WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW ABOUT FLY-FISHING IN CHILE

by Cristian Dufflocq

Photography by Marcelo Dufflocq, Matt Harris, Gary Kramer

  Chile is a country of contrasts, with the world’s driest desert to the North, massive ice fields to the south and everything else in between.  This South American country is a narrow strip of land roughly 2,700 miles long, set between the Andes Mountains, the world’s second largest range and the Pacific Ocean. Chile is an angler’s paradise with literally thousands of rivers, many of them still unexplored.

Trout are not native below the Equator anywhere in the world, and Chile is no exception. First introduced to Chilean waters from the mid 1800’s, trout have adapted well to Chile's rivers and lakes establishing self-sustaining populations.  Today you can find Rainbow, Brown and Brook trout as well as wild runs of Silver and King Salmon. Both Brown and Rainbow trout can be also found in sea going forms.

The Andes Mountains reach its highest point at mount’s Aconcagua’s impressive 22,835 ft, the highest mountain in the Americas and the western hemisphere. From this point south, the Andes drop in altitude and the weather gradually cools down creating multiple environments ideally suited for trout. This is the area, which has made Chile famous in the fly-fishing world.

From Chile’s capital Santiago, all the way south to Tierra del Fuego you find rivers running through a wide variety of environments, similar to what you would find from Southern California to Alaska but without the bears. This is because with the exception of the mountain lion, Chile lacks the dangerous beasts or poisonous critters such as snakes, insects or spiders found in other parts of the world. It is safe to say then that anywhere in Chile you can sleep under the stars without being bitten (or eaten), a great plus particularly when you are fly-fishing in remote areas.

From the traveling fly fisherman’s point of view the main areas to visit in Chile are: The Lakes District, Patagonia and the Rivers of the Fjords.

The Lakes District: One of the world’s most scenic areas, set between the Andes and the fertile central valley, starts from the city of Temuco expanding south nearly 200 miles all the way to Puerto Montt. With more than a dozen large clear lakes connected to literally hundreds of crystal clear rivers, it is here where many people come every year to enjoy fly-fishing surrounded by breathtaking beauty.

Snow-capped mountains, mirror-like lakes and clear rivers surrounded by a thick temperate rain forest provide the opportunity to fly-fish within one of the most scenic landscapes in the world.

Rivers in this area mainly rely on rainfall, lacking a major spring runoff, thus stay clear during the early spring and summer (mid November to late March) From mid November to Mid December and from March to early May, waters are generally cooler with high oxygen content and fly-fishing is generally excellent if you use Streamers or Nymphs. Decent hatches generally start in late December lasting through the summer until early March.

With a few exceptions most Hatches in the Lakes District of Chile occur during early morning and during the evening, with only a few hatches occurring during the middle of the day. If you are a dry fly purist, good dry fly-fishing action during the day can be achieved with hoppers or larger terrestrial imitations, as a general rule you will see fewer fish rising during the middle of the day.

Hatching insects in Chile are similar to the ones found in the North American West. Mayflies and Caddis flies being main components of hatches plus a few, but no less important, stoneflies. Terrestrial imitations for grasshoppers, beetles or ants can prove useful but are not as relevant as when you are fly-fishing further south in Patagonia.

The rivers of the Lakes District in Chile have another very important characteristic that sets them apart from the rest of the country, this is the presence of the Pancora crab (aegla sp.) a round & flat fresh water crab that in many rivers of this part of Chile, is also the main source of food for trout. This is the reason that unless there is a massive hatch on the surface, fish are generally going to be in deeper water gorging on Pancoras. Fly-fishing imitating Pancoras is not an easy task as realistic imitations do not move like the real thing. Consensus among anglers is that a long hackled olive green or rusty woolly bugger will do the job.

The presence of the Pancora crab makes it possible for fish of this area of Chile to grow large and quickly, this is why year after year the rivers or the Lakes District of Chile still produce some of the largest fish in the country.

Weather in the Lakes District is variable to consider, with some rain throughout the summer; after all you are in a rain forest! But as a general pattern, weather varies from unstable in Spring to very stable in late summer. The good news is that temperatures stay well in the comfort zone, never too low or never to high so even if its raining, you can still enjoy a very comfortable fly fishing day.

The main reason to fly-fish the rivers of the Lakes District of Chile would be to catch large trout surrounded by one of the most scenic settings in the world. Just standing on a river here and looking around surely will take your breath away.

Bring: Rods for 4 or 5 and 6 or 7 weight lines, both floating and fast sink tip lines. A good selection of streamers as well as dry flies. Be prepared for both sun and rain. For day fishing trips check here

Patagonia:  Patagonia is an area expanding between Chile and Argentina. In Chile, Patagonia starts south of the city of Puerto Montt expanding both west and east of the Andes. It is a wild territory, beautiful, hard to get to due to lack of roads and with very few people but for these same reasons, fly-fishing here is out of this world.

From the fly-fisherman's point of view the mayor difference in Patagonia would be that most rivers rely on snowfall. So if you are planning a trip to this part of the world, consider that rivers can be high and off-color during late spring and early summer, this is from October to mid December. The best or more consistent fly-fishing here is generally found from January through April when rivers are generally running clear.

There are only a few rivers in Patagonia where you find the Pancora crab so the Trout’s diet here mainly consists of insects and other fish.  Insect population is at its peak during the hottest months of the summer, this is January through March. 

