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Fundo el Salto & Rio Manso Lodges

Fly fishing Chile & Argentina's beautiful Lake District.

Fundo el Salto Lodge, Chile: This lodge has been in operation for more that fifteen years and offers excellent fishing in the nearby Petrohue River drainage which includes, the Petrohue, its tributaries, nearby spring creeks and secluded bays of the spectacular Todos Los Santo Lake.

The lodge is a charming old colonial farmhouse, with four bright country-style rooms all with private bathrooms and accommodates a maximum of eight anglers. Fundo El Salto is renowned for exquisite food and wines and attentive service. The lodge's team of experienced guides, all fly tiers, instructors and riverside chefs - will make your stay a memorable one.

For non-angling guests, there are numerous walking trails. Daily excursions can be arranged upon request for horseback riding tours, white-water rafting and shopping at local markets including Puerto Montt's fantastic outdoor craft market.

Rio Manso Lodge, Argentina: RML is a new lodge which first opened in March 2004.RML concentrates its operation in the magnificent Rio Manso drainage which includes more than 30 km of river plus 5 beautiful small lakes (Hess, Fonck, Roca, Cesares and Moscos).

Located deep inside Argentina's first and largest National Park, very close to the Chilean border, surrounded by untouched waters and forests, the lodge is roomy with a spectacular scenic view from all 8 rooms with private bathrooms and 4 of which have a jacuzzi. Despite the number of rooms, the lodge takes just 8 anglers at a time. Sebastian Graziosi, the lodge manager and head guide has an extensive 10 years career managing lodges in Tierra del Fuego and Patagonia. The guides and staff, all bilingual, will make sure that you get the most out of our fantastic place.

Non-anglers have a great variety of activities, guided hiking and trekking through the pristine and magical forest and mountains; Birdwatching is a must, with Dr. Lorenzo Sympson the resident specialist; horseback riding and others.

Sample Fishing Program

9 nights / 9 days.

First Day: AM arrival at Puerto Montt Airport. Here the lodge's staff will meet you for transfer to the Fundo el Salto Lodge. The transfer consists of a 60-minute drive Northeast. En-route you will pass by the scenic lakeside town of Puerto Varas, along the shores of Lago Llanquihue, and into the Vicente Perez Rozales national park.

After getting organized at the lodge, it is time to go fishing. A short drive will take you and your guide to the upper reaches of the Petrohue River. The Petrohue is a larger river that drains the Todos Los Santos lakes into the Pacific Ocean. This river is fished using Mackenzie River boats and rafts. It can also be waded along its many braids. The main feature of the Petrohue is its large Brown trout but it can also present you with other very pleasant surprises. The fishing is primarily done with nymphs and streamers both from a boat and wading along the shore.

Because of the difficult access, this section of the river receives very little fishing pressure and fishing is usually extremely productive. As the sun goes down, we arrive at the takeout. Your driver will be waiting to take you back to the lodge for cocktails and dinner.

Second Day: After an early breakfast at the lodge, a 30 minute scenic drive will take you to the upper section of the river running by the foothills of the Volcano. This section has several braids; each one with many pools and runs. Here some parts of the river are more suitable for wading and the guide will stop the boat for you to get out and fish. We use nymphs and streamers and later in the evening, if conditions are right, we will switch to dries. This section of the river is very productive for both Brown and Rainbow Trout. The Petrohue River flows between the Santo Domingo Mountains and the magnificent Osorno volcano. The Petrohue float is one of the most scenic journeys in South America . A good fish in this river can range from three to eight pounds. There are also small runs of Sea Trout, Atlantic and Chinook salmon, in this case sizes can easily jump above ten pounds. At mid day we will have an unforgettable streamside lunch then continue our float downstream reaching the takeout point around 7:30 p.m. From here point we will be driven back to the lodge.

Third Day: After an early breakfast a short 10 minutes drive will take you to the beautiful Todos los Santos Lake, after 45 minutes by boat from the dock we will arrive to the fishing area. We will fish close to where mid size rivers flow into the Todos los Santos Lake. These rivers drain remote valleys of volcanic origin and its crystal clear waters run pure from the foothills of snowcapped volcanoes. We start our fishing day were the river enters the lake in search for large cruising fish that venture in the area in search for prey. Here we have the chance of hooking a real trophy. We continue fishing along the heavily vegetated lake shore where large trout wait for dragon flies or minnows, your guide will position the boat to allow you to cast to each potential spot. Here we fish mainly using dry flies but if the day is overcast or cold we will try luck with small streamers. After a streamside lunch, on our way back to the lodge, we will continue fishing along very productive reed beds. Here large Rainbows and Browns eagerly take a small streamers or dragon fly pattern. After fishing, we head back towards the lodge.

Fourth Day: Today we will fish one of the few spring creeks in Chile . It is a very productive body of water that holds one of the highest concentrations of big fish in the area. The creek is crystal clear allowing you to spot many big fish. The trick is to cast a fly close to the fish without spooking them. An advantage over many other spring creeks is that, since these fish do not see many anglers, they are not easily spooked. This will give you a good chance of hooking large Brown or Rainbow trout. A good fish for this creek can range from two to six pounds. Larger fish have been hooked but very few have been landed. This is because we usually have to use fine leaders. Fishing the creek is fun and exciting. We will have a streamside lunch with a view of the magnificent Osorno Volcano. Later we will fish another section of the creek or we will try the main river, returning to the lodge around 6:30 for dinner .

