Golden dorado are on my bucket list. David Radcliffe ticks them off of his.
Let me perfectly clear, I live in northern Canada. Northern Canada is about as close to the northern polar region as one can possibly get. I live in an area of pristine lakes, rivers and streams where the fly fishing opportunities are virtually endless. The only, and substantial draw back, is the access to these bodies of water teeming with fish and that is accessibility. We have very few roads, leaving only float plane aircraft owners the advantage to fish all these waters. I have fly fished this place god gave us for some forty years and yet, for some vague and conspicuous reason, I have always wanted to fish golden dorado in South America.
This meant I would need to overcome several barriers. The first, and most important, was to convince my wife that this adventure was a good idea and that Argentina was a good idea for a holiday destination. The second, more tangible issue, was the distance. The trip to northern Argentina would take us literally to the other end of the world.
My loving wife has, over the years, come to the realisation that my obsession for far away fisheries was an indulgence for which there is likely no cure. She was in. Planning the trip was now no longer a distant wishful dream taken at my fly tying desk. Fortunately I had made the acquaintance of an avid dorado fisher living in Buenos Aires through a fly fishing forum. This type of relationship can be dicey and reliance on a complete stranger for advice and arrangements from the other end of the planet is most often not recommended but I pressed on. After my wife and I had established dates, and a loose plan, my new friend Claus looked after all the finer details from his end of the earth.
My wife and I chose to fish for six days in Corrientes province and spend another six exploring the gastronomic possibilities of the capital, Buenos Aires. Between Claus, my wife and lastly myself, we chose to travel by car from Buenos Aires to the province of Corrientes where the dorado fishing was most often the best in the country.
After two full days of airline travel, we arrived in Buenos Aires, and coming from a climate where -40 is often the norm, +34 was more than a shock to our lily-white, travel weary bodies. I must say right off that Argentina is not like the rest of Central or South America. It is made up of immigrants from the European continent, many living in Argentina since before and after the Second World War.
Given that, they are very much influenced by traditions passed down from generations of people who love good food and good wine. After one of the most amazing beef steaks I have had anywhere in the world, we settled down to our first good night's sleep in days in preparation for a 6am departure to the northern region of the country. After an all-too-short night's sleep, we were on the road at 6:14am, bound for a ranch somewhere in the province of Corrientes. I must also mention that as descendants of Europeans, Argentinians, and more specifically, my friend Claus, drive like mad men. We made excellent time, as one does at 160kmph. and were at the ranch by noon for lunch. This particular ranch, all 5000 hectares of it, catered to occasional clients who were there for rest, horse back riding and occasionally fishing.
The main house was an old colonial residence, built during the hey day of Argentina and built to compliment the architectural influences from Europe. It was a grand stately home with huge open fireplaces, wooden arched windows and doors and massive exposed beams. Our room was fit for a family of five, complete with a view of the Rio Corriente, quite literally just steps from our terrace door. It was decided en route that we would eat lunch and siesta until the heaviest heat of the day had lifted, leaving us with a more comfortable late afternoon fishing session to round out the day. Claus had pre-arranged an excellent guide he had used in the past, complete with a high-powered river specific boat to get us safely and comfortably to the fishing grounds. It turned out the fishing grounds were no more than a few steps from the house and our first fish sighting was at the launch a few steps from the house.
The Rio Corriente can easily, on good days, produce more than fifty fish a day for a fly anglers and has long been a favourite river of Argentine casters and fly fishers from around the globe. It flows to Buenos Aires after entering into the Parana River. The Parana is said to produce the largest dorado in the world. From the lodge it is a mere 30-minute boat ride to where the Rio Corriente becomes the Rio Parana, just before passing by the town of Esquina.
We travelled for all of five minutes when our guide, Marcelo, asked us to line up and tie on some much needed wire leader material at the end of the tippet. From this we would be tying streamer patterns. These were weighted with lead eyes in dark shades of green, blue and black made from deer hair and feathers to keep weight down to allow better casting. They were tied in lengths from two to six inches long. It was only a matter of minutes and we had our first take of the day.
I must say that the area had its worst flooding in 50 years and dorado fishing was not what is normally is, so expectations were not running high. The first fish slammed the streamer, which we had bounced off of a steep bank falling straight into the river. Three fast strips of line brought it out from its lair where it was waiting for a passing meal. Dorado can reach weights of up to 20kg. and are best know as aggressive, mean, short tempered fish that are at the top of the fish food chain in the Rio Corriente.
In terms of evolutionary scale, they are far above all other fish in terms of veracious nature. They will take a fast-stripped fly and run out 10 meters of line coupled with as many as a dozen three or four foot leaps into the air. This fish did none of those things. After what appeared to be a hand grenade dropped into the water, all was quiet. The fish had missed the fly due in part to my setting the hook as to be trout fishing in a stream back home.
