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Argentina: A Story of Our First Trip to Patagonia
Argentina's Wild Trout:
A Story of Our First Trip to Patagonia
Anyone who has been to Argentina remembers their first time and why they fell in love with it. For us, my husband Julius and I, we went for the world-famous fly fishing this past February. We chose the upper Patagonia region near Cholila and stayed at the Carrileufu River Lodge for about two weeks, meeting up with our friends Stephan and Marina. The lodge is near an abundance of lakes and river systems at the foot of the Andes Mountains. The lakes and rivers are full of the most beautiful brown and rainbow trout you have ever seen, carefully sipping flies off the surface or hanging out just below or on the edge of willows waiting for the unsuspecting bugs to drift by.
By: LAUREL WHITE
Photos by: JULIUS KOGEL and FLY FISHING NATION
FIRST THINGS FIRST
But first, let’s talk about arriving in Argentina. We landed in Buenos Aires and upon disembarking the plane, we were besieged with the heat and humidity. Coming from a cold German winter, we had to adjust from down jackets and scarves to shorts and T-shirts.
Once our outfits were tailored to the weather, we were off to exchange a small amount of money so we could partake in a famous Argentinean steak before flying to Esquel the next day. Later, we took a small detour to Buenos Aires Anglers, one of Argentina’s oldest fly shops. Finding the place was like going on a scavenger hunt. It is quietly tucked into what appears to be an apartment complex.
We walked into the building and carefully asked the doorman if this is where the shop resides. The man smirked and told us to take the elevator to the eighth floor. Take a left off the elevator and then a right. Toward the end of the hall on the left is the shop. We were greeted by Marcelo, the owner and his dog. The shop is well equipped with anything a fly anglers heart desires. A bonus was chatting with Marcelo about all kinds of things from the economy, the concept of his shop, and most importantly, fishing. If you have time while in Buenos Aires, stop by and check it out, it is worth a look!
“Each morning you wake up to a beautiful view of the Andes”
The next day, we were on a threehour flight to Esquel, a tiny regional airport where our driver, Germán picked us up. Germán is called the “Joker” because he can work any role in the lodge including a fantastic fishing guide. There are two airports you can fly into, Esquel or Bariloche. Esquel is about a oneand-a-half-hour drive to the lodge and Bariloche is about two and a half hours.
Bariloche has multiple daily flights in and out of Buenos Aires where Esquel offers one in and one out per day. We ended up being the last ones to exit the baggage claim because of all things, my rod tube with ALL of my rods and some of Stephan’s hadn’t shown up. I was starting to get really nervous when I saw the luggage cart drive away and no more luggage coming through on the carrousel.
Luckily Julius had bought Apple AirTags and was able to track my rod tube sitting between the airplane and the baggage claim. We approached an airport employee explaining our situation and that we could tell him exactly where the missing piece of luggage was. The man seemed quite puzzled that we were able to tell him the location of the rod tube. He got on the radio and within five minutes, someone came walking in with my rod tube! Hallelujah! It turns out, it had fallen off the luggage cart.
FAST FRIENDS
We made quick friends with Germán and our drive to the lodge was over in a flash. It felt like we were all old friends catching up. Arriving at Carrileufu River Lodge, we were welcomed by all the staff and given a glass of delicious Argentinean Malbec.
“With my nerves trying to get the best of me, I carefully cast right in front of its mouth”
I will say, this lodge is magnificent! The Great Room (main, communal room with an open bar, huge stone fireplace, lots of seating and also the dining room) has large windows that open up to a gorgeous view of the Andes mountains and the Cerro Tres Picos or The Three Peaks, a gorgeous, jagged three “fingered” peak.
Next, we were introduced to our spacious room. Each room has two queen sized beds, an ample amount of space for storing all of your luggage, and massive bathrooms. Then dinner was served and let me tell you, the food was incredible! After being stuffed with a three-course dinner and copious amounts of Malbec, we were off to bed anxious for the fishing the next day.
Each morning you wake up to a beautiful view of the Andes mountains and make your way out for a hearty breakfast of fresh fruit, cereals, eggs, bacon, and toast before heading out on the water!
GAME ON!
