Challenging the Rapids of the Rio Chimehuín

 The Rio Chimehuin in northern Patagonia Argentina is famous for producing magnificent Brown and Rainbow trout, and has been the winter retreat of some of the most legendary anglers in fly fishing history; Mel Krieger, Lefty Kreh, Roderick Haig-Brown, and Ted Williams have all spent time on the Chimehuin. In nearby Junin de Los Andes, restaurants and hotels all feature black and white photos of monster trout taken in the early years. The Rio Chimehuin remains perhaps the best known fly fishing river in all of Patagonia. 

The middle section of the Rio Chimehuin is heavily fished because of easy access to fly anglers on foot; and the lower section is popular with many of the local guides because it is an easy float, and still very productive with rainbows averaging 15-18 inches, and some large brown trout, well past the 20 inch mark, lurking in the deep pools. The Rio Chimehuin has regular hatches of mayflies, caddisflies, and stoneflies; vast quantities of Pancora crabs, and minnows. On any given day, you can find yourself switching back and forth between dry flies and streamers. It pays to keep two rods loaded up; one with a floating line and light tippet for dry flies, and the other with a sinking tip and streamers for hitting the deep pools. But on my last trip to the Chimehuin, I wanted to hunt something special, namely, a big Brown trout.  

I had ear-marked one day to fish the (upper) Rio Chimehuin, with my friend and local expert guide, Gabe Fontanazza, of Flotadas Chimehuin in Junin de Los Andes. Gabe is the eldest son of Angel Fontanazza, patriarch of this incredibly talented family of fly fishing guides. His sister, Giselle, is perhaps the only female fly fishing guide in this area of Patagonia, and rivals her brother and father in adventurous spirit, and talent. Gabe had a new, shallow draft drift boat that he was eager to try in fast water; and I mean, very fast water. The reason the upper part of this river is less travelled is because it has some imposing sections of rapids, the first known locally as, “La Garanta del Diablo”; The Devil’s Throat. That should give you some visual imagery of the pace of this water. But despite the sections of “reel up your line and hang on!”, there are beautiful stretches of water with famously large Brown trout that are opportunistic feeders. They have little time to fully inspect every morsel that floats down the river, and when they see something interesting, they slam it. 

My new favorite rod for this type of water is an Orvis Hydros 6 wt Tip Flex, loaded with Orvis Generation 3 Depth Charge Sinking Line and #1 to #3 tippet. (Click the links to go directly to Orvis). This outfit tipped off with a big green sculpin imitation, or a black or green woolly bugger, or a white zonker, is deadly in the faster rivers of Patagonia. Gabe’s talent on the oars was a tremendous asset, and he earned every penny keeping me well positioned. In every section of the river between rapids, we hit nice fish, and even though the grand-daddy remained elusive, we still managed to land several over 20 inches, and one in the 24 inch range. Not a bad day by any standards. 

Fishing the upper Chimehuin is tricky, and requires perfect water conditions; so you have to discuss it with your guide well in advance. And it may only be possible during early-mid December, due to water levels. If you are seeking large numbers of fish in a day, then this is not for you. But if you want to experience something adventurous, a bit thrilling, and have the opportunity to pull streamers in front of some really big brown trout; then you might seriously enjoy this. 

For more information, contact Gabe at Flotadas Chimehuin; and tell him Memo sent you.

*Memo Stephens is an Adventure Photo-Journalist who resides in Argentina, and is available for journalism and photography assignments for both commercial and private parties. For more information, please email to:  

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