Patagonia, the Fly Fishing Paradise

Patagonia, Argentina, Chubut Province.
After around thirty trips to Argentine Patagonia, it’s hard to still be surprised by the organization and the quality of the fishing — but on my latest trip, that’s exactly what happened.

We are in Chubut, where the company El Encuentro Flyfishing operates. Founded fifty years ago by Benjamin Beale to take friends fishing in the area’s best rivers — Futaleufú, Rivadavia, Teka, Carrileufú, and many other small streams descending from the surrounding mountains.

The estancia is so vast that you stay in three different lodges to have access to all the waters on the property. Fishing here runs from November to mid-April. This is the greenest region of Argentina, and the landscapes speak for themselves.

You drift down rivers in rafts or Mackenzie-style boats, fishing from the boat or disembarking to wade fish in remote and inaccessible spots.
 

Access to these rivers is always private, with gates to open and close constantly, and it is precisely these private accesses that greatly enhance the quality of the fishing. Here you’ll find rainbow trout, brown trout, and giant brook trout, all fished exclusively with fly gear and on a catch-and-release basis.

Typical Argentine cuisine, including the famous asado, is another reason why we return every year to fish in this paradise.