Jurassic Lake, Argentina
April 2024
I first heard of Lake Strobel, aka Jurassic Lake, in 2006 in an Australian fishing magazine. The article contained wild tales of a remote lake with unbelievably big Rainbow Trout in a harsh and windy place. At that time, there were no lodges on the lake, just a tent camp. Over the years, as the fame of the fishery grew, two lodges were built there and the logistics became a little easier, although the journey was still long. I kept tabs on the place over the years, hoping to eventually make it there.
Fortune finally smiled on me in 2024 and I was able to make the long trek down to fish Jurassic Lake. I decided to book through Yellow Dog Flyfishing (www.yellowdogflyfishing.com) at Estancia Laguna Verde (www.estancialagunaverde.com). The other primary lodge there has an excellent location on the lake, but does not have access to many spots outside of their limited area. Estancia Laguna Verde has access to the whole rest of the lake as well as the Barrancoso River, which also has outstanding fishing at certain times of the year.
I chose April because it was supposedly the least windy month and because that was supposed to be a good time to fish the river, which adds some variety. Even in the supposedly least windy month, it was still extremely windy. Cool air from the Pacific comes into southern Patagonia, becomes much colder as it goes over the Andes, and then whips across the land towards the warmer air of the Atlantic. It is no wonder the area around Jurassic Lake has almost no inhabitants, although there is evidence of some indigenous people from long ago who probably did not know that almost anywhere else would have been a better place to settle.
The trip down was long but uneventful; I got a direct flight from Houston to Buenos Aires, overnighted there, and then flew to El Calafate in southern Patagonia. The domestic airport was packed with Argentines headed various places for the Easter holiday. I got picked up at the airport and taken 2.5 hours in a van to a meeting spot where a 4x4 took me another 2.5 hours on some rough roads to the lodge.
April 2024
I first heard of Lake Strobel, aka Jurassic Lake, in 2006 in an Australian fishing magazine. The article contained wild tales of a remote lake with unbelievably big Rainbow Trout in a harsh and windy place. At that time, there were no lodges on the lake, just a tent camp. Over the years, as the fame of the fishery grew, two lodges were built there and the logistics became a little easier, although the journey was still long. I kept tabs on the place over the years, hoping to eventually make it there.
Fortune finally smiled on me in 2024 and I was able to make the long trek down to fish Jurassic Lake. I decided to book through Yellow Dog Flyfishing (www.yellowdogflyfishing.com) at Estancia Laguna Verde (www.estancialagunaverde.com). The other primary lodge there has an excellent location on the lake, but does not have access to many spots outside of their limited area. Estancia Laguna Verde has access to the whole rest of the lake as well as the Barrancoso River, which also has outstanding fishing at certain times of the year.
I chose April because it was supposedly the least windy month and because that was supposed to be a good time to fish the river, which adds some variety. Even in the supposedly least windy month, it was still extremely windy. Cool air from the Pacific comes into southern Patagonia, becomes much colder as it goes over the Andes, and then whips across the land towards the warmer air of the Atlantic. It is no wonder the area around Jurassic Lake has almost no inhabitants, although there is evidence of some indigenous people from long ago who probably did not know that almost anywhere else would have been a better place to settle.
The trip down was long but uneventful; I got a direct flight from Houston to Buenos Aires, overnighted there, and then flew to El Calafate in southern Patagonia. The domestic airport was packed with Argentines headed various places for the Easter holiday. I got picked up at the airport and taken 2.5 hours in a van to a meeting spot where a 4x4 took me another 2.5 hours on some rough roads to the lodge.
A view of the Andes on the way to the lodge. Mount Fitz Roy, which is shown in the Patagonia clothing brand logo, was not visible due to clouds.
The lodge is very comfortable and holds a maximum of 12 guests. It's located on Laguna Verde, a small lake a short drive from Jurassic Lake. The only people there when I arrived were 3 retired gentlemen from California. Later in the week, some Argentines joined us. I got my own room and went to bed to be fresh for fishing the next morning.
Sunrise from my room at Estancia Laguna Verde Lodge
Meals at the lodge were quite fancy, especially dinner. I wish I was a wine drinker, because the region is famous for its wines and there were many available at the lodge for guests. A highlight for me were the Argentine-style asado barbecues. Lamb is a Patagonia specialty and we had some delicious meats all through the week.
