Best time to fish Patagonia: the Coyhaique season month by month

Everyone who writes to us about Coyhaique, in Chilean Patagonia, asks some version of the same question: when should we come? The short answer is “any time”. The season in Chilean Patagonia opens in mid-October and runs to the start of May, the fish are mostly resident, and they eat all season. But the river in November and the river in March are different places, and what you like doing with a fly rod decides which one you want.

This is the season as we fish it on the Río Paloma and the water around Coyhaique, month by month. It is the water our Patagonia fly fishing trips are built around.

November in Patagonia: spring, high water, big flies

The snow is still coming off the Andes and the rivers run high and cold. Clarity holds better than you expect. Nobody has thrown a fly at these fish since May, and they take a big fly without much thought.

This is streamer and nymph fishing, with stoneflies on the water through the month and the big foam dries that imitate them twitched along the banks on the warm afternoons. Wading is harder in the high water.

Who it suits: the streamer angler who does not mind cold mornings. Almost nobody else on the water.

December: the rivers drop and the dry fly starts

Water levels fall through the month and the wading gets easier week by week. Stoneflies carry on, and the caddis start. By the middle of the month you are fishing dries with some confidence, and the first rises to caddis are the sign the summer has turned up.

Who it suits: the angler who wants a mix of streamers and dries, and a river with room.

January: the hatches

This is the first of the two months everyone asks for. Caddis and mayfly hatches come off strong, often in the morning and early afternoon for the mayflies and the late afternoon into the evening for the caddis. Fish feed with confidence. The water is down to summer levels, the days are long, and most of the week is warm enough for a shirt by lunchtime.

Terrestrials start to matter as the month goes on and the banks fill with vegetation: ants, beetles and hoppers.

Who it suits: the match-the-hatch angler. Sizes 12 to 18, a floating line, and a box of Parachute Adams, Comparaduns and X-caddis. The patterns for the whole season are in flies for Patagonia. January to March is peak season in Patagonia, so book early. That said, we have never seen anything you could call a crowd on the water here.

February: hatches and the first beetles

Mayflies in the morning, caddis in the evening, and from the second half of the month the cantaria beetles and the grasshoppers. Those are the flies the trout have been waiting for, and the takes on a big foam beetle are the most violent you will see on a dry fly anywhere.

The water is low and clear, and the fishing is sight fishing a lot of the time. The fish have seen a few flies by now, so the drift matters more than it did in December.

Who it suits: nearly everyone. If you want one month, this is the safe answer.

March: terrestrials and the big fish on top

The hatches thin out and the terrestrials take over. Beetles, hoppers, ants, all big and all fished dry. The water is at its lowest and clearest, the nights are cooler, and the brown trout start to put on weight and colour before the spawn. Some of the biggest fish of the season on a dry fly come in March and April.

Who it suits: the angler who wants big dry flies and big fish and would trade a few more rises for bigger ones. Anyone who hates the cold should pack an extra layer for the mornings.

April: autumn, streamers, the last of the dries

The days shorten and the mornings are properly cold. Terrestrials still work on the warm afternoons and a big mayfly or caddis dry will still bring fish up, but the reliable fishing turns back to streamers. The browns are aggressive and in their autumn colours, and this is when the trophy hunters come.

Who it suits: the streamer angler and the trophy hunter. The cabins are quiet.

The Coyhaique season at a glance

Month	Water	What the fish eat	People	Best for
November	High, cold, clear	Streamers, nymphs, stoneflies	Few	Streamers, solitude
December	Dropping	Stoneflies, caddis, first dries	Few	A mix, a quiet river
January	Summer level	Caddis, mayflies	Peak season	Match the hatch
February	Low, clear	Mayflies, caddis, then beetles and hoppers	Peak season	Everyone
March	Lowest	Beetles, hoppers, ants	Peak season, thinning	Big dries, big fish
April	Low, cooling	Streamers, some dries	Few	Trophy browns

Mid-December to mid-March is the dry fly window. Inside it, January for hatches, February for both, March for the beetles. Outside it, November and April for streamers and solitude.

Picking a week to fish Patagonia

We have two different trips to Patagonia: the River Week, with two guided days, and the Guided Week, with a guide every day. Both pages show the open dates by month. There are only two cabins, so the valley is never busy. If the dates you want are gone, write to us. For the money side, see how much a Patagonia fly fishing trip costs.