FLY FISHING BLOG

The Life Cycle of Trout


Learn about the Patagonian Trout

Our expert team is responsible for telling you the secrets underwater

In Lake Nahuel Huapi, trout compete fiercely with each other, similar to how salmon
do in the ocean. Only the strongest and healthiest trout survive, feeding on the
puyenes that abound in the lake. When trout move toward the mouth of the river to
spawn, they are less interested in feeding, making fishing more challenging during
certain months of the year.

During the months of September and October, migrating trout leave the river after
laying their eggs, but many remain in the holes, taking advantage of the abundance
of food and decreased competition. Fishing for these trout requires precision and skill,
as they are extremely alert to their surroundings.

They are trout that are very alert and lively to everything that happens around them,
which is why the shots have to be very long, very dynamic flies have to be used in the
water and, whether you want to move them from their place or deposit a small fish at
the bottom of a slide, the casting technique must be more than satisfactory, to
fall exactly two or three meters above the trout, turn the line upwards so that the drift
can be corrected and make it as natural as possible.

This whole “fishing show” is because these trout can go up to grab a fly, but they are
not going to grab a fly that looks like a lure since they are more than clever and
know how to detect lures that are always in a straight line and they never move to the sides.

If we talk about techniques learned from experience and time spent in these waters,
what we learned most is that if the trout see a fly that is swimming in what would be
diagonal, upwards, that is the best way to make them bite. There is also another
technique that is more random, which consists of hitting very long stretches on the
fly, through the line, and the trout get confused. His surroundings in the lake also
enter into this confusion.

Then, when 4 or 5 quick pulls have already been made, the trout can also get confused and think that the movement comes from a small salmon, that is, a child of theirs. In this way, they will want to eat it, since it is built into them to eat each other so that only the strongest survive

Fly Fishing in the Limay River

Once the trout has made its egg deposit and had its “happy ending” that is, once it
has procreated, it will move from that place; and in the first litter of fry almost none
will be eaten, because they are so small that the trout are not alert to them. It is only
in October/November, when these babies reach 3 or 4 cm, that they want to start
eating them. Due to this reason, mega small flies, up to 2 cm, are not useful for
fishing, because they do not alert the trout. In our company, the ones we historically
recommend the most are flies from 4 to 9 cm since they are ideal.


In addition to migratory brown trout, resident trout are also abundant, reaching up to
4 kg on average. These trout usually hide in front of stones like salmon, as well as in
ditches and well below willow trees. To move these trout from the shore is practically
impossible, unless you are lucky enough to pass a stone with your spey cast. But if
you’re in a boat it’s a lot easier, and that’s when we try to use flies that have a little
bigger head, so they move the water a little more. This quirk is what drives the
resident trout crazy.

7cm fly especially for the Limay River.

It should be noted that in most cases, trout eat because they are hungry and not
because they attack; But there are very few fish that make so much noise in the
pools, precisely because they are trained not to do so. Therefore, when someonedoes
it, it is because there is a nearby hunter alert; In this way, the trout activates a state of
alert and begins to feel that it is the owner of the pool, and it does not matter whose
food it is, but that they see it as their own. This protective action occurs because
trout come from the salmon family, where they go out into the ocean in millions and
have to compete and eat each other in order to survive.

We hope this guide to trout will help you improve your fishing skills. If you have any further questions, please feel free to contact us.

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