trout in Patagonia. I had told him not to hold his breath, and that brook trout were not caught with any frequency on the waters we would be fishing. Sure enough, the first fish of our day on Lago Rosselot turned out to be a brook trout caught by Dan, one of only three brook trout caught by lodge guests that season.
The morning ended with a bang. Dan hooked up to a large brown near the outlet of Lago Rosselot. Just as the current began to pick up, Dan laid a cast in some shallows along the bank, and all hell broke loose. The big brown ran right for the deepest, fastest water it could find, and we were along for the ride. Gavin reassured Dan to take his time and not force it, but there was a hint of “you better not mess this up” in that message. On the opposite bank and a couple of hundred yards downstream, we finally got the fish to net and agreed we had earned a lunch break, ready for another great lunch from the Martin Pescador chefs.
After lunch, we returned to a productive bank we had fished that morning, where we had witnessed several rainbows suspended in the water column. What followed was an exhilarating session of sight fishing to rainbows. Dan already had a brook trout to hand and some nice browns under his belt, and now completed the Patagonian slam by landing a nice rainbow on a dry. Not a bad day on the water!
Last Day and Sight-Fishing to Big Rainbow Trout
One last day of fishing presented yet another new fishery for Keith and me to sample – the Rio Rosselot. We would once again fish with Mark and made the short drive to the dock following breakfast. A socked in morning, the fog began to lift shortly after hitting the water, giving us a clear-sky view of the jaw-dropping scenery surrounding the Rosselot...and it took our breath away. We motored to the outlet of the lake, floated past the site of Dan’s big brown from the day before, and began to throw dries with reckless abandon as we floated down this gem of a river, another in the jewels of the Martin Pescador crown.
Mark worked hard to put us on fish. My favorite fish of the day was the one we didn’t catch. Mark had been seeing this same ~2-foot rainbow time and time again in the past weeks, always feeding in the same spot under a large bush with heavy current to the outside; a nearly impossible spot to get a drag-free drift. The trout seemed to be in a fairly predictable cycle, coming out from under the bush to feed, then slowly circulating back under cover. Mark must have re-rowed this run 5 times, each time giving us one chance to lay a cast in the strike zone just as the fish came out of its protected spot to feed and before the current pushed us too far downstream. On our last pass, Keith said, “Give me one shot from the front of the boat and then it’s all yours. Keith laid an oh-so-close to perfect cast, just barely catching a twig, quickly wrapping his tippet. I made one last desperation cast before we were out of range and, out of nowhere, a not as big but still sizeable brown came and intercepted the fly. Not a bad consolation prize for another memorable sight fishing opportunity.
Mark continued to work the oars for the afternoon, rowing us partway up the Rio Claro Solar tributary, where Keith was able to land a nice brown on his second river of the day. We enjoyed the views and catching a few more fish as we floated the last bit of river before Mark floated us right up to the lodge’s on-site boat ramp. With the final day of fishing in the books, I felt that I had experienced a thorough sampling of what the Martin Pescador fishing program has to offer. The variety and the diversity of fisheries - from floating large majestic rivers to sight fishing stillwater flats - had all produced large fish with everyone in the group landing fish over 20" that week. I couldn't help but feel, however, that this was just a glimpse of what the Yelcho and Rosselot systems have to offer. Even while fishing hard for 6.5 days, I had yet to get a peek at the upper or Lower Figueroa, much of the Yelcho, or the entirety of the Rio Palena. Two anglers in our group, Willie and Kelley, of whom the rest of us were all envious, would continue their Patagonia adventure with a few days of fishing out of Martin Pescador's sister program, Rio Palena Lodge...an extension I will strongly consider participating in on my next trip to the Los Lagos region of Patagonia.
How to Get to Martin Pescador's Fly Fishing Trip in Chile
The Martin Pescador program is located in the Los Lagos region of Chilean Patagonia, near the town of Chaiten. For most guests, travel begins with an international flight from Europe or the US to Santiago. These are typically overnight flights arriving in Santiago early in the morning, followed by a direct ~2-hour flight to Puerto Montt. The Martin Pescador team arranges a transfer to the small neighboring town of Puerto Varas, where guests stay the night before catching the charter flight to Chaiten the following morning. Puerto Varas is a quaint tourist destination on the shores of Llanquihue Lake with magnificent views of the Osorno Volcano across the lake. A nice group dinner and a good night's sleep are followed by a quick transfer to the Paloma Airfield to catch the 35-minute charter to Chaiten. Upon landing in Chaiten, guests are greeted by lodge staff and make the final 45-minute transfer to Rio Yelcho Lodge, just in time for lunch and an afternoon of fishing.
We are returning for our next hosted trip to Martin Pescador Lodge the week of February 13, 2027. We hope you can join us!
Read Brian's 2025 Martin Pescador and Rio Palena Trip Report Here.
Want to Discover More of Chile's Best Fly Fishing?
Visit our Chile Fly Fishing Page