Fifth Day: After an early breakfast, the lodge's staff will drive you to the dock at Lago Todos Los Santos to board the ferry boat for the lake crossing to continue your fishing adventure at the Rio Manso lodge in Argentina.

In the late evening you arrive to Puerto Panuelo, the terminus of your wonderful Lake Crossing trip where personnel from Rio Manso Lodge will be waiting to drive you to the Lodge (2 hours approx.) There you will be served with a late dinner and get ready to start enjoying fishing the next morning. 

Sixth Day: Breakfast at 7:30 am. We leave the Lodge around 8am and fish throughout the entire day at Beat #3 of the Manso River. We drive for 10 minutes and start floating the river using a raft, stopping to fish from the banks. We use the raft only as transportation. The program starts under a small waterfall (El Abanico) some 6 km upstream from the lodge and goes through a beautiful forest. The Manso has a healthy population of Browns and Rainbows just waiting to feed. We stop on a sandy beach to have lunch (either some steaks or cold sandwiches prepared by our chef.) Fish runs, pools, riffles, pocket waters that the river has on that stretch and in the late evening we arrive to Lake Hess were we fish our jewel “The Channels” right in front of the lodge and where the Manso flows out of the Lake. 9 - 10 pm Dinner at the lodge 

Seventh Day: Breakfast at 8am and leave for Lago Fonck at 8:30. This lake, located only 5 km from the lodge, is a dry fly fishing paradise. With a large population of Rainbows, Browns and Brookies ranging from 18 to 22 inches its shores present flatlands, shallow waters, logs, and reeds making it perfect to fish with small or large dries or nymphs. Every season some 8-10 lbs fish, usually browns, are caught in these waters. At noon we have lunch on a sandy beach located in the western side of the lake only a couple kilometers from the Chilean border. We fish until dusk and when we get back to the Lodge the chef will have prepared a welcoming fire at our fireplace as well as some snacks and fine wines.

Eighth Day: Today we have breakfast a little later around 8:30pm, we leave for the river at 9am this time to fish Beat 5, this beat includes some spectacular scenic views, it is a remote place (but still we start fishing only 15 minutes from the lodge) where in order to come back we'll have to portage the gear on horseback The fishing is done in deep pools as well as some nice riffles. Being very technical fishing here, it is a real challenge, usually rewarded by a good number of healthy trout. In the early season with higher water levels streamers are very effective, however as warm temperatures trigger more and more hatches towards January and February dry flies and emergers take the best part. We'll see some beautiful waterfalls too. This particular stretch of the river is as remote as fishing can get, no other operation fishes it and while fishing these waters you'll what fly fishing pioneers would have felt 50 years ago. When we are done with the day we'll ride on horse (or walk) for 50 minutes to get back to the Lodge.

Ninth Day: This is your last fishing day, so we have some special prepared: Beat #2 is only 15 minutes upstream from our Lodge; we have to leave by 8am, getting into the water shortly after. This stretch is very particular because we are going to be fishing in between two big rapids that are 4 km apart, they practically make this beat a closed ecosystem, trouts here do not migrate to the lakes but are 100% resident due to this obstacles. Because of them this part of the river is very seldom fished.

As soon as we get some warm weather (Mid November to Early December) countless hatches of mayflies and caddies will alert you on what is going on in the water.

We will have lunch by the river and at dusk we are going to be picked up by our driver for a 10 minutes drive to the Lodge. The colour of the water, the non-existent fishing pressure and the healthy population of fish that these waters hold will make an appropriate farewell for and unforgettable trip.

Tenth Day: After an early breakfast you will be transferred by Rio Manso staff to Bariloche airport.

FUNDO EL SALTO – RIO MANSO LODGE

2005/2006 Combined Program Season Rates

US$ 5,500 per person 9 night/9 days fishing staying at Fundo El Salto / Rio Manso lodges based upon double occupancy room and a shared guide. Includes the Lake Crossing transfer.

US$ 4,300 per person 9 nights/9 day stay with 4 days fishing plus a variety of guided outdoor activities such as walks, hiking, horseback riding, tours to National parks, local villages and outdoor & crafts markets.

US$ 3,500 per person 9 night/9 days stay with a variety of guided outdoor activities such as hiking horseback riding & tours to local villages and Crafts markets.

Note: Packages consider a minimum of two persons in the group doing the same type of activities. In case a couple is doing different type of activities, to confirm this reservation we will have to check availability of guides and apply surcharge of $100 per day.

Season : Mid November – April.

Capacity : 8 guests per week.

Included: Accommodation at Fundo El Salto and Rio Manso Lodges according to program, rooms with private bath, 1 guided fishing or non – fishing activities per day, all meals, wines, beer, beverages, liquor, transfers to and from the local airports or Lake Crossing docks. Transfers to and from fishing places, fly fishing only, catch and release. Fishing licenses, Float trips include use of boats, one guide for every two anglers.

Not Included: Hotels and transfers prior to and after those included within this program use of fishing gear, flies (available for sale at the lodge), gratuities, and items of a personal nature such as laundry and telephone calls and other items not specifically mentioned as included.