Chile’s Whitewater Wilderness

Float the beautiful Lake District and battle rainbows amid snow-capped volcanoes. A steady 15-knot wind pushed temperatures below 50 degrees as Rene Yefio, our guide, launched a 14-foot pontoon raft. My wife, Lilliam, and I crawled aboard wearing insulated waders, hooded sweatshirts and winter jackets, keeping us warm as we anticipated the challenge of catching rainbow trout in the whitewater of Chile’s Rio Petrohue.

While waters remained tame at our put-in site, small rapids soon swept us into more canyon-like turbulence about 200 yards downstream. Yefio guided our raft deftly through the less confrontational channels, around boulders and into position on small pools. My fly-fishing prowess felt a bit rusty at first, but a few minutes of practice casts with the 8-foot, 6-wt. rod smoothed things out.

My tenth cast from the bow’s makeshift platform garnered a strike, and a spunky rainbow took to the air. The currents continued to push us downstream and the battle raged on. We watched the trout as it fought in the glacier-blue, snow-runoff waters that varied in depth from three to eight feet. Yefio finally netted the healthy 3 ½-pound fish. After Lilliam took off her gloves and snapped a couple of photos, she returned to admiration of the unique landscape that included small waterfalls, canyon walls and cliffs, roaring creeks and huge boulders, all surrounded by the majestic specter of mountain peaks. We marveled at the crystal-clear Petrohue River that swept over a kaleidoscope of colored rocks and pebbles.

The scenery distracted me, but only momentarily. Two casts later, my Muddler Minnow fooled another trout, but the action proved brief as the rainbow jumped and waved the white flag all too soon. I quickly engaged another slightly smaller trout, and Yefio stopped his oaring long enough to net the rainbow. He unhooked it and released the colorful fish.

With Yefio back on the oars, we swept around a canyon bend into a long pool with a rock wall on one side and a low, rocky shoreline on the other with a backdrop of the snow-capped Osorno Volcano. He positioned our raft in slow water, and I cast to the pool. The hook-up was immediate and Lilliam didn’t seem to even notice the 5-pounder taking to the air – six times in fact. I finally pulled the rainbow into Yefio’s net and asked my wife to turn the camera on us.

“It’s just too pretty in this direction,” she said with a laugh, turning around to fire off a couple of quick shots of my guide and the trout.

We drifted through a succession of small rapids and wide pools for another hour in the scenic Petrohue Valley canyon. I landed and released three more rainbows in the 5-pound range. Throughout those wondrous hours, it seemed as though I either had a missed strike, a hook-up or a fish on the line. I enjoyed watching the rainbows strike and the bent-rod action while floating a river just five minutes by car from our lodge’s front door.

Our raft rounded one bend just before lunch during an insect hatch, and several trout rose to the occasion. I placed my imitation in the midst of the melee, and it fooled a hungry, frenzied rainbow. In another area, five fat rainbows came to the surface to feed in a deep, fast-flowing pool. They raced for my presentation and I battled the winner for five minutes before it escaped. Hoping to re-ignite the interest of the others, I tossed my fly back to the same spot and soon hooked up with another from the school.

At one point we saw a rare pudu deer in the water, huddled against the bank. The endangered species is indigenous to the southern Chile area and is the smallest deer in the world, growing to only 16 inches at the shoulder. Yefio, who normally sees only one or two of these deer each year in more remote areas, speculated that a puma or other predator had spooked the animal from the adjacent woods. As we drew nearer, the pudu bounded away and disappeared into the shoreline trees.

We were a little late starting that morning for the best wet fly and streamer action, according to Yefio. The early bite usually occurs from 7 to 10 a.m. when winds are more moderate and feeding action more prevalent in the 48-degree waters. Brown trout up to five pounds are a strong possibility then. Even so, I enjoyed more than enough action during our mid-morning affair on the river.

Changing Courses and Patterns

Thousands of years ago, the Petrohue River flowed from the Todos Los Santos Lake into the corner of Lake Llanquihue (pronounced Yan Kee Way), which lies below the beautiful Osorno Volcano. An eruption of the volcano blocked the river’s entrance into the lake and diverted it. The Petrohue now bypasses the lake and runs to and through an estuary at the Pacific Ocean. That fortuitous route makes for more productive fishing since it tripled the length of the river, according to Paul Kinney, General Manager of Yan Kee Way Lodge and an avid angler.

