January: The hatches
High summer in Chilean Patagonia. The rivers are at summer level, caddis and mayflies hatch strongly, and the days are long and warm. Peak season, so book early.
A year on the water
Where to fish, month by month
Patagonia's summer is the northern winter. So the trips follow the light: south from November to April, the Arctic fjords in May and June, the rivers of Lapland and Finnmark in high summer, and Lake Inari in the autumn.
Our trips across the year
- Patagonia River WeekPatagonia · Brown trout, Rainbow trout
- Patagonia Guided WeekPatagonia · Brown trout, Rainbow trout
- Arctic Sea Trout CampFinnmark · Sea trout
- Finnmark Trout WeekFinnmark · Brown trout, Arctic grayling, Arctic char
- Lapland Wilderness FloatLapland · Brown trout, Grayling
- Lake Inari Ferox TripLapland · Brown trout
| Trip | Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Patagonia River WeekPatagonia · Brown trout, Rainbow trout | January | February | March | April | November | December | ||||||
| Patagonia Guided WeekPatagonia · Brown trout, Rainbow trout | January | February | March | April | November | December | ||||||
| Arctic Sea Trout CampFinnmark · Sea trout | May | June | ||||||||||
| Finnmark Trout WeekFinnmark · Brown trout, Arctic grayling, Arctic char | July | August | September | |||||||||
| Lapland Wilderness FloatLapland · Brown trout, Grayling | June | July | August | |||||||||
| Lake Inari Ferox TripLapland · Brown trout | September | October |
November to April
Southern summer: Patagonia
While the north is dark, it is summer in Chilean Patagonia. Wild brown and rainbow trout in clear rivers, dry flies from December, and the hatches at their best from January to March.
February: Hatches, then the beetles
Fewer caddis and more mayflies, and late in the month the first beetles and hoppers. Low, clear water and a lot of sight fishing. If you can only pick one month, this is the safe answer.
March: Big dries, big fish
The hatches thin out and the terrestrials take over. The water is at its lowest and clearest, and some of the biggest browns of the season come up to a dry fly.
April: Autumn and the trophy browns
Cold mornings, autumn colours and aggressive brown trout. Streamers do the reliable work, with dries still bringing fish up on warm afternoons. The cabins are quiet.
November: Spring, high water, big flies
Snowmelt keeps the rivers high and cold, and fish that have not seen a fly since May take a streamer or a big stonefly without much thought. It is the best month of the season for big rainbows. Almost nobody else on the water.
December: The rivers drop, the dry fly starts
Water levels fall, wading gets easier week by week, and the caddis start. By mid-month the dry fly is working: a mix of streamers and dries on a quiet river.
May and June
Arctic spring: sea trout in the fjords
Snow still on the hills, and the sea trout that wintered in the rivers feeding hard along the shore. Wade the beaches around Alta under a sun that stops setting in mid-May.
May: Sea trout in the fjords
The sea trout that wintered in the rivers drop down to the fjords, skinny and feeding hard along the shore. From mid-May the light never goes, so the day is as long as you want it.
June: Sea trout, then the rivers wake up
The fjord fishing carries on into June. Inland, the ice and the spring flood go, and at the end of the month the first float leaves on the Ivalojoki under the midnight sun.
July and August
Nordic summer: Lapland and Finnmark
The rivers of Finnish Lapland and the Finnmark plateau at their best. Wild brown trout, grayling rising all day, and in July a midnight sun that turns the evening into the best part of the day.
July: High summer
The big hatches, wild brown trout in the river necks and grayling rising all day, under a sun that barely sets. The mosquitos are at their peak too: bring a head net.
August: The nights come back
The air clears of insects, the first dark nights return and the fishing holds. The last floats of the season go down the Ivalojoki at the end of the month.
September and October
Nordic autumn: ferox on Lake Inari
September is ruska, the most beautiful month in the north. The big brown trout of Lake Inari turn to the baitfish on the drop-offs, and the ferox trips run from early September to the middle of October, one boat and one or two rods at a time.
September: The ruska and the ferox
The ruska turns the north red and gold. On Lake Inari the big brown trout follow the vendace onto the drop-offs, and the ferox season begins: big streamers from a cataraft, with the sonar finding the fish. On the rivers, the grayling fishing is good.
October: Last of the ferox, then plan the south
The ferox trips run to the middle of the month, on an empty lake with the leaves down and the first frosts. Then the Nordic season is over and the Patagonian one opens. A good month to book January to March, which fill first.
Got dates but no destination?
Tell us when you can travel and what you like to fish, and we'll tell you honestly which week fits.
Ask us