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Chubut Province

See the Province Fishing Places

In Chubut´s Patagonian Lake Area we find Esquel, a city with a wide service palette for tourism comprising receptive travel agencies, an inland airport, restaurants and excellent accommodation facilities, such as characteristic mountain bungalows and several camping sites.

Fly-fishing, rafting, mountain climbing, ski and trekking are among the most outstanding activities to be enjoyed in this setting of mountains, lakes, winding rivers, astonishing forests and colourful wild flowers.

Fertile valleys with abundant production of fine fruits and high quality edible products, such as sheep cheese or exquisite smoked trout consolidates this destination as one of the most interesting ones within the plausible tourism offer in this country. All this stressed by the originality of a steam train "La Trochita" built early this century and still in function today, with daily trips from Esquel and El Maitén. The proximity to Chilean territory favours a visit to the glaciers in Pond San Rafael, to hot springs of various nature, trying local sea food, or buying handcraft souvenirs. With all this Chubut is turned into a meeting point for a diversity of representative options in the area beyond its frontiers. Another interesting feature to point out is the settlement of several immigration groups: the Welsh in Valley 16 de Octubre, Central Europeans in the Lower Puelo Valley, then Spaniards, Italians and also Mapuches, who still maintain their ancient organisation structures.

A trip by land from the coast to the Andean region offers varied alternatives: natural and cultural assets, amazing wild landscapes and valleys of singular beauty; an experience worth living.

You may drive from north to south, over locations such as Gualjaina and Paso del Sapo, on firm gravel routes around the Somuncura Plateau by the Telsen Oasis, to finally arrive either in Puerto Madryn, or in the Lower Chubut River Valley (Rawson, Trelew, Gaiman and Dolavon). Or else over Tecka, driving through gigantic canyons that make up the "Chubut River Grand Canyon" (Valleys Los Altares, Los Mártires, de las Plumas), and then reaching the imposing reservoir of Dam Florentino Ameghino near the Lower Valley.

Still, another option is the National Route Nr. 40, from which you drive into the "Bioceanic Route" over the Sarmiento Valley and its Petrified Forest, found upon the former seabed.

A trip to Central Patagonia is a trip to the past, taking us back to the area of the dinosaurs and to a peculiar show of oil-pumps which live up a landscape of eternal horizons.

By Gulf San Jorge, Comodoro Rivadavia, a modern and progressive city, offers several travel agencies, good accommodation choices, restaurants with national and international dishes, as well as an airport and a thorough road net connecting Chubut to the rest of the country. In this area you can enjoy Rada Tilly´s sunshine and beaches, or else, way up north, encounter the changing coast profile, the most changing one in Argentina. Also you can visit the beautiful Camarones Bay and its homonymous town, close to the amazing protected area "Cabo dos Bahías", with a large population of Guanacos (Llama-like species) so characteristic in this part of the world and a penguin colony in constant growth.

Driving on the same direction, National Route Nr. 3, asphalted all along its way, we reach Trelew. This city has an international airport, a thorough road transport system, restaurants and high-level accommodation facilities, which invite us to do different activities such as a visit to the Valdés Peninsula and the astonishing Magellianic penguin colony in Puerto Tombo, with way over 500.000 individuals.

Other possible options from Trelew are tours to Gaiman and Dolavon in the Lower Chubut River Valley. In these towns, the rich history and traditions of the strong last century Welsh immigration current is called back to life through their local people and the characteristic architecture, museums, chapels and tea-houses.

To the East we find Rawson, Chubut´s capital city, linked to the early times in the Welsh settlement history, today a friendly, modern town. Few kilometres away, at the mouth of the Chubut  River are the Rawson Fishing Harbour, of great importance for the fishing industry, and Playa Unión (Union Beach) offering its wide beaches to residents and visitors.

Puerto Madryn, to the north, a tourism centre par excellence, offers an incredibly beautiful beach, ideal for the practice of sea-related activities such as fishing, diving, sailing and windsurf and the possibility of renting the necessary equipment under surveillance of outstanding instructors. It has excellent accommodation facilities, high quality restaurants where you can taste fresh local seafood and international dishes, several pubs and discos and souvenir shops. Its proximity to many places of interest turns into the departure point of a wide choice of sightseeing tours.

The Valdés Peninsula offers itself as an astonishing life sanctuary under the protection of specific wild life areas, such as the sea-elephant colonies in Punta Norte, Caleta Valdés (Valdés Creek) and Punta Delgada. These, together with the Isle of Birds and the sea-lion colony in Punta Pirámides are the only continental reproduction posts of this species in the world.

The Southern Right Whale arrives every year in the gulfs San Jose and Nuevo, which give shape to this peninsula, making up the highlight of a tourism offer difficult to resist.

This real "summary" of  Patagonia called Chubut, its location, as well as its many social, cultural and natural items of interest, turn it into the centre of the tourism offer in the region, making it worth a visit from the Atlantic down to the Pacific Ocean.

INFORMATION ABOUT FISHING

The province offers interesting and wide scenery for the sportive fishing practice. This scenery goes from the mountain rivers and lakes to the Atlantic coast, together with the scattered little rivers, creeks and littoral ponds, where the most demanding fisherman is likely to find a great variety of fish, most of them being of high sportive value.  Famous are the records obtained as regards rainbow (arcoiris) variety in Lake  Menéndez, stream trout (fontinalis) in Lake General Paz, basses in Lake Lolita, Caleta Valdéz, and  sea salmon in Point Logaritmo in the San José Gulf.

Major fish such as the salmon and black grouper find their necessary food in depths which vary between 8 and 30 metres in irregular bottom seas made of rocks and limestone (where the high see fishing is practised). It is also worth mentioning the existence of natural shelters where big colonies of the above-mentioned species live.

Coast fishing is practised almost during the whole year and is perhaps the speciality that has the largest number of followers (wide sandy or stony beaches serve as ideal places due to their characteristics). In these places there is a great proliferation of shoal of fish such as silverside (pejerrey), bass, stick fish (pez palo), cock fish (pez gallo) and also major species such as rays, bacota shark (tiburón-bacota). Deep and stony coasts are ideal places for species such as grouper, salmon, turkey fish (pez turco), and for  sargo, escrófalo and  brótola which are typical species of the region.

In the mountain range area we come across amazing scenery such as the lakes located in Los Alerces National Park or the Río Pico zone which contains a great deal of fish, rarely seen in other parts of the world. Visitors will also find Lakes Fonatana and La Plata, the rivers and lakes in the Cholila area, and the imposing Muster and Colhué Huapí, near Sarmiento valley, which, despite having different characteristics from the above mentioned, are equally prodigious as regards fish.

Chubut constitutes a place that is ranked among the first positions throughout the world due to its highly varied possibilities for fishing.

Fishing Places

Cities

Fishing Zones

MARITIME ZONE

Stony sea floor fish: sea salmon, grouper, turkey fish (pez turco) and the typical Argentine species: escrófalo, sargo, and brótola.

Coastal habits fish: silverside, bass, stick fish (pez palo), sole, horse mackerel, cock fish (pez gallo o músico).

Muddy sea floor fish: species that can be found in shallow waters and sea floors of different characteristics and depths: dogfish, shark, ray, hake.

 LAKE ZONE

Arco Iris trout, Enclosed Salmon, Stream Trout (Fontinalis), "Criolla" Trout or Perch, Brown Trout, Silverside.

IDEAL SEASONS FOR FISHING

- From October to March -

Silverside  and Bass can also be caught during the winter season in some places such as Cracker Bay or the River Chubut outlet.

- From August to May -

- From mid November to the end of April -