The History of Patagonia Trout

The first trout were liberated into the waters of Chile, in 1887. They were the Californian Brown Trout and the Californian Rainbow Trout.  There were early attempts to introduce trout to Argentina and Chile by immigrants who were owners or supervisors of the big estancias in southern Patagonia. These attempts had mixed results. Official records say that it was not until 1904 that the first planting of trout took place with good results.The first planting were composed of brook, lake trout and landlocked salmon all coming from New York

Argentina was the birthplace of trout fishing in Patagonia. It wasn’t long after though that trout populations began to grow all throughout patagonia. One of the amazing things to see in Chile is that every piece of water you see holds fish. Whether it is a beaver dam, or a tiny pond or even drainage ditches, they all hold resident fish. Anytime you see water you can pull over and spot trout. Patagonia is truly a trout paradise.
With few natural predators, an enormous food supply and hundreds of kilometers of prime spawning streams and rivers flowing into the lakes, they thrive. After you experience Chile you will understand why these originally imported fish quickly put there stamp on the watersheds of Chile. Today, with a self sustaining population of Rainbow and Brown Trout, the Patagonia region has cemented its name as one of the world's premier fisheries.