Excursions in the Chilean and Argentine Lake Districts
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Lago Nahuel Huapi at Bariloche
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My first fishing trip to South America was almost 30 years ago. I left New Zealand laden down with a large backpack containing everything but the kitchen sink. I had a tent, sleeping bag, cooking equipment together with my trusty old Kilwell fly rod. This was a 3-piece fibre-glass rod 9½ feet long, weight #9, with a high density shooting head such as was then popular on the Tongariro River at Taupo. It was a good rod but proved rather cumbersome when travelling. Surprisingly, I did not leave it on a bus. At airports the encased rod was viewed with suspicion as being a rifle, even in those days!
I had a great time fishing the rivers of the Chilean and Argentine Lake District and also Tierra del Fuego. Since then I have returned half-a-dozen times to travel and fish for several months over the southern summer (November - January). Now I travel much more lightly and my fishing gear is very compact and invisible. The only problem now at airports is to always make sure you have no fishing knives, scissors or pointy things in your hand luggage.
No longer do I burden myself with camping gear because there is usually plenty of low cost accommodation in hotels and hospedajes. Now I carry a light, multi-purpose 5-piece carbon fibre rod, 7 feet long, weight #7, with a floating line. By attaching either a fly reel or spinning reel, one can sensibly fish a broad range of waters.
Fishing in Chile is quite different to that of Argentina due to the differences in climate and terrain. The weather comes in from the Pacific Coast and drops most of its rain in Chile whereas on the Argentine side of the Andes it is comparatively dry and sunny.
In the Puerto Montt office of Navimag there is a notice for customers: Si hay sol disfrutelo; Si llueve está en el sur. (If there is sun enjoy it; if it is raining you are in the south). So expect some rain every day in southern Chile!
In the Chilean Lake District the rivers rising in the Andes are fast flowing in well forested terrain until they disgorge into a large lake of glacial origin, or a fiord further south. There are a few Chilean lakes actually in the mountains but most lie further west of the Andes and are surrounded by farmlands. Many lakes have a road around them with a scattering of villages along the way where you can stay in hospedajes (family guest houses). Accommodation is plentiful because they cater for an influx of summer holiday makers.
Out of each lake a river must flow. Crystal clear water from the lake purposefully heads down a valley towards the Pacific Ocean often some 100 kms or more away, meandering through farmlands in the process. Good fishing is always found in the first 10 kms or so below the lake. Famous for fishing are the Rio Toltén, Rio Bueno, Rio Rahue, Rio Maullin, et al.
Access to the river is nearly always a problem in Chile because of thick vegetation, either forest in the mountains or willows in the farmlands. This has resulted in the development of fishing methods appropriate for the terrain - bait and spin fishing mainly, as there are few open places where you can use a fly rod to advantage, unless you go "float fishing" or drift down the river in a rowboat. This is great fun but not cheap anymore! It can be arranged at the town near the river outlet.
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Chilean schoolboys tincanning
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Trout fishing for many Chileans tends to be a no-frills activity, the purpose being to feed the family. Use of a rod is considered an idiosyncrasy of foreigners and an unnecessary expensive luxury. A licence for a year costs US$10 for foreigners and $2 for Chileans. Regulations are liberal and include the use of a catalina, or hand line wound on a tin can or wooden reel. These Chilean fishermen are known as tin-canners by the more affluent foreign anglers.
Near Pucón I had my first experience of float-fishing, combined with a midday asado and vino tinto. A wooden rowboat pointy at both ends was pushed out into the waters of the Río Lincura.
Simón, my guide and botero, suggested drifting an appropriate fly. A drizzle set in to dampen my enthusiasm. Before long I had my fishing line stuck (permanently) around a sunken log. I sadly stowed away my fly rod and encouraged Simón to demonstrate his fishing gear.
It was simplicity itself. Strong nylon line was wound around a tin can and fed through a wire guide bound on the end of a meter length of bamboo used as a throwing stick. Success was achieved trolling a large diving plug that sprouted three treble hooks. The bamboo stick was fixed vertically to the gunwale and acted as a line spring on strike of the fish. Alternatively, we drifted a gobbet of worms into deep holes. For the day we caught four rainbow trout of about one kilo size, two trolling and two with worms. That evening at the Hotel Gudenschwager the cook served me one of our trout for dinner as trucha a la campesina, or baked fillets in a red wine sauce - yummy!
I encountered the same fishing method further south at Puerto Octay on the north shore of Lago Llanquihue, the second largest of the Chilean lakes. While resting in the village plaza I was accosted by a weather-beaten local Chilean of Egyptian ancestry called Fuad and his Mapuche Indian helper, Ignacio. On learning that I was interested in fishing he insisted that I admire his yellow rowboat named "Faruk". He would take me fishing on the lake for US$40 a day and I could stay at his house for US$5 with breakfast. This seemed promising! I inspected his wooden shingle-clad house, met his wife, settled in and booked a half-day's fishing for the morrow.
Early next morning we set out onto the lake in the boat with Ignacio rowing. Fuad and I attended to two trolling lines fed from vertical bamboo sticks fixed either side of the boat. We used a 10 cm metal toby trailing a treble hook with a lead weight on one line and a paravane on the other, to get some depth.
A nearby boatie, also trailing two lines, had a strike. His fish tore off in our direction resulting in a great tangle of lines and eventually a lost fish. I learnt some interesting new Spanish words!
After a blank morning we pulled into shore for lunch, lit a fire and brewed up some maté (herbal tea). The five kilometer return journey took us past a salmon farm with many floating pens in a sheltered bay. At last we had a strike. The bamboo stick cushioned the blow admirably. Fuad unhooked the line from the stick and hand-lined the fish into the boat by quickly wrapping the line around the tin can. Once alongside Ignacio gaffed the fish - a nice 3 kilo salmon. Soon we had another one and headed for home.
