The short answer
An April week on turquoise water under a wall of rock, in the autumn of our Close Season (March 1 to April 30). Gabrielle and Connor, two anglers from the US, spent a full All Inclusive week out of Coyhaique, Chilean Patagonia, fishing different waters with dry flies, streamers and nymphs. They had incredible brown trout fishing that week, and the week had a local side: they connected with the culture and shared an asado patagón.
- When: , Close Season, one full week.
- Where: Coyhaique, Aysén Region, Chilean Patagonia. Different waters; the photos here were taken on a lake.
- Program: All Inclusive, seven nights, two anglers.
- Anglers: Gabrielle and Connor, from the US.
- Fish: brown trout.
- Techniques: dry flies, streamers and nymphs.
What did an April week of brown trout fishing out of Coyhaique look like?
Gabrielle and Connor took the All Inclusive in April 2026. That is Close Season, the last stretch of our season: it runs March 1 to April 30, and our guided operation ends on April 30. They had incredible brown trout fishing that week, and the photos below show some of it.
The program is seven nights with six full days of guided fishing, Sunday through Friday, for up to two anglers at a time. Lodging, meals, transport, a bilingual guide and the licence are in it; flights to Balmaceda and your own rods and waders are not.
Is April a good month to fly fish around Coyhaique?
April is the second half of our Close Season, March 1 to April 30, and the end of the guided season. Days are cooler and brown trout can begin pre-spawn movement, so the fishing is a mix of streamers, nymphs and technical dry flies, with short mayfly windows around midday. Water and weather still decide each day.
- Autumn cools the days, and brown trout can begin to move toward the rivers ahead of spawning. How that works is in migratory trout and autumn river runs.
- Mayflies still hatch, but the windows are shorter: in March and April they tend to come off around midday. See the mayfly hatches of Coyhaique.
- Our legal season in Chilean Patagonia closes the first week of May, and our guided operation runs through April 30. Every month is laid out on our fishing season page.
What flies and techniques work around Coyhaique in April?
Gabrielle and Connor fished three: dry flies, streamers and nymphs. That is a sound kit for Close Season, because it lets the guide change with the water and the fish.
- Dry flies. After the hoppers of High Season, Close Season turns to technical dries. Our guide to the best dry flies for Coyhaique lists what goes in the box, and there is a lake day on dry flies in a client's Early Season day on a clear lake.
- Streamers. On some autumn days conditions call for sinking lines and articulated streamers; large streamers are the other half of Close Season, next to the technical dries.
- Nymphs. A nymph covers the fish that will not commit to the surface, and on the lakes dragonfly and damselfly nymphs feed trout all season. See the nymph guide for Coyhaique and dragonflies and damselflies on our lakes.
Which one goes on the line on a given day is the guide's call, made from the water, the wind and what the fish do. Dry fly, streamer and nymph all came out that week.
What does landing a brown trout on a lake look like?
Three photos show it. In the first, an angler leans over the side of a boat with a landing net held in the turquoise water. In the other two the angler is ashore, in the shallows over reeds, with a brown trout in the net and then lifted clear of the water.
Every trout here goes back to the water: we release every trout we land, all season. On lakes that is also the rule by law from April 2 to May 6, and on rivers from March 1 to May 6; the details are in the Aysén fishing regulations.
Which waters can you fish out of Coyhaique in April?
Gabrielle and Connor fished different waters over the week, all out of Coyhaique; the photos here were taken on a lake.
- Out of Coyhaique we float three rivers and seven lakes by cataraft, an inflatable frame boat on two pontoons that carries two anglers. The lakes run from Lago Elizalde to Lago General Carrera.
- Each river has its own page in our fishing destinations.
You can see what each river is doing on our live water conditions page.
What does lunch by the lake look like on a fishing day?
Two anglers sit at a table on the shore, a red-and-white checked cloth under enamel mugs and salad in plastic containers, and both smile at the camera. All meals and drinks are part of the All Inclusive, so a lunch like this belongs to the day.
The week had a local side too: Gabrielle and Connor connected with the local culture and shared an asado patagón, the local barbecue.
How do you book an All Inclusive week out of Coyhaique?
Start with the booking page: pick your dates, up to two anglers per date, one group at a time. Our season is October 12 - April 30; Close Season dates run from March 1 to April 30. What the All Inclusive costs, and what is not in it, is in what a fly fishing trip to Chilean Patagonia costs. How you get from the US to Coyhaique is in getting to Coyhaique.
Thinking about the autumn weeks? Close Season runs March 1 to April 30. For the other end of the season, two other clients fished an All Inclusive week in January, in High Season.
