FISHING for GOLDEN DORADO in ARGENTINA

FISHING for GOLDEN DORADO in  ARGENTINA

Joan Moon 

Jomoon09@gmail.com

Have you ever gotten a wild impulse and just wanted to do something entirely spontaneous, something on the  spur of the moment, something you never thought of doing before? I ended up having a double reason for  going to Argentina. I’m an Argentinian tango aficionado––addicted to it––and for a very long time I had wanted  to go to Buenos Aires to tango. A light bulb went off when I began to explore that possibility! Why not combine the  tango trip with a fishing experience somewhere in Argentina?

I began searching on the Internet for Argentinian fly fishing web sites, and happened onto the Dorado Cua Lodge  web site by chance while looking for lodges in Patagonia. The Cua Lodge, located in the northeast on the wetlands  created by the Parana River, seemed to fit the bill for me. I wasn’t looking for a luxury destination with spa, pool or  other amenities that would increase the cost of the stay. I just wanted to fish, and the price was right. Everything  seemed to fit, because fishing for Golden Dorado is a totally different experience from fishing for trout; it would be  an adventure; and I had never thought of actually fishing in Argentina. It was perfect!

My contact at the Cua Lodge was the proprietor, Mario Battiston, a renowned angler and hunter with an outstanding  professional résumé. He sent me copious amounts of information about the region, the lodge, the equipment and the fishing gear I would need. He even orchestrated the journey from Buenos Aires to the lodge. Because I didn’t  want to schlep gear around on the trip or to buy the gear that I didn’t already own, I asked if I could just rent it, and  that’s what I ended up doing.

I flew out of SFO on November 9, 2010, around 9:00 AM, changed planes in Dallas, and landed in Buenos Aires the next morning. Fortunately, it was only a fourteen-hour flight. There was an additional eight-hour bus ride to  the lodge. I had already made plans to take a hotel room for the day to rest and clean up before getting on the bus  that night. The agent met me at the airport and took me to the hotel. He came back in the evening to drive me to  the Retiro bus station and put me on a luxury bus. We were served dinner, and after  converting my seat into a 180º  bed, I slept till I was awakened by the bus hostess and informed that I had arrived.  It was 5:30 in the morning and there was Mario waiting for me. A magnanimous man, Mario drove me back to the  Cua Lodge which is a wonderful rustic, but newly built, lodge. By 8:00 AM I had unpacked, had breakfast, and was  pushing off in a boat with my guide, Alfredo to go catch those tigers of the river.

The fishing began each day at 8:00 AM. The honey-colored waters at the Iberá Marshland are of high acidity  and have no solar filter at all; therefore, the Dorados have a high pigmentation, a golden yellow color with a  brilliant black contrast. I was using an 8-weight rod and a reel with around 200 yards of 20 lb. backing. Dorado have  sharp teeth and can sever heavy mono with one bite, We used 25 to 45 lb. coated wire between the fly and tippet  section. The most popular Dorado flies are 4” to 5” Lefty’s Deceiver style streamers tied, with spun deer hair heads  and bucktail collars and peacock topping to produce a perch-like profile.

The Golden Dorado feed directly in the more turbulent current, not at the seams, and sometimes along the banks.  The fishing style was a lot like fishing the Delta for stripers except for setting the hook. And fortunately, for months  before the trip my good friends, Nick Strelchuk and Don Labbe, had lent me 8- and 10-weight rods and had been  teaching me to cast with a sinking line and big fly. I had gained a lot of strength during that preparatory time and it  paid off. 

The casting distance depended on the width of the channel, but was often at least 30 to 50 feet. Out on the water,  Alfredo anchored the boat, took the rod, and demonstrated how he wanted me to cast and strip. He handed me  the rod, and I executed the cast well enough so that he gave me a big smile and a thumbs up gesture. We shared a bonding smile, and I was thrilled beyond imagination! I caught 14 fish that first day, but when I finally got the hang  of how to set the hook––which is different from how it’s done with striped bass––I stopped losing the fish when  they hit. They hit hard and fight harder than stripers. They are very acrobatic and do a lot of jumping. Alfredo said  they are very intelligent, and can easily spit the hook out when they jump. With every catch, it was thrilling just to  bring them to the boat. 

Every day we fished from 8:00 to 12:00 noon, then went in for lunch and siesta. At 4:00 PM we headed back out to  fish until 8:00 or 8:30 PM. Dinner was served around 9:00, and I was never happier to eat an Argentine dinner, bathe in a clean, modern shower and then collapse in a semi-coma till I awoke with the sounds of the many song  birds. The routine was repeated for four-and-a-half days. I was told that if I didn’t feel like fishing that hard, I could  go in early or not fish at all. I guess that’s a good allowance for some, but I took advantage of every minute of fishing.

I ended up catching 102 Golden Dorado and two Giant Piranha during the four-and-a-half day stay. 

The last day I still hadn’t caught the El Grande that I had been promised. That morning Alfredo returned us to a  channel that we had fished the second day and where we had had strong strikes but no catch. We knew that there  was a really big one in there, and I was determined to make the best cast of my days. The way the channels were  swirling, it had to be perfect so that it didn’t drift in the wrong direction. With a finish of a decent double haul, I did  it! And the reward was a huge hit. It was El Grande! I didn’t know who was more excited, Alfredo or me. I brought  that big boy in, and Alfredo determined that he was a good 5-kilo bull, and that was good enough for me! I had  caught Señor Gordo and now I could go on to tango!

Asides:  I went through five to eight flies each day. The Dorado really work the flies over, and the fly ends up being  mutilated whether the piranha strikes or really takes the fly. We always knew that it was a piranha when there was a  hit and there was nothing left of the fly. 

I can hardly wait to go back. I saw wildlife likI can hardly wait to go back. I saw wildlife like capybara, the world’s largest rodent, whose hide is made into beautiful  leather goods, alligators, tons of waterfowl, water buffalo, and song birds that were out of this world. Actually I’m  considering returning in the first week of May. If anyone is interested in accompanying me, I would enjoy sharing  this fabulous fishing opportunity with you.  For information go to: www.doradoadventure.com.ar