A working guide to fly fishing in Patagonia, Argentina from a five-room lodge on the Carrileufú: the river, the fish, the season, and how a week here works.
If you are researching fly fishing in Patagonia, Argentina, you will find plenty of pages written by booking agents who have never lived here. This one is different. We run a five-room lodge on the banks of the Carrileufú, and this is the river we fish, drink mate next to, and watch change through the season. Here is what we would tell a friend who asked whether it is worth flying this far south for trout.
Planning a Patagonia fishing trip?
We are happy to talk you through what a week here looks like.
The Carrileufú, in plain terms
The Carrileufú flows out of Lago Cholila and runs south through our valley until it empties into Lago Rivadavia, on the doorstep of Los Alerces National Park. It is a clear, cold river in a system of lakes and short connecting rivers, which is what makes the fishing here so steady: the lakes act as reservoirs, so the river stays fishable when other Patagonian water is blown out or too low.
The water is transparent enough that a lot of the fishing is sight fishing. You see the fish, the fish can see you, and the cast has to be honest. Rainbow and brown trout are the main residents, with brook trout and landlocked Atlantic salmon in the wider system at certain points of the season. These are wild fish. Nobody stocks this river.
The water around us
The Carrileufú is our home water, but it sits inside one of the densest concentrations of quality trout water in Argentina. Within driving distance you have the Rivadavia and Arrayanes rivers inside Los Alerces National Park, a UNESCO World Heritage site, lakes like Cholila, Rivadavia, Verde, Krugger, and Futalaufquen, and quieter water still: the Rio Grande, Laguna Larga, and Arroyo Pescado. A week here is not seven days on one river. We change the water most days, chosen for the conditions, and if you fall for one river we will happily take you back to it.
The season, month by month
The season in Argentine Patagonia opens on November 1 and runs into April. The character of the fishing changes as it goes:
November and December. Spring. The Andes still hold snow, the valleys are in flower, and the rivers carry good water. Because our rivers drain lakes, they clear and settle earlier than free-flowing rivers elsewhere in Patagonia. Big fish are aggressive after the winter, and the first strong hatches of mayflies, caddis, and dragonflies bring them up.
January and February. Summer. Long days, warm afternoons, and classic dry fly fishing. This is when the valley is at its greenest and the terrestrial fishing gets interesting.
March and April. Autumn. The trees turn, the crowds are gone, and the brown trout and landlocked salmon start moving out of the lakes and into the rivers. Some of the largest fish of the year are caught in these weeks. Most waters close mid to late April.
The month-by-month rundown above covers the full season.
How we fish it
Days here are a mix of floating and wading, depending on the water and what you enjoy. Some days you drift, covering banks and structure from the boat. Other days you park the boat and wade a run properly. We fish ten rods at a time at most, which is the whole lodge.
You do not need to be an expert. Clear water rewards a careful cast, and our guides spend their lives on this river, but we have hosted first-week fly fishers who ended the trip with fish they still talk about. If you can be patient and take instruction, the Carrileufú will meet you halfway.
What a week here looks like
La Pilarica is a five-room lodge run by two brothers and a cousin. The weeks are all-inclusive: your room, every meal, Argentine wine, guided fishing, and transfers from Esquel. The food is a serious part of the week. This is Patagonia, so expect asado done properly.
Because there are only five rooms, a week here does not feel like a fishing hotel. It feels like staying at a friend's place in the mountains, if your friend happened to live on one of the best trout rivers in Argentina.
You can see current packages and dates on our fly fishing page.
Getting here
Fly into Buenos Aires, then take a domestic flight to Esquel (about 1.5 hours from the lodge, transfers included) or Bariloche, which also works. Most guests overnight in Buenos Aires on the way in. The drive from Esquel to our valley is part of the trip: mountains, lakes, and not much else. Full details are on our location page.
One practical note. You will need the Patagonian fishing permit. At La Pilarica it is included in your week and we arrange it for you, so there is nothing to sort out before you arrive.
Is it worth the trip?
We are the wrong people to ask for an unbiased answer, so here is the honest version instead. If you want to catch the maximum number of fish per travel dollar, there are closer places. If you want wild trout in water clear enough to watch the take, in a valley that looks the way trout country is supposed to look, with nobody else on the river, this is the trip.
If you are thinking about a week on the Carrileufú, get in touch. Tell us what month you are considering and we will tell you exactly what the fishing looks like then. We will come back to you with a straight answer.