Fishing Hot Spots

Lake guides for this map

Month-by-month patterns, fish, ramps and rules for each water:

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Fishing Hot Spots by area

Rivers, lakes and coast spots. Tap one to fly to it on the map.

Trout country at the end of the world

Patagonia is one of the great trout regions on earth. Rainbow and brown trout, brought in more than a century ago, now fill the rivers and lakes on both sides of the Andes: the Petrohué and Futaleufú in Chile, the Chimehuín, Malleo and Limay around Junín de los Andes and Bariloche, the lakes of Los Alerces, and the giant rainbows of Lago Strobel. In the far south, Tierra del Fuego's Río Grande and Santa Cruz's Río Gallegos have the world's best runs of sea-run brown trout, and the Río Santa Cruz has steelhead. On the coast, anglers fish for róbalo, pejerrey and salmón de mar from the rocks, from Chiloé and the Strait of Magellan to Península Valdés and Cabo Raso.

Rules: Chile requires a recreational fishing licence. The general inland season runs from the second Friday of November to the first Sunday of May, with a limit of 3 trout or 15 kg, artificial lures only and one single or treble hook, but many waters have their own seasons, catch-and-release stretches and barbless-hook rules (for example the Petrohué, Futaleufú and Aysén rivers). Argentina's Patagonian provinces each sell their own fishing permit; the season is generally November to April, fishing is daytime only, and many rivers are catch-and-release. National parks on both sides have their own rules. Check SERNAPESCA in Chile and the provincial fishing office in Argentina before you go.