From: 02/16/2014
To: 02/20/2014
Type of Water: Freshwater
Species: Chinook salmon, Rainbow trout, Brown trout
I have just returned from my 8th visit to Los Ulmos de Ralún Lodge, near Puerto Varas in the Patagonia Region of Chile where I spent a week with 7 friends and it was my best trip ever. Every one of us caught the largest brown trout they had ever caught in their lives and I did it twice in a row! The week before our arrival it had rained constantly and the rivers and lakes were higher than I had ever seen them. But as I said last year, when you are fishing with the best guides in the region with exclusive access to places
that no other lodges have, why not go fishing? This trip we rotated 3 pairs of fishermen through a lake side campsite, via horseback, high in the Andes near the Argentine border.
Los Ulmos really did our spike camp up right. First and foremost a zodiac boat and a motor View more...I have just returned from my 8th visit to Los Ulmos de Ralún Lodge, near Puerto Varas in the Patagonia Region of Chile where I spent a week with 7 friends and it was my best trip ever. Every one of us caught the largest brown trout they had ever caught in their lives and I did it twice in a row! The week before our arrival it had rained constantly and the rivers and lakes were higher than I had ever seen them. But as I said last year, when you are fishing with the best guides in the region with exclusive access to places
that no other lodges have, why not go fishing? This trip we rotated 3 pairs of fishermen through a lake side campsite, via horseback, high in the Andes near the Argentine border.
Los Ulmos really did our spike camp up right. First and foremost a zodiac boat and a motor were packed in on horseback. Then came our camp and staff that included an 80 year old Chilean wrangler, Camp Cookie (aka the cook), a fire tender (yes that’s all anyone saw him do and he did a great job) and a roving camp director who ushered us from the lodge to the camp in pairs over 4 days. Max, our spike camp guide, was incredible and came fully equipped with fly tying materials and vise, which turned out to be very important. Bill and his son Nathan were first up and once Bill had nailed down the best fly Max went to work and made sure we all had something similar and you’ll see the results...
Of course we also spent a good deal of time on the Rio Petrohué and another small lake a short drive from the lodge. The salmon run was in full swing and none of us could avoid the temptation to put the fly rod down (after several of us had our flies summarily dispatched) to give it a try. In the past we were lucky to land one or two but this year two pairs of fishermen landed five within short period. My friend Bill landed the biggest one of the group, AGAIN.
Los Ulmos de Ralún Fly Fishing Lodge is open for fishing mid‐November through April. The last few years I have been visiting in early December and mid‐February. The lodge owners, the Gomez Family, have become like family to me and I want them to prosper so that my friends and I can continue to have the best fishing experiences on the planet.
