Everyone has a favorite trout species. Some prefer the almost delicate beauty of a fontinalis, or brook trout, with their light spots, irregularly shaped vermiculations, white-edged fins and bright orange bellies. Even more absurd, brook trout also sport red spots surrounded by blue halos. Yet the combination of all these colors seems to shimmer with its beauty.
For others, rainbows are the ultimate in beauty, power and grace. In Spanish, Arco Iris, seems like it could easily be ancient Andean treasure, belying the fact that all trout were introduced to South America from other parts of the world. The range of coloration is impressive, from silvery fish almost lacking in the distinctive red stripe that gives them their name, to heavily spotted “leopard” rainbows who seem to pack spots right to the end of their nose.
Brown trout, known as trucha marron in español, and usually just marrones in Patagonia, are the heavy-weights of the trout world. Rio Manso is no exception, as the largest trout caught at the lodge are almost always browns. Ranging from silvery submarines to buttery-yellow living gold, browns tend to be the meat eaters of whatever waters they inhabit, dining on almost anything they can fit into their mouths, including their smaller relatives.
But whichever trout you favor, there’s little denying the pleasure of landing all three species wherever you are fishing. The Rio Manso Grand Slam; a rainbow, brown, and brook trout all in the same day. Three different trout species, all caught within 20 minutes! Ah, the joys of fly fishing in Patagonia.