Unlike the Lakes District, in Chilean Patagonia you will find subsequent hatches starting from mid morning through the evening. Generally, dry fly-fishing during the very early morning (before 9:00 a.m.) is not as productive as water temperatures drop quite a bit during the night so fish will not start biting until the water warms up. With very few exceptions, this generally happens after 10:00 a.m.

Another important piece of information for any angler interested in fly-fishing Patagonia in Chile, is that terrestrials play a very important role in the fishs’ diet. With grasshoppers taking the lead especially when fly fishing close to grassy cut banks on windy days.

Weather: East of the Andes is generally dry with larger temperature fluctuations -it can be colder but also hotter- between January to March temperatures can vary from 50 F to 80 F and even low 90’s. Like the American west, extreme temperatures are unlikely but possible, with one or two occasions within the last ten years where I have experienced temperatures as low as 32 F and as high mid 90’s.

The way to dress is by layering and taking a day pack in order to store garments as temperature dictates.

West of the Andes is much wetter with frequent rains throughout the summer but temperatures vary much less due to the proximity of the Ocean and lower altitudes, staying between mid 50’s to mid 70’s.

Wind in Patagonia is also a factor for the fly-fisherman and no matter what antbody tells you in the contrary: Patagonia is windy. Local fishermen know that is not a good idea to fight the wind; so anglers here have learned to embrace wind as a "friend" particularly when wade fishing. In these conditions, anglers position themselves in order to use the wind in their favor while casting.

Another factor to consider is that during sunny-windy days, specially in shallower water or smaller streams, fish will be generally more active feeling at ease under the protection of the choppy water created by the wind and lured by the abundance of terrestrials blown into the water. Under windy conditions the angler will be able to get closer to more feeding fish than on a calm day.

A calm day in Patagonia might also have its rewards, this if you are lucky enough to be fly-fishing in the middle of an ant hatch. As many of you would know, during an ant hatch every fish is out for dinner, a sort of feeding frenzy where it is hard to keep your cool due to the fact that so many fish are feeding on the surface. But here is the catch, hooking a fish during an ant hatch is not an easy task.

Due to the large numbers of naturals on the surface the chance that your tiny “ant” will attract the attention of a fish is actually quite low, to say the least. So in order to avoid getting desperate with so many fish in sight, try this handy piece of information: consider using a “heavy ant” fished just under the surface, this will increase your chances a 1,000 times over.

Anglers come to Patagonia in Chile because this area is a synonym of remoteness and fantastic dry fly fishing. Patagonia is one of the few places in the world where you can still fly fish all day without seeing another soul.

Bring: Rods for 3 or 4 and 6 weight lines, lots of dry flies, some streamers and floating lines. Be prepared for wet wading in warm sunny days and also take a good pair of waders for cold days. Dress in Layers.

The rivers of the Chilean Fjords:  This is Chile’s last fly-fishing frontier, a remote uninhabited area without roads where virgin rivers, some still unexplored to this day, flow into a calm inland waterway. Due to the absence of roads most of these rivers are only accessible by water.

Extending from the city of Puerto Montt all the way South to Punta Arenas, there are roughly 1,000 miles of impressive inland waterways. Separated from open Ocean by a coastal range of mountains these relatively calm waters are ideal for recreational navigation.

Most remote valleys here are uninhabited with one, two or even three rivers flowing to protected bays and channels. Most rivers here have populations of Brown or Rainbow trout and a few even have small runs of either Silver or King salmon.

For a fly fisherman the interesting fact about these rivers is that, by any standards, they hold a rather high number of large and relatively young fish. This is both due to the lack of fishing pressure and also due to the large amount of food available. A good fish here will average 5 lbs. and can go all the way up to 20+ lbs. for Brown trout or 12 lbs. for Rainbow trout.

Regarding weather: Frequent rains are common throughout the summer but should be welcomed by the fly fishermen because is the main source of water available to maintain good stream flows with the exception of a few rivers flowing from glaciers, most of these unfishable in summer due to glacial silt.

Ambient temperature variation here is quite small due to the proximity of the Ocean and cero altitude. temperatures here generally stay between mid 50’s to mid 70’s so, temperature-wise is always very comfortable but good rain gear is essential.

The few anglers who visit this area fly-fish gin clear rivers in a place where there are hardly any traces of human presence. The forest is untouched with tall hardwoods and a variety of plants and flowers that sometimes rival botanical gardens. Birds here approach you as they are not afraid of humans.

Fish are very aggressive generally geared towards large minnows or crabs. During the summer a hatch of large beetles makes it possible to use dry flies.  So streamers are always effective but, under the right conditions there is also the chance to catch very large fish on dries.

The clarity of the waters allows for some exciting sight fly-fishing, particularly given the large size of the fish. Fish are generally not selective nor leader shy so a good strong leader is a proven advantage. If you go make sure you also have a reel with a smooth drag and lots of backing.

Anglers come to the coastal rivers of Chile to fly-fish for the largest trout of their lives in an incredibly pristine and beautiful environment.

This area was featured in Chris Santellas’ s ‘ book “Fifty places to fish before you die."

Bring: Rods for 6 or 7 weight lines, both floating and fast sink tip lines. A good selection of streamers, some large terrestrials to fish dry. Be prepared for both sun and rain.

Acess a selection of press articles here

Cristian Dufflocq Has been guiding anglers in Chile for the last 20 years and is also a partner of Andes Journeys, Llc., a travel agency specialized in fly-fishing travel based in Missoula Montana. www.andesjourneys.com