Peering out our windows at the 3rd snowstorm to hit Virginia in the past few weeks, I smiled while recalling that but a few weeks ago, I was flyfishing in sunny, warm Patagonia. In previous years, I fished on the eastern side of the Andes, in Argentina. The weather there is like summer in Montana, reliably warm, sunny, and dry. But this year, I wanted to fish on the western side of the Andes, Chile.

Our group flew into Santiago, the capital of Chile, and the only international hub. The population of Chile is about 20 million, and 40% of the population resides in Santiago. The remainder of the country is sparsely populated. Santiago is a very clean city, with an excellent subway system, Uber service, and great restaurants. Although warned of pickpockets, we saw none, and felt very safe.

After 2 nights in Santiago, we flew south 1,100 miles to Balmaceda, putting us in the lower 1/4 of Chile. Our hosts greeted us there, and drove an hour to our first lodge, Estancia del Zorro. The estancia is a working ranch of 15,000 acres, with a refurbished lodge that can host 12 guests.

The Fishing

Zorro spring creek runs through the estancia, offering 100 km of private fishing. Leases provide additional private fishing on the Nerehuao River drainage in the Valley of the Moon, so named for its vast space and eerie rock formations. The streams there offer walk/wade fishing for brown trout. Another option is a 35 minute drive to an estancia in  Argentina, which offers private water, with rainbow trout fishing.

The Chilean weather lived up to its reputation. We had two days of cold winds with intermittent rain showers. The fisheries nearly shut down. Renowned for their hopper fishing, the fish were not looking up. The few fish caught responded to generic nymph patterns. Our guides, who all spoke fluent English, did not seem used to nymph fishing, and watched us with interest!

After three days, we transferred 45 minutes to the Cinco Rios Lodge in Coyhaique. It was purpose built as a fly fishing lodge, and sits on the banks of the Simpson River. Here we had a choice to fish lakes, spring creeks, large freestones to float, and smaller freestones to walk/wade. The fisheries were public, not private, but we encountered other anglers only once in 3 days, which had no effect on our fishing.

The weather changed, offering warm, sunny fishing. We floated the lower Simpson one day, catching many good-sized rainbows. The other two days we walked and waded. The highlight was fishing the upper Simpson. Running through private land, we had to stop and request access from the landowners. Unlike present day Montana, the owners were pleasant, readily gave us access, and even offered some stream advice. We caught 10-12 fish per hour, all rainbows, mostly in the mid teens, with some larger. We didn’t catch any hatches, but generic nymphs sufficed.

Travel Arrangements

We booked our trip through https://www.flyfishingpatagonia.com/why-choose-ffp/justi-campa/

Justi offers a variety of venues in both Argentina and Chile. He has fished each stream and stayed at the featured lodges. We discussed our fishing preferences with him, to walk/wade, and he recommended several for us to choose from. In addition, he works with a travel agent who booked our domestic (both US and Chilean) flights, a hotel in Santiago, and ground transportation. It was a seamless trip, with great fishing, and excellent accommodations.

Written by Al Simpson, 2/2025.