Our April 2005 contribution from Eduardo Marino

A wild flower of Western Patagonia which blooms in summer.

In his second article on trout fishing in Argentina (> part one), Eduardo Marino describes the fishing in ‘trout country’ to the south and west of Neuquén in Andean Patagonia. With some fishing available from as little as $5 a day to a record 11.5 kg (26 lb) brown caught on a fly by a local angler in 1969, the possibilities are limitless.

We are starting our travels around Patagonian trout rivers and lakes in the Neuquén Province, which is in the north-western end of this region, a part of what I called Andean Patagonia in my first article. The northern part of Neuquén is arid and dry and resembles in a way Central Patagonia, but when one moves south - and stays west - the mountains are covered with beautiful forests. One characteristic tree of this area is the Araucaria (Araucaria araucana) or Pehuén, its name in Mapuche, the language of the Mapuche Indians. The Mapuches belong to the group of Araucano Indians that populated parts of south-western Argentina and Chile prior to the arrival of Europeans. Though their tribes were decimated during and after the expansion of settlers into their areas, many of them still live here in farms, towns, cities and some self-managed rural communities.

The current population of Argentina is roughly 85 per cent Caucasian while the remaining 15 per cent consists of Indian, people of mixed racial descent (especially Indian-Spanish), and some Asians. The country received a great wave of European immigrants between 1860 and 1940, principally from Southern Europe, the largest part of them from Italy and Spain. But in this area, and mostly in all the Western fringe of Argentina, a larger proportion of people of Indian descent are noticeable. Their past and present incidence can be seen in the peculiar names of many mountains, rivers and lakes, as in the rivers Ñorquinco and Chimehuín or lakes Aluminé and Huechulaufquen, real tongue-twisters for English speakers.

An Araucaria tree, a survivor of the times when dinosaurs roamed in Patagonia.

The provincial capital city is Neuquén (population 265,000) which is 1170 km south-west of Buenos Aires City, a two-hour flight. The ‘trout country’ starts further south and west of this city. There are so many rivers and still waters in the province that it would be impossible to describe all of them. Therefore I shall point to some of the better known ones, in the knowledge that I will be leaving other good ones behind. Starting from Junín de los Andes, a town 430 km (270 miles) from Neuquén and travelling on south, I will talk about the rivers Malleo, Chimehuín, Caleufú, Traful and Correntoso.

It must be pointed that in most of Patagonia the trout season stars in early November and ends mid-April but some rivers close on 31 May as a result of the particular dynamics of their trout populations.

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River Malleo

River Malleo's world famed waters flow down from Lake Tromen in the Lanín National Park, close to the Chilean border, and from the melting snow of the dormant volcano Lanín, 3,776 m (12,400 feet). Good rainbows and browns are found all long this river and as happens with many other Patagonian rivers, some parts of it are open to everybody while other areas are private. It will be your choice to fish where you must pay a daily - and sometimes dear - fee or lodging, or at no cost in public access areas. Unfortunately in many cases the public waters have been subject to extensive illegal extraction and the trout populations have diminished.

San Huberto lodge, on the middle section of the River Malleo.

Three sections or reaches of the river can be defined: upper, middle and lower. The first one, from Lake Tromen down to the boundary of the Park is public access but the upper part is less attractive for fly fishing because the water is rough and fast, and the banks are often narrow and bordered with trees and shrubs that make casting difficult. But it has interesting pools where larger trout are often found. Early in the season, during November and December, the water is still too high for good fishing but from January on many anglers are seen around the public access area of Puente Amarillo (the Yellow Bridge).

Further on in the middle reach, where it is not as steep and the water not as fast there are several places with easy access from the road but it suffers a stronger pressure and fish are smaller.

The best part of the Malleo runs through Estancia San Huberto, a ranch of nearly 10,000 hectares (25,000 acres) owned by the Olsen family, where a policy of catch and release is strictly enforced. this superb lodge is the base for daily outings to many nearby sites, a part of the river famed for being one of the choicest dry fly fishing places in the world. This is an area for light tackle, #3 to #5, thin tippets and a subtle approach especially if there is no wind because the water is clear and trout are wary and selective. The selection of flies will depend on the same variables of any other river. Depending on when and where you are you can fish nymphs (eg Pheasant Tail, Prince, Hare's Ear, #14 to #18) or dries (spinners, PMD, Blue Dun, Mayflies, in the same sizes). In the evenings there often are hatches of Caddis flies in willow groves, calling for #14 or #16 imitations in light colours.

The usual sizes of fish in this part of the rivers are 1 to 1.5 kg (2-3 lb) browns and rainbows while the record at the San Huberto ranch has been a 4.2 kg (9.3 lb) brown.