On the way back to the house we called in at a rustic bar for refreshments. Fuad and I had a talk about the cost of the excursion. I maintained that I hired the boat for a morning's fishing and that it wasn't my fault that he drifted miles down the lake and it took all afternoon to row back, so I wasn't going to pay for a full day's fishing. We compromised and he agreed to keep the salmon which I had no use for. Next morning, Mama Fuad got busy and baked one fish in the oven into which it only just fitted.
Next stop was Puerto Varas, the "City of Roses" and main tourist town on the shores of Lago Llanquihue (say Yankee-way). This is a beautiful town and a convenient place to have as a base to explore the surrounding Lake District and Isla de Chiloé. By this I mean you can leave excess baggage at your hotel or hospedaje and go off on short trips in various directions and return.
Fishing from a boat on the lake can be arranged at the jetty. Early in the morning and in the evenings there is nearly always half-a-dozen people spin-fishing from the end of the jetty or causeway which is quite productive for rainbow trout of about half kilo size. This hot spot is only a few hundred meters from the Central Plaza and possibly your hotel room.
Further around the lake at Rio Pescado is a fish hatchery and the river and its boca are famed for its fly fishing, although I had no luck when I tried one afternoon. More interesting is the lake outflow at the village of Llanquihue where the Rio Maullín flows gin-clear down the valley through lush farmlands.
The best place to go is downstream from the road bridge on the way to the village of Nueva Braunau, only a ten cent colectivo or bus ride from Puerto Varas. The riverside walk is very pleasant and a great spot for a picnic. The cattle are curious and once while having lunch a large, spotted ginger wildcat pranced by. The rainbow trout average half a kilo and there are native percatrucha (like bass) in the backwaters.
Sooner or later the Argentine Lake District will beckon you. There are three easy ways of getting there. The famous Southern Lakes Crossing is a must; I have done it four times now and would go again! The tourist buses start at Puerto Montt in Chile and go via Puerto Varas to Petrohué, and after three lake trips by catamaran you arrive at San Carlos de Bariloche which is the tourist centre of the Argentine Lake District.
Alternatively, a fast and cheap way is by international bus from Osorno, Chile via the Puyehue Pass and Angostura to Bariloche, useful if you are desperate to see the sun. Also further north you can go by bus from Pucón, Chile, crossing the Tromen Pass at the base of the huge Volcan Llanín (3776 metres) and end up at the town of Junin de los Andes in Argentina, which boasts of being "The Home of the Trout".
The Argentines love fly fishing and there is plenty of opportunity to do this on the many rivers which flow from the Alpine lakes. They are for the most part easily accessible and of low gradient, taking a braided course through tussocky uplands. Vegetation is sparse and not usually a problem.
Traditional fly fishing using a dry fly or nymph on the drift is rarely done. The fish here are large and like to eat minnows and freshwater crabs (cangrejo) rather than insects. In Patagonia, anglers have developed many fancy feathered lures including double hooked streamers, which make great ornaments. Maybe they are used for lake trolling rather than river fishing. I found my stock of homemade Red Setters worked satisfactorily.
Some famous fly-fishing rivers in Argentina are the Rio Correntoso and Rio Chimehuin. To fish the Chimehuin one must start at Junín de los Andes, the "Trout Capital" of Argentina. It's a sleepy town with broad, poplar-lined streets and a central plaza full of exotic conifers and monkey puzzle trees. At the river is Hostería Chimehuin which is well patronised by an international clientele keen on fishing and shooting.
I spent two weeks in the region hitchhiking from one valley to the next, camping out and fishing the rivers as they came, the Quilquehue, Chimehuin, Caleufú, and Traful, all of which have their source in Alpine lakes far away. In the Caleufú Valley I met up with a group of anglers from Buenos Aires, Ruben and his friends. They had spent the day spin-fishing upstream from the road bridge and had returned with a sack full of brown trout to clean, the largest being 5 kilos, which made my catch of a lone 2 kilo brownie look insignificant.
After traversing the beautiful Traful valley and lake, set amidst granite spires and beech forest, I carried on to Correntoso which is near the village of Angostura on the bus route north to Chile.
Rio Correntoso is the 300 metre connecting link between two lakes - tiny Lago Correntoso and the huge Lago Nahuel Huapi. The river can not be fished, only the boca, or mouth where a powerful current pushes out into the big lake. Fishing is done in the grounds of Hotel Correntoso. There is room for about five rods. Salmon of 2 to 6 kilo are caught on feathered lures using a sinking line. This European chalet-type tourist hotel with its many shuttered windows is built on the lake shore having a commanding view, and tariff to match. However for the budget traveller there is always the camping ground and cabins a short distance away on the shore of Lago Correntoso.
Not having chest-waders it was pointless for me to try the hotel side of the river, but then the other side seemed to be infested with willows and unfishable. Next morning I explored the willows and found a narrow gap where I could cast a line into the boca. By mid-morning I caught 3 salmon, averaging 2 kilos (variety: salmon encerrado, and a 1½ kg percatrucha), all by using a large Red Setter-type lure.
In the afternoon I headed back to Bariloche to my hospedaje where I had left some gear. Edwin the owner, also an angler, was curious to know where I had been when I presented him with some fresh salmon. It was a long wait until 10 pm for the evening meal. I wandered into town and met up with some other travellers. We were all starving so we headed for "La Andina" restaurante and parrilla. Guess what, I had grilled trout for dinner.
It seemed that we travellers were all heading for Tierra del Fuego and Ushuaia. We would meet up again soon. I knew down there I had to try the Rio Grande and Rio Lapataia, but that's another story.
Questions?
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