Oh, the views at Patagonia Baker Lodge
November 21st by Chad Shmukler
Rio Baker, Chile’s largest river, tumbles out of Lago Bertrand, its sapphire waters coursing along the Northern Patagonia Ice Field, ultimately traveling over 100 miles before dumping into the Pacific Ocean in a fjord near the town of Caleta Tortel. The surrounding region, home to Patagonia Baker Lodge, doesn’t just offer world-class fishing, it treats visitors to a conveyor belt of some of the most beautiful scenery in all of Patagonia.
The snow-capped peaks of Monte San Lorenzo, seen on the drive to visit Lago Brown for flats-cruising rainbow trout.
The Cordón Contreras massif looms in the background while releasing a brown trout directly in front of Patagonia Baker Lodge.
An aerial view of the Rio Baker falls just above the river’s confluence with Rio Nef.
GETTING THERE
Arriving at Patagonia Baker Lodge involves a journey through the Aysén region, south from Balmaceda and the Coyhaique region, skirting Cerro Castillo National Park before continuing on through Puerto Río Tranquilo and along the shores of Lago General Carrera. The lake, which straddles the border with Argentina, is Chile’s largest. Lago General Carrera is also home to the famous Marble Caves, a popular sightseeing day-trip for non-anglers and anglers alike visiting the lodge.
Lago General Carrera.
Rio Ibáñez on the outskirts of Cerro Castillo National Park.
CLOSE TO HOME
The views don’t stop once you arrive—whether direct from the lodge deck, which offers guests what very well may be the best view from any fishing lodge on the planet, or a stone’s throw where you’ll lay your head each night. Whether you visit Rio Baker to fly fish, kayak, go whitewater rafting, or for some other reason, you’ll quickly learn that Baker isn’t just the biggest river in Chile, it might also be the most beautiful.
Fishing the turquoise waters of Rio Baker in view of the lodge.
Casting a long line to browns and rainbows below the Baker River falls.
THE SIGHTS AROUND TOWN
All within less than an hour’s drive — and sometimes as little as 10-15 minutes — visitors to the lodge have a bevy of other eye-popping options to enjoy. Lago Bertrand and the southern shores of Lago General Carrera are both a short trip from the lodge. Both offer kayaking and other activities in addition to angling. A bit farther down the road is the beautiful Cochrane River valley. As you head towards the Cochrane, you’ll be treated to stunning vistas. First, the famous waterfall at Confluencia Río Baker, where the river is joined by Rio Nef. Then, you’ll travel along the river and drive past Patagonia National Park, with a birds-eye view of the canyon where Rio Chacabuco meets the Baker.
Scouting for trout on Rio Cochrane.
The views from Lago Bertrand.
AND THEN THERE’S THE FISHING
Don’t let the sights distract you (unless you want to). For many, the main attraction in the region is its surprisingly diverse fishing. The Baker River and the lakes from which it is born offer shots at memorable brown and rainbow trout right out of the lodge front door. Nearby Rio Cochrane, a tributary of the Baker, is a fever dream for anglers that love technical sight-and-stalk fishing with shots at truly enormous trout. The options are even more varied for those willing to roam farther afield, who can even try their hand at elusive trophies like King (Chinook) salmon.
A green-tinted Rio Baker brown trout.
A Chinook salmon from one of the region’s coastal rivers.
WANT TO GO TROPHY HUNTING?
If pursuing and landing big fish is what drives your angling passion, the Rio Baker region is one of the best places to hunt your next trophy. Starting in February and proceeding through the end of the season in April, large, migratory brown trout are on the prowl in the Baker and other regional waters.
We’ve secured some of this season’s best weeks for our clients, to insure availability. For more information, please call us at +1 (253)-780-1530.
A large, migratory brown trout from a river in the Rio Baker region (photo: Matías Mondaca).
Want to see the views?
Patagonia
Patagonia Baker Lodge
The mighty Rio Baker is perhaps Chile’s most iconic and beautiful river. Well-known to fly fishers, kayakers and rafters which have floated its glacially-tinged waters for decades, the Baker received worldwide recognition in 2014 when an enormous civic action campaign saved the river from a massive dam and hydroelectric power project that would have destroyed the river’s raw, wild nature and untarnished ecosystem. Thanks to that campaign, today the Baker still flows free and wild.
