Cataraft or drift boat?
We don't use drift boats. We fish from catarafts: inflatable frame boats on two pontoons. On a river a cataraft does the job a drift boat does on Western US water: it lets you fish runs you can't wade to and move between them. On a lake it becomes your platform for working the shoreline. Each cataraft or raft carries two anglers.
Our whole operation runs out of Coyhaique, in the Aysén Region of Chilean Patagonia. These are the waters we float from here.
The rivers we float
Río Simpson
A freestone river running through its valley below the Coyhaique junction, between rock walls and forested slopes, with gravel bars along the inside bends. Like the other thaw-fed rivers around town it rises and falls with the weather: in the week of 1 to 7 August 2026 the Simpson gained roughly 57% of its flow. That is why the day's drift is chosen on the day. Our hydrological guide to Coyhaique's rivers explains the pattern, and the live river conditions show today's numbers. More in our Simpson River guide.
Río Mañihuales
The river of the northern Aysén basin: a freestone fed by rain and snowmelt that takes in the Ñirehuao and the Emperador Guillermo before it meets the Simpson. We fish it both ways, wading and by cataraft. More in our Mañihuales River guide.
Río Paloma
A lake-fed river: it runs from Lago Desierto to Lago Caro, and the lakes of that part of the basin steady its flow. Seen from above, one stretch runs as a clear channel between native forest on one bank and open pasture on the other. By law it is catch and release for the whole season. More in our Paloma River guide.
The lakes we fish from a cataraft
- Lago Elizalde
- Lago Azul
- Lago Paloma
- Lago Desierto
- Lago Barroso
- Lago Zenteno
- Lago General Carrera
Lakes offer a different day: searching shorelines and drop-offs from a cataraft, watching for surface activity in calm periods and changing to streamer work when fish hold deeper.
Which water, which day
The daily plan is adjusted to water and wind, and the drive for each day is confirmed with your itinerary before you book. Some water is reached across private land or by cataraft, and access must be confirmed, so we keep exact put-ins out of public copy. Coyhaique is a practical base for reaching freestone rivers, spring creeks and lakes, so a week from our fixed base in Coyhaique can combine floated water with spring creeks.
Catarafts are included where the water calls for them, in the All Inclusive Expedition (USD 6,500 per angler) and in the Full Day (USD 690 per day, up to two anglers). See everything the price includes or the full program.
