Wind, wild trout, and a fast-moving week across Patagonia’s best fly fishing lodges
We were driving back to the little airport in Esquel, Argentina, after a sprint week of visiting, fishing, and shooting images at three different lodges, when an old favorite song came up on the playlist: Manu Chao’s “Me Gustas Tu”. The opening lyrics translate to this:
I like airplanes, I like you.
I like to travel, I like you.
I like the morning, I like you.
I like the wind, I like you.
I like to dream, I like you.
I like the sea, I like you.
I’ve always found it a fitting song for a traveling fly-fishing photographer, and after a week running around Patagonia, the words struck home a little more. Airplanes? Travel? Check, part of the job. Mornings, wind, dreams? Sure, that covered the week. And the sea? A windy day on a Patagonian lake will make you feel like you’re in a proper sea (but with rainbow, brown, and brook trout in the depths, pending on the individual lake). So it all just kind of fit.
The week had been spent visiting three operations, all running under the El Encuentro Lodge portfolio. My crew for the week, the lovely Federico as guide and Uriel as the assistant, picked me up at the airport in Esquel and we went right to Tecka Spring Creek, which is filled with fish due to the numerous spring seeps and creeks that feed it and the subsequent wealth of aquatic insects. Despite a windy day, we were able to get some nice brown trout up on dry flies…. a proper re-introduction for me back in Patagonia.
We then headed for the Brook Trout Base Camp, a wonderfully cozy camp centrally hubbed close to great brook trout lakes. The weather was cool, wet, and very windy, but we managed a couple lake days and were rewarded with 10+ brook trout, with several crossing over the 20” mark. Brook Trout Base Camp lived up to its name. We all traded the rods around (the Epic Titanium Fly Rod was a favorite of us all) and all caught fish.
Our next stop was El Encuentro Lodge proper, which is located on a bend of the gorgeous Rio Futaleufú (locally referred to as the Rio Grande). We stopped over for two nights, fishing one day inside the Los Alceres National Park, which had several large wildfires currently burning. In my home state of Montana summer wildfires are a pretty routine thing and the scent of smoke in the air, combined with the thunder of water bucket-wielding helicopters overhead made me feel right at home.
The waters here are crystal clear and deep; we fished one river where swinging streamers (my absolutely favorite way to fish) produced stunning browns and rainbows. A mouse pattern brought strikes as well, and it was just a fun day with new friends on a gorgeous river… hard to beat. We saw two mink, saved a swallow from drowning, and had a solid “team day.”
The next morning we fished the Rio Grande down to the Chilean border, catching more browns and rainbows, enjoyed a hot lunch of steak and stir-fried veg by the river, and then drove to perhaps my favorite lodge of the week: Valle de Carrileufú (with an all-important gas station ice cream stop along the way). Valle de Carrileufú is family-run, and truly feels like you’re stepping into a home. The food was fresh, local, and exceptional, and the converted barn-turned-guest wing feels familiar in an uncanny way. Homey. Comfortable. The nearby town of Cholila is small and relaxed, with horses grazing on the football pitch and wildland fire crews bivying around town.
We woke each morning to wildfire smoke and ash, nearby fires raging again in that oddly familiar way. Fede, Uriel, and I made the drive in through a local estancia, along a huge canyon, and to a remote lake that ended up being home to some truly massive rainbow trout. A chill, warm day on the water brought several rainbows over 20”, including a big-bellied 23” gem. It was a proper way to wrap up the week, and the next morning I was able to get a peek at the Rio Carrileufú near the lodge (it looked awesome, and I can’t wait to fish it next time!) and go visit the gauchos and horses, which guests can ride into the mountains as an optional activity.
Then, sadly, it was time to leave. We headed back to the Esquel Airport, where I’d hop on a flight to Buenos Aires before meeting incoming hosted trip clients and flying south to fish at Estancia Laguna Verde for the following week. I’m always sad to leave Patagonia; this place always has a bit of a familiar flavor. It’s so similar in many ways to the Montana I grew up in—a Montana that’s gone, now—and I’m grateful to have met some of my favorite humans in this country. But I’ll be back to Argentina soon.
I’m excited to announce I’ve opened up dates for a November 2026 Hosted Week split between the Brook Trout Base Camp and the lovely Valle de Carrileufu Lodge. You can expect prime trout fishing (on dries, streamers, and nymphs) on both lakes and rivers, wonderful guides, and comfy quarters. The dates are November 25 through December 2, 2026, at a rate of $8400 USD per angler / $6370 USD per non-angler, for a shared room and guide. Reach out to Jess (jessmcglothlinmedia@icloud.com) for more information.
