Jaguar Catching Dorado with Flies!!

Did you know that our Jaguar, the american tiger, used to fish for Dorados with a fly?

Yes, it's true! I have seen it! And if you think that this is just a fantasy or a hidden publicity or a new lie, I will tell you a story:

Many years ago I used to live hunting in Alto Paraná (North East Argentina) and Paraguay.

One day in Autumn, back in 1973, I was stalking on the Tembey river.

It was 4 pm when I saw a jaguar walking in the jungle getting closer to the bank of the river.

Impressed by this beautiful specimen painted with big mustard yellow with black ribbing spots,

I didn't prapared my gun.

I just kept watching him waiting for him to start drinking water from the river. It didn't happen.

The Jaguar sat down on the bank, he watched the water for a little while and silently he put the point of his long tail, well marked with rings of black and mustard hair, on the water's surface.

He started to move the point of his tail like a fly, with an up and down deceiving movements against the current atracting different small fish.

After a few minutes doing so he retracted his tail and casted it away in a very similar roll cast way, downstream, to retracted it again in an ondulating movement.

I didn'timagined what was going on, but at some point a huge Dorado came closer and attacked directly the point of the tail.

At a lightning's speed the Jaguar threw his right paw with its claws pointing forward like poisonous snakes point their fangs and with only one blow fo the paw threw the Dorado on shore.
The Jaguar jumped over the 20 pounds' Dorado, eating half of it, and leaving the rest covered for finishing the feast another day.
I went off too.
This is the story of a hunter who has been hunting and fishing for more than 42 years, and who is today a Guide and Outfitter for Dorado fly fishing,
Mario Battiston.


Did you know that there are some Dorados with a black back and others with a grey back ?

The only way of fishing for them both is with us. Why?

We run two lodges for Dorado fishing in the Corriente province, Argentina.

One of these lodges, named Capitá Miní, is situated within the Iberá Marshland National Reserve where the waters are crystal clear the whole year through.

The water at the Iberá Marshland are of high acidity and have no solar filter at all. Therefore the Dorados have a high pigmentation with a golden yellow color with contrast of a brilliant black contrast.


Our second lodge, the Santa Lucía lodge distant 100 miles from the first one, is on the Isoró Marshland by the river Isoró, where the waters are less clear. Here the Dorados are bigger, faster, and jump more than at the first place. Their color also is golden yellow but with a brilliant dark grey contrasts.

Fishermen can choose both areas for fishing during the same week having a new experience or spend the whole week at one fo the places as suggests Mario Battiston, outfitter, who spent the last 42 years of his life hunting and fishing and telling interesting stories, like this one about the Jaguar fishing for Dorados with "flies".
 

Mario Battiston
www.doradoadventure.com.ar