Sea Run Brown Trout in Tierra del Fuego, Argentina

Villa María is the second of the De Las Carreras family lodges to open on the Río Grande after Kau Tapen, and has offered small private groups exciting fishing on some of the most productive pools in the lower river since 1994.

Unlike Kau Tapen, which is located on the middle river, Villa María offers anglers first crack at newly arrived Sea Trout on the lower Río Grande. For fishermen who enjoy the challenges and rewards of two-handed rods, this is a dream come true! With friendly and dedicated house staff and guides, Villa María is very well suited to caring for small groups of friends and family.

THE FISHING

Our target species is Sea-Run Brown Trout, averaging 8lbs and weighing up to 30lbs. Although most of their lives are spent in the ocean, sea-run brown trout seem to retain more of the eccentricities of resident browns than, for instance, steelhead do of resident rainbows. Moody fish, they must be shown flies the way they want to see them at the precise time they’re ready to take.

The Río Grande isn’t a big river. Thus, it’s compatible with a wide range of techniques; critical since a large sea- run brown trout may demand that a fly be fed to it on the bottom one hour but rise to a skating fly the next. Water levels can change from week to week and they generally drop as the season progresses. The river offers easy wading on fine gravel bottom.