Dramatic nature, unexplored land.....exclusive fishing conditions

The Picacho Fly-fishing Lodge has been operating since 2003. It is located in one of the most southern zones of Chile in the midst of the Andes Mountains on the banks of the Picacho River.

The valley formed by this river is considered to be one of the places with the highest biodiversity of nature in the Patagonia. This can be seen in its natural landscapes and geographic richness, which remain intact until the present as a result of it’s isolation due to the difficult and restricted access.

The unequalled fishing conditions found here is directly a result of the untouched and uninhabited nature of the valley. It is thus possible to find healthy populations of wild rainbow and brown trout in the various water systems which are part of our program. The different rivers, lakes, lagoons and streams enable wading and shore fishing, as well as fishing from our uniquely designed cataraft boats.

The fishing technique used mostly by our guides is that of dry flies imitating terrestrial’s of just about any size or shape –including mouse flies and Flying Stag (Cantaria) beetles.

Each new day the fishing experience at the Picacho Lodge brings forth a new adventure. This is not only because our main means of transportation on the river are cataraft boats with jet outboard motors, but also because of the variety of places that may be visited using the lodge as a central point.

We also have 2 spike camps – one on Lake President Roosevelt which requires a 45 minute uphill soft hike to get there and is for those in decent shape. This camp is very rustic and you can stay there overnight if you wish. The other is where the Manihuales river starts. This camp has all the luxuries of a lodge with hot showers, platform tents, and of course a “Fogon” barbeque pit. This “camp” is located before the boat ride to the lodge and we like to try to arrange either the first or last days there to maximize your fishing experiences. This camp is within 15 minutes of an almost unlimited number of good fishing spots and is located on the river.

Manihuales Camp:

During the last season, Picacho Lodge inaugurated a new and comfortable camp in the Manihuales river valley. The location of this camp provides the opportunity for all our guests to fish more efficiently waters just outside the Picacho Valley primarily the Manihuales watershed. In this way the travel time to reach these areas from the Lodge has been practically eliminated allowing our guests to enjoy more fishing time on the water and to get maximum use of the day.

We located this camp to combine fishing in the valley with destinations outside in a very effective way to minimize travel time and as an option we could offer to those guests that want to do it.

Characteristics of the Camp:

The camp is situated at the banks of the river surrounded by a beautiful forest of Coigue (unique to Chile). Our guests have caught some beautiful fish in the waters within walking distance of the camp. It has three large Cabelas’ “dome” tents (2 guests each) with excellent insulation qualities and resistance to the weather. The tents have been installed over wood platforms to avoid problems with water and ground humidity. All the tents are equipped with king-sized extra strong cots, mattresses, sheets, and extra large sleeping bags.

The camp has a large covered Patagonian “Quincho” where the “asados” (BBQ) are slowly cooked and where our guests can enjoy the open fire with a glass of wine and discuss the days events while the meal is being prepared.

The camp has a large central tent which functions as a dining room and kitchen where we enjoy the meals prepared by our chef who comes with us during our visits to the camp.

In order to make your stay more pleasant, the camp has 2 full bathrooms each with hot water showers 24 hours a day so that our guests can refresh themselves after a day of fishing.

The camp is available for your use at any time and there you will have the opportunity for a very different experience where man and nature are as one.