the fishing

The waters surrounding Patagonian BaseCamp hold a very healthy population of brown and rainbow trout.

Trout have not been stocked here for close to a hundred years and the fish have found their own natural balance in numbers and sizes. You will catch lots of wild and strong fish within the 12 to 20-inch range. Fish over 20-inches are caught almost daily, over 24-inches weekly. The lodge record for a brown trout is 32 inches, and for a rainbow trout 28 inches.

Patagonian BaseCamp is strategically located to access a surplus of rivers, creeks, lakes and lagoons – the fishing options are seemingly unlimited and it would take an entire summer season to see and fish them all. The fishing program will be personalized to the best of the lodge’s ability, taking into consideration the prevailing weather, river conditions and other guests’ desires. Each evening after dinner, Marcel will sit down and discuss with you all the fishing options available. It could be a two day float down the Palena, or run to Lago Verde to explore the Rio Pico or Rio Cacique Blanco. Or maybe a horse trek or mountain bike ride to a secluded high-mountain lake where you sight fish to surface cruising browns and rainbows. It’s up to you, Marcel and the guides to decide.

The following is a short list of just some of the fishing options that you can take advantage of at Patagonian BaseCamp.

Rio Palena: (Classification: Easy to moderate)
This has to be one of the most enjoyable and unique floats in all Patagonia. Depending on your preference, and weather and river conditions, you can fish two long days, overnighting one or two nights at beautiful little riverside cabins complete with two bedrooms (sheets and linens supplied –no sleeping bags), and a full bathroom with flush toilet and shower. The guides cook amazingly delicious dinners over an open fire and you toast the Southern Cross with great wine and stimulating conversation – all the while being serenaded by the whispering of the river and crunching sound of cows and sheep chewing their cud.

The Palena is a relatively large river - about the size of the Lower Sacramento - that offers every conceivable type of water you could possibly imagine. The river is choked with massive logs, root wads and boulders – perfect habitat for wary brown trout to melt into, staging for their next meal. In addition, there are many long stretches of willow-lined banks, gravel bars, slots, pockets, riffles, holes, seams and runs that hold equal numbers of rainbows and brown trout. You can pitch streamers back into the logs and strip like mad, run a dry-dropper rig down the seams or cast hummingbird-sized terrestrials and twitch them into being devoured – it doesn’t really matter; you will catch a ton of fish and experience some of the most remote and beautiful country in Patagonia – all at the pace of the river. The overnight float ends right at the doorstep of the lodge, where you are met by the staff with a cold beer and hot empanadas, followed by a long hot shower and another delicious dinner by Carolina.

Rio Yelcho: (Classification: Easy to moderate)
Fishing the Rio Yelcho is a lesson in adaptation to an ever-changing fishery. In one instance you will be casting tiny dry flies (size 20 – 26) on 5x or 6x tippet to surface-cruising rainbows in the 20-plus inch class; just around the corner you will put down the finesse rod and grab your 7-weight loaded with a sink-tip tied to a big rubber-legged streamer and hammer the banks and subsurface structure for the big browns that call the haunts home.

Lago and Rio Rosselot: (Classification: Easy to moderate)
After breakfast, your guide will take you to a nearby lake, Lago Rosselot, where he will launch a jet boat to access two rivers: the river feeding the lake, Rio Figueroa, and the river draining the lake, Rio Rosselot. The rivers are very different from each other, and your day will include both dry fly and streamer fishing. A hot lunch will be prepared on the riverbank accompanied by a good Chilean wine. When the conditions are right the shallow water "flats" and shelves of the lake can offer some great sight fishing with dry flies for good numbers of cruising rainbows.

Rio Rosselot: (Classification: Moderate)
The river connects Lago Rosselot with the Rio Palena and is one of our favorites. The first section of the river is pretty calm and loaded with shore structure creating great streamer fishing for large brown and rainbow trout. After about a mile or so, your guide will have you secure your life vest and store your fly rod, as you are going to raft through an exhilarating Class IV rapid followed by miles of amazingly productive and beautiful water for the duration of your float.. You will fish either from the raft, or wading from the gravel bars. Large whirlpools hold cruising rainbows looking for surface naturals or spinners in the foam lines. Brown trout tend to seek shelter at the banks, rock ledges and submerged logs.

