Escape Winter. Fish Patagonia.

Have you dreamed of a great escape from the winter in the Pacific NW? Or just had it in your mind to visit Patagonia since you read Roderick Haig Brown’s Fisherman’s Winter? Perhaps you saw too many Fly Fishing Film Tours with the Andes as the backdrop and the trout as the highlight!

There is no better place than Patagonia to experience some of the most beautiful fly fishing of your life.

An Exceptional Patagonia Trip—At an Exceptional Price

In Argentina we offer one of the best priced trips you’ll find in all of Patagonia with Southern Loops Fly Fishing. In many cases we are 30% less expensive and fishing the same waters as our competition.

Hosted Trip Dates for Winter 2026–27

Our winter 2026–27 dates include:

• December 5–12, 2026 (yes you’ll be home in plenty of time for Christmas… and you’ll be happier)
• January 9–16, 2027
• January 16–23, 2027

All three of these weeks are hosted by Jeff Perin. If you have dates in February or March we can professionally arrange it all for you from start to finish.

Your Week in Northern Patagonia

Here are the details of the trip:

Arrival in San Martín de los Andes

Saturday morning the entire group will board an Aerolineas Argentinas 737 from Buenos Aires flying south for just under two hours, landing near the gorgeous resort town of San Martin de Los Andes.

On our first night, we are welcomed to a special home cooked asado (Argentine BBQ) at the home of the outfitter’s family and we get ready for the fishing week ahead.

Fishing begins after breakfast Sunday, and we are headed to float down and camp on one of the best stretches of river in Northern Patagonia. The Southern Loops camp is deluxe with spacious tents, set up with cots for every two people. A dining tent, kitchen tent and even a chemical toilet round out our comfortable camp.

Two Days of Deluxe Riverside Camping

If we are going to camp, we might as well do it in style with outstanding food, a full bar and stars that shine brightly every night. I am talking about both the celestial ones and the guides and especially the generous camp staff. The camp also allows us to fish waters not normally accessible on a single day trip, often resulting in more catches.

Four More Days on Patagonia’s Legendary Rivers

While the first two days are on the camp stretch, the next four days include day trips from our comfortable accommodations at Le Village Hotel in San Martin de Los Andes.

The Rivers We’ll Fish

Throughout the week we will float down the Rio Alumine, Rio Collon Curra, and Rio Chimehuen. Our camp trips in January and February are on the Rio Chimehuen.

The December trip is on the Rio Caleufu and is two nights camping to achieve the distance needed to go through the canyon to the take out.

Wading Is Optional

For our January and February trips it is not necessary to bring your waders and boots as 100% of the fishing can be done from the rafts and drift boats. If you want, pack your wading boots and neoprene socks from home and you can add a wade trip to the lower stretch of the Rio Caleufu.

More Than a Fishing Lodge Experience

One of the things our customers like so much about this trip is the fact we are not in a “lodge”, instead we are integrated in this vibrant mountain town and living in the culture of the Argentine people. For four of the nights we go out to dinner as a group, and we get to experience the vibrancy of the town, taste the local food, and see life in real time in a safe and wonderful foreign place.

Personally Hosted by Jeff Perin

When I host these trips I will be traveling with you, and I coordinate all of our dinners nightly. I always have a plan as to where we will go out after fishing and with over 31 trips already to Patagonia I have learned the best spots. It is fun and vibrant and we will collect as many memories as possible along the rivers by day and throughout the town in the evenings.

A Memorable Final Evening

After fishing on Friday we go back to a farewell dinner hosted by the outfitter and their family. This has proved to be a very special night and nearly everyone who’s been here doesn’t want the trip to end, or dreams of going back. I get it, which is why I keep going too.

One Last Morning in San Martín

Saturday morning we go for breakfast at Fiora, one of SMDLA’s best breakfast spots and certainly the top coffee in the town. We have some time to shop for a gift for a loved one at home, or for ourselves. San Martin de Los Andes is very walkable and you’ll learn the shops on two or three of the streets and want to check them out before you leave. Saturday afternoon we will return to Buenos Aires and then transfer to the international airport for an overnight flight back to the USA arriving home on Sunday.

Getting to Argentina

I prefer Delta from Redmond to Buenos Aires, going through their hub in Atlanta. American through Dallas is another option many of our travelers take along with United through Houston.

Coordinated Flights and Airport Transfers

Our travel logistics partner Travel Dreamers in Buenos Aires can arrange your domestic flights so we are all coordinated on the same flights down and back. Travel Dreamers can also assist all of us with our ground transportation between the domestic and international airports.

Add a Stay in Buenos Aires

Not everyone does it, but I will say that staying in Buenos Aires is one of the best parts of the trip. Sure, getting on a Patagonian trout stream is the best part, but Buenos Aires is amazing and worth a day or two on the way down. We have you covered for that too, from hotels to city tours, food, wine, museums, and so much more. If you like history mixed with a vibrant lifestyle and really good food you will enjoy BA too.

