Patagonia is an immense, yet sparsely populated region in southern South America. It is home to the world’s longest continental mountain range, while also encompassing the seventh largest desert on earth. Words can not serve justice to the variety of breathtaking landscapes that exist here. The Andes Mountains' gin clear rivers, backwater oases and thick vegetation offer the perfect environment for large resident brown trout to flourish. An angler could spend decades fly fishing untouched waters here and never fish the same place twice.
Not only does Patagonia offer world class fly fishing, but the culture and its people are quite amazing as well. What sets them apart from most other people is their selflessness and willingness to help whoever is in need. Both the Argentine and Chilean people that comprise the region do not consider time as an issue; things can wait, no problem. If you are interested in learning about their region, they will happily share with you stories and secrets of their beautiful land. As for me, I would like to share with you the insight I acquired while traveling through Patagonia, but first the forever unforgettable story we flyfishers dream of.
Jan 30th, 2015. The Rio Negro region of Patagonia was experiencing tough fishing for the first time this season. Big fish were common in the earlier months, especially during one of Patagonia’s most prolific hatches; the dragon fly. My good friend, argentine local, and fly fishing legend, Matias Picapietra, told me “Paul, you must go south, go to where the water is colder, go to Lago Tres. There you will catch a monster.” No better advice could have been given at that time. After all, Mati was a master at targeting big fish; with six years spent guiding down south on the Rio Gallegos for sea run brown trout, you’re going to take the man’s advice. Zach Madison and Skylar Hamann, two of my good friends from the states, had just joined me at the time and were still craving their first big Patagonian brown. With all of us in agreement that a move had to be made, we headed south towards the colder Chubut region of Patagonia.
The following day we arrived at the body of water I had been hearing of for months. In an area of the Las Pampas region, it was well off the grid and far from any civilization. The campground, however, was surprisingly well marked and sat right along the shore. The campsite had a large wooden shelter (common in northern provinces like Neuquen and Rio Negro), a stone charcoal grill for cooking the world’s finest steaks and a forested area for hanging the hammock. Not to mention there was a camp host who would bring us free firewood every evening. When gazing out across the lake, giant snow covered peaks would stand tall off in the distance. I started thinking if the fishing held up to its reputation, this would prove to be one of my favorite places on earth.
We all woke the next morning with strong feelings for the possibilities that lied ahead. After a few quick slices of pan de deulce and a round of yerba mate, Zach and I walked our float tubes a half mile up the road to a put-in. With no float tube, Skylar stayed behind, waiting to use one of ours later. The shoreline of the Lago Tres was almost completely lined with tall reeds, some areas extending out thirty feet from the shore. There were strong winds in the 20+ mph class that were creating consistent foot high wakes. These heavy gusts limited our drift time, from put-in to take-out, to about an hour. In the first of drifts both Zach and I came up empty handed, not even a take. After all the talk we had heard from local fly fishing guides about this area and it’s amazing fishing, we willingly stayed the course and walked to the put-in again.
The second drift called for a totally different approach. With a freshly tied, foam, dry fly and a shortened leader, I focused on tight casts right to the reed’s edges while smacking the fly in the churning water. Within three minutes a large female brown appeared from the reeds and inhaled the fly. Boom! It was on. Less than five minutes later Zach hooked in to a nice male brown twenty yards further down the reed line. It appeared that these fish were cruising through the reeds looking for opportunities to ambush their prey. In a matter of ten minutes, Zach and I had both landed six pound browns.
After arriving back to the campsite and breaking the good news to Skylar, I reached into my bag to show her some photos we had taken with her GoPro camera, and my heart quickly sunk. At some point during the float back a wake had hit the side of my float tube, causing the camera to go overboard. Feelings of accomplishment and satisfaction slowly turned into an afternoon of regret. I felt terrible. Skylar insisted that everything was fine, life would go on, and that she was happy to just be where we were. I had had a number of valuables stolen a few months prior so I could relate to how she was reacting. And too, something about being around the people of Patagonia, perfectly content and happy with whatever it is they have, makes you really appreciate the important things in life. Regardless, it was a tough pill to swallow but I knew there was still a chance the day could be saved. I told Skylar “We’re going fishing this evening and you’re going to hook into the fish of your lifetime.”
