Fishing in Argentina

Fantastic fly and lure fishing for GOLDEN DORADO IN NORTH EAST ARGENTINA, CORRIENTES.

SUPERB FLY FISHING FOR TROUT IN SOUTHERN ARGENTINA. RIO MEL LODGE, CHAPELCO.

Enjoy great sport fly and lure fishing for Golden Dorado in north east Argentina. Rustic but comfortable lodge close to fully guided fishing at San Isidrio on a vast wetland and water system connected to the Parana River. New in 2011.. swimming pool.

Getting There: Take a flight from the UK to Beunos Aires- direct flights with British Airways. An overnight stopover in the city is essential, you may stay longer. Take the overnight sleeper coach to San Isidrio/Goya where you are met by Dorado Adventures staff and transferred to the Dorado Cua Lodge. All meals are included and two anglers share one boat/guide. We generally recommend 6 fishing days with a 5 night stay, this equates to 11 nights away with overnights on the flight/city and sleeper coach. Golden Dorado are agressive feeders and good acrobatic fighters, they swim in shoals of up to 30 fish and readily take on fly and lure tackle. An 8# rod is required and one should use wire or Pro Leader as a trace, Golden Dorado averaged 1 to 3 kilos,  and we lost fish to around 7 kilos. They have strong jaws and sharp teeth the hook up rate is around 5 hookups to one landed.!   Lots of good action on plugs, large Mepps and streamer flies.

Dorado Cua Lodge.  Full board, twin rooms with shower and toilet. Good service and food, lots of top class Argentian beef!!. Argentine wines and beer included within reason. Beautiful "Pampas" style countryside, hot weather in January to May, abundant bird life. Ideal for dual centre holiday with Patagonia (Trout). The fresh water dorado of South America, ‘Salminus Maxillosus’, is one of the worlds great species of sports fish. A true predator, dorado can be caught on all types of lures and, of course bait. Following an exciting and hugely productive recee trip to Dorado Cua lodge, which sits on the banks of the Rio Isoro in the Corrientes province of Northern Argentina, I have been able to compile the following tackle recommendations:

Undoubtedly there are some huge dorado present in this area, we were told of fish exceeding 20lb and I personally lost a fish that if caught would have weighed near to that weight, the average size of fish we encountered was between 1-5lb with a few fish caught during the week nudging double figures.

SPINNING TACKLE:

So far as spinning tackle goes, I recommend a medium weight multi-piece travel-spinning rod such as the Shimano Beastmaster STC 240-270 I used with great success throughout my trip. I matched this lovely rod with a Shimano Stradic 6000 loaded with 15lb BS monofilament, a combination I will certainly take on my next trip. Better lure anglers than me prefer to use braid for spinning, though personally for this style of fishing for small to medium size fish that jump frequently throughout the fight I prefer to use monofilament-it’s your choice!

So far as lures go you will get strikes on pretty much anything you throw in the water. Floating, diving plugs were particularly effective during our trip notably the Rapala J13 and though we caught well on a wide variety of different lures from Rapala, Storm and Yo-Zuri so carry a selection to include a few smaller and a few larger than 13cm. Lures with built in ‘rattle’, too, gave a noticeable edge on some days.

The most consistent colours were Fire Tiger, Red Head, Blue and Black & Gold, and each session we found it was important to change a few lures to find the days ‘hot-colour’. Incidentally my best fish of the trip came on a black and orange 33g Blue Fox ‘Salmon Super Vibrax’ spinner that also took a few other good fish before I cast it up a tree!

Whichever lure you use I suggest you change the hooks and split rings. There is no need to use super strong Owner type trebles you would use in salt water for GT’s but you will need a reliable and obviously very sharp hook that does not negatively affect the action of your lure. Good quality pike trebles will suffice. A short 6in 30lbBS wire leader is essential. I do not recommend pre-tied leaders with link clip attachments as these are unreliable, as several of our group found to their cost. Any good quality, supple, multi-strand wire you can either tie or crimp directly to the lure and swivel will be perfect.

FLY FISHING:

Due to the predominant size and multitude of fish in this fishery, this destination is the perfect venue for the fly fisher. I used my trusty Loomis Cross-Current 8wt plus matching reel, and again this or a similar outfit will be coming on the next trip! Prior to the trip my research revealed that the recommended line of choice for dorado was a very fast sinker, a sink tip or a sinking shooting head. I no doubt such lines are necessary on some of the deeper rivers found in the area where it is essential to quickly sink a big fly down to the fish in a fast current, but certainly we found these were not needed on the Rio Isoro and the plethora of channels and lagoons we fished throughout this extensive march system.

Accuracy when casting is critical, you’ll need to place your fly on the very edge of the reeds and lily pads, beneath over hanging trees and perfectly along the seam at the edge of a current. The average depth was less than 10ft, often we could see the bottom, and I found I could cover the water perfectly with a weight forward intermediate line. I am not a great fly caster and I find I can work floating and intermediate lines far more efficiently than sinkers, certainly casting accurately is much easier with these lines. Be sure to carry a few sinking lines though; conditions could change.

The lodge sells excellent dorado flies, $7 each, but such are the teeth on these fish you’ll not get many fish for your dollar! The most effective flies are dark and colourful with plenty of black, red, gold, yellow and sparkle tied in plus weighted eyes to make the fly sink quickly.

Prior to the trip I tied a selection of heavily dressed Clouser Minnows on super sharp, super strong Owner hooks, and I am pleased to say they worked extremely well, taking upwards of 25 fish to my rod on one magical evenings fly fishing. Again carry a selection to include a few surface poppers, which we were told work well.

Buenos Aires is a colourful, vibrant city with great shops, restaurants and nightlife. It is worth at least one night stopover in each direct possibly more

Rio Mel Lodge, Patagonia.

Superb lodge with excellent fly fishing for big rainbow and brown trout in a stunning setting. A variety of crystal clear rivers. Prime time is from late November through our winter months. The lodge has 6 double rooms with private bathroom. The lodge serves excellent cuisine and fine wines. Overlooking the Meliquina River, it is just an hours transfer from Chapelco Airport. Guests can enjoy a city stopover extension by staying in Buenos Aires on the outward or return journey.