Accommodations
Accommodations for the Trout Bum program are probably best described as "authentic", in true, local, Patagonia style.
Unless there is a specific need for back country camping, we are usually set up at one of our local hospedajes either in town or out on Lago Tres. Each has its own characteristics, advantage, and style, and we are happy to spend as much time as necessary helping each group choose the option that is best for them.
Vasco’s Place:
As the name suggests, this hospedaje is owned and managed by our man Vasco, a local character that fits the word “character” to a T. Of Basque descent (as the name suggests), Vasco was born and raised in Rio Pico and has been one of the town’s most famous jokesters and beloved personalities since he began working with fishermen over twenty years ago.


Location: Downtown (if you can call it that) Rio Pico, centrally located such that our guides can go in any of the four cardinal directions each morning which maximizes fishing and minimizes drive time, plus keeps you close the stores that sell wine, beer, and liquor.
Sleeping arrangements: Two adjoining lodge set ups with two bedrooms each set up as triples three double beds, any of which can be turned into matrimonial suites by making kings size beds out of two double beds.
Bathrooms: Each lodge space has one bathroom with shower, toilet, and sink.
Common areas: Each lodge space has its own kitchen, dining area, and living room with sofas, lounge chairs, and TV. There is also a balcony, common space, and “quincho” where the asados are cooked.
Cost: Included in standard rate – no upcharge.
*Vasco's is one of our two most commonly used lodging set up due to its location and versatility. This means that it is important for reservations to be made as far in advance of trip dates as possible!
El Madrugon:
El Madrugon is our man Paulino’s place (English translation is ”Dawn Riser”). Paulino is truly a living legend throughout Patagonia at large. Having picked up a fly rod before most anglers in Argentina had even heard of one, he has by now quite likely forgotten more about the sport than the rest of us will ever know.

Most of Paulino’s life has been dedicated to the exploration of Patagonian trout waters, and to teaching the members of a newly emerging sport-culture the rules, responsibilities, and details of the game. From tying flies and assisting guests, to putting together some of the best Asados in all Argentina, Paulino’s contribution to the Trout Bum program is actually an attraction all its own.

On Paulino’s property up on the edge of town, the Madrugon is a complex of cabins that have been built over the years around Paulino’s house/fly shop. (Paulino probably sells more of his own all-barbless fly patterns from here than every other fly shop in Patagonia combined, and he doesn’t have so much as a sign outside to advertise their availability).

The main cabin features a large dining room, kitchen, and fireplace area around which to tell the day’s fishing stories downstairs, as well as two full bathrooms with showers, and a sleeping loft with bunks for up to twelve guests at a time. The walls of this main building are adorned with mounts of enormous rainbows, brookies, and king salmon that Paulino did himself more than forty years ago before he became a strictly catch and release fisherman. (He won’t even take a fish out of the water these days for a picture, unhooking even thirty-plus inchers while they’re still beneath the surface and watching them swim away while the rest of us croon for a glimpse).


While definitely our least luxurious set up (one of the toilets actually has to be flushed by reaching into the wall and lifting up the release valve) it does have an authenticity that is hard to resist, and hanging out with Paulino over the fire while the lamb is roasting provides a great opportunity to learn about the history of the area and its fishing.

Location: North side of Rio Pico, a ten minute walk from downtown. Centrally located such that our guides can go in any of the four cardinal directions each morning which maximizes fishing and minimizes drive time, plus keeps you close the stores that sell wine, beer, and liquor.
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Sleeping arrangements: Loft set up with eight or so single beds and one double, or double bedrooms with bunk beds in the newer cabin next door.
Bathrooms: Two full bathrooms with showers, toilets, and sinks in the main lodge and one bathroom with shower,
toilet and sink in the newer cabin next door.
Common areas: Both cabins have living/dining rooms with TV’s and kitchens. There is also a “quincho” out back amongst the cherry trees where the lamb asados are done over the fire, with chairs and tables for drinking and socializing after the day’s fishing.
Cost: Included in standard rate – no upcharge.
*Paulino's El Madrugon is one of our two most commonly used lodging set up due to its location and versatility and well, Paulino's presence as an attraction all its own. This means that it is important for reservations to be made as far in advance of trip dates as possible!

Cabanas Toldos on Lago 3:
While not quite as centrally located as our other set ups in town, Cabanas Toldos has an attractive style its own and the added advantage of sitting right on one of the best and most famous lakes in all of Patagonia. These A-frame cabins are reminiscent of the high alpine architecture that calls to mind winters with a lot of snow, and topographies with a lot of wind, both of which they have withstood on Lago 3 now for many years.


Location: Lago Tres, a twenty to thirty minute drive from Rio Pico (depending on road conditions).
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Sleeping arrangements: Loft set up with two triple rooms, single beds.
Bathrooms: One full bathrooms with shower, toilet, and sink.
Common areas: Downstairs kitchen and dining room, plus outside fireplace and lawn, as well as trail which leads right down to the lake
Cost: Included in standard rate – no upcharge.
Back Country Camping:
Sometimes we get folks who are looking to head out into the back country and camp, accessing even more isolated waters than the ones we can drive to in a Hilux. And so the backpacks get loaded, the truck gets left at the end of the road, and in we walk to the spots that don’t get talked about after we come back out. These walks are not for everyone. Generally speaking when we do back country trips the campsite is set up somewhere around ten miles from the truck, and the rivers we are fishing and the country we are walking requires strong legs and a steady resolve. Clients planning to do a back country trip as part of their Trout Bum program should plan to bring their own backpacks and sleeping bags/pads, water filters if desired, and any other personal items they usually like to have with them while camping. Our team will supply tents, cooking equipment, and everything else that is needed. It is also very important that if a back country excursion is to be part of the Trout Bum itinerary that this is discussed with us at the time of the trip’s booking, since our in-country preparations for that option are quite different than they are for a group staying at one of the lodges.

Location: Variable, and generally not something we’d prefer to have talked about or posted online after the trip.
Sleeping arrangements: Tents, generally double occupancy.
Bathrooms: The woods.
Common areas: The campfire.
Cost: $500 additional
