Limay River

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Limay River starts at the Nahuel Huapi Lake and forms the largest basin in Patagonia, 270 miles long. It starts in a transition area between the forests and the steppe.
Limay means "clear water" in the local language. It´s a big river, with many arms and islands, and it goes from deep pools to fast shallow waters. The banks are covered by willow trees, what makes the Limay hard to wade. Large migratory brown trout come from the big lake, where after feeding of "Páncoras" (a kind of fresh water crab), they get enormous!!. This browns can easily get the 10 pounds, but every season we catch a 16 pound Monster Brown. The best fishing is usually in the area between "La Boca" and Rincón Chico, the first 5 miles of the Limay.
The best time to find this monster browns in the river is the end of the season, March and April, when they start migrating into the rivers looking for spooning beds. You could also catch one during the summer, but there are fewer chances.
The Limay river is crowded of resident browns as well, they hide in pocket waters, close to the shore, or behind rocks and willows. We attract them with big streamers. As we are high, fishing from a boat, and the Limay is extremely clear, you will see them coming towards your fly.
During the summer thousands of caddies flies cover the river, giving us the chance to fish for rising fish. Some eddies have more than fifty big rainbows, between two and five pounds, feeding at one inch from the surface. We use light elk hair caddis size 16 or 18, long leaders with a 5X tippet at the end. It´s not an easy job to bring those wild rainbows to the boat after hocking them.
Don´t be put off by the size of Limay River. It´s a good idea to find a local guide with experience of the area. If you are looking for the Large migratory browns, even with a local guide it could be frustrating, but be patient, the reward could be a life time memory!!