What to Bring

When you go on this trip the gear you bring will depend on the month you choose to go.

This area of Argentine Patagonia is arid like central Oregon, but you’ll always want to pack a rain jacket for afternoon thunderstorms.

• In December you’ll want waders and boots, and a 6 and 7 weight rod.
• In January and February you can leave the waders home and travel lighter, even choosing to leave boots behind if you want to be as light as possible.
  • At this time of the season a 5 and 6 weight (4 pc) rod are useful.
  • I also like a sink tip line for the 6 and fish some wooly buggers and small minnow streamers with this set up.
• There is a lot of dry fly fishing to be enjoyed down here! Dry flies and nymphs are included in the price of your trip, and I can help you with a small selection of streamers to take from home.

The Rivers, Landscapes and Hatches

You’ll feel a similarity of the river around San Martin de Los Andes to rivers in Montana. Some of the mountain vistas are rugged and green, while others are dry with a ribbon of willow trees growing thick for miles down the banks. Hatches are not too different than ours at home with mayflies and caddis dominating the aquatic hatches. Cicadas have proven to be the most consistent terrestrial, but ants, beetles, and grasshoppers can be quite productive throughout the season too.

Jeff’s Top Patagonia Flies

My top flies in the region include:

• Grey or Purple Parawulff’s #12-14
• Corn Fed Caddis #14
• Chubby’s in purple, royal and tan #6-12
• Cicada #8-10
• Peacock PMX #10-12
• Purple PMX #10-16
• Perdigons in Brown and Olive and Red #12-16
• Copper John #12-16
• Olive or Black Conehead Rubber Leg Wooly Bugger #8
• Jig Minnow #12
• Croston’s Minnow #12

*Last season I spent 3 full weeks on the rivers around SMDLA and experienced the rivers in three different seasons and vastly different water levels, by far the Crostons Jig Minnow was my #1 fly.

Two Only-in-Patagonia Fishing Experiences

There are two “hatches” that will happen in this part of Patagonia that you could encounter that you will only see here.

The Willow Worm Drop

Earlier in the season there is a massive willow worm drop from the trees that every trout in the river wants to gorge themselves on. The guides tie flies all winter in anticipation of this and it can be some of the most fun dry fly fishing of your life.

The Minnow Migration

Later in the season on the Rio Collon Curra and Rio Caleufu there is a minnow that hatches on these two rivers and once they reach about 3 inches long they begin migrating to the reservoir below. Have you fished a streamer in inches of water and had a large rainbow trout take it with such force you had the rod nearly torn from your hands? Then you’re simply holding on for dear life as the powerful trout tail walks downstream.

We’ll Help You Prepare

As we get organized for the trip I will send out a complete packing list and help you get organized. For new anglers going on this trip it is more about getting them to leave a few things at home rather than worrying they are going to forget something important. We will dial it in together.

Who Is This Trip For?

A fly fishing trip to northern Patagonia is really for anyone who has the stamina for travel to South America. The ages of our guests is usually early 60’s to upper 70’s, but we’ve taken families with boys in their 20’s and men and women who are feeling great about life in their 80’s.

Couples

A lot of our guests go as couples and we believe this to be an ideal couples trip for a number of reasons. Starting in Buenos Aires the fun and sophistication of travel is perfect for couples, and in Patagonia the atmosphere the family generates is really kind, along with the vibrancy of the town and the comforts of fishing from the boat at all times if desired.

Friends and Fishing Groups

For our “guys” who make up the majority of the guests going on our trips, the adventure of the camp, seeing great scenery and challenging your skills to catch the biggest and most trout of the trip seem to be the appeal. Oh, and cracking a beer at 11AM on the raft after catching several trout that morning.

Women and New Anglers

We have also hosted entire groups of women anglers, some of whom have never tried fly fishing before arriving to the waters around San Martin de Los Andes, and who had the time of their lives.

We hope you can join us for a trip of a lifetime.

Ready to Fish Patagonia?

These trips are intentionally kept small, and once a week fills, we cannot add more boats or anglers. If Patagonia has been sitting on your fly-fishing wish list, this may be the year to stop dreaming about it and make the trip.

Join Jeff for one of our hosted weeks:

December 5–12, 2026
January 9–16, 2027
January 16–23, 2027

The cost is $5,500 per person for the week. You’ll fish some of northern Patagonia’s most celebrated rivers, spend two nights at our deluxe riverside camp, explore San Martín de los Andes, and experience the region with a host who has made more than 31 trips to Patagonia—all at a price often 30% below comparable trips fishing the same waters.

Whether you’re traveling alone, as a couple, or with a group of friends, we’ll help coordinate every part of the journey, from domestic flights and airport transfers to Buenos Aires hotels, tours, gear, and packing.

Contact us at (541) 549-3474 or greendrakehatch@gmail.com to check availability, receive complete trip details, and reserve your place.

Patagonia is a long way to travel—but these are the weeks anglers talk about for the rest of their lives. We hope you’ll be there with us.