“We mainly fish the Petrohue and its stream tributaries that include the Puelo and Maullin rivers,” he said, adding the names of several other rivers farther away. “Four guides at our lodge can handle eight anglers per day. We fish fly and spinning tackle for wild trout and come fall we target Atlantic, silver and king salmon.

“About 90 percent of our fishing is with wet flies, and top patterns vary from the beginning of the season to the end,” said Kinney. “In the spring in November, Woolly Bugger and Black Bonehead patterns are very effective, but in the fall you may not get a bite with those flies. Too, some of the feeder streams stop producing at a certain point unless you put on a stimulator and do some dry-fly fishing. Heavy black-and-white Zonker flies that get deep might produce best then.” Kinney added that last year, midge and nymph flies outperformed everything else with catches of rainbows 20 inches and longer.

Good-size fish is the norm on the Petrohue River due to only catch-and-release fishing with a single, barbless hook. Most daylong float trips result in each person averaging 15 to 20 fish consisting of rainbow and brown trout. On an exceptional day, an angler might tally 30 to 40. The average-size trout runs 16 to 18 inches, but that varies from the beginning to the end of season and from section to section in the river.

Giant fish have been taken by lodge guests, with rainbows up to 20 pounds, huge brown trout, silver salmon and Atlantic salmon to 30 pounds. The biggest king salmon thus far measured 50 inches and weighed about 45 pounds, while Kinney’s largest rainbow ate a Muddler Minnow and measured 29 inches.

“It weighed about 10 pounds,” he surmises. “I couldn’t get my fingers around its tail. In one of the small feeder streams, a client fishing with a little simulator caught a 6-inch rainbow but before he could land it, a 30-inch brown trout ate it whole.”

When to Hit the Rivers

Remember that in the southern hemisphere, seasons are reversed from North America. Summer months involve December, January and February, with winter June through August. The fishing season in the Petrohue and surrounding rivers opens the second weekend of each November and closes the second weekend in May. The early November/December and late March/April time periods are reportedly best for visiting fly anglers. Fishing in the warmest summer months can also be excellent because water temperatures rise to 54 degrees on some stretches, which fish seem to prefer.

The Petrohue River levels fluctuate seasonally with the highest water during the rainy season in October and the lowest in April. There’s very little water level effect from the volcano snow melt because the two nearby peaks retain their snow year-round. While the river level might change 10 to 12 feet over the course of the year primarily in the winter, a fluctuation of only a couple of feet occurs during the fishing season. The feeder streams into the Todos Los Santos Lake, which is just above the stretch of the Petrohue we fished, changes the river levels the most.

Even when the Petrohue gets lower and skinnier, it’s still a big river with a high amount of water flow. If the water drops too much, you’ll find as many fish in the center as along the edges. That may occur around February when the sun is hottest and waters warmest, and salmon run the river all the way up to the waterfalls. At times salmon move past waterfalls and populate the Petrohue River and feeder streams above, hanging out in larger pools until April when they start to go up into the streams to spawn.

Also in late March and April, the river has a large king salmon run that some anglers target. Thousands of king salmon frequent the river, with many fooled by anglers tossing egg patterns. In early March, go with crawdad flies to pick up Atlantic salmon. At this time of the year, Paul Kinney says that so many trout and salmon are present that you’re never certain at first what’s striking.

We tallied no monsters when we arrived at our take-out point just above Petrohue Falls National Park, but action was constant and of course the surroundings incredibly beautiful. This spot represented a good place to disembark since Lilliam and I both wanted to forego rafting over the ensuing heavier rapids and plunging falls that make up the watery labyrinth. We did want to see the 40- to 80-foot falls of the Lake District from safe vantage points, however. A series of catwalks and stone steps took us over boulders, crevices and narrow gorges to the edges of the magnificent falls.

Surrounding the nature show is a backdrop of mountain cliffs, massive boulders, roaring rapids and plunging falls. Several easy hiking trails lead off to visit rock bars on the river below, rambling brooks through meadows, tiny canyon pools and other waterfalls plunging into small, foliage-surrounded lagoons hidden in the rugged terrain.

