It became Patagonia's most famous river after Joe Brooks was photographed holding several huge trout in its boca back in the 1950's. Beneath a high bluff lined with araucaria trees, where the Chimehuin river pours over serrated lava out of Lake Huechulaufquen Lake, lies the fabled Boca. Fishing it is a great challenge, giant browns and rainbows lie just beyond a ledge out in the lake. The Chimehuin is a great fishery with good hatches and predictable rises of fish. It is a broad flat valley river with long gravel flats followed by broad riffles. Its riffles provide excellent nymph fishing, and in the evenings the flats come alive with myriad

trout rising to the reliable caddis hatches. We stay at the very pretty Estancia Cerro de los Pinos. Accommodations are very comfortable and the food is excellent. The lovely stone house has six bedrooms with private bathrooms, a cozy living room, dining-room and bar. It is an ideal place to take non-fishing companions, given the beauty of the countryside and varied available activities, as horseback riding across the plains and foothills of the Andes roamed by red stag. The charming town of San Martín de los Andes lies at very short distance offering wonderful sight-seeing and good shopping for local handicrafts.

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