Collón Cura River, by Jorge Trucco

I didn't really know the potential the Collon Cura had until I first floated it with A.J. De Rosa and Patty Reilly in 1979. Until then my guiding was restricted to smaller rivers such as the Malleo and the Chimehuín. The Collon Cura was too big a river to run a fishing program by just wading. That first float trip was an eye opener. The Collon Cura became a regular part of Patagonia Outfitters' program ever since.

Back then I would have described the fishing in the Collon Cura the same way Roderick Haig Brown did in his book "A Fisherman's Winter", the river had a huge population of rainbows in the 16 to 22 inch range, with the occasional brown trout reaching 25 or 26 inches.

The real monsters were not in the Collon Cura back then, or at least we were not catching them. The strength of its fishing was consistency and numbers. Our trips produced a lot of fish per day per rod, more than in any other river.

For fishing guides the Collon Cura was a wonderful river it could be fished both from the boat and by wading in the countless channels and pools. Fish would take big dries such as hoppers, as well as nymphs and streamers. Evening hatches were great and sometimes the fish even became selective and forced us to match the hatches.

The nature of the river underwent an important change in 1994 when the Piedra Del Águila dam was built and a huge reservoir was created downstream from where we fished. The new lake created a massive proliferation of puyén minnows, which meant incredible amount of food for browns and rainbows (read article: April Browns).

The Collon Cura has retained its original character but there's a difference: fish got bigger and fatter. Not only can one catch many fish but one can also expect to catch a monster brown, any time. To some people like guest Bill Budge or guide Brandon Keene the Collon Cura is the best river anywhere.