Next morning we went by a small private plane to Lake Strobel or “Jurassic Lake” as it is often called. On the way we had a chance to enjoy truly cosmic landscapes of the south of Patagonia.

Actually, Patagonia does not astonish you at once, but the stunning beauty of the sunrises and sunsets in Patagonia reminiscent of northern lights (aurora borealis) fascinates you insensibly and remains in memory for long.

It is here that the largest rainbow trout in the world can reach the incredible 12 kilos! The lake is densely populated with small crustaceans resembling shrimps and due to this the population of the rainbow trout is so great and rich in trophy specimens.

We were accommodated in a comfortable lodge, had excellent Argentine meat for lunch and went fishing. All we had to do was just walk down to the lake.

The lodge is located perfectly. The estuary of the only river flowing into the lake is 400 meters from the lodge and the bay with the largest trout specimens is 200 meters away.

We settled in the mouth of the river and soon got enough fish. I watched the guides’ reaction to our trophies (the hugest fish reached 6 kilos).

No excitement on their faces. In any other part of the world the trout of such a size would have caused a real rush.

I left the guys fishing in the best fishing spot and went to explore the so-called “Bay of Fat Fish”.

The name of the bay precisely conveys the size and shape of the fish inhabiting the bay. All the records of Jurassic Lake were set exactly here. The bay “works” well starting with lunch, the wind becomes stronger and the waves raise crustaceans from the bottom which attract a great number of large fresh trout from the very depths of the lake to the bay.

Fly fishing at the wind of 40-50 km per hour was quite strange for me. Later under Igor’s guidance, Alexander and I were fishing successfully even at a stronger wind, and Igor himself made excellent casts at the wind of 70 km per hour! Apparently, if the technique is correct, the wind is not a problem!

However, I digress from the story of the first day of fishing. Having caught a pair of worthy trout with the #7 rod equipped with the floating line with a shooting head and a tiny nymph on the 15 lb fluorocarbon tippet, I was deeply imbued with this exciting fishing.

The water in the bay is clear even at a strong wind, and the silhouettes of huge fish appearing at a slight distance from the shore caused frequent and sharp adrenaline rush to the blood. The bait is so tiny that it’s fit to catch a small trout of 400-500 g, but not monsters weighing 5-6 kilos!

Now you can understand my astonishment when a huge fish of a medium Chinook size struck on this tackle! After the first jerk with a series of jumps the fish reeled the whole fishing line and half the backing out and broke the fishing rod. The rod, apparently, had been damaged during my fishing for the peacock bass in Brazil. But whatever it was, I was left alone with this “torpedo” having only a piece of stick with a reel in my hands. But luckily, the trout turned towards the shore and let me win the backing and a part of the line back.

Another 20 min of fighting, and I was able to lead the fish to the stones on which I was standing. One of our guides, Julian, came just in time to help me. He managed to grab the broken part of the rod which had been slipping along the line and could have knocked the tiny hook out of the mouth of my trophy and gave it to me. I clamped the place of breakdown with my hand, regained my advantage, and could finally bring the fish into a small cavity between the stones and pick it up. Going to Lake Strobel, I was not ready to fight against really great rainbow trout, and the fish I had just caught, by all means, exceeded my expectations.

We weighed the fish, it was 9 kilos, the scales were of the absolute silvery color and there was a faint reddish stripe in the back part, and the shape of the fish was more typical for the Chinook than for the trout. After a short photo session we released the fish and it went into the depths of the lake so vigorously as if our 30-minute fighting had never existed.

We took what was left of the fishing rod and together with Julian headed towards the lodge to have some Malbec wine and discuss all the details of such a great day with the guys.

Fishing is Argentina is unthinkable without delicious cuisine and excellent wine. We had got ready for the trip beforehand. We had bought almost all the top-10 Argentine wines in Buenos Aires. By the way, the masterpieces of local winemakers are not so expensive. And every evening we tasted one of the famous wines we had brought.

There can stay up to 10 anglers in the lodge in the rooms with 2 large beds, gas heating and hot water. The conditions here are excellent not only for fishing but for the comfortable rest as well.

The lake view from the dining room window is terrific. You can sit on the sofa having a glass of wine and watching the anglers fishing in the river delta.

The rest days we were fishing not only at the confluence of the river into the lake and in the bays, but in the river itself where in the clear pool with the depth of 5-6 meters we could see trout of unreal sizes.

It’s one thing to see these “mastodons” and quite another to make them strike!

Dry flies, mice, streamers, zonkers, nymphs, tube flies, and even Booby Nymph! We tried everything, but could not catch a fish larger than 6 kilos, though, we could watch the specimens weighing more than 12 kilos from the breakage.

The fantastic fish coloring and its powerful resistance with a lot of jumps out of the water induced us to stay longer in this amazing place. When we came here, we were a little bit afraid that we would be bored with fishing in the lake with such a great number of fish soon. But the right choice of the fishing season, the fighting qualities of the trout, its selectivity and caution created a unique “cocktail” which can be enjoyed infinitely.

I tried to fish with a spinning rod and got a few significant specimens, but could not overstep the 9-kilogram line.

The fishing was so exciting that we stayed on the lake two days longer, but still, we left it with regret. We were going to the Gallegos River for the sea trout,

but I was still thinking about the huge trout we had not been able to provoke to strike.

Some dates are still available for Jurassic Lake fishing this season! Book in advance!

You can combine the trip here with the sea trout fishing in the “Land of Fire” in Patagonia, with the Chinook fishing in Argentina and Chile, as well as, with the trip to the jungle part of Argentina or Paraguay for the golden dorado. Argentina offers ample opportunities for trophy fishing at a high level of comfort and logistics. There is a variety of options. Write to our e-mail:!