Info:        

Martín Pescador Lodge
Att: Frans and Anna Jansen
115 Head Tide Road
Alna, ME 04535

Web:
www.martinpescadorfishing.
com

Phone:
207-350-8178

E-Mail:
martinpescadorlodge
@gmail.com

Martin Pescador Lodge, Patagonia, Chile                

by Phil Johnson
photos, courtesy Martin Pescador Lodge

You travel to Chile’s Patagonia region expecting fly fishing action. So when the second cast of the first morning produces an attack – not just a strike but an all out assault - you know you’ve come to the right place.
    
The right place in this instance was the Martin Pescador Lodge, actually two lodges located a comuter flight south of Puerto Montt Chile, owned and run by Frans and Anna Jansen who should write a book on how to do hospitality right.

First of all you must know that the Martin Pescador Lodge is not a place you just stumble across. The gateway is Santiago Chile, an eight hour plus flight from the U.S then a connecting flight to the salmon farming city of Puerto Montt. for an overnight stay.

The next morning you fly to Alto Palena where you are picked up for a two hour drive to Martin Pescador’s Puerto Cardenas Lodge. For the first years of  Martin Pescador, the flight in was to Chaiten. But a volcano eruption in early 2008 has left that village under ash and out of business.

Talk About Comfortable . . .            

The Puerto Cardenas Lodge is eye popping. Located on a rise above the Rio Yelcho and built by Frans, there is a ski lodge feel to the main building where meals are served and an ever present chilled pitcher of local favorite Pisco Sours is among the features of the always open bar. Down a short walkway on either side of the main building are the individual lodging units; large, comfortable rooms with bath and individual balconies overlooking the river.

Before we talk fishing (excellent) and dining (even better), there are two special guest features at the lodge which may seem insignificant but guests learn to love.

The first is laundry service. Clothes you want washed are picked up each morning and returned clean and folded to your room by the end of the day. There is a practical side to this service. It allows you to pack less clothing and potentially avoid overweight luggage charges which are applied vigorously by local airport officials.  

The second is a small paddle outside your room door. Put the “Si” side out and someone will come to your room before 6 a.m. and light a small stove fire to drive away the overnight chill.

Because we are talking fishing here, I won’t bore you with details about the great evening meals taken communally with Frans and the eight guests the lodge can accommodate at a single time; or the special Chilean feasts of muscles, clams and meats, and the lamb roast served on two evenings in a small outside grotto setting.

But I will mention that Anna Jansen is a Culinary Institute of America graduate and she puts her talents to work stocking the kitchen and overseeing the meals. And Chilean wine is terrific. 

Gone Fishing                
    
But let’s talk fishing. The first three or four days of the trip are based at the Puerto Cardenas Lodge. There are typically five guides on staff. All are North American and all recruited by Frans, himself a master guide in North and South America and champion fly caster in his native Holland.

Guests are assigned a different guide each day.

The fishing is primarily on the various rivers nearby. But there is lake fishing too. It is mostly fishing from a boat. The preferred gear is 7 or 8 weight fly rods and the lodge provides the terminal tackle, mainly large dry flies like the Fat Albert, or streamers. There is some sight fishing but most is along structure the guides have scouted.

The predominant species are native trout, rainbows and brown. The one that attacked on my second cast was a 20” brown, a gorgeous brown and yellow speckled fly hunter. Each day we caught at least one fish 20” or more, while another guest took honors for the week with a 26” 10 pound brown. It is all catch and release fishing.

Midway in the week all are transferred from the lodge at Puerto Cardenas to the lodge at LaJunta. It is seemless. You go fishing in the mornings and at the end of the day you drive to the new lodge where all your gear has been relocated. Even the Pisco Sours pitcher is there waiting.

The LaJunta Lodge is located on the Rio Rosselot. The layout of this lodge is somewhat different but is just as appealing. And Anna runs the kitchen there too. The fishing program is the same, only on different rivers and lakes. The fish are just as voracious here.

As you might guess, the combination of fishing and hospitality brings people back year after year. The season runs from December into April, and, while there is good fishing throughout, a special time is in January when there is a dragon fly hatch and the trout come out of the water to feed on the hovering insects.

We booked our trip through  adventure travel specialists Frontiers and added on a what turned out to be a fascinating 24 hour stay in Santiago.