Tackle & Equipment

Here is what we, at Southern Exposure believe you should bring to fly fish in Patagonia.
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Tackle

Fly Rods:
Multi-piece 7, 6 or 5 wt. rods will cover most of the fishing situations you will encounter in Chile. We strongly recommend bringing a minimum of 2 rods. One for streamer fishing (ie. 7 wt.) and the other for dries and nymphs (ie.5 wt).

Fly Reels:
Good quality, lightweight fly reels, with simple disk drags or pawl drags are the best choice. Reels should be filled with fresh 20 pound backing.

Fly Lines:
You will basically need two fly lines, a weight forward floater, for dries and nymphs and a sink tip fly line (Tenny 200 or similar) for streamers.

Leaders and Tippets:
​For a week’s fishing you will need no less than four tapered leaders 9 ft. 3X, for your floating line and four 7ft. 2X leaders for your sinking fly lines. 
For tippet you should bring fresh spools from 6X to 2X.

​Flies

Dries and Attractors:
Fat Alberts and Dave’s Hoppers, 6, 8 - Parachute Adams, 12 to 18 - Blue Wing Olive, 14 to 18 - Hares Ear Parachute Hi-Vi's Dry Fly, 12 to 16 - Elk Hair Caddis, 12 to 16 - Humpys and Royal Wulff 10 to 16 - Black ants, 12, 14 - Griffith Gnat, 18, 20 - Black beetle, 14, 12.

Streamers:
 Buggers and Zonkers, black, green, brown and white, with and without beads, 2 to 6.

Nymphs:
Hare’s Ear, Bird’s Nest, Prince Nymph and Pheasant Tail, with and without beads, 10 to 14, Black and Golden Stoneflies, 6, 8.
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Emergers:
 Non-weighted Hare’ Ear and Bird’s Nest, work well 12, 14.

And of course, include your favorite weapons.
​Clothing
The weather in Chilean Patagonia is constantly changing. One day it can be 80 degrees and sunny and the next day rainy, damp and in the low 40’s or cooler with a stiff breeze, and all these can happen in a matter of hours. Therefore, clothing strategy should be based on the “layering system”.
  • Start off with a polypropylene type fabric or silk next to your skin (thermal underwear).
  • Your second layer could be a medium weight wool or polypropylene shirt, sweater or pull-over.
  • Your third layer, if needed, can be a fleece or wool jacket.
  • Your fourth layer will be your rain jacket. High quality Gore tex type products and oiled cotton jackets are a fine choice. Also good rubber coated jackets are a good bet, although are not breathable. Try to buy the best rain gear you can afford , as being wet is no fun.
Now you are ready to whatever Mother Nature dishes out. You can easily adjust and adapt to the weather’s changes as they arrive.
Waders: Chest waders are the only way to go. Good quality Gore tex and Neoprene waders are good options.
Wading Boots: Felt soled wading boots. Wading cleats or studs are not needed and tough on boats and rafts.
Fly fishing joke
Other important items:
  • Wool or polypropylene gloves.
  • Fishing Vest or Tackle Pack
  • Fishing Hat
  • Small Day/Funny Pack
  • Clippers, Hemostats and Pliers
  • Flashlight
  • Polarized Sun Glasses
  • Sun protection (SPF 30)