When one river is not enough how about three rivers all in one destination? A destination that allows you as the anglers to choose which river to fish each session and if you wish to target the resident huge Brown Trout or the Sea Trout that make it upstream. Imagine chasing Brown Trout on either the Penitente or Rubens rivers before ending your day with the larger Sea Trout on the upper stretches of the famous Rio Gallegos. Add to this that all this water and lodge is exclusive to just 4 to 6 rods each week make Glencross both the ideal destination for a unique adventure in its own right, but as we can also offer split weeks makes an ideal add on to our Las Buitreras destination weeks giving you 9 days of fishing.
Location
Located high on the slopes of the magnificent Cordillera de Los Andes, in the Santa Cruz province of southern Patagonia is the traditional Estancia Glencross. The Estancia is right on the border between Argentina and Chile therefore on both on the Chilean and the Argentinean side of the Cordillera. This traditional working Estancia covers 85.000 hectares of land. Over this huge area of land, there are three distinct landscapes.
To the south of the Rio Turbio Valley, you will discover the typical Santa Cruz arid sceneries. This arid landscape gives way to higher grounds, the height keeps on increasing until it reaches Chilean territory and it’s beautiful Lenga fields. Throughout Estancia Glencross, there are three different river systems to, all holding resident Brown Trout as well as much larger Sea Trout.
Fishing the Rubens and Penitente Rivers in Argentina
Our fishing offers the opportunity to cast a fly in three different rivers, all with different scenery and structure. The main sections of the Rubens river and Penitente river, both tributaries to the larger Rio Gallegos (which is one the best Sea Trout rivers on the planet) are perfect to cover with a single-handed rod. You will use several different methods such as swinging flies, casting into pockets, and stripping streamers to entice those takes. These rivers are similar in structure to many sections of the Rio Gallegos, only smaller, making most pools easy to cover and extremely fun to fish.
The upper part of the Rubens river is surrounded by Lenga trees and when walking those banks, it’s easy to imagine that you are fishing in a tropical jungle somewhere. Fishing here is similar however with the deadwood log jams in the water there is always some structure cover that will hold a few Sea Trout. Fish here are generally not as big as further down the river but fishing in these surroundings and catching fish is amazing.
Fishing the Rio Gallegos
You will also fish the upper part of Rio Gallegos which has some amazing Brown Trout fishing. The upper sections of Rio Gallegos have plenty of varying structure with weed beds, rocks, backwaters and more. The lower part of this stretch of Rio Gallegos, from where Rio Turbio connects, looks more like a traditional southern Patagonian Sea Trout river with cut banks and gravel banks on each side.
For those wanting to try these lower sections a light switch rod will come in handy. With all this water on offer and the varying structures and landscapes, anglers will not only get a chance to practice several types of fishing and techniques for Trout, but they will also experience one of the most iconic estancias in the Santa Cruz province well as some of the most beautiful landscapes southern Patagonia has to offer, all in one program.
Tackle & Technique
As always, when fishing Brown Trout and Sea Trout in clear, mostly shallow water, a stealthy approach is required. In certain sections, this means avoiding wading completely and in some places even crouching down when approaching the pool or section you are about to fish. Make a soft cast, let the fly sink and swing for a second, strip, strip, boom! When fishing for resident Brown’s it’s hard to go wrong with a smaller streamer or leech imitation. Especially leeches which seem to bring out the worst in these fish. Just like in Rio Gallegos, rubber leg nymphs also work well.
On calm days drifting a dry or skating a surface fly can be super fun and deadly effective. A standard single hand rod in weight class 5 or 6 along with an easy to cast floating line will enable anglers to cover and fish most of the water. The exception is the lower part of the Rio Gallegos section where a 7 or 8 weight rod is to be preferred, alternatively a light number 6 or 7 spey / switch rod. This section is a little bit wider, more exposed to wind, and holds more Sea Trout which can grow up to 30lbs. Landing one of those is a hard enough task on any rod. For more tips and techniques on Sea Trout fishing, visit our YouTube Channel.
Guiding
As like all our lodges in Argentina we only employee first-class guides who all speak English. The level of guiding is always high and based on just 2 or 3 anglers per guide. You will access the fishing and rivers with your guide in 4×4 vehicles.
Other Activities
For either non-anglers or anglers who do not wish to fish every session staying, there are long walks around the thousands of acres of the estancia with stunning barren scenery and wildlife. At Glencross you can also go horse riding; from the back of a horse, you will experience these virgin lands in total contact with nature. The guides will take you to the best sightseeing spots and will help you connect with nature and its history. Also, with enough notice, we can arrange additional daily sightseeing trips departing from the lodge each day. Additional costs are payable locally.
Contact Us
If you have any questions on our Sea Trout fishing holiday to Estancia Glencross in Argentina, contact us in the office. Our experienced team will be happy to help you with any queries you have. Make sure to explore all our Sea Trout fishing holidays and all our tours to Argentina. Additionally, you can request a free brochure.
