Top 5 Fly Fishing Tips for Patagonia’s Remote Backcountry : Catching Trophy Browns in Chile

with: joarivass

There’s a certain kind of magic down in Chilean Patagonia — the kind that grabs hold of you and doesn’t let go. I caught up with Joaquin, a lodge manager-turned-fly-fishing-guide whose first cast on the Puelo River changed everything. With just four years under his belt, he’s already carved out a deep love for chasing trout in some of the most remote and powerful waters on Earth. We sat down to talk dry flies, backcountry tips, and the kind of moments you only find waist-deep in the rapids with a 25-inch brown on the line. This one’s for those who know — and those who want to.

Joaquin, how did your journey into fly fishing begin, and what led you to become a guide in the stunning waters of Chilean Patagonia?

Well I knew this world only 4 years ago, when I arrived at a tiny fishing Lodge to manage the operation, located in Puelo River. One day at the end of the season I asked myself. 

Why the people travel long distances and pay money for this kind of experience? What’s special about fly fishing? 

So I just asked a guide: - Can you teach me how to fly fishing? - And that day I grabbed the fly rod and never let it go more. Because being fly fishing in Patagonia feels like heaven, it's impossible to describe in words what you feel when you know the incredibles fishes of the river. You only need to live.

You've explored some incredible and remote areas—what are your top five tips for fly fishing in Patagonia’s backcountry?

1 - You must bring big fly’s to find the big trophies of the Patagonia, on dry’s and streamers

2 - You can leave in home the 5-6-7X tipped
3 - Come ready to fishing 12 to 14 hours per day, really long days in summer
4 - You must bring bright light sunglasses and another pair for dark lights 

5 - Fishing with me, I know where are the fishes, hahaha just kidding

3.- From all your time on the water, what's one unforgettable experience or lesson that fly fishing in Patagonia has taught you, both as an angler and a guide?

As a guide and angler always prefer the dry fly, but in the case of big fishes, the people always say they only eat big streamers. 

But one day I wanted to catch a big one on the dry and I went wading by baker rapids, put my tiny beetle in a tiny pocket and BUM! a big brown jump to my fly and start to run down in the white waters.

The combination of big water and the challenge of handling a fishing line in the rapids can definitely make for a stressful situation. But I finally landed the fish and it was so amazing, in the middle of that environment I caught a 25 inches male of the full power of the Baker rapids!

Fly fishing indeed showcases many contradictions that make it both beautiful and complex, like use a kind of fly that you never used in that place