Fly Fishing in San Martín de los Andes

San Martín de los Andes is the most comfortable base in Argentina’s finest trout country — a beautiful, cosmopolitan mountain town on the shore of Lago Lácar, wrapped in the peaks and araucaria forests of Lanín National Park. From here, the legendary rivers of northern Neuquén — the Chimehuín, the Malleo, the Aluminé, the Collón Curá — are all within easy reach, and after a day on the water you come home to boutique hotels, serious restaurants and craft-beer bars. For anglers who want world-class fishing without roughing it, this is the place.

Why base your fishing trip in San Martín

San Martín is the polished, resort side of Northern Patagonian fly fishing. It is walkable and refined — chocolate shops and cafés, a lakefront on Lácar, fine dining and craft breweries — yet it sits at the doorstep of the same rivers that made the region world-famous. If your travelling companions want more than fishing, or you simply like your comfort at the end of a long day on the river, San Martín delivers it while keeping the Chimehuín, Malleo and Aluminé within a short drive. (For the angler who wants to be right on the water in a quieter, fishing-first town, see its sister base, Junín de los Andes, 40 minutes north.)

The waters

San Martín puts a lifetime of water within reach, most of it in and around Lanín National Park:

• The Chimehuín — Argentina’s most storied trout river, a big wadeable freestone flowing from Lago Huechulafquen, famous for large brown trout.
• The Malleo — a world-class dry-fly river dropping from Lago Tromen beneath the Lanín volcano, with prolific caddis and mayfly hatches.
• The Aluminé and Collón Curá — bigger freestone float rivers to the north and east, with strong wild trout and prolific numbers.
• The lakes — Lácar, Lolog, Meliquina and the volcano lakes, superb for boca and shoreline fishing, holding big browns, rainbows and landlocked salmon.

The fish

The rivers and lakes hold wild brown trout, rainbow trout and, in the colder headwaters and lakes, brook trout, plus landlocked salmon in the big lakes — wild, self-sustaining fish for over a century.

Fly-fishing guides

San Martín has one of the deepest benches of professional guides and outfitters in Patagonia, running both float trips (drifting the Chimehuín, Aluminé or Collón Curá in a raft or drift boat) and walk-and-wade days on rivers like the Malleo. A good guide is worth every peso here: they read the day’s conditions, match the water to your ability, handle the licence and logistics, and put you on fish you would never find alone. We can arrange the right guide for your dates and style as part of organising your trip.

Lodges and where to stay

Accommodation ranges from boutique hotels and cabins in town — ideal if you want restaurants and nightlife on your doorstep — to dedicated fishing lodges and estancias out along the rivers, where everything is built around the fishing and the guiding is in-house. Which suits you depends on whether you’re travelling with non-anglers, how much comfort you want, and how close to the water you’d like to wake up. Tell us your priorities and we’ll match you with the right base.

Fishing shops (casas de pesca)

San Martín has well-stocked fly shops — casas de pesca — in town, where you can buy flies tied for the local hatches, leaders and tippet, pick up or renew a fishing licence, and get honest, current intel on which rivers are fishing and what they’re taking. They’re an essential first stop for the independent angler and a good place to top up even on a guided trip.

Fishing on your own (DIY & wade access)

You don’t always need a guide here. Several rivers — stretches of the Chimehuín around Junín, and the wadeable Malleo — offer good public, walk-and-wade access, and the lake shores and bocas can be fished from the bank. With a licence, a map and local advice from a fly shop, a competent angler can have superb self-guided days, keeping a guided float or two for the bigger water.

When to go

The season runs November to April: spring for hatches and clearing water, January–February for dry-fly and terrestrial fishing (hoppers and the Patagonian cicada), and March–April for big browns on streamers. See our guide to the best time to fly fish Argentina.

Getting there

Fly into Chapelco (CPC), 20 minutes from San Martín, with connections through Buenos Aires; many anglers also arrive via Bariloche (BRC), about a three-hour drive south along the scenic Seven Lakes Road. The town has the full range of services, transfers and rental cars.

Beyond the fishing

San Martín is a genuine destination in its own right — perfect for mixed groups. Cruise or kayak on Lago Lácar, drive the famous Seven Lakes Road, ride to the beach at Quila Quina, ski at Cerro Chapelco in winter, explore Lanín National Park and its araucaria forests, and enjoy the town’s celebrated food and craft beer.

Frequently asked questions about fishing in San Martín de los Andes

Let us organise your San Martín trip

The Chimehuín, the Malleo and the comfort of one of Patagonia’s loveliest towns — we can put the whole trip together: guides, lodging, licences, transfers and the right water for your dates. Tell us your plans and we’ll handle the rest.