Our first float with the drift boat was on the Rivadavia River in the Los Alerces National Park. Julius and I were speechless when we arrived at the put in location.
The views of the mountains and turquoise water were made from dreams. You wouldn’t believe that we were there during the lowest waters and most difficult fishing in the last 20 years.
The amount of trout we saw in the river was unbelievable!
On the boat, trout were rising all around us, trout were on the bottom inhaling nymphs, trout were everywhere so much so, my senses were in overdrive! Deciding where to cast became overwhelming and I was like a kid in a candy store, just glowing!
“Sometimes the good ‘ol chuck and duck was our only choice”
Julius landed the first trout of our trip, a beautiful, feisty rainbow with incredibly pink cheeks, taken on dry. Soon after, I caught my first Argentinean rainbow trout on dry, game on! I knew there were plenty more to come and I couldn’t get enough of it. I almost forgot to look at our surroundings because I was so fixated on fishing.
The rainbows were coming in hot! Along this float, we stopped at a spring fed creek for lunch. Lunch? Who wants lunch when there are fish to be caught! I was outnumbered, lunch time it was, plus Stephan was excited to give us a small introduction to the spring creek.
While the guides BBQ’d for us, we were off fishing in this little creek full of monsters! We couldn’t walk away from the creek to eat because our minds were blown from not just the mere amount of trout in there but the variety and their size! This creek not only has rainbows but brown and brook trout! I’ve never caught a brook trout so I was keen on finding one. Alas, we had to go eat and fish on along the Rivadavia from the boat. Not to worry, we went back to that creek the next day. That first day, we caught some beautiful rainbows on terrestrials as well as being introduced to the infamous Patagonian winds or as Juancho, our guide, would call it, the Patagonia breeze!
THE INFAMOUS SPRING CREEK
The next morning finally arrived and we were restless to get going to that spring creek where all of those elusive beasts live. A 45-minute drive and we were there, ready to take on the notorious spring creek.
There is a secret here, a secret nymph that these trout go crazy for. The bad news? There were only four of these little gems left. The four of us, Julius, Stephan, Marina, and I only got one each, no pressure. Stephan and Marina lost theirs almost immediately. I was being as careful as possible with mine knowing the importance of this little morsel of gold. You need to be precise with your cast here.
Finally, a trophy sized brook trout was sitting right in front of me! With my nerves trying to get the best of me, I carefully cast right in front of its mouth. We saw the take and STRIKE! As quickly as there was tension on my line, it went limp, my tippet snapped! I was in shock and was about to start mourning my loss, but all I can remember hearing is Stephan giggling behind me. My hopes, my dreams, my nymph-my precious, gone and shattered and Stephan there to rub it in as well as lighten my mood!
I couldn’t help but laugh with him but deep down, I may have been crying just a little.
Finally, a trophy sized brook trout was sitting right in front of me! With my nerves trying to get the best of me, I carefully cast right in front of its mouth. We saw the take and STRIKE! As quickly as there was tension on my line, it went limp, my tippet snapped! I was in shock and was about to start mourning my loss, but all I can remember hearing is Stephan giggling behind me. My hopes, my dreams, my nymph-my precious, gone and shattered and Stephan there to rub it in as well as lighten my mood!
I couldn’t help but laugh with him but deep down, I may have been crying just a little.
That was a huge learning moment there, you have to let the trout run, don’t put too much pressure on or hold your line. That was a painful lesson that I had to learn not once but twice before I was finally able to land one of these beasts. Julius was the only one who managed not to lose his little piece of gold. The slow flowing water makes it easy for these trout to discern food from faux so only a few were caught that day but it was a blast. I may have had nightmares that night about my missed opportunity to land my first brook trout.
The next few days were on different sections of the Carrileufu River with our guide Germán. Each section has so much to offer. The rainbows were taking dries, nymphs, and streamers with ease. The brown trout were being a little more apprehensive and elusive, hiding in and below the plethora of willows. The perfect cast on the edge or just below the willows will be righteously rewarded. Early on during one of the floats, I sent one perfect cast along the willows and this beauty of a brown came shooting out of the water and slammed my fly! That was the largest brown I caught on the trip, and it was beautiful. The take was enough to get the blood pumping and the feign in me hyper focused and fixated on the next opportunity.
