Can you sight fish for brown trout on a lake near Coyhaique?

Yes. In January 2026 Joe and his wife, two anglers from the US, sight-fished brown and rainbow trout on one of our prime lakes out of Coyhaique, on a Full Day. Sight fishing means finding the trout first and casting to that one fish. Your guide chooses the lake or river for each day according to wind, light and conditions.

Which lake did Joe and his wife fish?

A prime spot on a lake near Coyhaique, Chilean Patagonia. We fish seven lakes out of Coyhaique, and your guide picks the water each day.

What trout live in the lakes around Coyhaique?

Brown and rainbow trout. Both were introduced to Chile more than a century ago, and the populations around Coyhaique sustain themselves by natural reproduction, with no hatchery stocking in the waters we fish.

What does a Full Day with Chile Fly Fishing include?

About eight hours on the water with a guide, round trip transport, a box lunch, drinks and flies, for up to two anglers at the same price: USD 690 per day, for up to two anglers — not per angler. Accommodation is not included.

Do you release the trout?

Yes. We release every trout we land, all season. Aysén's rules also make release mandatory on lakes from October 12 to November 9 and from April 2 to May 6, and close five spawning areas all year.

January Full Day: Brown Trout, Coyhaique

Q: Is January a good month to fly fish a lake near Coyhaique?

January falls in the middle of our High Season. Flows have settled after the spring thaw, the water is generally at its clearest, and around the solstice the light runs close to 15 hours, with long evenings still in January. The day itself is still decided by wind, light and water.

Q: Can you book more than one Full Day?

Yes. You can book one Full Day or up to seven in a row, for up to two anglers at the same price. Joe and his wife booked three Full Days out of Coyhaique in January 2026.

The short answer

Joe and his wife, anglers from the US, booked three Full Days out of Coyhaique, Chilean Patagonia, in January 2026, in the middle of our High Season. Their photos come from one of our prime lakes, where they sight-fished for brown and rainbow trout. In the pictures each of them holds a brown, against deep blue water and forested slopes.

When: January 2026, High Season, three Full Days.
Where: one of our prime lakes out of Coyhaique, Chilean Patagonia.
Program: Full Day, about eight hours on the water, with a guide, a box lunch and drinks.
Anglers: Joe and his wife, from the US.
Fish: brown and rainbow trout. In the photos, a brown for each of them.
Technique: sight fishing.

What did Joe and his wife catch on a Coyhaique lake?

Brown and rainbow trout, fished by sight. The photos from the lake show browns, one for each of them. Joe's has a close pattern of dark spots down an olive-bronze flank. His wife's is silvery olive, with fewer, wider-spaced dark spots.

That is the quick way to tell a brown from a rainbow: spots scattered over the flank and no pink band along the side. Our guide to brown and rainbow trout in Chile covers both species. The trout around Coyhaique sustain themselves by natural reproduction, with no hatchery stocking in the waters we fish.

An angler in a wide-brim hat and blue mirrored sunglasses holds a dark-spotted brown trout in a boat on a deep blue lake, a forested mountainside behind, Coyhaique, Chilean Patagonia — Joe, with a brown trout.

A smiling angler in an olive cap and blue mirrored sunglasses holds a silvery brown trout with scattered dark spots over deep blue lake water, green mountains behind, Coyhaique, Chilean Patagonia — His wife, with a brown trout.

What is sight fishing on a lake, and why does January suit it?

Sight fishing means finding the trout first and casting to that one fish, instead of covering water and hoping. A lake has no current to carry the fly, so the cast has to land ahead of a cruising trout, in its path. Our client story on sight fishing a clear lake near Coyhaique shows the same game in Early Season, and the spring creek sight-presentation guide covers it on moving water.

January helps. It falls in the middle of our High Season: flows have settled after the spring thaw, the water is generally at its clearest, and around the solstice the light runs close to 15 hours, with long evenings still in January. The day itself is decided by wind, light and water. For the whole season, read summer fly fishing in Chilean Patagonia.

In every photo that shows their faces, both anglers wear sunglasses. Seeing into the water is what sight fishing asks of you before the first cast.

What does a Full Day include, and where do you eat?

A guided day on the water, around eight hours of fishing, priced per day for up to two anglers. Book one day or several in a row. Includes guide, round trip transport, box lunch, drinks and flies. No accommodation. Price today: USD 690 per day, for up to two anglers — not per angler. Rods, reels and lines are rented separately, subject to availability. Ask us.

Guide
Round trip transport
Catarafts where the water calls for them
Box lunch
Drinks: water, beer or wine
Flies

Two photos show the rest of the days. In one, Joe holds up his phone and photographs his wife from the boat, with the lake and forested slopes behind her. In the other, the two of them sit at a table with an orange cloth on the pebbly shore, in the shade of the bushes, raising metal cups, with plates, cutlery and a bottle on the table. A box lunch and drinks (water, beer or wine) are part of the Full Day. We fish our lakes from catarafts where the water calls for them.

An angler in a brown wide-brim hat holds up a phone to photograph a woman in sunglasses seated in a boat on a blue lake, forested slopes behind, Coyhaique, Chilean Patagonia — Joe photographs his wife from the boat.

A man in a wide-brim hat and a woman in sunglasses raise metal cups at a table with an orange cloth on a pebbly shore, with plates, cutlery and a bottle, Coyhaique, Chilean Patagonia — Lunch on the shore.

Can you book more than one Full Day?

Yes. A Full Day can be one day or up to seven in a row, for up to two anglers at the same price. Joe and his wife booked three. Your guide chooses the lake or river each day from wind, light and flow, and you can see what the rivers are doing on our live water conditions page.

Two more client stories show other ways to fish with us: a pair of anglers who came back for a second Full Day on Lago Azul, and two Colorado anglers who took a full All Inclusive week in January 2026. We release every trout we land, and the Aysén fishing rules explain when release is mandatory and what a foreign angler pays for a licence.

How do you book a Full Day in High Season?

Start with our booking page: pick your dates, up to two anglers per day. High Season runs December through February, and our guided operation runs October 12 - April 30. Accommodation is not part of a Full Day, so you arrange where to stay in Coyhaique.

From the US you fly to Santiago and take a domestic flight of roughly 2.5 hours to Balmaceda, a leg that LATAM and Sky Airline fly. The steps are in getting to Coyhaique, and the full price picture is in what a fly fishing trip to Chilean Patagonia costs.