Twenty-one questions, answered straight.
Below are the questions we hear most often from anglers planning a trip to Chilean Patagonia. Each answer is structured to give you the direct answer first, then the supporting context. If your question isn't here, write to us.
Below are the questions we hear most often from anglers planning a trip to Chilean Patagonia. We've kept every answer to two to four sentences and organised them into five sections — planning, the fishing, gear, the lodge, and money. Everything here is reviewed before each season; numbers reflect the 2026/27 season.
When to come, how to get here, what you need to bring through customs.
The official season runs from November through April. February and March are peak — stable weather, lower water, aggressive surface activity, and the sea-run brown trout migration begins.
November is for big-streamer anglers and the highest water of the year. April delivers the largest fish — fewer numbers, harder weather, trophy quality.
Fly to Punta Arenas (PUQ), Chile's southernmost commercial airport. From PUQ we transfer you 2.5 hours north by road to Puerto Natales — included in all multi-day packages.
Alternative entry: El Calafate (FTE) in Argentina, with a 4-hour transfer including the Cerro Castillo / Río Don Guillermo border crossing.
Most North American, European, UK and Australian passport holders enter Chile without a visa for stays up to 90 days. Your passport must be valid for at least 6 months from arrival.
The 90-day tourist stamp is granted on arrival. If you're coming from a country we haven't listed, check the official chile.gob.cl visa page before booking flights.
Yes — every angler over 8 years old needs a Sernapesca sport fishing license. The non-resident tourist license costs approximately USD 35 and is valid the whole season.
We process the license for every guest at no additional cost. Your license is ready before you arrive.
Yes for multi-day packages (Patagonia Week, Paine & Pesca): round-trip transfers from Punta Arenas (PUQ) are included. Full-day trips include hotel pick-up and drop-off in Puerto Natales only.
Transfers from El Calafate (Argentina) are available as an add-on at cost — typically USD 380 per vehicle one-way, up to 4 passengers.
Species, sizes, water types, and what a day actually looks like.
Five wild species: rainbow trout (avg 2–4 lb, trophies to 10+ lb), brown trout (3–6 lb, occasional 12+ lb fish), sea-run brown trout (5–18 lb in season), Pacific king salmon and coho salmon.
Everything is wild and naturally reproducing — there are no stocked fish in our waters.
Average rainbow and brown trout run 2 to 6 lb. Trophy browns in the spring creeks regularly exceed 10 lb; the biggest landed brown of 2025 was 14.5 lb. Sea-run brown trout in March and April average 5 to 8 lb, with occasional fish over 18 lb.
The pursuit here is wild quality, not stocked quantity. A six-pound brown landed on a #16 dry is the trip-defining fish.
An average freestone-river day for an intermediate angler runs 10 to 20 fish landed. Spring-creek days are different — we target fewer, bigger fish; five sight-fished browns is a great day.
Beginners typically land their first fish within the first morning. Sea-trout days are pure trophy work: one or two fish a session is a normal target.
Four flavours of water in rotation: large glacier-fed rivers (Serrano, Pingo), spring creeks (estancia private water), large alpine lakes fished from drift boats (Sarmiento, Toro), and the Última Esperanza Sound for sea-run brown trout.
On a multi-day trip the rotation is built so you fish a different type of water every day.
What we provide, what to bring, rod weights, lines and flies.
No. We provide Simms waders and boots, Scott and Redington rods (#5 through #7), Scientific Anglers lines, leaders, tippet and a fully stocked fly box rotated to the conditions of the week.
You bring: polarized sunglasses, a wide-brim hat, layered tech clothing, and any personal rod you'd like to use. We send a full packing list 60 days before your trip.
A 9-foot #6 covers 90% of our fishing. Bring a #5 for spring-creek dry-fly days and a #7 or #8 for streamers and sea-run brown trout in March and April.
We stock Scientific Anglers Amplitude lines — floating, sink-tip (Type III) and full-intermediate sink — to match every situation. Bring fluorocarbon tippet 3X to 6X if you have favourites.
Optional but appreciated. Focus on: Chernobyl Ants (#6), Fat Alberts (#8), Parachute Adams (#14–#18), Pheasant Tail and Hare's Ear nymphs (#12–#16), and large articulated streamers in olive, black and white (#2–#4).
Our boxes are fully stocked and rotated to current conditions, so bringing flies is never required — only fun.
Yes — most guests bring at least one personal rod. Four-piece travel rods in hard tubes fly without incident on every airline we work with (LATAM, Sky, JetSMART, American, Delta).
Declare them as sporting equipment on the Chilean customs form. There's no import duty on personal sporting goods used and re-exported within 90 days.
Rooms, food, dietary, internet, and what evenings look like.
Eight private rooms, all en-suite, all with valley or sound views. Heated floors, lenga and coigüe interiors, custom Chilean linen, blackout shutters for the long austral summer days.
Maximum 16 guests at once. Doubles configurable as twins on request. Single-occupancy supplement applies for solo bookings.
Three meals a day, locally sourced. Breakfast is hot plates and fresh fruit. Lunch is a streamside spread the guides set up with the food made that morning. Dinner is a four-course tasting menu featuring Patagonian lamb, king crab from the channels, garden vegetables, and Chilean wine pairings.
Our chef Cristóbal has been with us since 2019. He sources directly from three local producers and the Puerto Natales fish market each morning.
Yes. We handle gluten-free, vegetarian, vegan, kosher-style, halal and most common allergies (nuts, shellfish, dairy) routinely.
Notify us at booking so the chef can plan the menus and order accordingly — last-minute changes are harder once we're 250 km from the nearest specialty supplier.
Wi-Fi at the lodge runs on Starlink — fast enough for video calls and remote work from your room. Cell coverage in Puerto Natales is solid (Entel and Movistar 4G).
On the rivers, coverage ranges from intermittent to none. We carry satellite communicators on every trip for emergencies. Most guests appreciate the disconnect once they get past the first morning.
Deposit, cancellation, what's included, what to budget on top.
Full-day private guided trips start at USD 650 per angler (based on 2 anglers sharing a guide). Multi-day packages start at USD 1,080 per angler per day, all-inclusive (4 nights / 3 fishing days) — lodge, all meals, drinks and alcohol, license, gear and airport transfers.
The week-long Paine & Pesca combo (4 fishing days + 3 days trekking) starts at USD 7,900 per angler.
30% non-refundable deposit to confirm dates. Balance is due 60 days before arrival. Cancellations more than 90 days out receive a full refund minus the deposit; 30–90 days, 50% refund; inside 30 days, no refund.
Trip insurance covering medical, evacuation and cancellation is strongly recommended. We can put you in touch with Travelex and Global Rescue, both of whom we've worked with directly.
Included on multi-day packages: guides, lodge nights, all meals, all drinks and alcohol, premium gear, Sernapesca license, airport pick-up and drop-off, park entries on the combo program.
Not included: international flights, travel insurance, gratuities (guideline 10–15% of trip cost, split between guides and lodge), optional helicopter day (USD 1,800 add-on).
Balance is due 60 days before arrival, payable by international wire transfer in USD (preferred) or by Visa/Mastercard with a 3.5% card fee.
We do not accept cash on arrival except for incidentals at the lodge bar. Gratuities can be left at end of trip in USD cash or settled by bank transfer.