Visions of the Garden of Eden crossed our minds as we explored the sights away from the main river channel. Considering the fantastic fishing and the natural beauty of this wondrous portion of Chile, I know I’ll be back again to the Petrohue River – and you should put it on your list of “must-go” fishing destinations as well.

Where to Toss the Bags

Keep in mind that once in Chile you’ll need to pay a $100 entry fee. For more details, visit the Chile Tourism Promotion Corp. web site at www.visitchile.org .

Yan Kee Way Lodge lies at the southeast corner of Chile’s largest lake, Llanquihue, near the small village of Ensenada. Situated across a cove from the 8,730-foot Osorno Volcano, this beautiful five-star resort is a one-hour drive from Puerto Montt via a modern, paved highway through some of the Lake District’s most scenic landscape. The lodge is snuggled in a 12-acre forest and adjacent to the Petrohue River, making it easy to access yet keeping the remote aspects that we really enjoyed.

Michael Darland owns the lodge and handles bookings through his company, Southern Chile Expeditions, and does the same for a second Chile property called El Patagon Luxury Wilderness Lodge. Yan Kee Way Lodge offers chalets and two-story bungalows, each with a loft and main bedroom, full bathroom, a large walk-in closet and living area. The décor features textured walls and hardwood floors in the living area with leather and handcrafted furniture. The artwork is original, depicting ancient hieroglyphics. The carpeted bedroom provides comfortable beds and in the bath we found large, fluffy towels and bathrobes – just the kind we like. Central heating takes the chill off any cool temperatures.

Doorways are an amazing feature, being hand-carved from Chilean hardwoods that complement the wooden beams. But the carvings don’t end there; numerous oversized caricature statues around the grounds point out the sauna, restaurant, reception and other lodge areas. A couple of hand-carved totem poles depict lodge activities, and a 100-foot, carved tree relates the legend of the Osorno Princess who was once sacrificed to the volcano to save the lake.

Another lodge highlight is the Latitude 42-Degree restaurant. I cannot emphasize how good the food is here. Conger eel, salmon, cra, and many other items become delicious dishes. The restaurant boasts Chile’s second-largest private wine cellar with over 300 labels from 50 Chilean vineyards.

The lodge’s fishing packages include transportation to the fishing grounds, professional guide and box lunches. The license, gratuities and personal stuff are on your own. You may bring your own tackle or rent their excellent equipment that includes chest-high waders. When we visited, the package ran $389 per person per day for two or more anglers. Guides Sergio Aguero Oyareso, Juan Carlos Castant and Rene Yefio have several years of experience on the rivers around the lodge, and after fishing with them, I recommend them all.

A lot of half- and full-day lodge activities are available, including even photo safaris. For details on Yan Kee Way Lodge, visit www.southernchilexp.com.

Bring Your Camera

The Lake District of Southern Chile is the country’s adventure sport capital. The area offers an array of year-round opportunities such as hiking, rock climbing, trekking, canoeing, white-water rafting, sailing, boating, downhill and mountain biking, and a truly spectacular Andean lake crossing.

Lilliam really enjoyed horseback riding through beautiful mountain valleys near the lodge while I trolled by the in-water salmon hatchery on Lake Llanquihue in front of the volcano (and caught a 4-pound escapee). On another day, I fly fished small streams while she took one of the lodge’s kayaks for a 3-hour paddle between the lodge and the majestic Osorno Volcano.

We also tried zip-lining via a secure wire through the tall forest canopy on the side of the volcano, gliding over two deep canyons, huge trees reaching 100 feet and ravines – all exhilarating and fun. We also ventured by car to the Osorno Welcome Center, where a 15-minute chair lift quietly transported us up the mountain to where snow skiers were boarding another lift to the peak. Hikers also huffed the mountain trails, and a zip-line strung along the treeless upper valley provided a majestic view of the lake below and Petrohue Valley to the east with its rivers, streams and lakes. It’s simply an awe-inspiring view every direction you look.

Bio Larry Larsen, an inductee into the Freshwater Fishing Hall of Fame, has traveled to over 50 countries. He’s written 21 books and over 2,000 magazine articles for numerous outdoors and travel publications. Larsen’s media memberships include the Society of American Travel Writers, the Florida Outdoor Writers Association and the Outdoor Writers Association of America.