Fly Fishing Chile

Fly fishing in Chile was first made know to North American anglers in the writings of Roderick Haig-Brown and A. J. McLane in the early 50’s. Then, a fishing trip to Patagonia Chile was a major event as travel to remote areas was difficult and servicesGetting away from it all in the Chilean outback few. The trout were there but not the infrastructure to reach them! In the last 10 to 15 years, with the improvement of air and road transportation, Chile has opened up and now has some of the top lodges and guide services in the fly fishing world. The best fly fishing is found from Puerto Montt, within the lake district, and south.

The southern part of Chile is a narrow ribbon of land that falls from the glaciated Futaleufu mountains and volcanoes of the Cordillera to the coast of the Pacific. The Andes here catch the moisture laden clouds from the Pacific and it is this precipitation that feeds the rivers that cascade down through the lush temperate rain forests of this region. The geography and feel of this land is similar to that of the South Island of New Zealand, Southern Alaska and British Colombia.

The Chilean Andes from the air Rainbow and brown trout were introduced to many of these waters in the early 1900’s, and like Argentina, the food conditions were ideal with freshwater crab as the main staple of their diet. The trout rapidly became established and spread throughout the river systems.

Due to the remoteness and lack of fishing pressure in this region the fish have thrived and Chile offers great trout fishing. To add to this, Chile now has an established trout and salmon commercial farming industry that contributes in numbers, by way of escapees, to the wild population. Although rainbow and brown trout are predominant, king and coho salmon along with sea run browns can be an occasional surprise at the end of your fishing line.

Patty Reilly shows off a large Chilean brown trout Whether floating or wading, fly fishing Chile can be a true adventure in a part of the world that nature retains as wild.  It is truly beautiful, unpopulated, and full of fish! Contact Guided Connections and let us use our hard earned knowledge and experience to help arrange your next fly fishing adventure to the incredible, unspoiled country of Chile.

In order to keep some of our locations exclusive we have chosen not to list all of our destinations.  If you are interested in our arranging the trip of a lifetime for you please read on and then give us a call.

For more specific information and photos on various Chilean destinations follow the links below: