When is the Best Time to Fish at Jurassic Lake Lodge

We hope the following summary will help you decide the best time to visit. With regards to size, there is no better or worse time of year to land a trophy trout at Jurassic Lake. Your chances at landing the elusive 20-pounder are about the same any day of the season!

Early Season (September through mid-January)

This timeframe is far and away the most popular to visit Jurassic Lake because of the consistent and unfathomable numbers of fish encountered each week. Massive numbers of lake-run rainbow trout concentrate in the lower sections of the Barrancoso River, around the river’s mouth, and surrounding bays of the lake during this period.

Temperatures are cool and the melting snow and rain add flow to the Barrancoso River, the only significant tributary to the lake. Trophy trout gather at the mouth of the river in incredible numbers to make their Spring spawning run and the river is packed with fish.

The lodge is strategically located at the mouth of the Barrancoso River, giving anglers private access to the most productive fishing areas, all within short walking distance of the lodge.

The early season is undoubtedly the time frame that most anglers associate with Jurassic Lake and for good reason, big fish and lots of them. Most anglers will hook in excess of 25 fish per day. Due to the demand, the lodge only offers full week packages in this timeframe and guests should be prepared to book these dates well in advance of the season.

Mid-Season (mid-January through mid-March)

This is summertime in Patagonia and is usually the driest period of the season. As such, we see the lowest water levels in the river and lake. During this period, the large concentrations of fish disperse and retreat to deeper and cooler parts of the lake. At this time, anglers focus on picking off larger schools or singular migratory fish along the shallow lake margins, although there will still be trophy trout peeking in and out of the mouth of the river to feed.

The fishing in this window can still be quite good and rewarding, and anglers will focus their efforts on sight casting to cruising fish along the perimeter of the lake. There is an added level of skill required, and anglers will be rewarded with quality casts, stepping down the size of flies, and longer leaders to entice the fish.

By any other standard, fishing in the mid-season is still a world-class trophy trout venue but the catch rates are low as compared with the other seasons at Jurassic. So, it pales only in comparison to itself at prime time. The fish in the mid-season are still big but anglers typically hook 0 to 4 fish each day.

While full-week packages are still available, anglers visiting during this period also have the opportunity to take advantage of the half-week packages that are easy to add to their existing trips in Patagonia.  This is a great window to add onto a trout trip to Patagonia, fishing for the largest king salmon on the planet at Glacier King, or a trip to Tierra del Fuego or the Rio Gallegos for sea-run brown trout. Transfers in El Calafate tend to be straightforward and easy.

Late Season (mid-March through May) 

During the late season, fall rain and early snow in the mountains increase the Barrancoso River levels triggering a late run of fish into the river. This window offers the second prime time to visit Jurassic Lake Lodge and is many anglers’ favorite time to fish due to the incredible quality of the fish encountered between mid-March and May.

The late season does not offer the same numbers of fish as the early season but all the fish are in superb condition, very strong, acrobatic, and seemingly more willing to eat dry flies.  It is often referred to as the “chromer” window, and it can produce some of the most memorable fish of the season. Seasoned anadromous anglers love this time of year, because of the exquisite condition of the fish and daily catch rates that range from 3 to 15 fish per person per day.

Anglers can expect colder temperatures and the days are shorter but the winds calms to a degree and it is a great time to fish dry flies in the lake.

Full and half weeks are available in this window, and it is an ideal time to combine with other prime dates for sea-run Brown trout in Tierra del Fuego or the Rio Gallegos, steelhead on the mighty Santa Cruz River, or golden dorado in the northern part of the country.