Outings and excursions · San Carlos de Bariloche
Fly Fishing in Bariloche: Nahuel Huapi, Limay and Manso
Photos: Aldopablo · CC BY-SA 3.0 / Erisanchezweb · CC BY-SA 4.0 (Wikimedia Commons)
Trout in Lake Nahuel Huapi, fly-only catch-and-release on the Limay and the Manso: what to know about the season and the permit before your first cast.
Bariloche is surrounded by cold, clear water, and trout have made themselves at home here. Lake Nahuel Huapi holds brown trout, rainbow trout and landlocked salmon. You can fish for them from the shore or from a boat, trolling a lure behind it. What made the area famous, though, is fly fishing, and for that you head to the rivers.
The closest is the Limay, which flows out of Nahuel Huapi itself and runs northeast along the border between Neuquén and Río Negro. Its Mapuche name is usually translated as "transparent", and one look at its mouth, on the Dina Huapi side, tells you why. That stretch is fly-only and strictly catch-and-release. Dina Huapi, a few kilometers from Bariloche, calls itself the Provincial Capital of Fly Fishing.
To the south is the Manso River, which rises at the foot of Mount Tronador. Its upper section runs about 17 kilometers of milky water down to Lake Mascardi. Beyond lakes Hess and Steffen, the lower Manso covers about 50 kilometers in Argentina, flowing more gently through forest before it crosses into Chile near El Manso. Along almost its entire course, it is fly fishing only.
On rivers and streams the season generally opens on November 1 and runs until late April or early May. Some lakes keep their own calendar. Lake Moreno is open all year, but catch-and-release only in winter. On lakes Gutiérrez and Mascardi you fish from the shore, and every fish goes back. Exact dates and exceptions are set out each season in the Patagonian inland fishing regulations.
You need a fishing permit, which is personal and non-transferable, and you carry it with your ID. General permits from National Parks, Río Negro, Neuquén, Chubut and Santa Cruz are valid in all of those jurisdictions. Most rivers are catch-and-release with a single barbless hook. On lakes where keeping fish is allowed, the limit is one trout per person per day.
- Tour type: Sport fishing and sightseeing
- Difficulty level: Easy (trolling and lake shore); moderate (wading rivers with a fly rod)
- Tip: Get your permit before you go and wear rubber-soled boots: felt soles are no longer allowed anywhere in Patagonia. If it's your first time fly fishing, go out with a licensed guide.
