Limay River Lodge is Back!
After being off line for four years, Limay River Lodge is back in play, and we couldn’t be more excited!
The Limay River is rated by veteran Argentina anglers as one of the richest fishing resources in Northern Patagonia. Even more attractive to fly fishermen is the isolated, middle portion of the Limay below Pichi Picun Leufu Dam. The tailwater nature of this fishery helps insure consistent flows, ideal water temperatures and clarity as the river travels through the rugged, near-roadless, semi-arid terrain of the Patagonia high steppe, before emptying into the fertile lake formed by El Chocon Dam.
The middle Limay is ideal trout habitat and develops super-healthy populations of resident brown and rainbow trout. This section is often broad and covered with the rings of rising trout. Some of these fish are enormous double-digit monsters that spend much of the year in the giant, fertile lake below before beginning a mid-summer migration. The river routinely breaks into a series of intimate channels. This is surface action at its best, with large fish feeding on large foam terrestials all day long. It is simply one of the most unique and rewarding fly fishing experiences in all of Patagonia!
This off-the-beaten-track section of the Limay has been relatively inaccessible in the past, and considered a tiresome angling destination until this year when, under the guidance of famed Argentine outfitter Jorge Trucco, a new lodge was created in the heart of the angling. Improved and near-exclusive access points will allow guests at the Limay River Lodge to fish “Montana-style”, using drift boats, utilizing a cadre of talented, English-speaking Argentine guides.
This new addition to the world of Argentina fly fishing is the brainchild of master outfitter, Jorge Trucco, and offers predictably superb accommodations, wonderful meals, terrific guides, and convenient access to a 50-mile stretch of one of the finest rivers in Patagonia.
Reservations & Rates
• $990 per night, per person
• Private room request add $200 per night, per angler
• Single (private) guide add $200 per day, per angler
•Non-angling rates are available, please contact us for details
Round Trip driving transfers between the lodge and Bariloche, San Martin, or Neuquen, $175 per person, per transfer
Prices for single guide requested is $200 a day and single room requested is $200 per night.
Inclusions
Included in your angling package at Limay River Lodge is accommodations, fishing license, all food and drinks including an open bar and beer and wine, all guiding (2 anglers/1 guide), ground transfers between fishing areas, and free Starlink internet at the lodge. Though the lodge suggests guests bring their own waders and fly fishing gear, they have high-quality loaner gear available, on request.
Non-Inclusions
Not included in your angling package at Limay River Lodge is driving transfers between the lodge $175per person (San Martin or Neuquen are also possible, on request), gratuities, and extras at the lodge such as phone calls, laundry and gift shop purchases.
Travel Insurance
The Fly Shop® is not in the insurance business, but we recommend Travel Guard coverage as a service with a desire to see your best interests protected. It is impossible to know when an unfortunate situation (loss of luggage, fly rods, illness in the family, or an accident) may occur. However, such things can and do happen, and this insurance can provide a means of recourse against non-refundable financial losses.
• Travel Insurance Information
Seasons at Limay River Lodge
The season starts at Limay River Lodge in November, often with superb mayfly and caddis hatches. These continue through December and January, the favorite months for those who like to match hatches as well as throw large attractor dries. The numbers of big fish on the surface gobbling insects in these months can be unbelievable! As the summer days get longer and warmer in February and March, the insect hatches tend to occur in the mornings, followed by tremendous action pounding
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the banks with large foam dries. These are the months anglers normally begin to see a smattering of the huge brown trout that migrate up from the downstream lake, and it is not unusual to hook them on big dry flies. For those who really want to concentrate on these huge browns, April is a prime month, and anglers should be ready to throw large streamers on sinking tip lines. The river’s many rainbows will continue to come up for dries this month, but the days are getting cold!
Getting to Limay River Lodge
Traveling to Argentina is relatively simple and painless.
