About to book a trip to Tierra Del Fuego for February sea run brown trout on the Rio Grande. Between Kau Tapen Lodge and Villa Maria. Has anyone been and do you have any lodge recs or reviews?

I'd love to go there and Jurassic Lake. Looks like Yellow Dog represents both. Be sure to keep us posted as you plan and go.

I'll keep this thread going as we decide, prepare, and then go in late February.

The wind would do terrible things to your limp wristed casting style.

87Flyfisher said:

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The wind would do terrible things to your limp wristed casting style.

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Your comment is reminiscent of a conversation I had with Brian Grossenbacher, fishing on the Yellowstone.

I went in late March to Despedida Lodge … may have spelled that wrong.

All the lodges share the river rotating beats in a crazy dance.

Behety is the largest operation offering 6 single room spots and 12 double room spots.

Despedida is 6 double occupancy. Don't know anything about the other lodge.

Got pretty lucky I think on the wind … about a day and a half of crazy wind.

Pretty amazing place. Hard to imagine but I5 lb brown trout got routine.

18 was the largest I landed but certain I hooked up with several 20+ that got off.

Every other person surpassed 20 … one landed 35 pound giant.

Despedida program was mostly single hand work with mono running line a shooting head and a long leader… drifting 14-18 caddis like fly … crazy. Very little Spey work.

Dallas fly shop that takes a group to Behety described something a little different on a visit before my trip.

Definitely want to go back. Will try another lodge next time.

I booked through Reds Fly Shop.

If you book I have a few travel tips that will help.

Just booked Kau Tapen Lodge in late February. Flying to BA the night of February 19, then will fly to Ushuaia on the 20th. Will fish for 6 days on a combo of the Rio Grande and Rio Menendez.

That looks like a great lodge. Single occupancy is the way to go. Fishing program sounds very similar to Despedida's. I recall one beat called Menendez and another maybe at the confluence of the RG and Menendez but I think most of your fishing will be on the RG. They will know where the fish are ie which beat they are stacked up in. Apparently some European books all of Despedida so he can fish the honey hole every day all week.

It's very easy wading, never pulled out the wading staff. And the rivers are relatively small so you don't have to bomb it everywhere … most casts are fairly short. They will put you in places to work best with the wind but be prepared mentally for some crazy wind. I found if I could just get it back with one good false … I could shoot it with the wind where it needed to go but the wind will beat you down. Was glad I did not have to fight it all week. You'll probably come into the lodge for lunch and a quick rest and gear reset and avoid the midday winds. I'll find some pics but recall a day of blowing 20 with 35-40 gusts.

If you are on the red eye down you'll arrive around 9 am and have to get back to EZE the next morning early for a flight to USH. There were some complications with rod case … you can't carry on and have to buy oversized fare and take it to a special place to get it checked … allow some extra time for this. And be aware of rapid gate changes in then terminal where USH flights take off. Also, I have a driver recommendation if you want one. Most likely you will fly back from USH to the regional airport and will need a transfer to EZE for your flight back to US.

The history on this is the sheep manager of a ranch introduced brown trout in 1935 to the Candelaria and McLennan rivers to create a trout fishery. But with little to eat, the fish started to migrate out to sea for food and now come back to spawn … 90 years in the making.

Shoot me a text if you want driver info and lodging in BA.

Thanks for all the info. We're all set in BA, have been down there a number of times bird hunting.

What rod(s) did you bring? Would you recommend the hassle of traveling with it or just use what the lodge has?

I took 7 and 8 wt single handed and a short 8 wt spey and a longer beefier 8 wt spey.

Caught that big brown on the 7 wt but I used 8 wt single most.

Would check with lodge on what you most likely will fish with but my guess is 8 wt and 9 wt single would be used the most.

Even with my gear I probably used the guides 1/3 of the time just swapping out setups.

If you have a 4 piece and can put it in a bag your fine. If you carry them separate in one or two tubes you will run into the issue I dealt with going down to USH. I just like using my stuff if I can. Look forward to hearing about your trip and the lodge.