Trip Report: Cinco Rios Coyhaique Chile

Summertime trout south of the equator

Another fantastic trip to the Coyhaique, Chile region is in the books! My wife Jen, a great group of friends, and I recently returned from our third visit to Cinco Rios Lodge in the heart of Patagonia.

If you aren't familiar with Cinco Rios, they operate two lodges from November to April, offering world-class trout fishing opportunities on freestones, spring creeks, and stillwaters around the Coyhaique area. The "main" lodge, Cinco Rios, is on the outskirts of Coyhaique overlooking the Simpson River valley. With access to numerous stretches of the Simpson, Maniguales, and Paloma Rivers, as well as numerous lakes with incredible trout. Estancia del Zorro is their other lodge, situated in the Coyhaique Alto zone the holds countless spring creeks and the Nireguao River. If you want a variety of trout fishing opportunities, this is the place. During the fall they have a third operation for giant lake-run brown trout, which we have done on the prior two trips as well.

If you have only a week to explore this region the ideal package is the "Best of Patagonia," which includes three days at Cinco Rios, followed by a transfer to Estancia del Zorro about an hour away. You then get to see the incredible variety of fisheries around the area... and you definitely won't fish the same spot more than once!

Everyone in our group visited this lodge before which indicates how great this operation is, as some friends have returned to Cinco Rios six times! With each visit to the Patagonia region I expect mixed weather, and overall this week was no exception, though overall I felt it was generally on the pleasant side. The second day of the trip had variable weather with squalls moving in-and-out all day. Because the region has such varied weather makes packing a little tricky, some days we were bundled up, some days it was sun hoodies and wet wading. You just never know in Patagonia.

This week included a few more days of stillwater fishing compared to past trips. Normally I'm pretty much a river angler, however, the lake fishing in this part of the world is pretty dang fun. Lake fly fishing around Coyhaique often offers visual opportunities using dry flies or dry-droppers. Even fishing with sink-tips and leeches can be visual because the lakes are so clear. Some in the group floated the Paloma, Simpson, and Maniguales Rivers during our first three days at Cinco Rios. These rivers not only offer great trout fishing, but incredible views.

Fishing is fishing though, it is not catching. Not every day is a banner, big-fish, big-numbers kinda day. Some days are spent hunting for just a few nice fish or eats. Then there are days the stars align and you get the big fish, and the big numbers. We had a little of everything. Either way, it's hard to have a bad day in Chile when you have great views, miles of water to fish, excellent meals, and the excellent service of the Cinco Rios crew.

A big THANK YOU to my friends who joined Jen and I again on this adventure to South America, and another big thank you to the Cinco Rios crew for taking good care of all of us.

If you are interested in angling adventure travel with the Silve Bow Fly Shop please reach out, we always have something in the works for future trips!