The water in the lower section of River Malleo, from River Mamuil Malal down to its confluence with River Aluminé, is again faster but not as fast as the upper section. This fishing area is managed by the Painefilú Community of Mapuche Indians who charge a modest daily $5 per rod - less than ¤1.50 or £1.00 or US$1.70. (Please note that the $ sign denotes the Argentine peso.) They do not offer lodging but basic facilities for camping and supplies. This is not a problem, anyhow, because it is less than 23 km from Junín de los Andes, a town with a population of approximately 9,000. This section can be fished in many places along some 20-30 km (15-20 miles), where trout may be found in the runs more frequently than in the pools. Some guides are of the opinion that it is better to fish this part of the river at the start of the season for this is when larger fish are found. In mid-summer the usual sizes are 200-300 grams (7 to 10 ounces). Unfortunately there is not much surveillance in this area and it is usually subject to depredation by unscrupulous anglers.

A 2 lb rainbow caught on the mouth of a small creek that enters Lake Fonck.

The season closes on 31 May on this river.

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River Chimehuín

This river runs south of the Malleo and through Junín de los Andes. Its source is Lake Huechulafquen, the largest lake in the Lanín National Park (104 square km or 26,000 acres).

There are still good trout - rainbow, brown, and brook - and landlocked salmon in River Chimehuín, though they are no longer as plentiful or as large as they were years ago. Rainbows are abundant, with sizes around 1 kg. Browns enter the river in May - this is why the season is open here ‘till the end of this month - and stay there up to the start of the following season in November. Many of them are over 3 kg (nearly 7 lb) and up to 5 or 6 kg (about 12 lb) on occasions.

The larger trout are usually found in deeper pools all along the length of River Chimehuín, from its start at the lake to its end on river Collón Curá. From the river mouth on there are about 2 km of public access fisheries. The mouth itself is still one of the good ones, where browns of up to 10 or 12 kg (22 lb) have been caught in the 1960s in some of its pools. A special daily permit applies for fishing the river mouth area and it can be purchased on the spot.

An organization called CEAN (Centro de Ecología Aplicada de Neuquén or "Centre of Applied Ecology") based on the banks of River Chimehuín, is devoted among other tasks to the study and conservation of local fauna. They also capture trout for breeding and restocking nearby waters.

Mid section of the River Malleo, a public access area.

Surprisingly, since usually the most over-fished places are in the most populated areas, some of the more productive pools are close to the town of Junín de los Andes, in a public access area, owing to the strict control made by fish wardens. Some of the traditional pools bear odd names such as "Pozón Matadero" (Slaughterhouse Pool) and the "Ladies' Pool", the first one because it is close to where the old abattoir was, the second for its vicinity to the former town brothel. Downstream of the town there are again some fishing lodges in privately managed areas offering good fishing and guiding. They are also open to non-resident anglers for a daily fee.

There is good dry-fly fishing in different areas all along the river for smaller trout but if you are after larger browns, you should cast to the deeper pools. In this case, and especially with high waters at both ends of the season, guides recommend using #6 to #8 tackle with fast sinking shooting tapers and 1X or 0X tippets for getting the fly to the bottom of the pools. Lighter lines may not sink fast and deep enough. Flies are usually Zonkers, Marabou Muddlers or Woolly Buggers tied on up to #2 hooks. The rest of the season - and away from these deep pools - lighter tackle and smaller flies are used. This river also closes on 31May.

River Caleufú

The lower section of the River Caleufú near Ranch Alicurá's lodge.

Further south of Junín de los Andes River Caleufú starts from the confluence of rivers Filo-Hua-Hum and Meliquina and flows into River Collón Curá. A long section of the river flows through privately owned land, the Estancia Alicurá, a large ranch of about 80,000 hectares (or 200,000 acres) that has a good lodge and guides.

One to three-day long float trips with certified guides are perhaps the best way to fish the Caleufú. Trips can be arranged with outfitters in nearby towns or with the fishing lodges' guides. Rafts are launched at "Los Alamos", a place of public access, and drift for several miles downstream to "Puente Roto" (Fallen Bridge) in the vicinity of Alicura's lodge. Usually most of the third day is used for casting from the banks downriver of Puente Roto. This free access place can also be reached by car driving from the highway through the ranch up to the Fallen Bridge itself and from there on you can cast while wading and walking along the bank on your own down to the confluence with the River Collón Curá. In this section and towards the end of the season (from mid-March to 31 May) there are many browns swimming the river upstream for spawning.

