As a destination for
fly-fishing (
pesca con mosca ), Argentina is
unparalleled, with Patagonia drawing in
professionals and aficionados from around the
globe. Trout, introduced mainly in the early
twentieth century, form the mainstay of the
sport, but there is also fishing for landlocked
salmon and even Pacific salmon. The most famous
places of all are those where the world's
largest sea-running brown trout (
trucha
marrón ) are found: principally the
Río
Grande and other rivers of eastern and
central Tierra del Fuego, and the Río Gallegos
on the mainland. The reaches of the Río Santa
Cruz near Comandante Luis Piedra Buena have some
impressive specimens of steelhead trout
(sea-running rainbows or
trucha arco iris
), and the area around Río Pico is famous for
its brook trout. The Patagonian
Lake District
- around Junín de los Andes, San Martín de los
Andes, Bariloche and Esquel - is the country's
most popular trout-fishing destination, offering
superb fishing in delightful scenery.
The trout-fishing season runs from
mid-November to Easter. Regulations change
slightly from year to year, but permits
are now valid countrywide. They can be purchased
at national park offices, some guardaparque
posts, and at fishing equipment shops, which are
fairly plentiful - especially in places like the
north Patagonian Lake District. Permits cost
$50, with permission to troll from boats $20
extra. With your permit, you are issued a
booklet detailing the regulations of the
type of fishing allowed in each river and lake
in the region, the restrictions on
catch-and-release, and the number of specimens
you are allowed to take for eating. Argentine
law states that permit holders are allowed to
fish any waters they can reach without crossing
private land. You are, in theory at least,
allowed to walk along the bank as far as you
like from any public road, although in practice
you may find that owners of some of the more
prestigious beats try to obstruct you in this.
For more information on fly-fishing in
Argentina, contact the Asociación Argentina de
Pesca con Mosca, Lerma 452, (1414) Buenos Aires
(tel 011/4773 0821; aapm@cvtci.com.ar ).
Full details of fishing regulations are listed
in an excellent illustrated booklet ,
Nuestros Ríos y Peces (in Spanish only),
which is available from the Chaco tourist board.
In the north of the country, sport fishing
for the powerful dorado is also very popular,
and an international competition, the Fiesta
Nacional de Pesca del Dorado , is held in
mid-October off the Isla del Cerrito in Chaco
Province (tel & fax 03722/441033; $150-200
entrant's fee). You do not need a permit to fish
in salt water