“Next cast, WHAM, fish on! This fight was something else, something different”
Each afternoon, the Patagonian “breeze” would pick up and they are no joke. The gusts were sometimes strong enough that we almost fell off the boat and occasionally the boat would be pushed upstream. The guides are true professionals and were great at turning the boat so each fisherman had a good angle to cast even in the crazy winds. Sometimes the good ‘ol chuck and duck was our only choice.
After thoroughly fishing the Carrileufu River, we gave the Arrayanes River a go which is located in the Los Alerces National Park.
It is most successfully fished with a streamer. A brown, black and purple, and bright red Wooly Bugger were very rewarding for us. Julius landed a gorgeous brown in Lago Verde just before entering the Arrayanes River. As with any of the floats, the views were to die for. This one for me, was the most beautiful out of them all. We caught loads of gorgeous young browns and plenty of proper rainbow trout. There were a handful of big brown trout that followed our streamers but never committed. The whirlwind of emotions caused by a hungry brown trout stalking your streamer just to turn off last second is astounding.
SHOCK AND AWE
After plenty of warm, dry, blue skied days of fishing, we had a couple of days of long overdue rain and boy did that turn the brown trout fishing on! While fishing in the rain, streamers were a popular choice for the trout. Once the rains subsided, the browns were smashing dries off the surface! Those takes were just incredible and got the heart racing! We caught our largest brown trout out of the Carrileufu, but we have heard of the massive browns that can be caught out of the Rivadavia and Arrayanes as well.
On our last day of fishing before heading home, on the upper section of the Carrileufu, we were fishing a spot that is known for big browns. Julius casted first and WHAM! Something hit his streamer at the surface with force but didn’t commit. Next cast, WHAM, fish on! This fight was something else, something different. Our minds were blown when we saw the fish jump out of the water, a landlocked Atlantic salmon! These bad boys slam the streamers like torpedoes! The thrill of the take and fight is almost euphoric. After releasing Julius’ salmon, we went back and I casted to the same spot Julius had. I let my streamer sink for several seconds, strip, nothing, strip, strip, nothing, strip, WHAM! Holy crap that almost made my heart stop! Excitedly, I played the fish and my soul was crushed when I lost it right at the net! But what a way to end our trip!
LODGE LIFE, GUIDES, AND TACKLE
If you are traveling with anyone who is not a fly fishing junkie like yourself, the lodge offers other activities such as horseback riding and hiking. The lodge also offers massage and has a sauna that can be used 24 hours a day.
Overall, I would recommend a 5 wt rod before the daily winds pick up in the afternoon and then once the winds pick up, a 6 wt would be your go to. Flies: Dries: Parachute Adams, ant patterns, beetles, Chubbies, Chubbies, and more Chubbies. Nymph: Scuds, Pheasant Tails, and Red Tags. Streamers: heavy, brown, black, black and purple, or bright red Wooly Buggers. Don’t forget to pack a fast sinking line for your streamer set up.
The guides from the Carrileufu River Lodge have the utmost expertise of the rivers and lakes. They will tell you to cast to spots you would never dream of catching a fish, let alone a giant brown trout! The guides know how to show a customer a good time and have a lot of fun while doing it. They even set you up with three course lunches with beer or wine on the river. Most of the fishing is from a drift boat but there are some spring fed creeks that you can fish on foot. At these creeks, you must be stealthy and present the fly perfectly and then you may be lucky enough to land one of these lively trout. It doesn’t matter where you fish out of the Carrileufu River Lodge, the views are intoxicating, and the fishing will awaken your inner child. The lodge itself completes the package. Every staff member there is genuine and you can tell they are passionate about what they do. Gori, a massive black Mastiff who believes she is a lap dog will enthusiastically greet you upon your return from a therapeutic day of fishing. Pancho, the owner and his family are the most wholesome human beings who welcome you with open arms. Not to mention Pancho’s son, Teo, a young blood who first held a fly rod at three years old. He brings more skill to the table than some of the most experienced fly fishermen I’ve met.
We can’t wait to return next season to see what a normal year is like if this was considered rough. And that is how we fell in love with Argentina.
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