Ed Blank's Adventures Main Page

The Fishing

Dorado fishing in Argentina is a new pass time. Each year we are getting new converts. In fact we have had a many of the Dorado world records set here and there are many line classes that are open or can be beaten easily. The fish look like a golden colored salmon that has some good sharp teeth. It is a beautiful fish that fits the profile of a top gamefish. They take a fly well, they fight better than most freshwater fish and they are a perfect fly rod size -3-15 pounds.

On my first trip to the region I was puzzled when my guide dropped anchor and said " see that bird - that means  dorado are here"  It was an egret standing on the bank doing nothing.  No sooner did I start thinking "did he mean that bird?"  the water erupted near the bank with hundreds of 3 inch baitfish beaching themselves. The bird was quite happy to pick up as many as he could while they wriggled back into the water. One cast,  one strip, one hookup - the guide was right as usual.

We approach the fishing with skiffs and some of the fishing is done from skiffs and some while wading. This area has a lot of great wading which is nice as both clients on the boat get a lot more fishing time while wading. The edges of the stream beds are lined with water vegetation but the bottoms are pretty hard and sandy. The water van be clear to tea color with a good chance of seeing many of the fish before you cast. Trout fishermen will find all this seems very familiar - it is just hot and the terrain is foreign. Otherwise you will blind cast through the likely looking tails and inlets of the thousands of lagoons and feeders of the Parana and Corrientes river systems. The Parana will run warmer than the Corrientes. The Parana flows from tropical Brazil while the Corrientes is cooler as it is fed by springs to a great extent. In the fall and winter this can be a factor as the dorado will move to the warmer water systems. Having access to both systems is a great advantage.

Hopefully you like fish that hit hard and jump like crazy- cause that is what you are going to get. They are not a subtle fish, strong and aggressive describes them best. Almost all the fishing is done with streamers and a sinking or sink tip line,  although poppers are quite a lot of fun as well. Covering lots of water is key as they run in schools. Once you find one you can usually hook into a bunch. There are several other toothy fish that will come to the fly as well.

We are looking for a few adventurous souls to break this area in. It is a vast area and is hardly ever fished.

 
Ed Blank's Adventures Main Page

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