Living area of the lodge
Some Patagonian lamb about to be eaten
A+ for both taste and presentation
Rather than give a blow-by-blow account of each day, I'll just summarize with descriptions of the fishing at both Jurassic Lake and the Barrancoso River.
Jurassic Lake is quite large, and with the rough roads it takes about 3 hours to drive around it. There are many little bays and coves where fish come close to shore to feed on scuds and other small morsels. That's fortunate, because the wind makes fishing with a boat here extremely dangerous so it really isn't done. All fishing here is fly fishing, and the primary flies we used are shown in the photo below. We either stripped them slowly along the bottom or suspended them under an indicator if the wind made it too difficult to repeatedly cast. I fished an 8wt rod in the lake with floating line. I added a sink tip when stripping flies to help get them down.
Jurassic Lake is quite large, and with the rough roads it takes about 3 hours to drive around it. There are many little bays and coves where fish come close to shore to feed on scuds and other small morsels. That's fortunate, because the wind makes fishing with a boat here extremely dangerous so it really isn't done. All fishing here is fly fishing, and the primary flies we used are shown in the photo below. We either stripped them slowly along the bottom or suspended them under an indicator if the wind made it too difficult to repeatedly cast. I fished an 8wt rod in the lake with floating line. I added a sink tip when stripping flies to help get them down.
A view of one side of Jurassic Lake
The main setup I used in the lake: 8wt Sage X fly rod with an Abel Vaya reel
Most of the fish on the trip were caught on these flies or very similar ones. Even the huge fish eat relatively small things here.
Jurassic Lake provides an ideal growing environment for trout with no natural predators, and the Rainbows take full advantage. The average fish caught in the lake is an incredible 8lbs, with very few small fish caught. I think the smallest fish I caught in the lake was around 6lbs. I saw several fish that more than doubled the 8lb average in the course of my stay. The fish were not easy to catch though. I was fishing at the end of the season and the weather was getting colder. In many warmer areas, the colder weather helps to stimulate the trout to feed more, but in Jurassic Lake it is cold all year so the fish actually prefer the warmer days to feed. Every morning was in the high 20s to low 30s with lots of freezing wind. It sometimes warmed to the 50s in the afternoon, but the wind kept me from ever feeling very warm. Luckily I had packed a lot of warm clothes, because I needed all of them.
Fishing spots were largely determined by the wind. If the wind was lower, say under 20kts, you could fish almost anywhere in the lake. Unfortunately, the wind was only that low for a few hours during my entire week. When the wind started to really howl, there were two relatively protected bays to fish; one near the lodge and one across the lake about and hour and a half away. These spots were still pretty windy, but the wind came from behind so it was easier to cast. We fished the one near the lodge a lot, and it always produced at least a couple of fish for our group of 4 if you were patient. The one day we fished the one across the lake, it was productive and I landed my biggest fish of the week there.
The Rainbows in Jurassic Lake are not like trout I have seen anywhere else. Their average girth is much bigger than normal due to the unlimited food sources and lack of predators. Chrome fish in prime condition can put up a terrific fight, and several of them had me sweating and wondering whether I would land them or not after multiple long runs.
Fishing spots were largely determined by the wind. If the wind was lower, say under 20kts, you could fish almost anywhere in the lake. Unfortunately, the wind was only that low for a few hours during my entire week. When the wind started to really howl, there were two relatively protected bays to fish; one near the lodge and one across the lake about and hour and a half away. These spots were still pretty windy, but the wind came from behind so it was easier to cast. We fished the one near the lodge a lot, and it always produced at least a couple of fish for our group of 4 if you were patient. The one day we fished the one across the lake, it was productive and I landed my biggest fish of the week there.
The Rainbows in Jurassic Lake are not like trout I have seen anywhere else. Their average girth is much bigger than normal due to the unlimited food sources and lack of predators. Chrome fish in prime condition can put up a terrific fight, and several of them had me sweating and wondering whether I would land them or not after multiple long runs.
A big trout caught in the relatively protected bay near the lodge on the last cast before lunch. My guide Esteban was great all week.
