Limay River Fly Fishing

Few rivers carry as much myth — or as many giant brown trout — as the Limay. Draining the vast, cold expanse of Lake Nahuel Huapi and running some 500 kilometres northeast across Patagonia, it is a river of two lives: an intimate, gin-clear tailwater winding through the basalt cliffs of the Valle Encantado near Bariloche, and a chain of huge dammed tailwaters marching out into the steppe. Its Mapuche name means “clear” or “limpid” — and on its day, the Limay is exactly that: transparent water over pale gravel, with browns the length of your arm holding in the current.

The Limay at a glance

• Source: the eastern end of Lake Nahuel Huapi, near Bariloche (the lake drains out into the river).
• Length: about 500 km — up to 617 km measured from its farthest headwater.
• Basin: roughly 63,700 km²; the name “Limay” is Mapuche for transparent/clear.
• Ends: at the city of Neuquén, where it joins the Río Neuquén to form the Río Negro.
• Provinces: forms the border between Neuquén and Río Negro; the upper river lies in Nahuel Huapi National Park.
• Fish: trophy resident and migratory brown trout, rainbow trout, perch, landlocked salmon and pejerrey.
• Season: 1 November to 31 May (exact dates and zones vary — see regulations).

From the lake to the Río Negro: the Limay’s course

The Limay is born where Lake Nahuel Huapi spills over its eastern shore, a short drive east of Bariloche. From that outlet it runs clear and cold through the Valle Encantado — the “Enchanted Valley,” a stretch of strange, wind-carved basalt towers — before being joined by the Río Traful at the pool-and-rock sector known as Confluencia. The Traful is a tributary, not the source: it adds its cold, salmon-holding water to a river already born from the lake.

From there the Limay swings northeast across increasingly dry country, gathering the Pichileufú, Collón Curá and Picún Leufú rivers, until it meets the Río Neuquén at the city of Neuquén. There the two rivers merge to become the Río Negro, Patagonia’s largest river, which carries the Andes’ meltwater all the way to the Atlantic. Along its 500 kilometres the Limay also marks the line between the provinces of Neuquén and Río Negro.

A staircase of dams — and why the fishing is so good

Between 1973 and 1999, five large hydroelectric dams were built along the Limay, turning much of the river into a chain of reservoirs and cold tailwaters. From upstream to downstream they are:

• Alicurá — the first and the “regulating” dam, controlling the flows of the four below it (about 1,000 MW). Its reservoir marks the downstream end of the Upper Limay.
• Piedra del Águila — the largest, at about 1,400 MW.
• Pichi Picún Leufú — a smaller station (about 261 MW).
• El Chocón — whose reservoir, the Embalse Ramos Mexía, is a vast inland sea (about 1,200 MW).
• Arroyito — the last dam before the steppe (about 120 MW).

For the angler, these dams are the whole reason the Limay grows such large fish. Below each one, the released water runs cold, clear and flow-controlled year-round — a stable tailwater that lets trout feed hard through every season and live long enough to reach exceptional size. The reservoirs also hold huge stocks of perch and pejerrey, protein that turns an ordinary brown into a fish-eating giant.

The three faces of the Limay

Upper Limay (Limay Superior)

From the Nahuel Huapi outlet down to the Alicurá reservoir — through the Valle Encantado and past the Traful confluence — this is the classic trout water, 20 to 40 minutes from Bariloche. It is clear, wadeable in places and floatable in others, holding wild rainbows and resident brown trout that reward a careful presentation. The uppermost reach, from the lake to Rincón Chico, is fly-only and strictly catch-and-release, a protected nursery of wild fish minutes from town.

Middle Limay (Limay Medio)

The tailwaters below Alicurá, Piedra del Águila and Pichi Picún Leufú run through open steppe and hold the river’s true heavyweights: resident browns fattened on perch, pejerrey and pancora, plus big migratory browns that move up out of the reservoirs. This is big-water streamer country, usually fished by float with a guide.

Lower Limay (Limay Inferior)

From Arroyito down to Neuquén, the river widens and warms, and trout gradually give way to perch, pejerrey and carp as it approaches the confluence with the Río Neuquén.

Trophy browns — resident and migratory

The Limay holds two kinds of large brown trout. Resident browns live in the river all year, holding in the deep runs and rocky drop-offs; they average 4–7 lb, with fish over 10 lb landed every season. Migratory browns run up from Nahuel Huapi and the reservoirs to spawn and reach even more extraordinary sizes, 25–33 inches. Both are wild, buttery-flanked fish, and both are protected: on the Limay, brown trout are catch-and-release by law along the entire river — one of the key reasons double-digit fish are a fishery here, not a fluke. Read our full guide to brown trout in Argentina.

Seasons and how it’s fished

The trout season runs roughly November to May and changes month to month: dry-fly fishing to mayflies and caddis in spring (November–December); terrestrials — hoppers and the Patagonian cicada — in high summer (January–February); and the streamer window in autumn (March–April), when the biggest browns turn aggressive before spawning. In a single day a good guide may switch between a dry-dropper along the rocky banks, a technical mayfly to rising fish, and a big streamer on a 200–300-grain sink-tip stripped through the deep water. For the wider calendar, see the best time to fly fish Argentina.

Fishing regulations and the Limay zones

The Limay is governed across three jurisdictions — Nahuel Huapi National Park and the provinces of Neuquén and Río Negro — and the rules change zone by zone. The essentials for the 2025/26 season are:

• Upper Limay, source to Rincón Chico (National Park): fly only, all species catch-and-release, no trolling. Navigation is prohibited in the first 400 m below the lake.
• Upper Limay, Rincón Chico to the Traful confluence: no trolling; a one-salmonid limit early season, becoming full catch-and-release from 1 April.
• Middle Limay (Neuquén / Río Negro zones, between the dams): single barbless hook, limited rainbow harvest, and all salmonids released in several sub-zones; some stretches are fly-only or wade-only.
• Brown trout are catch-and-release across the entire river — the single most important rule on the Limay.

Rules that apply everywhere: single barbless hooks in catch-and-release water; fishing during daylight hours only (specific windows change by month); and — because of the invasive alga didymo — felt-soled wading boots are banned and all gear must be disinfected before and after fishing. Foreign anglers must fish with new or disinfected equipment, and exact dates are set annually, so always confirm the current season’s regulation. For licences and how the permit system works, see our guide to fishing licences in Argentina.

Getting there and logistics

The Upper Limay is one of the easiest trophy tailwaters in the world to reach: it lies just 20–40 minutes east of Bariloche, whose airport (BRC) has daily flights from Buenos Aires and a full range of lodges, guides and outfitters. The middle and lower river are more remote, reached from towns such as Piedra del Águila or from the Neuquén area, and are usually fished on a float trip arranged through a lodge or guide. See our Bariloche fishing guide for the wider area.

Frequently asked questions about the Limay River

Plan your Limay River trip

Whether you want a technical dry-fly day on the Upper Limay or a shot at a resident giant on a streamer downstream, we can match you with the lodges and guides who know this river best. Tell us your dates, budget and style, and we’ll do the rest.