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Agustin
(click image for detail)
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We always want to fish unspoiled and pristine water. So, when we had a few days off guiding the Juramento River we decided to fish the Rio Dorado, a small tributary of the Rio Bermejo. The first time I fished the Dorado was almost 30 years ago and it had excellent fishing but it took a day to get there on good weather conditions.
The Rio Dorado is a really small river compared to most of the rivers where Dorado are found. The water is crystal clear (from May to November) and in most of it, water is no deeper than 4 to 6 ft. If you look at it you might think it is full of trout, but no, it is full of small Dorados. Most of the fish in this river are on the 3 lb range, but it is possible to see and hook fish well over 10 lbs. Due to the clear water conditions, fishing for these brutes requires a stealthy approach. You need to see them before they see you.
Getting there is as difficult to catch the larger fish, first we drove 25 minutes from the Lodge to the Ranch, the we drove 1 hr from the ranch to the end of the road, then we walked 20 minutes to the River only to walk another hour upstream to find the best spots. Access is difficult to say the least. The other inconvenience, besides the access are the tiny bugs that bite like hell (no see uhms and ticks). We were well prepared with lots of Deet, long sleeve pants and shirts and other protection, and even so, one or two bites kept us scratching for hours.
Anyways, once we got were we wanted and rigged our 9' # 5/6 wt rods with long leaders topped with 10 lb wire tippet and 2/0 deceivers all inconveniences went away. Fishing was slow for the Dorado, we managed to hook around 10 - 15 fish per angler, mostly in the 3-5 lb range. Agustin landed a 9 lbr and lost a fish of around 15 lbs. Altuna landed two fish in the 7 lb range and many smallies. I, off course, only managed to catch 7 to 10 fish in the 2-4 lb range.
Just after dark we had enough time to set up our tents, grill an asado poured with Malbec wine and let ourselves into a well deserved sleep only to repeat the same fishing the following day.
The experience is unforgettable. The place is paradise: a rain forest with a tiny crystal clear stream filled with Dorados; Toucans and several kind of parrots flying around and we also spotted an Anta (Tapir) on the distance. When he saw us sprinted like a race horse into the jungle.
I will go back to this place again and camp for a couple of days and go beyond were we where as I think I will find fisherman's Eldorado. |
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