Volcanic creeks of Patagonia

San Martín de los Andes is the name most travelers know on the Route of the Seven Lakes, but the fishing that built its reputation lies just to the north, around Junín de los Andes, the town Argentina officially calls its national trout capital. The Chimehuín, the Malleo and the Aluminé run here beneath the snow cone of Lanín volcano, and they are rivers with real history: in the middle of the last century they drew some of the first American anglers to Patagonia and helped turn this corner of Argentina into one of the great names of fly fishing, a reputation the water still lives up to today.

What makes the fishing here so particular is the contrast between the size of the water and the size of the fish. Many of these rivers and spring creeks are small enough to read at a glance and clear enough to see every stone on the bottom, and yet they hold brown trout of a size that most anglers would only expect from big rivers, alongside strong, bright rainbows in the faster runs. This is one of the few places in northern Patagonia where the fishing can be done entirely on foot, and much of it is sight fishing: you spot the trout, study how it feeds, and put a fly in front of it with a light rod and a fine tippet, which is as demanding as it sounds and as rewarding as fly fishing gets when it comes together. For anglers who want to cover more water, or simply alternate a day of wading with something different, the larger rivers of the area can also be floated by raft, drifting through open steppe and stopping on the banks to fish the best runs, so that each day can be shaped around the conditions, the angler and the kind of fishing they came for.

It will not always come together. Clear water means fish that see you before you see them, the wind that comes down from the Andes on most afternoons makes an accurate cast harder precisely when it matters most, and the largest browns are as wary and selective as any trout in Patagonia. Anglers who come here for the quiet, careful kind of fishing, who enjoy hunting a single fish more than counting many, will find some of the most memorable water in South America. From December to February the rivers are warm enough to fish in wading boots and shorts, and on float days lunch is served on the riverbank, with an asado and a bottle of Argentine red.

San Martín, with its lakefront, restaurants and easy access to Lanín National Park, makes a comfortable base for travelers who come with a non-fishing partner, while anglers who want to be as close as possible to the water can stay in Junín.