There are a wide choice of convenient, daily flights from Los Angeles, Atlanta, Dallas, Houston, Miami, and New York. Most flights are direct departing the States in the afternoon or early evening and arriving early the next morning. Airlines that service Buenos Aires daily include American, United, Continental, Delta, LAN Aerolineas Argentinas, Air
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France, British Airways, Canadian Airlines, Lufthansa and Varig.
Flying Times to Buenos Aires from: Los Angeles: 13 hours, Dallas: 11 hours, Houston: 10 hours, Miami: 9 hours New York: 11 hours, Chicago: 11 hours.
Almost all the international flights into Argentina arrive at the Ministro Pistarini (Ezeiza) International Airport of Buenos Aires, 35 Km from the Federal Capital. You are required to fill out a customary arrival form, which will be handed out to you on your flight down. First you will clear Immigrations (Passport Control) then you will retrieve your luggage, and clear Customs. The entire arrival process in Buenos Aires should take between 1 and 1 ½ half hours.
Arrival Buenos Aires:
Getting to Patagonia is not difficult. It is actually very simple: take an overnight flight to Buenos Aires from one of several major cities in the U.S, get a good night's rest and awake in Argentina. If you have so pre-arranged, you will be met by our professional agents at the airport and transferred to your hotel or to the domestic airport for immediate departure to Patagonia.
Our agents in Buenos Aires will re-confirm flights, make dinner reservations, share a cocktail, and take you on a city tour if you wish.
Buenos Aires has two airports, an international and a domestic. You will arrive from your country of origin at Ezezia (EZE) and depart to Bariloche from the domestic airport, Aeroparque (AEP). It is necessary to transfer by ground from the international airport to the domestic airport for your flight to Patagonia. Our agents can set up your transfers. Depending on the time your international flight lands, you might be able to travel directly to Patagonia on the same day (If you want to travel directly to Patagonia, you should plan at least on one hour to clear immigrations and customs, one hour to transfer between airports, and to arrive at the domestic airport at least one hour before your flight to Patagonia.).
Flying to Bariloche and transferring to Limay River Lodge:
Bariloche is a hub city for tourists, so flying there is possible on all days of the week and there are several options per day. You will be met at the Bariloche airport by a driver (with a sign with your name on it), and transferred the 3 hours to the lodge.
When you arrive at Limay River Lodge, your luggage will be taken to your room and you will have a chance to get un-packed, settle in and organize your fishing gear. Cocktails and hors d'oeuvres will be served in the lodge at approximately 7:00 p.m., and finally dinner in the dining room at around 9:00 p.m. During cocktail hour the host (often Jorge Trucco) will provide an orientation on the week ahead and answer any questions you might have.
Lodging at Limay River Lodge
Up to fourteen (14) guests per week can enjoy all the comforts of Limay River Lodge's exclusive first class fishing lodge located near the banks of the Limay Media. The lodge features seven spacious and beautiful rooms, each with ensuite bathrooms. The lodge also has a “great room” gathering area allowing guests to gather after fishing and share stories with friends while enjoying a drink. The lodge features a large outdoor firepit with benches, where people often gather in the warm evenings for drinks and
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hors d'oeuvre. The lodge is completed by our beautiful dining room where you'll enjoy a healthy breakfast in the morning and gourmet food (some of the best in Patagonia), prepared by our talented chef, in the evening.
Wold-class Food, Wines, & Beverages:
Limay River Lodge will provide all food and beverage during your stay. Breakfast is hearty and consists of eggs your style, toast, jams, meats, fruits, juice, tea and coffee. Lunch is a culinary delight and is normally served streamside. Lunch includes a nice combination of area meats, cheeses, vegetables, wine, and dessert making this an experience that you'll be looking forward to daily. Dinner is typically served around 9:00 pm - after cocktail hour - which gives guests a chance to tell others about their day, and those who choose to fish later a few more minutes to get back to the lodge and ready for dinner. Dinner is typically three courses and features not only Patagonia's famous beef and lamb, but also pork, chicken, rabbit, fish, pasta and vegetables. Malbec wine is typically served with dinner as this is the best variety that Argentina produces and one of the hardest to find in other countries. The lodge provides a nice selection of top malbecs for you to sample.
