Fishing the Rio Grande in Chile is a lifetime experience...
Searun
brown trout up to 20 pounds+,
resident brown trout and
rainbow trout, you'll catch them all!
Cameron Lodge Rio Grande, Chile.
Onamonte Lodge is the Estancia Onamonte's recently refurbished main house and it is laid less than one hundred yards from the most important tributary of the Rio Grande, the Rio Blanco and within five hundred yards of the "Junction Pool".
This Estancia has about fifty kilometers of frontage on the south side of the Rio Grande, all the way down stream to the Argentinean border, with the Ted Turner's Estancia San Jose neighboring on the "other side of the fence".
The river here, is almost identical to our neighbor's section, for those who had already fished on the Argentinean side. (On the map below, the red line is the available fishing area for the Onamonte Lodge's guests). It's a beautiful place surrounded by hills covered by millenary woods, with the snowed Darwin Range overlooking the region and much more plentiful wildlife and birds than on the Argentinean side, like hundreds of guanacos grazing and dozens condors soaring by everyday.
You will especially enjoy the solitude of being on a splendid fishery without even seeing other fishermen, with the chance of fishing yet unnamed pools where few foreigners had fish until now! It's an excellent river for fishing, sometimes more challenging and rewarding than down stream in Argentina due to the different techniques and finesse that have to be applied for fishing. The water is much clearer and it's almost never dirty when flooded. The fishing is also rewarding because there's always action. In this section of the river there are sea run browns averaging ten pounds, with monsters up to eighteen/twenty pounds, with some really huge fish well over twelve kilos (twenty six pounds)!!!
Unlike in the lower section of the river, in Argentina, there are also river resident browns in the six pounds class with beautiful colors and taking readily our flies. Along these resident browns there are some healthy and fat silvery "lake run" browns, with a shape of a rugby ball, that enter the river from the Blanco lake for our joy. And, completing the "Grand Slam", there are rainbows too! You will see them some meters from you, down stream, feeding on the aquatic insects you will release from the bottom of the river. It's something to be seen!!!
The lodge itself, has three double bedrooms with it's private bathroom, a nice living/dining room with a cozy fireplace, very welcome after a long days fishing! The service includes regional Chilean meals, very rich in seafood like king crab, mussels, scallops, calamari, clams, collected all at the Punta Arenas area, and, of course, the popular asado, beef or lamb, (Tierra del Fuego is a mouth disease free zone). Cocktails, like the typical Chilean "Pisco Sour", and the well famous Chilean wines are readily served.
Onamonte Lodge Onamonte and Cameron operation's map Cameron Lodge. This is not the Estancia's main house. It's nice too but not as big as the Onamonte Lodge. It's located right over the river, on a high cliff, in between other Estancia's houses in one of the working areas, the Estancia Cameron's Rio Grande Section, overlooking the river's valley and the Darwin Range. The house is well equipped for six rods, with three bedrooms (double occupancy), and recently refurbished for a better service.
The fishing is as described for the Onamonte Lodge, with less available space on the lower part of the river but with a better access to it. (On the map above, the blue line is the available fishing area for the Cameron Lodge's guests). The food and drinks are of the same excellent quality as at the Onamonte Lodge, we shop at the same places for both lodges!!
This fishing package includes six days fishing, seven nights lodging (double occupancy), all meals, all cocktails, wines, beers and sodas, one chauffeur/guide with a 4 x 4 vehicle for every three rods, fishing licens. The transfer to and from the Rio Grande (Argentina) airport is about two hundred kilometers the longest way around. Tips (15%) and personal items are not included.
The weekly rate per rod is: $3,800.00.
FISHING SEASON. The fishing season on the rio Grande runs from October through April. In November and December the fishing is very good but the peak months are January, February, March and April. We encourage you to make your reservations as soon as possible, there is usually a great demand for the peak months on whole of the river.
EQUIPMENT. Single and two handed rods in the 8-10 weight category between 9 and 15 feet are ideal. Lines from shooting heads to fast sinkers, as the Teeny series of lines, and floaters should be brought. Tippet material: in the 8-10kg (16-25lbs) breaking strain category. The most effective flies for the area will be available at the lodges at a reasonable price. Disc drag reels are recommendable and anti-reverse can be an advantage.