jurassic trout

Jurassic Rainbows

Estancia Laguna Verde is a sprawling rancho in the southern Argentina pampas whose fences surround tens of miles of river and a lake with a fish-perfect environment so rich that it grow the largest rainbow trout on Earth!

Laguna Verde photo

The size & number of these Argentine rainbows can’t be exaggerated!

FOR SHEER SIZE and numbers of trophy rainbow trout, there is no argument that Lago Strobel (Jurassic Lake) in southern Argentina is in a class by itself. Jumbo rainbows in this fantastic fishery average 6 to 8 pounds, and often tip the scales well above fifteen pounds. The Fly Shop® has sent six of our team there in the past decade and we all agree, this spot consistently delivers the most exciting stillwater and some of the best stream fishing on Earth for huge trout. There’s no exaggeration that could accurately describe the fishing or amplify the size and strength of these rainbows. Everything you’ve read or heard about the place is probably true. These fish are bull-strong, very aggressive, and attack streamers, nymphs and surface flies. They’ll smoke your drag and expose parts of your backing that have never seen the light of day. The nickname Jurassic Trout was lifted from the title of a popular movie and used to describe the jumbo-sized fish found in this isolated lake and a river just north of the Strait of Magellan. It’s an appropriate nickname, if only because the fish are not native to this part of the world and, like the movie, these rainbows reach prehistoric, mammoth proportions. Though their ancestors were stocked, these trout aren’t triploids, sterilized, or genetically altered. They are the progeny of fish first stocked in these lakes, streams, and spring creeks nearly 30 years ago. They are the rainbows brought to Bariloche in the 30’s from the McCloud River (located just a few miles north of The Fly Shop®) and also used to stock New Zealand.Their smolt were introduced to Lago Strobel in 1989 and met a near-perfect environment; no predators, an ideal altitude, a temperate climate, a rich food source, and ice cold water blended with a high alkali content. It all coalesced to form Mother Nature’s own unique natural Trout Growth Hormone and the size and number of these fish just skyrocketed. The naturally occurring menu items include swarms of Gammaridean scud so abundant that the mega-rainbows swim like open-mouthed whales gorging themselves on krill. This unusually protein-rich diet results in rainbows that often grow to epic dimensions, occasionally tipping the scales above 20 pounds. With an abundance of food, well-oxygenated water, and remote location, this lake and stream are the perfect environment for ridiculously huge and incredibly strong trout with no apparent limit to their size or strength. All that protein translates into beautifullyproportioned, acrobatic trout in sizes and numbers unequalled elsewhere.

estancia laguna verde (Jurassic lake) Every aspect of the cozy, tastefully-decorated, ten-person lodge is a source of pride with the owners. Guides are terrific, the private rooms are very comfortable, and the non-stop trophy trout action is accented by delicious meals at the end of every day. Dinners and cocktail hour are graced with fine Argentine varietals. Estancia Laguna Verde guides pride themselves on their skills. s 7 night/6 day package $6,500 s Round trip vehicle transfers from Calafate are included in these packages