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All of our lodges are uniquely positioned to cater to the diverse needs and expectations of our clientele. All our lodges have a world-class fishing resource as a prerequisite, and to that most important ingredient, we add attention to detail, legendary service, incredible food and exceptional wine. As Nervous Waters has grown, each of our lodges have developed a different personality, driven by the character of each location, the staff, facilities and of course, the unique fishing experience each represents. Take a moment to choose which of the criteria below are most important to you, and most closely match your expectations. Whichever lodge you choose, don’t worry, a stay at any Nervous Waters lodge is guaranteed to leave you questioning why you’d consider fishing anywhere else!
At both Villa María and Kau Tapen Lodge, 10-20lbs fish are caught and released daily. Encounters with much larger fish are commonplace, and by the start of the season 20lbs+ fish inhabit every beat of the river. In fact, the Río Grande boasts more giant sea-trout per kilometre than any other river on the planet. Nowhere on earth is the possibility of encountering a world record fish more real.
Match with Kau Tapen Lodge and Villa María Lodge
If you’d like to book a fully exclusive private party, and rent out either lodge, this can easily be arranged. Villa María holds up to 6 guests in private single rooms and Kau Tapen can host up to 12 rods in its 10 rooms. All rooms at Kau Tapen and Villa María have en-suite bathrooms.
Match with Kau Tapen Lodge and Villa María Lodge
Villa María is the lodge closest to the ocean and boasts 20 miles of private water. On these prime lower stretches, the river is wider and the pools longer. As anglers swing flies through the lower pools, the influence of the tide and the salt smell of the estuary add to the experience of fishing for bright new fish just entering the river. On this final section of the Río Grande, the river meanders less, lending itself perfectly to double handed fishing techniques. With a gentle shingle gravel bed, wading is easy – making Villa María a speycaster’s dream.
Match with Villa María Lodge
As the Río Grande winds its way upstream into the middle and upper valley, it becomes more sinuous, snaking from pool to pool. Kau Tapen’s water is home to more superb fly water and fish holding pools than any other section of the main river. Here, the Río Grande has more structure and the pools are more defined. While not as wide and open as the lower river pools, there is still a wonderful cross section of water available to both the double and single handed angler. At Kau Tapen, guests also fish the Río Menéndez which is the most productive tributary of the Río Grande system. In places no more than 20 feet across, the Menéndez is ideal for lighter tackle and single-handed rods. The intimate pools of the little river Menéndez host plenty of fish in the 10-20lbs range, and the best fish from the tributary last season tipped the scales at 24½lbs.
Match with Kau Tapen Lodge
Built in 1984, Kau Tapen Lodge was designed to offer rods maximum comfort during their fishing trips, as well as easy access to the best pools on the world-famous Río Grande. The early standards of excellence set by Kau-Tapen have become the blueprint for all of our lodges, and though many have attempted to imitate them, none have ever matched them.
Kau Tapen accommodates up to 10 guests (occasionally 12) in 10 en-suite single rooms to ensure privacy and comfort. Different room layouts exist from king size beds to twin bedrooms providing a flexible choice. A comfortable and spacious living room overlooks far reaching views of the Menéndez and Río Grande valleys, and offers an open fire and a well-stocked bar. The lodge also boasts a well equipped tackle shop with a comprehensive selection of Loop rods, quality fly reels, flies, lines, technical outdoors clothing, and other fishing essentials. In addition, guests have full use of the lodge’s fly-tying table and equipment. Additional Kau Tapen facilities include two wet rooms with ample space to leave waders and fishing gear, a full spa with jacuzzi, sauna, and a Finnish steam bath.
At Nervous Waters the standards we’ve set in our kitchens is second to none, and nowhere is that more evident than at Kau-Tapen. Our kitchen boasts a team of international chefs, whose exceptional understanding of fresh local produce combined with their unrivalled expertise, create dishes that could grace the tables of many of the world’s great restaurants. Spectacular flame grilled lamb from the estancia, cooked in the traditional “asado” style is a lodge favorite with all our guests, but seasonal specialities utilising meats, vegetables and salads from the estancia, or perhaps freshly landed shellfish from the harbour, delight even the most demanding palate. Finally, through our close association with Bodega Catena Zapata, one of Argentina’s great wine growing families, we offer wines that compete on the world stage. These wines hold a special place in our culture, and we’re proud to serve them to you.
