Jul 07 2008
Argentina Golden Dorado Fishing Pira Lodge February 28, 2008
Morning Session
Weather: Heavy Rain, Thunder and some Lightening
Water Conditions: Marsh is on the lower side with just a bit of stained water. Noel explained that with the arrival of the rain should come a little clearer water conditions which can improve the fishing
Fly Fishing Equipment: 5 and 6wts with 250 and 350 sinking lines and 5 and 6wt floating lines for fishing the main march area in the morning
Report
Tom and I left the dock at 7:30am and headed to the main part of the marsh with Nicolas. When we loaded up the boat it was a steady rain, by the time we got to the marsh( after a side trip back to the dock after getting five minutes from the dock because we realized we had our rods in the other boat ) it was a constant heavy rain with thunder and lighting looming. We decided to give it a go and play it by ear as we went along. As we made our way out into the marsh we could see pushes and wakes everywhere. It was similar to fishing for redfish in shallow water were you can cast to the wakes. We made our way into a cannel and it was only a few casts before Tom was hooked up. The fish are much darker color in the marsh because of the water color and conditions. The rain kept on coming and actually picked up. After Tom hooked a few I took the bow as Nicolas poled us deeper into the marsh; a few cast and I was hooked up the the acrobatic show was on. Tom and I switched two more times and then we decided to call it a morning. The rain was pouring and it was getting colder the harder it came down. We headed back to the dock which was a lot closer then the 20-30 minute ride to the river when we fish that. Ten wet cold minutes and we were back to the dock and in the lodge where I find myself now writing this fishing report. Just as I am typing this the sun is starting to come through the clouds and everything around is turning a bright shade of green. One of the really cool things here are the variety of birds, it’s almost daunting the variety of species that you see. There is a tree right out in front of the lodge just beyond the pool that is filled, and I mean filled, with parakeets or small parrots. i do not know which one yet and need to look it up in the bird book before we go. I have never seen a more concentrated area of hawks then I have seen here. When we fish the river we go through a large portion of the marsh and you see hawks everywhere, sitting in the trees and flying around often with some creature they caught held in their talons. Another interesting variety of bird that we have seen is the red shouldered stork which I had very seen before. They are huge and look like cross between some sort of herring and have the colors like a wood duck on their neck in bands. Another crazy thing we have seen are ___________which look like guinea pig pigs on steroids.
We are going to grab some lunch in about an hour, then siesta and then see what we can find on our last afternoon of fishing.
Afternoon Session
Weather: Warm upper 70’s with partly sunny skies, light breeze
Water Conditions: With the arrival of rain storms in the morning came a good amount of rain which cleared the water up a bit giving it better visibility
Fly Fishing Equipment: 5 and 6wts with 250 and 350 sinking lines for fishing the river
Report
Ryan and I fished with Filipe while Tom fished with Noel and Nicolas. Because the morning session was cut short because of pouring rain, thunder and lighting we got an early start and left the dock around 4pm. We decided for the last session we would go and look further down river for a few of the bigger fish. We rode down river about 15 miles until we came to a few deep pools that Filipe called his hot spots. The lower portion of the river has more weeds/reeds long the shore which makes for better fishing out of the boat so we decided to stay on board and fish this way for the afternoon. We cast down along the weeds and it only took two casts before we were hooked up. It was pretty steady catching 2-4lb golden dorado, with the occasional piranha, for the rest of the afternoon. Filipe said our trip would not be complete without catching a camon (aka crocodile) on the fly. So we set out to look for one that was on the smaller side so we could get him in the boat. Ryan hooked three before he was convinced they would bite a popper and tied one on. We found a little cove that had a good number of small camons. Two more hooks ups but both came off. It was about 8:30pm and the sun had about set, but Filipe was determined that we needed to land one. Ryan tied on one last popper, make a cast and the camnon snapped….but missed….another cast and sure enough he was hooked up, game on. A few violent head shakes and some strong pressure and the camon was boat side. Filipe quickly boga gripped the fish and brought him onboard where we took some video and snapped a few photos before releasing him to be caught another day.
Dinner
Noel, Pira Lodge’s Fishing and Lodge Director, joined us for dinner on our last night. The dinner started off with some grilled sausage and rips with a healthy green salad with fresh tomatoes and of course Argentine wine. Tom had spent the afternoon fishing with Noel and talking about the possibility and feasibility of conducting a tagging study with the golden dorado in the Iberia Marsh and Corentie river system. Noel was enthusiastic about the idea and said it could lead to some interesting findings about the golden dorado. To date all the information on how, where and when the fish go to different areas of the ecosystem has been done through observations and hypothesis. Noel explained how he had dedicated his life to fishing for and understanding golden dorado and his passion is evident as you sit and listen to him. Golden Dorado is Argentina’s National fish and is protected, however commercial fishing in the lower part of the river is allowed. As Noel explained and we all know, nets are indiscriminate in what they catch and when they happen to catch and kill golden dorado as by catch the fish are often sold at market and can actually be found in some restaurants in the northern part of the country. Noel explained that while a formal study would produce great scientific data, it would also show a seriousness in the appreciation of the species to the commercial fishing communities which might lead to more awareness and conservation consciousness. Another interesting fact that Noel reminded us about the golden dorado is that it is indigenous to Argentina. While Argentina and especially Patagonia is well known for its trout fishing, the trout are not indigenous, but rather were introduced in to the country over 100 years ago. The original trout were brought in from private individuals from California’s cloud river to create fishing opportunities in the country. As people began to enjoy the fishing hatcheries were created, first in the Baraloche area, to start stocking as many rivers as possible in the Patagonia area which now reaches all the way to Terra de Fuego. Noel continued that while he has appreciation for Argentina’s great trout fishing, it is really not that interesting to him because it is not authentic to the country like the Golden Dorado. I thought about these comments as I went to bed and I think Noel has a great point and one I will continue to ponder in our travels as we explore the many trout fisheries of the Patagonia region. We are excited about the possibilities of a tagging study here on these great fish and will sit down after the trip to see what we can get going.
As the main course of barbecued lamb arrived Noel entertained us with his stories of his adventures in pursuit of golden dorado in other parts of Argentina as well as his fishing adventures in Bolivia and Peru. Noel is a true fly fishermen in every sense of the description. He has been at Pira Lodge for eight seasons. He runs Pira from December through the beginning of April (their season) and then returns to his home town of Buenos Aires for a few weeks to visit with family and friends. After visiting he embarks on 2-4 week fishing excursions around Argentina and in other parts of South America mainly in search of new areas where Golden Dorado swim, but also for other interesting fish, some of which even he does not know what they are called.
Dinner ended with more wine, more fishing stories and an amazing apple pie. After dinner Filipe and Nicolas emerged and we shared a few more stories in the living room and dumped some of the pictures we took over the last few days to their computers for them to have and enjoy. After enjoying the company it was time to pack for our 7am departure. Our journey tomorrow brings us to Northern Patagonia in search of trout and understanding the different rivers and ecosystems in the Patagonia region. Because it rained our plane can not land at the lodge’s grass landing strip, so we will take a 2-2/12 hour car ride to Goya where we will rendezvous with plane where we will take a two hour plane ride back to Buenos Aires. From there we will go across the airport to the domestic portion and grab a one hour and fifty minute flight to Baraloche. From there a transfer (Argentine for a car/truck/ride) will pick us up where we will head north on a four hour ride to the Northern Patagonia Fishing Club Lodge where we will call home for four nights and three days. Until tomorrow, buenos noches.
