Hot New Destination Alert: Kooi Noom, Argentina – Where Giant Rainbows Rule

How many genuinely undiscovered fisheries are there left on this planet? If you’ve spent any time travelling and fishing, it’s a question you’ll have pondered. We’ve all imagined ourselves in some remote corner of the planet, having stumbled across virgin water where the fish, uneducated in the ways of the modern angler, feed with reckless abandon, making heroes of even modest fishermen.  

In a world made smaller and less mysterious by the existence of the internet, the chances of finding such a place are pretty slim. Just occasionally, however, something comes along that’s a little out of the ordinary.

Kooi Noom in Patagonia is that kind of place. This fishery, secreted away in a remote corner of Patagonia, is a place where you can fish for rainbow trout weighing between 5 and 25lbs from lake shores, bays, fast-moving pocket water, streams and everywhere in between.

It’s an opportunity to fish where few people have before. Most of the fish you encounter will never have seen a fly. Of course, you’ve heard that phrase before, but it’s true.

Put simply, it’s a chance to catch fish like this:

From a place that looks like this:

The fishing itself is challenging, technical “pocket” fishing, most of which takes place on a medium-sized but swift stream. The fish run out of the lake into the river in spring, they’re coloured chrome and fight hard. The destination also counts a smaller lake and spring creek among its assets, with similarly stunning fish, all set on a traditional estancia in an epic part of Patagonia.

The most obvious reference point would have to be Lago Strobel (the Patagonian water famed for its monster trout), which is just down the road from here.

Your guides are Alex and Nicolas Trochine. Renowned within Argentina and beyond, these young brothers have guided clients throughout the entire length of South America.

The lodge itself is set on a family-run estancia a few miles from the fishing grounds. It has two wind generators that provide 24 hours of electricity and Wi-Fi. The lodge has three double ensuite rooms, a cozy living room and an intimate atmosphere for small and exclusive groups.

Interested? Find out more about the Kooi Noom fishery here.