· Río Gallegos
Rio Gallegos is located in the far south Patagonia region, in the province of Santa Cruz, the last territory previous to the Magallanes strait. A land of huge vistas, vast barren and desolate countryside with large sheep farms, treeless tundra-like rangeland with incredible sunsets, fierce winds and double-digit sea-run browns. The River Gallegos is the principal fishery of the area.
Its searun browns are generally from 5 to 10 pounds and fish up to 20 pounds are not uncommon. They come in from the sea in schools, so one strike is usually bound to be followed by others. They can be taken with a variety of techniques, from deep drifts with fast-sinking shooting heads to greased line surface fishing. Competent casting is necessary as strong winds are the rule. Wading and walking are easy, as the river has a moderate flow and gentle, open banks. There are also three

other interesting fisheries close-by: the Rio Pelke, a productive spring creek, and the river Coyle, both steaming with of 1-4 pound brookies, the Gallegos Chico, another wonderful spring creek flowing intothe Gallegos holding plentiful 2-8 pound resident browns. During the months of March and April, we offer the first steelhead run to the Atlantic ocean, a 3-day program, with exciting fishing for 15 pound sea-run rainbows. Accommodations are Estancia Truchaike, a typical and very comfortable Patagonian sheep ranch on the Río Gallegos, covering more than 25 miles

of private waters. An ideal destination for trophy hunters, as well as an excellent option to combine with a fascinating side-trip to the glaciers, the largest growing icecap in the world. To watch and hear the enormous masses of ice thunder and crumble into the gelid waters, the iridescent blue hues of endless icelands and floating sculpted icebergs is a lifetime experience

This one of the best runs of sea-run brown trout in the world, characterized for the remarkable consistency of conditions and reliable quality of fishing. At one lodge the amount of catches has risen from 285 to over 4,000 sea-run brown trout in each of the last two seasons, with trophy trout averaging 7-11 pounds. Fish of 20 pounds and over are caught every week while 30 pounders are caught every year with the possibility of a 40-pound fish. These fish are aggressive and in typical conditions they are fished deep as well as can be tempted to the surface.Once hooked, like the Atlantic salmon or steelhead, some

loom deep and slow while most jump on the surface and fight hard. The increasing number of fish combined with the influence of skated fly and floating line techniques used in Iceland, Russia and Canada and experimented in these latitudes by international fishermen and guides, invites for testing the different techniques. Accommodations are in four different lodges: the traditional Kau-Tapen, situated on the middle part of the river, very comfortable and cozy, with capacity for 12 persons; Villa María based on the lower part in the Estancia José Menendez, directly downstream from Kau-Tapen, with a capacity for 6 persons; San Julio, an estancia upstream from Kau-Tapen and on the other side of the river, with capacity for 6 rods, and La Posada del Sauce, a comfortable and attractive small hotel in the town of Río Grande using different stretches of the lowerriver.

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