Licensing
Patagonia Drifters will take care of your Chilean Sport Fishing license. You will need to send us 2 weeks prior to your departure date 1) your name as it appears on your passport, 2) passport number, 3) date of birth
Fly Rods, Reels, Lines, Leaders & Tippets
Multi-Piece (for traveling), 7, 6, or 5 wt. fast action fly rods will cover most of the action you will encounter. When boat fishing we will often have two rods ready, one dry and the other with a sinking tip to be ready in an instant. Fly Reels should be good quality with simple disk drags or pawl drags. Fresh 20 pound backing is suggested. Weight forward floating for your 6 or 5 wt (color not important), and a sink tip for your 7 or 8 wt. The guides choice hands down is the "Teeny 200". For a weeks worth of fishing your will need no less than four tapered leaders (9ft. (3X), and two 9ft (4X), for your floating line. for your sink tip it is wise to have at least three or four, 6ft. (2X) leaders.
Fly Selection
This is Caddis and Mayfly country. From March on, Browns the size of a quarter to size 18 PMD's. Early season we are fishing size 10 Mayflies and size 12 Caddis. Late season it's 16 and 18 Mayflies, Caddis are 14's and 16's.
The valley and start of the canyon drift
Most Common Flies and the ones you can't live without: The following are guidelines to help you assemble a reasonable collection of flies. It's not necessary to have all of these, just a good cross section. Guides always have a complete selection on hand in case you don't have the right fly for the situation.
Flies |
Sizes |
| Royal Wolf |
10, 14 |
| Parachute Adams |
12, 16 |
| Stimulators |
12, 14 |
| Humpys |
16, 18 |
| Dave's Hoppers |
10, 12 |
| Bead Birds Nest |
12, 14 |
| Bead Head Crystal Bugger (Black) |
6 |
The Complete Patagonia Fly Box:
Flies |
Sizes |
| Chernobyl Ant |
6, 8 |
| Dave's Hopper and Parachute |
6-12 |
| Parachute Adams (grey or brown) |
12-20 |
| Elk Hair Caddis |
14-18 |
| Dark Brown Stonefly "dry" |
12-16 |
| Stimulators |
12-16 |
| Midge (Cluster Pattern) |
18-22 |
| Flying Ant |
12-18 |
| Deer or Horsefly Pattern |
16 |
| Dragonflies, Blue |
Large |
| Dragonfly nymphs, olive |
Large |
| Mouse Pattern |
- |
| Buggers, Bead Head Crystal (Black and White) |
6 |
| Bead Head- Prince Nymphs, Hare's Ear, Birds Nest |
12-16 |
|
Jim Edwards and a hefty brown
Patagonia Travel Checklist
Airline Ticket & Itinerary |
Waterproof Bag for Wading Gear |
Valid Passport |
Waterproof Bag for laundry |
Copy of Passport (packed seperately) |
Rain Jacket- Gore-tex is good. |
Wallet |
Light and Heavy Socks- wool or fleece. |
Travelers Checks, $, ATM Card, Credit Card |
Dry Storage, Ziplock Oven bags |
Copy of Travelers Check Numbers |
Travel Flashlight |
Fly Rods, Reels |
Emergency Telephone Numbers |
Spare Spools, Line |
Destination addresses |
Leaders, Tippet |
Maps |
Fly Boxes |
Pocket Knife |
Flies |
Bandanna |
Floatant |
Slacks and Pants |
Clippers, Pliers |
Belt |
Fishing Vest/Tackle Pack |
Shirts |
Day Pack |
Undershirts, shorts |
Reel Lubricant |
Under-wader wear |
Hook File |
Light fleece pants |
Knot Tool |
Fishing Hat |
Hemostats |
Fleece or Pile Jacket |
Split Shot |
Long-Sleeved shirt |
Polarized Sunglasses |
Short-Sleeved shirt |
Extra Pair of Sunglasses |
Fishing Gloves- fleece or wool. Fingerless are good. |
Reading Glasses |
Pen and Pencil |
Waders |
Reading Book |
Wading Belt |
Addresses, Phone numbers |
Wading Boots- felt (No Studs), Gravel Guards- wiggle room for toes to keep warm. |
Camera, Film, Lens, Spare Battery. Waterproof case/bag? |
Insect Repellent |
Sun Screen
(spf 25+) |
Toiletries |
Lip Balm, Hand Lotion |
Prescription Medication |
Flask |
Aspirin, Pepto Bismo |
Travel Alarm |
Zip-loc bags |
Playing Cards |
Plastic Garbage Bags |
Bandana, Rag |
Travel Tips:
The weather in Chile is always changing. It can be 75 degrees and sunny, then change in 30 minutes to a windy, cold drizzle. So, use the "layering system" to adjust to the drastic climate changes common in this part of the world. Polypropylene clothing is best, as it stays warm when wet, dries fast, and they "wick" moisture away from your skin when in waders, sweating, or in a rain jacket. Stay away from cotton. So follow the following layer prefered by the guides:
- Start with a polypro or silk long underware next to your skin. Choose a weight which is right for your metabolism (light, medium, and expedition)
- Medium weight wool or synthetic shirt, sweater or pull-over. Lightweight fleece pants, or layer long johns under pants, cargo pants, etc.
- Fleece or wool jacket.
- Rain Jacket- seam sealed, waterproof!
Getting a little wet on a roller.. |
Catch and Release
We practice catch and relief to ensure catches of large, healthy fish for the future. To make sure that fish live, land a fish as quickly as possible, keep them in the water as much as possible, make sure your hands are wet when handling them, do not handle them around the gills, use hemostats or the "Ketchum Release" to remove the hook, handle them gently, don't throw the fish back in the water- move them gently back and forth facing the current to re-oxyenate them. They will leave when ready. |
November/ December: The Patagonia summer commences with a mind baffling wild flower display, knowen locally as ¨Chocho¨( Chilean word for Lupine) season, European Lupin carpet the landscape in an explosion of violets, reds, purples and yellows. Trout are on the surface with Caddis and Mayfly hatches as well as a blizzard hatch of small creamy moths.
In addition, the Spring King Salmon have arrived in force. The past 10 years we have seen a dramatic increase in the run of Kings and are now ready to offer fishing trips to coincide with their run. The Kings are notoriously finicky about taking a fly but show no hesitation to whacking a spinner. If you would like to combine fantastic trout flyfishing for Browns and Bows with the chance to land some truly magnificent king salmon on spinning tackle than Nov./ Dec. is definitely for you! We will provide the spinning gear. |
Monte with a big spring King |
January: With daylight lasting untill 11 p.m. or better, we have plenty of time on the water. Foxglove and wild daisies have replaced the Chochos. Trout are keyed into strong hatches and an abundance of feed. Huge Mayflies (March Browns) the size of a quarter highlight the month.
February: The dog days of summer. Farmers are harvesting their crops and the trout are putting on weight rapidly. Caddis, Mayflies, and small Stoneflies provide feed lanes full of options for selective trout. In late Febuary, flying black ants become the number one target with large trout rising aggressively to these little terrestrials.
March: The first frost of the season signifies the start of the best fishing of the year. Mid day hatches of PMDs, Cahills and Variants will have every fish in the river on the surface for the mid-day show. Starting around the middle of the month the Sea- Run fish (Coho, Browns & Bows) start to show in sufficient numbers and hookups are likely.
April: The landscape is ablaze in shades of yellow and orange as autumn works her magic. This is the best fishing of the year as the mid-day hatches continue. However, days are short ( dark at 7 p.m.) and the mornings are quite chilly. |
