After flying overnight from Atlanta to Santiago, my dad and I met John & Norm at the airport. Our traveling was far from over, though. We then flew two hours to Puerto Montt and another hour on a small plane to Chaiten. At Chaiten, we loaded into a Land Rover and drove about three hours on a gravel road before we arrived at El Patagon Lodge. We were greeted by our three guides. They gave us a quick tour of the grounds after our brief orientation.

Despite its remote location, El Patagon Lodge is very well appointed. It has four spacious guest cabins complete with wood stoves, full bathroom facilities, sofas, and comfortable beds with soft down comforters. The dining area is also very spacious and comfortable. Throughout the week we would be treated to many excellent meals.

I was also very impressed by the quality of the equipment. As we drove in the driveway we passed by an armada of boats. Four 18' G3 jet boats with 90HP Yamaha engines, two Aire Super Puma rafts, and two AIRE Jaguarundi catarafts. I later discovered they had three more Super Puma rafts stashed at local lakes. I've been to lodges in the states that were not half as well outfitted!

El Patagon Lodge sits on the banks of the Rio Figueroa, which was swollen with rainwater when we arrived. Even when it's in fishable shape, this is a HUGE river. As is the Rio Rosselot, another river fished by El Patagon's guides and guests. The lodge is in a temperate rainforest, and it had rained for three days straight prior to our arrival. The Figueroa appeared to be flowing at about 10,000cfs. The only river I've seen at home that looks anything like it is the Smith in northern California.

With the rivers too high to fish, we spent the first two days fishing some local lakes. My first day of fishing in Chile was spent with my dad and guide Cameron Miller on Lago Rosselot. We fished this large body of water from a jet boat. Lago Rosselot is very scenic, with dozens of waterfalls coming off the steep hills into the lake. Snow-capped peaks are always visible. A glacier feeds one of the major tributaries to the lake, giving it a milky green color.

Cam set us up with sinking lines and various streamer patterns. We cast towards a shoreline thick with submerged trees and other structure. I hooked and landed my first South American trout right away. It was a 15" rainbow, and it was followed quickly by a nice brown about 20". We spent the day fishing the waterfalls and other likely spots, catching fish frequently.

The next day we went out with a Chilean guide named Felipe. He took us to Lago Muerto, where John and Norm had gone the first day. Muerto is a small lake that is in fact very alive with fish. It has rainbows, browns, and brook trout. I started off with a sly line and a leech while my dad fished a big beetle pattern on the surface. He landed a 16" brook trout right away, and I quickly switched over to a floating line with a beetle pattern. Felipe maneuvered the raft so that we could cast close to the bank and areas with good structure. I caught my two biggest fish that day. They were browns of 22" and 23.5". Great fish!

By the third day the rivers were finally low enough to fish. The guides decided to float Rio Pico, a very pretty tributary to the Rio Figueroa. We drove an hour and a half to the put-in, near a town called Lago Verde. Norm and John fi