A beautifully colored specimen
The water in the lake is clean and clear, which enabled me to see the occasional trout swimming by. Most of these fish ignored my fly when I put it in front of them. Most of my bites were from fish farther out that presumably couldn't see me.
This fish put up the strongest fight of any I hooked on the trip. I felt lucky to land it after 4 blistering runs and a lot of steering it away from rocks.
A little sprinkling of snow one morning at the lodge.
This spot was not protected from the wind, so I was only able to fish it a couple of hours. However, two of my best fish of the trip came from here.
A view of the moon-like shoreline
We climbed over the rocky shoreline and looked for spots where the dropoff to deep water was close to shore. The guides were very familiar with all the spots and helped us position ourselves for success.
My largest fish of the trip, caught on the last cast of the day on Day 5
|
|
All fish were released
The other great fishery I got to experience on this trip was the Barrancoso River. It is the only river flowing into Jurassic Lake. It's fairly small; really more like a creek than a river. During most of the year, it is just inhabited by smaller trout that live there all the time. However, twice a year the huge trout from the lake migrate up the river to spawn. The first migration occurs in the Patagonian spring of Oct/Nov. This is a massive run of fish that completely fills the river. There are so many trout in the river at this time, it is generally unfishable because every cast snags a fish and there is really no challenge. The second run occurs in the fall (April), when I went. This is a much smaller run, but the fish are big.
The Barrancoso River
The river provided an excellent alternative to the lake when the winds came up because it was mostly sheltered from the wind. The large trout were concentrated in the deeper pools, where they waited before continuing up the river to spawn. I don't know of anywhere else in the world where such a small river holds such large trout. When you hooked one, it was complete chaos as there was no controlling such large fish. Many fish headed downstream and you had to scramble over rocks to chase them and hopefully land them in the next pool down. The casualty rate was pretty high with pulled hooks and broken lines, especially on the chrome fish fresh from the lake.
My first fish in the river. Its color had not yet darkened, indicating it was fresh from the lake. It put up a tremendous fight.
I was able to capture my fishing partner's fish taking flight
Fishing the river involved some hiking between the limited number of pools that held fish, which helped to keep me warm. The wind was mostly blocked on the river, and even when some wind would come down the canyon, you could still make casts in between gusts. However, one afternoon was so windy, that it was even blowing hard when we went to the river. Every once in a while a huge gust would rush down the canyon, making it hard to stand. When we came to a pool with a large boulder overlooking it, I decided to fish sitting down in order to not risk losing my balance and falling in if a big gust came. I sat down square in the middle of the boulder and hunched down to present a smaller profile in the wind. However, a massive gust roared down the canyon, picked me up, and threw me into the river. I have never experienced anything like it. With all my gear I weighed closed to 200lbs, and was sitting hunched down, and still got lifted completely into the air by the wind. I would not have guessed it was possible. Luckily, the water broke my fall and somehow my rod didn't hit any of the many rocks. I was completely unhurt, but it was an eye-opening experience.
Another silver river fish taking flight
A very large river fish that had been in the river for a little while and had started to darken
Guide Esteban netting another big fish
A stunning male caught in the river. This fish was landed two pools down from where it was hooked and required some scrambling
Oddly enough, that super windy day was my best afternoon fishing the river. I landed 4 big fish, at least 10 of the smaller native river fish, and lost a couple big ones as well. Overall I enjoyed fishing the river more than the lake; it was so exciting to hook such large fish in such skinny water.
One of the smaller beautifully colored fish that live in the river all year
Sadly, I only had 5 days to fish before I had to go home. I ended up landing 17 of the bigger fish and about 30 of the smaller native ones in the river for the trip. I have fished for Rainbow Trout all of my adult life all over the place including Alaska, Canada, Montana, Colorado, California, etc and the biggest trout of my life were all landed at Jurassic Lake and the Barrancoso River. The wind and cold were getting old by the end of the week, but I thoroughly enjoyed my time in southern Patagonia at Estancia Laguna Verde, which I highly recommend.
Llama-like Guanacos were everywhere and showed little fear of people
Ostrich-like Darwin's Rhea were sometimes spotted
One of the lodge cats thinning out the birdlife