After a restful siesta in the hammock, Skylar and I walked the two float tubes back up to the same put-in as earlier that day. The conditions that evening seemed perfect. The sun was a few hours from setting and the wind was nice and steady. I had a really good feeling about it. As we approached the put-in I reminded Skylar of the technique Zach and I had discovered earlier; sticking close to the reeds and letting the wind cast for you. In less than five minutes into the float, with one of those, “Oh, come on, eat that!” casts, sure enough, a monster male brown surfaced. Like seeing a dolphin glide through a wave, the fish, no more than 10 or so feet from our float tubes, inhaled the fly. One mississippi…set! It was on! A few seconds went by and I could see Skylar was still in shock after witnessing a monster fish eat her fly. I screamed several times to her, “back paddle, back paddle!!” in order to guide the fish away from the reeds and into open water. Her rod was bending so hard I was afraid it was going to snap. After a long and epic battle far out in the lake, Skylar had finally landed the big fish. Nothing but huge smiles from the both of us.
As we walked back to the campsite with a fading sunset off in the horizon, I told myself, “This will be one of those days I will dream about for the rest of my life.” It was the perfect ending to a roller coaster of a day. That night, Zach, Skylar and I cooked up a huge asado with steak, chorizo and a salad as we sat around the fire reliving the day. We camped two more nights during that trip but never quite had as good a day as the first. Between the three of us we had landed eight fish that trip and none under twenty four inches.
I’ll now share with you some personal insight and tips that should hold extremely helpful if you plan to fly fish and travel through Patagonia.
1. The time of year you plan visiting directly correlates to how well the fishing will be. If you have the time and can afford being around for the entire fishing season (November to April) like I did, I’d suggest focusing your time in the northern provinces during spring and southern provinces come fall. By the time middle of summer rolls around, you will want to be in the Chubut Province or further south of that because the water temperatures can get quite high in Northern Patagonia.
2. Having a personal vehicle is a must if you plan on doing it yourself. I purchased a used Mitsubishi Montero in Curitiba, Brazil, where my relatives live; then drove it 3,000 miles south. Upon returning to Brazil five months later, I sold it with an eighty percent return on my investment. Renting a vehicle is also an option but you will probably spend a lot more in the long run.
3. Bring a float tube. You’ll be surprised how good the lake fishing is in Patagonia. When people think of lake fishing, a lot of them see it as making blind casts into the middle of the ocean. That's not the case here. Almost all the lakes in Patagonia have excellent features along the shore. And since nearly every lake is surrounded by thick vegetation, it is literally impossible to fish them without a float tube.
4. Don’t be afraid to practice speaking spanish with the natives. The people of Patagonia as a whole are THE nicest people I have encountered in my twenty five years. They will respect you a lot more if they see you are making an effort to speak their language. There is no better way to learn the language than by engaging in conversation with locals.
5. Bring U.S. dollars. More specifically, one hundred dollar bills. You will live like a king. Argentina’s economy is much weaker than the U.S. so Argentinians are always looking for ways to get their hands on some greenbacks. Look to exchange at the blue dollar rate. You can find plenty of people in main street Bariloche shouting “Cambio, cambio!” which literally means an exchange of money. Chile is a different story because their currency is much stronger. You won’t be getting any deals in Chile like you will in Argentina.
6. Slow your roll. Don’t come down to Patagonia thinking you are going to be fishing every day of the week. The culture here is very relaxed and it is often hard to get things done. There will be speed bumps along the way; that is just the reality of it. Once you learn to slow down and accept that things will take more time than you thought, you will be in a much better state of mind.
7. Travel with much less than you think you need. I personally brought way more valuables and supplies than I needed. I also paid the price after having most of my valuables stolen from my vehicle. Which leads me to my next tip.
8. Try and keep your valuables in a secure and concealed area. I left my vehicle parked near the side of a river and found it broken into a few hours later. Just like with any other place in the world, theft is a possibility. If you know someone in the area and you can keep your things safe with them, trust me, take the extra effort to do so.
9. Eat like the Argentinians do. Their food is unbelievably good and not to mention your US dollars will go a long way.
Traveling through Patagonia has been the most rewarding experience of my life. It is a truly special place and much of it is still waiting to be explored. For those who seek adventure and the outdoors I strongly recommend visiting. If you have any questions for me or would like to know more specific details about the area shoot me an email at macdonaldpaul9@yahoo.com.