Match with Kau Tapen Lodge
Villa María Lodge is located on the José Menéndez Estancia. This property dates back to 1894 and once supported a bustling village of family and farm staff who operated the sheep ranching business. The Menéndez property also played host to a very notable employee— estancia manager John Goodall, who’s rightly famous for the very first stocking of fertilised trout eggs into the headwaters of the Río Grande and other local rivers. Without his efforts, the Río Grande wouldn’t exist as a fishery today.
Jose Menéndez estancia comprises more than 120,000 acres of grazing, supporting 40,000 sheep and 1,500 head of cattle. The estancia sits close to the mighty Río Grande river and looks like a western movie set with its white picket fences and colorful flower gardens. The lodge building that is now known as Villa María was once the ranch manager’s family home. In recent years, it’s been completely transformed into a modern fishing escape.
Villa María features six en-suite double and single rooms, elegant and comfortable furnishings, and spacious living areas. Delicious meals are prepared daily by the lodge’s dedicated chef. Each evening a roaring fire and well-stocked bar welcome you back from the day’s adventures. Villa María’s tackle shop offers the latest Loop rods, quality reels, flies, lines, clothing, and other on and off water gifts and essentials. In addition, guests have the full use of the lodge’s fly-tying table and gear storage rooms. And if one lodge wasn’t enough, Villa María also boasts a riverside day house that’s used to augment the fishing rotation. The day lodge has three cozy rooms perfect for midday siestas. Conveniently positioned on a bluff above the river, this extremely comfortable pitstop increases fishing time, and gives our anglers a place to relax after enjoying lunch with a stunning river view.
Match with Villa María Lodge
Kau Tapen Lodge not only has 20 miles of some of the best looking pools of the Río Grande, but it also has all 22 miles of the Río Menéndez at its disposal. The Río Menéndez is the most productive tributary of the Río Grande, where thousands of sea-trout spawn each year. This smaller, technical tributary is perfect for floating lines and single-hand or switch rods. Although its fish aren’t any smaller!
Match with Kau Tapen Lodge
Villa María Lodge sits on the famous lower section of the Río Grande, where anglers are the first on the river to cast over the newly arrived, chrome bright seatrout entering the system. Not far from the saltwater, seagulls wheel overhead and the smell of salt is in the air. The river here is a seasonal shape-shifter, gravel bars sculpted by the river’s powerful flows. Endless pools, deep tanks, and spectacular runs offer diverse scope for the two hander. As for the fish, well they’re spectacular too! These are the stretches where anglers encounter the highest proportion of dime bright, fresh run fish, and “lifetime searuns” are landed every week.
Match with Villa María Lodge
The Río Grande is one of the easiest rivers in the world to wade, with gently shelving gravel beaches and uniform level stream bed.
Each day, guests leave the lodges in our fleet of Toyota trucks to fish daily allocations of water: “beats”. Each truck carries 2 anglers and their guide to a unique “beat” which is allocated to that pair of anglers for their morning or evening session. Each beat typically has between 4 and 8 pools, and during a typical week, each guest will fish all the water represented by each lodge.
Match with Kau Tapen Lodge and Villa María Lodge
Kau Tapen was the first fishing lodge on the Río Grande, opening its doors in 1984. Its name means “House of Fishing” in the Ona Language and here, at the heart of the Río Grande system, is the highest density of great fly and holding water on the entire river. Many of the world’s most legendary fishermen have stayed at the lodge, and many world records for sea run brown trout have been recorded on Kau-Tapen water.
If the walls of this magnificent lodge could talk, they would reflect on the countless stories told of epic battles with huge trout over the last thirty years. Kau Tapen Lodge embodies the fly fishing experience, and to hundreds of anglers, it is their fishing home away from home each season. Whether you prefer to fish a single or double handed rod, skate a dry fly, drift a nymph or swing a tube fly, these are world’s most famous sea trout pools and fishing them allows each angler their own piece of the narrative of Kau-Tapen. The fish of your dreams is only a cast away at Kau-Tapen, tame one and you’ll become a piece of history.
Match with Kau Tapen Lodge
If you prefer to travel light and don’t want to fly with extra items of luggage, don’t worry. All of our lodges provide state of the art loaner equipment at no extra cost.
Match with Kau Tapen Lodge and Villa María Lodge
Still can’t make up your mind?
If you’d like to discuss any aspect of the lodges or their fishing schedules to help decide which is right for you, just give us a call or send us an email. We’re happy to help answer any questions you may have, and our experts can help recommend the lodge that best suits you.
