Fly fishing in Argentina and Chile

After a long flight Geneva - Rome - Buenos Aires - Comodoro Rivadavia we (four fishermen friends) arrived finally on the first stage. Right at the airport we rent a Toyota Hilux 4x4 (must be an SUV = gravel road)  and went to a hotel in the city.

To protect our luggage against sand and dust, we packed our luggages in garbage bags and drove off towards the Chilean border to Los Antiguos at Lago Buenos Aires (400 km). In the municipality we bought the fishing patent for 350 pesos, valid for the current year. From the age of 65 the licenses are for free - an idea for Switzerland! The regulations and explanations for fishing in Patagonia are available in Spanish and English.
For our 23 days holiday we had a budget of CHF 5,300. We spent the nights in bungalows or cheap hotels (with breakfast). The food, mostly steaks or lamb and salad, we received in restaurants at a decent price. Please see our budget plan in the box.

Fly Fishing in Argentina

Finally we started with our goal: FISHING
In Rio Antiguos and Rio Jeinimeni I tried my first streamer. I'm the only fly fisherman in the group, the three others used the normal fishing. I only report on my experiences and successes with the fly. I used mainly a 9.6' rod with a fly line size 5' and for strong wind a 9' torpedo cord and 150 meters of backing. In particular, further down in the south, Rio Gallegos, the 9' line was indispensable. A leader for streamers (IMC) and about 2 meters of 23' Tubertini-Silcher, tensile strength of 5.5 Kg gave me a good security. For fishing with the dry fly 3 meters of 20' silcher is recommended.
The Fisheries Secretariat of Santa Cruz recommends the following streamers: Yellow Perch, Woolly Bugger oliva, Pancora, Glass Minnow, Muddler Minnow, Puyen, Red Fox Squirrel Nymph y Montana. For dry fly fishing all brown and dark patterns flies, size 12-14.

Fly Fishing in Chile

After two days we went to the Cochran in Chile. We fished in a beautiful little river with a very good brown trout stock (Trucha maroon). Unfortunately, the water level was one meter above normal, so fishing was almost impossible. At the next day, we tried fishing at a salmon stream 80 km away for the last place. And indeed, one of me fishing friend cached a strong 30-pound pacific salmon with an orange Rapala. I tried several attempts with up to 7 cm long orange, black and red streamers but without success.

EL Calafate and Parque Nacional Los Glaciares:
When you are traveling through Patagonia and the province of Sante Cruz, a visit to one of the world natural wonder, the Perito Moreno glacier is a must. It is an unforgettable experience to hear the roar and to see the masses of ice breaking off with a dip in the Lago Argentino.

Estanzia Rio Capitan:
We reached after 300 km gravel road a isolated ranch between El Calafate and Rio Gallegos. When we arrived as unannounced guests, we enjoyed a warm reception on the farm stocked with 4500 sheep. The hospitality is truly impressive. The next day we fished for rainbow trouts in the Laguna del Torro. The fishing in the waters of Argentina is free. The access to it, however, costs a fortune (we paid $100 per day). Almost all the roads to the rivers and lakes are denied by the property owner and can only be passed by paying a fee. However we spent a wonderful fishing day with an average of 25 trouts between 1.5 - 4 kg. It was a struggle and plucking at my 5' road. I used a black Prince. In the evening I had almost no force to hold my aperitif glass.

Bella Vista-Rio Gallegos:

Our last trip took us to this little town on the river far down in the south. We immediately felt that the summer was running out. A cold sometimes stormy wind accompanied us every day and throwing was not easy. How grateful I was to have my 9' torpedo cord. Thanks to patience, to hold out into ice-cold water, I came to some successes, and for the first time I could catch a few sea trouts from 1 to 2.5 kg. At the end we are looking back to our fishing holidays with a laughing and a crying eye.

Petri Heil Benjamin