Rio Figueroa: (Classification: Easy to moderate)
The Rio Figueroa connects the lakes Lago Verde and Lago Rosselot and there are two separate day floats available to guests. The Figueroa is incredibly beautiful where it winds through canyons and flows over big boulders. It holds very good numbers of fish. And big ones, too. You will mainly be fishing dry flies like Fat Alberts and Gypsy Kings, but you might want to try pulling some streamers off the banks and around structure, as well.

Rio Figueroa “Temple Float” (Classification Moderate to difficult)
Marcel’s newest outpost camp located on the upper Figueroa allows anglers to fish and float two different sections of the Figueroa, never before fished. The upper float ends at the camp, while the lower float begins at the camp. Both floats are full-day, utilizing 14-foot whitewater rafts. The camp is located just below “Diablo”, an unclassified rapid. The name “Temple” comes from the unbelievable “temple-like” rock formations in the canyon you float and fish through. The outpost camp is built on top of wood platforms overlooking the river, and each yurt-like wall tent - “domos” - sleeps two fishermen and are equipped with real beds with comforters, and lavatories with (cold) running water. This is an incredibly unique opportunity to fish and explore water that until now has never seen an angler. It is also a serious whitewater trip and a certain level of physical fitness is recommended. Distance from BaseCamp is about 1.5 hour driving

Patagonian adventure: (Classification: Moderate to difficult)
A thirty-minute oxen cart or horseback ride, hike or mountain bike trek will take you to a remote and rarely fished lake high in the Andean Mountains. Marcel has a cool wooden boat stashed on the lake, and your guide will row you around the reed-studded parameter while you sight-cast to fat rainbows and browns chasing and eating dragonflies. The lake is stuffed with trout and all it takes is a tan Fat Albert cast within 15 feet of a fish to bring a savage strike and reeling-screaming run. You often take many trout apiece, with the biggest topping-out in the mid-twenty-inch class, or better. The lake is gin-clear and you will see every single fish eat your fly. And although a lot of fly fishers are not into still-water fishing, this lake might change your mind.

Lago Verde: (Classification: moderate)
Lago Verde is located in a semi-arid pampas area and is ruled by a very pleasant micro climate. Only 2 hours away from The BaseCamp, the scenery is completely distinct and different. And so is the fishing. The dry and extended grasslands around the rivers are home to thousands of grasshoppers. The winds blow these little critters into the rivers and into the mouths of hungry trout. Hopper fishing at the right time of the year can give you the best dry fly fishing you have ever experienced. And these rivers are also great places for some serious nymph fishing for large trout.

Small creeks and tributaries: (Classification: difficult)
The main rivers in Patagonian BaseCamp’s backyard are all fed by many little creeks. Most of them are very difficult to access but can offer surprisingly great fishing. These creeks are hardly, if ever, fished and if you are ready for some hard work and technical fishing, you will not be disappointed. Two of these fine creeks are within minutes of the lodge and well worth the extra effort involved in getting to.

Patagonia and the Non-Fishing Options
The southernmost part of Latin America is dominated by the vast wilderness of Patagonia, an area that is sparsely inhabited or developed. Because of this, it offers almost unlimited possibilities for many kinds of outdoor activities: fishing, rafting, canoeing, horseback riding, mountaineering, hiking, mountain biking and bird watching. The Non-Angling program at Patagonian BaseCamp is not an afterthought of a fishing lodge; these are high-quality guided services.

• Horse back riding trips from 1 hour to a full day (even overnight trips, if desired)
• Hiking expeditions to hanging glaciers (hikes from 1 to 6 hours)
• Easy-going float trips on the Palena, even in individual one-seat cata-rafts.
• Hard core white water rafting on the Futaleufu or Figueroa River
• Visiting the hot spring of Termas de Puyuhuapi for a day trip (hot springs with massages, therapies etc.)
• Mountain biking trips on the Carretera Austral
• Trips to the ocean for porpoise and bird watching (depending on the season)
• Visiting small local villages like La Junta, Puyuhuapi, Lago Verde
• Birding

Non-angling guests should be prepared for a variety of outdoor activities. Non-angling guests should bring good raingear (jacket and pants), hiking boots, a warm fleece, camera, binoculars, daypack, and a good sun hat. The fortunate absences of bears, poisonous snakes or swarms of mosquitoes make Patagonia a safe and pleasant outdoor destination for anyone.