Patagonia Baker Lodge Chile's most southern fly-fishing lodge along the famed Carretera Austral Fishing program About Patagonia Baker Lodge About fishing at Patagonia Baker Patagonia Baker Fishing program

NOTE:
This fly-fishing adventure was originally conceived as a personal trip for Pablo Negri and Rodrigo Sandoval and a few of their fly-fishing friends who were willing to go outside of the usually traveled paths to experience the best resident brown trout fishing that Chile has to offer. Pablo Negri and Rodrigo Sandoval have spent a big part of our lives outfitting fly-fishing trips throughout Chile and they will personally lead each expedition. 

The itinerary as outlined below was written by Pablo and Rodrigo and expresses their exuberance for the fishing experience available in this still untrammeled section of Chile.

Saturday: Fly from Santiago south to Balmaceda where you will be met by the staff of Patagonia Baker Lodge and transferred from Balmaceda to Patagonia Baker ® Lodge, a drive of about six hours through breathtaking scenery and landscape.

        NOTE: An optional 45 minute charter flight from Balmaceda over and through the Andes to a private airstrip located
        in Cochrane town, about 35 minutes from the lodge, can be arranged at additional cost..

Sunday: Fishing in this area is simply spectacular. Drifting the Baker River, which flows by the lodge, is just one of the many alternatives available. So is fly fishing from the lodge on the Baker's nearby banks -- mostly with dries -- for a surprising number of rainbows that inhabit this river, as well as some few browns. You will be able to spot most of the fish. Some nearby secret rivers and lakes, provide with the alternative of enormous resident browns -- chances of hooking a double digit fish here are not scarce! -- on streamers, nymphs, wets... and dries (!), which are the main objective of this trip. The spectacular water conditions of all this area provide an excellent aquatic insect habitat. Therefore, hatches are abundant and prolific. And so are the numbers of dries you will be able to cast to these eager-to-take-flies browns!

Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday Deluxe Camping Options:
Since the Patagonia Baker ® Lodge is the fly-fishing lodge located the furthest south on the Austral Road, the only way to fish further south is to camp. The "deluxe camping option" allows you to access exciting waters and eliminate long daily drives to and from the lodge (in the case of a trip to Villa O'Higgins, it would be too long a commute without at least a one night stay).

It is your option how many nights you want to camp and which areas you want to fish.

• First Option: This campsite is a 90 minute drive from the lodge. In this area, depending on the conditions, we will fish two small creeks, float tube in a large lake, cast in bocas of that same crystalline lake, and drift and wade the upper and middle sections of a gin-clear river. The focus of this area is trophy browns; also, huge rainbows can be found at some times of the year. Also, there is an option from this location to take a day trip via horseback to a secluded lagoon to float tube.

• Second Option: About two and a half hours south is a second option for a campsite operation. There are two productive lakes connected by a short river with a large population of giant browns during the late season (March through mid-April). There is also another very productive river. The traveling is done by modern four-wheel-drive vehicles and/or vans that make their way through a narrow gravel road, that winds around breathtaking glaciers, rivers, meadows and canyons.

• Third Option: Two and a half hours further south from the second option is the village of Villa O'Higgins - the unexplored and wildest southern end of the scenic Austral Road. Changes in scenery are here something permanent and abrupt, and so is the surprising number of different wildlife species, including the almost extinct native huemul deer and condors. After a one-hour ferryboat trip through the calm and emerald Mitchell Fjord, the last 70 miles of road are covered. A surprising number of marshes and lagoons arise during this last section, all of which -- even the smaller ones! -- hold a fantastic population of gold-maroon colored browns (these may be the most beautiful brown trout in the world). So do the untouched rivers that sensually and gently flow along side the road. All these fish have seldom experienced a fisherman before. Arrival is close to Villa O'Higgins, hundreds of miles south of the nearest fishing lodge. Camping is on a private ranch owned by charming local friends. The opportunity to get to know a good part of the amazing local culture, stories and tales, is available. Three nearby rivers can be hit in less than a 15-minute road drive from our campsite as well as the chance of float tubing five different small lakes. So is the opportunity of an awesome horseback trip to a remote small lake, which is said holds one of the biggest resident brown trout on earth. Fishing is practiced either surface or sub-surface, according to hatches and fish behavior at that particular time. Small lakes usually provide the bigger fish, although streamers and nymphs are here usually the rule. Rivers however, offer a great chance to go for huge browns, many times with dries. Temperatures as well as time of the year will define the best outfit to rig on.

Deluxe Camping: Camping will be our version of "deluxe camping". Namely, the very best brands of four season high-tech tents -- three person tents are used by pairs so to provide more room -- a dining room tent, a restroom tent, as well as solar hot showers -- limited availability. Cook sets are all titanium and the very best available, and so is what's needed for gourmet meals and the very best drinks -- bar is limited. Mattresses and sleeping bags are provided. If you prefer, you may bring your own bag. A cook/campmaster accompanies our party of six on this portion of the trip so that time is not wasted setting up camp and cooking and we can maximize time on the water. The Decision Process: The decision on how many nights you want to stay at the lodge must be made when your reservation is submitted to Chile so that we can be sure there is availability reserved for our group. However, the final decision on which options you'll want to explore can be made while you are on your trip. Weather and other conditions such as hatches can play a role in determining which options we'll pursue. There is enough water to explore that you could spend three weeks and never get to it all - a very difficult situation!

Thursday and Friday: Two full days on the waters surrounding Patagonia Baker Lodge, either drift boat fishing, wading or float tubing, for some of the very best resident brown trout fishing in the southern hemisphere.

Saturday: Early return six hour drive to Balmaceda airport to catch flights back to Santiago.

Important Note: Patagonia Baker Lodge reserves the exclusive right to alter/change/switch the aforementioned program, in part or as a whole according to fishing reports and weather conditions, as well as road access and ferry-boat transportation availability. This understanding is necessary since we work in a remote and sometimes unpredictable area, which is part of the adventure to this resident brown trout paradise.

WHAT'S INCLUDED:
The fly fishing program is based on 8 days/7 nights, Saturday through Saturday and includes:

• 6 full days of fishing

• one fly-fishing guide per three clients (plus the cook) for the tenting part of the trip,
  one fly-fishing guide per two clients while at Patagonia Baker Lodge and its close waters

• all accommodations

• all meals, beer and wine

• use of boats and float tubes. 

• ground transportation to all fishing spots, as well as to and from Balmaceda Airport.

NOT INCLUDED:
The program does not include any fly-fishing gear -- except use of our float tubes while at the campsite.  No insurance of any type is included nor covered in the program.