Trout Bum Trevelin

Trevelin is truly unlike any other village in Patagonia. Founded by Welsh settlers in 1891, it quickly became famous for its award-winning wheat, and the vestiges of that time still remain in the museums, mills, and tea houses scattered throughout the area. Today most of the agricultural production is fine fruits or flowers, but in recent years a number of successful vineyards have been popping up here and there as well.

The main attraction though is tourism, and while it takes many forms ranging from two-thousand+ year old Alerces trees to fields of Tulips that would make the whole of Holland in the 1630’s weep with envy, fly fishing is probably the oldest and most well established. It should come as no surprise that Hemispheres Unlimited’s owners have lived in Trevelin now since before the company’s founding.

Fishing

The array of waters and eco-systems surrounding Trevelin is among the most diverse in all of Patagonia, and the fishery reflects that in every way. Sporting the only tailwater in Chubut province, a maze of interconnected drainages within Los Alerces National Park, and a network of freestones, spring creeks, and lakes stretching East into the Pampa, guests would have to spend not weeks but whole seasons to see it all. Luckily, our guys know where best to go any given day based on conditions and since they all grew up here and have been fishing these waters all their lives, generally also know on exactly which bend in the river to start.

Just outside town to the West anglers access the Rio Grande (also known as the Futaleufú) which flows out of the national park and then across Chile to the Pacific. Nutrient rich and predictable in the way only a tailwater can be, it is by far the largest river in the fishery and offers any style of fishing anglers desire for rainbows and browns, ranging from midge hatches to deep drudged streamers, and even the odd King Salmon just in from the Pacific now and then.

To the North we access Los Alerces National Park. Here the network of lakes, streams, and rivers wound through the mountains working its way North all the way to Cholila is literally to vast and diverse to describe. There are famous waters like the Rivadavia, Arrayanes, and Carrileufu, but for those of us who have been around long enough there are also a lot more little-known creeks and backwater pockets of lakes than even anglers who have already fished here several times might realize.

To the South there are a number of waters just a bit too far of a drive to fish comfortably from our Trout Bum Rio Pico lodge, but just right for access from Trevelin such as Lago Rosario, the Arroyo Nant y Fall, and the whole Rio Frio watershed, leading us down to where the two programs meet on the Rio Corcovado.

And to the East? Well, let’s just say there are some spots we will not name…

Cuisine

Unlike most of our programs in Argentina, dining on the Trout Bum Trevelin program is a mixture of in-house prepared meals served at the lodge, stream side cooked or cooler lunches while fishing, and time spent at local restaurants.

Each week is different, and these days there is more than enough culinary diversity around town to find menus that we've yet to have a guest disappointed by the options and don't expect it to ever happen. Contact your trip planner in advance for any special menu needs.

Accommodations

Depending on group size, our Trout Bum Trevelin program uses one of two different cabin set-ups in town. Both locations are comfortable, private, and within easy walking distance of town, offering all the standard amenities and with your stay managed from arrival to departure by Hemispheres Unlimited staff.

Both double and single occupancy rooms are available at both locations, and each also has private bathrooms and a communal kitchen.

Any special needs with respect to lodging can usually be arranged in advance; just let us know and we'll get you and your group all set up with exactly what you'd like.

Travel Details

Flights for the Trout Bum Trevelin Itinerary should arrive in Esquel, Argentina (Airport code ESQ). You will most likely arrive in Argentina by landing at Buenos Aires International Airport (EZE) and will then need to board a ground transfer (bus or cab of approx 45 minutes drive across the city) to Buenos Aires Domestic Airport (AEP) for your flight down to Patagonia.

Several reliable ground transport services are available and inexpensive; refer to your pre-trip PDF for contact information on options.

Our staff will meet you just outside baggage claim at the airport in Esquel, and all of your transportation will be provided from that point on until you are dropped off at the airport again for your return flights home.

For the Trevelin Trout Bum itinerary, the preferred airport of arrival is Esquel, but sometimes flight schedules require our guests to fly into Bariloche (three hours drive to the north) instead. In these cases an additional ground transfer fee of $350 each way (which can be split among up to four passengers) will be added to the trip’s total cost.

We also often do pick-ups and drop offs in Santa Cruz province (usually from Jurassic/Strobel) or even in Chile. Contact Justin for a quote.

Rates

The season for our Rio Pico Trout Bum Trevelin program runs from November 1^st until May 1^st each year.

Package rates are per person based on double occupancy, and include everything except flights, alcoholic beverages, laundry, and guide/staff gratuities.