Kautapen Lodge – Week 1: January 6th to 13th, 2024

The opening week of this season was an exciting start for us. Needless to say, we were thrilled to kick off the fishing year 2024, welcome our first week’s guests, and get the ball rolling!

We are delighted to once again welcome guests to Kau Tapen and the Rio Grande for the 2024 season. Returning to our guide team are head guide Gaston Guglielminetti (ARG), Santiago Villalba (ARG), Valentin Bergese (ARG), Christian Lindstrom (SWE), and Leandro Herrainz (ARG). We are also welcoming a new member, Birkir Mar Hardarson (ISL). As always, we pride ourselves on compiling a wealth of fishing knowledge from around the world to provide you with the best possible experience when targeting our sea trout.

Starting this week, we welcomed old friends and new faces from Sweden and Australia. The weather and fishing conditions were tough, with water levels dropping in both the Grande and Menendez, clear skies, bright sunshine, and cold nights. Despite the challenging conditions, we still found fish in the usual places, with more success in the evenings. The sea-run brown trout came in all ranges of colors, from big fish that have been in the system for some time to fresh fish landed in both the Grande and the Menendez.

The first success to be mentioned is that everyone hooked up and landed sea trout despite the difficult conditions. Overall, we hooked well over 100 fish for the week, showing that perseverance does indeed pay off, coupled with the guide team’s tireless efforts to keep guests on fish and fishing effectively.

Once again, we have continued to see some quality fish both in our upstream and downstream beats.

The past week has seen some impressive catches, with numerous brown trout weighing between 7 and 15 pounds. However, a few exceptional trophies have been reeled in, boasting weights of 17 pounds for Jyrki, 18 pounds for Lars, and an astonishing 22-pounder for David on the first shift of the week.

Looking forward to the next couple of days with more fresh fish running and hopefully some rain shortly. Coupled with the spring tides at the moment, this could change the condition of the river on a dime. For current updates, be sure to follow our social media accounts (@kautapenlodge and @nervous_waters). For any questions regarding our preferred tackle setups, information about the river, or our preferred fishing techniques, please visit our website for a thorough list of information. We wish you all the best and hope to see you soon on the water!