Four decades is a long time. Some reading this will not have been born forty years ago, some will have been starting out in life, at university or maybe getting used to being a parent for the first time. The Rio Grande has had a run of monster sea-trout for nearly a century, but it is now forty years since the first (and the most iconic) lodge on the river, Kau Tapen, opened its doors to international fly fishers who wanted to spend a week chasing these amazing fish. Over forty years a lot has changed on the Rio Grande, there are more lodges, we know more about the fish and the river, but Kau Tapen has gone from strength to strength with an international reputation as one of the best fishing lodges in the world.

I first heard of Kau Tapen more than twenty-five years ago, while I was guiding in Russia, on the Ponoi River. I worked with Steve and Pata Estela, an Argentinian couple who were well known and loved as the managers of the lodge for many years. I also worked on the Ponoi with several guides who spent many seasons working at Kau Tapen, notably the Russian duo Max Mamaev and Misha Timoshenko. Over the years Kau Tapen attracted the best international guides who had truly diverse backgrounds. One day you would be guided by someone who spent the other half of the year in Norway or Iceland guiding for salmon, the next day perhaps someone who guided salt-water in the Seychelles or the famous head-guide Gaston, an acclaimed academic from Buenos Aires. The guides have always been superb and part of the experience, a mixture of Argentinians and international guides from as far afield as South Africa, the UK, Ireland, Russia, even Australia.

Kau Tapen is one of those magical places where many of us like to return season after season. The fishing is addictive and a good mixture of challenging and rewarding. The lodge fishes many miles of the middle section of the Rio Grande and also has access to the Rio Menendez tributary. The Menendez is smaller, best fished with a light outfit, but holds fish just as large as the main river, with fish well overs 20lbs being landed from both each season.

The fishing on the Rio Grande at Kau Tapen allows us to use the skills we have learnt on our home rivers, whether fishing for trout or salmon. It is definitely a river that you can visit for the first time confident that there will be elements of familiarity, enough to get you started and into a fish or two. Many of us prefer using our double handed salmon rods, something around 13ft with a floating line with interchangeable sink tips being the go to outfit. However, on the Menendez, a single handed 9 foot rod is ideal and some fishers will also use a single handed rod on the main river. Flies can vary from small nymphs to large leech patterns in the evening or in dirty or high water.

From the moment you arrive at Kau Tapen for the first time you will be in good hands. Although, many of us choose to bring our own equipment, it is possible to borrow rods and there is no need to worry if you have not brought the right flies, lines and so on, there is a well-stocked shop and plenty of loan equipment. In fact, this is very much a destination where you do not need to worry about anything. The guides and the team in the lodge will take care of everything for you, from helping you select the right fly to working on your spey casting. Even keeping your glass topped us with excellent Argentinian wines over dinner is taken care of without ever having to ask.

You will fish a lot of water during your visit, with plenty of variety. The day is split into two halves, the morning from 9am to 1pm and then after a break for lunch and a siesta, the evening session from around 5pm to 9pm. This always depends on the time of your visit, in January it becomes dark a lot later than in March, so the evening session becomes earlier as the season progresses towards it’s finish in April. You will always finish the evening fishing as dusk turns to profound darkness and you cannot see the opposite bank! Guides are always on hand to show you how to fish each pool and to give on the spot casting tuition if required. The fish tend to lie in channels, quite often narrow and deep, so casting accurately and covering the water with your fly fishing over the right area is crucial, much more so that long casts.

Although no single fishing destination is ever going to be everyone’s favorite, Kau Tapen holds a special place in the folklore of international fishing lodges and for many holds their fondest memories. You can visit with a group of friends and have a wonderful week, but you can also travel by yourself, and immediately the other fishers, guides, and staff will make you feel at home and amongst friends. The combination of the hard fighting, aggressive and stunning to look at sea-trout, a wonderful team working at the lodge and the top class food, wines and accommodation make this a place that everyone should visit once and for many it will then become a regular trip. Around the world at the moment there are many people eagerly anticipating January, the start of the season on the Rio Grande and their own return to Kau Tapen.

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