Fishing at Limay River Lodge
Limay River Lodge has a straightforward, high-quality approach to its fishing program. Each guide has all of the finest equipment necessary to make your fly fishing experience ideal including: trucks, drift boats, flies, lines, leaders and tippet. For anyone who needs them, the lodge will also provide rods and reels, and waders and wading shoes. Two anglers fish together with a professional guide to give every angler the finest one-on- one experience possible.
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A typical day of fishing with Limay River Lodge:
Fishing programs start on your schedule, which is normally an 8:00 to 8:30 am departure after a hearty breakfast and a meeting with your guide. The lodge is centrally located and the various different floats we fish are normally within a 15-45 minute drive. Most days end around 6:00 to 7:00 pm, at which time you are driven back to the lodge for a hot shower, cocktails, and then a magnificent dinner complimented by a great bottle of Argentine wine served by the lodge hostess.
The fishing is done via Hyde driftboats, floating 6-10 miles per day. You will be treated to a blend of floating, wading and a combination of both on each unique float. You can choose to fish from the driftboat, tossing big foam dries to bankside structure and in shallow riffle drops, or jump out of the boat and spend a half day wading through extensive side channels, casting to big trout rising in small water. Your options depend on your desires and what is fishing the best. Fishing techniques include dry fly, dry-dropper, and streamers. Limay River Lodge guides try to fish dries at all times when the conditions are right and the fish are feeding; however, it is necessary to go under the surface at times. The rainbows in the Limay average about 20 inches, and are screamers – some will take anglers well into their backing! The browns average about the same size, but there seems to be a higher incidence of then in the 23-25 inch range, amazing fish on dry flies!
The Limay River region resembles fishing in the American West in many ways. Huge vistas, high desert terrain, riverside cliffs... it is very reminiscent of some of the drier climates in Wyoming. Because the Limay is a tailwater, the water flows and temperatures stay quite constant, and the insect biomass is heavy; this makes for happy fish, and even happier anglers! It has some of the best season-long dry fly fishing in all of Patagonia.
What Makes This Destination Special and Unique?
• Limay River Lodge was built in 2015, and is truly an elegantly-appointed lodge, with the finest of accommodations. From the large rooms and oversized beds, walk-in showers, tiled floors, abundance of storage area, complementary bathrobes, huge room windows that can open for fresh air… the list goes on and on. The rooms are beyond comfortable. With world-class lodging and old world service you will be well looked after at Limay River Lodge and only need to concentrate on having a great time and of course catching an abundance of trout.
• The fishing is nearly untouched, and simply amazing, with an emphasis on fishing dry flies for browns and rainbows that average close to twenty inches. One of the largest average sizes of fish for a river in Argentina, for a dry fly stream where anglers routinely catch large numbers of fish. Size does matter at Limay River Lodge and you have a great opportunity to hook and land some of the biggest resident brown and rainbow trout of your life.
• Limay River Lodge guides use Hyde drift boats with knee braces, which are very stable and comfortable to fish out of all day long. No sitting on the edge of an inflatable pontoon for hours on end. If your best wading days are behind, fish from a drift boat; you’ll cover more water, catch more trout – all in the comfort of a proper hard-sided drift boat rowed by professional guides.
• The river is a huge tailwater that flows through an arid landscape three hours from the nearest city. It is too far for guides to travel with clients for day trips, so the lodge has almost the entire middle river to itself. And because it is a tailwater, flows are very steady and predictable throughout the season, just like the fishing. Limited, if any competition means better fishing for you and a tailwater all but guarantees excellent fishing, no matter what the weather hand you. That’s peace of mind.
• The river has numerous side channels. Anglers can choose to fish from the drift boats all day, or park the boat at one end of a channel and spend hours walk and wading through it. Limay River Lodge’s fishing program is diverse and offers something for every serious trout angler. You won’t get bored here, mix it up every day to keep things interesting and engaging.
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