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Kooi Noom & Estancia Laguna Verde
Kooi Noom and Estancia Laguna Verde border a couple of fantastic lakes in southwest Patagonia that afford fly fishermen a rare opportunity to catch lots of huge rainbow trout. In that respect, and many others, the two estancias are remarkably similar.
In other ways they are subtly different.
THE COMMON DENOMINATOR among these lodges is the number of massive trout averaging 6 to 8 pounds that fly fishermen land every day of the season. There are countless fish over 10 pounds, and a consider- able population of giant rainbows weighing up to 20 pounds or more.
The two lodges also offer excellent early and late season angling in their respective rivers, and both have terrific, season-long angling and dry fly fishing in their spring creeks.
These places are equidistant from (roughly 4.5 hour drive) Calafate and separated by about an hour drive through the least populat- ed area in the southern hemisphere. The mod- ern, new Calafate airport was built to service the deluge of tourists destined for the lovely resort community and the ice fields in the
Kooi Noom
2014 MARKED THE inauguralseasonforKooi Noom; the latest and potentially most unique trophy trout fishery in all of Patagonia. It’s a completely new venue that is the result of sev- eral years of scouting.
This is a massive, 40,000-acre estancia blessed with 3 scud-rich lakes, two inter-con- nected freestone rivers, 2 spring creeks, and numerous intimate tributary streams. All of them hold very large fish, and these fat, fast- growing, wild rainbows are free to move about between the lakes, rivers, and streams. This is both a remarkable stillwater fishery and terrific stream fishing experience.
Kooi Noom was discovered by Alex and Nico Trochine, two of Argentina’s top guides. They form the nucleus of a thoroughly professional
Estancia Laguna Verde
THIS ENORMOUS ESTANCIA borders more than a third of the massive Lago Strobel, (oth- erwise known as Jurassic Lake).
Lago Strobel trout are measured in pounds, not inches, and an average fish will be the trout of a lifetime anywhere else.
4-wheel drive vehicles and ATV’s are used to access nearly 8 miles of lake shoreline, where fly fishermen search for cruising singles and pods of rainbow-colored torpedoes among bays, and windswept blue water channels and shelves. It isn’t uncommon to land more than a dozen of these huge fish in a single day, and return to the comfortable lodge tired (of catching trout).
parklands with 3 or 4 flights daily from Buenos Aires.
Packages range from 2 to 6 full days of fishing and it’s possible to add even more dimension to a trip by combining visits to both lodges or by connecting to Tierra del Fuego and a week of monster sea run browns on the Rio Grande.
The Santa Cruz province climate is surprising- ly much more temperate than Tierra del Fuego, but it is still Patagonia.
Most fly fishing is done while wading the lake shoreline or stalking from the banks of the nar- row, shallow streams. Anglers typically fish the lake in nearby bays, and cast with floating or intermediate lines and employ a slow retrieve. There are times, places and conditions when the big fish (often pods of them) come within a few
Matt Jones photo
feet of the banks and cruise the shallows like massive bonefish, and the sight fishing in the lake is as exciting as in the rivers and streams.
Lake fish feed constantly and every week of the November through April season is extremely productive with both dries and streamers.
The river bottoms literally become black with huge trout early and late in the season and the spring creeks consistently produce trophy trout during the entire Patagonia summer.
The ranch house features 3 well-appointed, double occupancy rooms with private baths, and a cozy common living area with an open bar where guests enjoy apres-angling cocktails and conversation. Fine domestic wines are served with delicious, hearty meals.
kooi noom guests are met at the airport and delivered back after a memorable visit which includes transfers, licenses, meals, guides, excel- lent accommodations, and every soda, beer, mixed drink, and glass of fine wine.
Kooi Noom’s fishing season begins in November and peaks from mid-January through mid-April.
team of fly fishing savvy guides, and are on-site managers with skin in the game.
Each day guests head out by vehicle to their allotted beats, sometimes employing outboard motor boats to reach some of the remote, road- less tributaries feeding the lakes.
The estancia also has near-exclusive use of the spectacular feeder stream, the Rio Barrancoso, which routinely delivers double-digit fish.
The estancia staff and the Alba family take great pride in their operation, monitoring every detail to insure a level of service, cuisine, and angling that is difficult to believe could be had in this harsh and isolated location.
estancia laguna verde packages are all-inclusive, with a season that begins in November and ends in mid-April.
 7 night/6.5 day fishing package $5,200  5 night/4.5 day fishing package $3,850  4 night/3.5 day fishing package $3,100
Package
 7 night/6 day package
 4 night/3 day packages  3 night/2 day packages
Early Peak $4,750 $5,150 $2,650 $2,850 $2,050 $2,250
WWW.THEFLYSHOP.COM  EMAIL: TRAVEL@THEFLYSHOP.COM
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