Guides recommend #5 or #6 tackle for this river that holds rainbows and browns of 1 to 3 kg (2 to 6 lb), a selection of flies (dries, nymphs or streamers) depending on the time of the year and the section of the river. Nymphs are recommended when the water is high at the start of the season.

River Traful

The waters of Lake Traful flow into the River Traful that runs some 25 km (about 15 miles) to its confluence with the River Limay. This is a river that has enjoyed a good fame for years but it is not as highly regarded currently, despite its good, fast and very clear water, for several reasons.

The public access sections, especially the lower one, have been over fished and/or ravaged by poachers. Its best parts are not of public access because most of it runs through three privately owned ranches. One of them, Estancia La Primavera, does not allow any fishing at all. The other two, Estancia Río Traful and Estancia Arroyo Verde, have fishing lodges and therefore the access to the river is limited to their own guests. If you are lodging there you will have access to great fishing places. On the other hand, rates are not light. The two sections accessible to all anglers are the first few miles down-river from its mouth, where good pools are found, and the last five miles before it flows into River Limay. The former is accessible only by boat and the latter is over fished, not a place to find good quality trout.

The river holds rainbows and browns but its plus point is the presence of landlocked salmon (Salmo salar Sebago), arguably the best place in Patagonia for fishing them. The better times are at the start and at the end of the season, when they move down from the lake and enter the river. Sinking lines and large streamers on size #4 to #8 hooks are favoured.

For brown and rainbow trout, especially in some famed and good yielding pools along the first half of the river, anglers use #5 gear when the water is high, with nymphs and bucktail streamers, and down to #3 otherwise. There are good places for dry fly fishing with caddis and mayfly imitations, especially with low water. The river poses a challenge to fly anglers because the banks have many trees and shrubs and the freestone bottom has many large rocks making it difficult to cast and to walk the banks or wade.

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River Correntoso

The waters of Lake Correntoso drain down to Lake Nahuel Huapí through ‘the world's shortest river’ as local anglers jokingly like to call River Correntoso. Actually it is around 200 metres long from end to end but its well-earned reputation is not proportionate to its short length. This freestone river owes its fame to the trout - mostly rainbows and fewer browns - that congregate at its lower mouth, where its fast waters meet the Nahuel Huapí a few miles West of Villa La Angostura, a small town on the north western side of this lake. At this place the gravel carried by the river has formed a platform on the lake shore and the force of water has excavated a deep pool where trout gather in large numbers at the end of March while waiting for the appropriate time for the spawning run upriver.

This photograph shows where the river meets lake Nahuel Huapi, Just by Hotel Correntoso

The river itself, being short, fast, rocky and lined with trees does not offer many chances for fly angling. The best time to fish the river mouth is at the start of the season - November and December- when the water is still high and cold and the rainbows are hungry and not very selective. They will take larger streamers like Blondes, Matukas, Bead Head, Woolly Buggers or Zonkers. From mid-December on several nymphs (eg Prince) are also used. A strict rotation is enforced here at the time the season opens because there are many anglers anxious to try their skills and luck at trout that are usually 1 to 3 kg (2 to 6 lb) with some 9 to10 pounders among them. Recommended tackle is #7 or #8 with fast sinking lines, type IV for high water to type II later in the season when a #6 rod may suffice. A special permit extension is required for fishing this place and barbless hooks and catch and release are obligatory.

The 11.5 kg (26 lb) cock brown caught on a fly by a local angler in 1969 is a record that may not be surpassed or even equalled ever because the size and number of browns have diminished since the time a new highway bridge was built across the river some years ago. Gossip has it that the river bed was somehow changed by the works and rendered unfit for spawning.

Many people in the Neuquén Province work in conservation of the environment and keeping high and healthy trout populations. In this area is an active Fundación Salmónidos de Angostura, a non-government organisation founded in 1996. They catch wild trout from the nearby Río Bonito and after assisted fertilisation of the eggs, they raise the young rainbows and release them in different watercourses.

The author appreciates the kind help given by Terry Lawton in the revision of the original and also thanks guides Luis and Adrián Reboratti, Flymasters Flyfishing of Bariloche and Raúl Cuello, Patagon Fly of Villa La Angostura for the useful information they gave me.

The following are websites of outfitters and lodges. The author has no commercial connection with them and gives the addresses just as guidance for the readers. Most of them are only in Spanish but some have an English version.

You can contact Eduardo Marino at: e_a_marino@yahoo.com.ar

Resources

Read part one of this article

www.flymastersflyfishing.com (Outfitter, guiding)
www.patagonfly.com (Outfitter, guiding)
www.fundacionsalmonidos.org.ar
www.riodorado.com.ar (Lodge)
www.trafulriver.com (Lodge)

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