One thing they do not do often is be fooled a second time. We moved on up river. The flow of the Rio Corriente is made up entirely of rainwater and the river can be quite clear but the currents are always quick moving high volumes of rain water heading for Paraguay. A fly is quick to be pulled down stream and fast strips are needed to keep a tight line and to give the fly the needed action in the water. Dorado live in the faster water most often in with large snags of trees, aquatic plants and other debris so accurate casting is imperative to enticing and hooking fish. An 8wt. rod is best for casting the larger, weighted flies but a six weight will do for the smaller slower channels and where smaller flies are cast. Dorado do not care much, as nor do I, for the heat of the day and after no more luck, we made our way back to the lodge for another rest and terrific late supper. In Argentina, no one, and I mean no one, eats before 8pm and most often dinner is served at 9 or even 10pm. This leaves time to walk down to the river's edge to fish poppers for wolffish. These, if not already, should be second in the food chain of fish on the Rio Corriente. They eat anything from frogs to mice to piranha and live in the shallows of the flooded river. Any large loud popper will do and the takes are fast, aggressive and veracious. They are a fun alternative to dorado although not nearly as pretty to look at. Evening and early light are the best times to catch them and they are everywhere there are shallows or flooded flats.
The next day we set out again but again did not travel far before Marcelos had us into fish. Claus broke the ice with a nice dorado that completely ravaged his fly. Bring lots of flies, as each fish, landed or not, will mostly destroy them. The have teeth designed to take out big chunks and work just as well on feather and fluff and they do on flesh.
We travelled one day to the Rio Parana to fish but the flooding had made all but the slowest runs un-fishable. Huge clumps of vegetation the size of a bus were seen floating down river and were as far as the eye could see. We managed to hook a few dorado this day and each one was more gold than the next. Imagine if you will, a goldfish crossed with a pit bull and you have come close to what the dorado is like.
We were told by the ranch owner of a feeder stream the flowed out from the ranch land and down into the Rio Corriente. We travelled by 4x4 for about 20 minutes from the lodge and on the drive, the bird life was out standing and a testament to the range wildlife sightings. Excellent conservation and land management has allowed Argentina to have one of the most diverse and growing numbers of birds that would rival Brazil.
In addition there are ample opportunities to see capybara, the world's largest rodent, caiman, anaconda and rhea, a bird closely resembling the ostrich. After parking, and a short walk, we discovered what appeared to be a small river not unlike any trout river I have fished, complete with a lovely waterfall and several rapids. To my amazement, 12lb. dorado were attempting to fiord the waterfall and could be seen leaping up the wash of water.
My 6wt. was loaded with a floating line and after 4ft. of mono, a good 6 inch steel leader, from which a white and red Clouser minnow hung, shaking in fear, each time I took a step closer to the river. Casting in such close quarters is a common scenario for trout anglers and this was no different. The difference was that the flora was mostly like nettles on steroids with spikes as long as fingers and all sharpened to a needle point. Any slip backwards meant impaling on the brush and any slip forward meant encounters with fresh water stingrays, piranha and other nasty aquatics. My first cast was not as accurate as I would have liked and a quick adjustment to my second resulted in the fly landing just under a hanging branch and into an eddy pool of fast swirling water. The strike was war-like and there was no mistaking it for a snag. The dorado leapt from the pool nearly hitting the hanging branch, rolling in mid air as if in slow motion. The gold scales hit the light of the sun like they were in some silly competition for brilliance. Once the fish hit the water again, it ran off as if powered by a devil. When it finally came to hand, after several more leaps, my 6wt. had given all it had to get the fish this far. Reflecting afterward, I realised I was catching golden dorado in a clean, gin clear river, in a pristine environment that was a vibrant wash of green sub tropical foliage with bird life and a waterfall as the backdrop. We lost and landed many more dorado on that trip, ate some amazing meals and had some of the best wine that the world has to offer. We caught and carefully released some of the most striking and aggressive fish a fly fisher can ever hope to catch and did it all on a budget to rival any normal holiday.
Now however it was time for my wife’s portion of the holiday, with six days in Buenos Aires eating and shopping our way across the city. For me however, my mind would be on the Rio Corriente and the prospecting for gold with a fly rod and reel.
David Radcliffe is a retired schoolteacher with a serious affliction for adventure fly fishing travel, while on a DIY budget. When not fishing, he writes for fly fishing publications, travels and arranges DIY fly fishing adventures for small groups and individuals.
He now lives in British Columbia, Canada with his wife and dogs after living most of his life in Canada’s Arctic.
He can be contacted at davidradcliffe@shaw.ca