IN SEARCH OF GOLD, by Clem Booth
In Search of Gold
The mighty Rio Parana in Argentina was the chosen destination on my latest angling adventure. One of the world’s mighty rivers, the Parana – pronounced Para – Na, traverses over 3000 miles through Brazil, Paraguay and Argentina; it is second only to the Amazon. Eventually, it merges with the Paraguay and Uruguay Rivers to form Rio de la Plata or River Plate, emptying via a vast river mouth into the Atlantic Ocean at Buenos Aires.
After arrival in Buenos Aires on an overnight flight, we were driven north to a private marina in Santa Fe Province where a boat was waiting to take us to the supremely comfortable Parana Gypsy, a river cruiser that would be our home for a week. It is indeed a luxurious craft; roomy cabins, en suite bathrooms, an outstanding table and an array of excellent wines. We were made to feel welcome by the excellent Parana Gypsy team and were treated like long-lost friends.
Nothing prepares one for the sheer size of the Parana River; sea-going vessels are aplenty as are substantial waves when the wind blows, although once we veered off the main river into the Delta, the tapestry of waterways instantly gives one the sense of a really “fishy” place! Parts of the Delta are also huge but there are any number of lagoons and smaller watercourses linking it all up. And, as we were to find during our week, the Parana Delta offers some of the very finest flyfishing I’ve been privileged to enjoy anywhere.
The main quarry was the Golden Dorado, a voracious apex predator that reaches very substantial proportions although even the smaller ones also give a very good account of themselves. Other fish include the Wolf Fish - locally known as the Tararira - and the Palometa, a larger and more beautiful version of the Piranha.
Upon arrival, after freshening up and enjoying a hearty lunch, we set forth on one of the skiffs to get acquainted with the Delta’s inhabitants. I’m generally a slow starter when it comes to new waters; rather like a boxer testing an opponent in the early rounds, I tend to feel my way initially; assimilating information bit by bit. It was not long before however before a very solid pull interrupted my musings. Not a Golden Dorado but a Wolf Fish; aptly named for a very sharp and intimidating set of teeth. And then a few minutes later, another equally solid hit and a bar of gold erupted through the surface – “Dorado, dorado” was a war cry we were to hear many times during the week!
The Golden Dorado is a remarkable fish in every sense. A brightly shining gold sheen complemented by orange fins, a huge and bony head and a set of teeth to be wary of, they are quite unlike anything one is likely to encounter in northern hemisphere waters; my instant comparison was rather towards Africa’s Tigerfish. A prominent adipose fin suggested that Salminus brasiliensis might be a distant relative of salmon or trout but this is not the case, nor is it to be confused with the salt water Dorado.
Finding the fish is such vast waters can of course be intimidating; rather like saltwater flyfishing but soon we started to understand where to look for the likely lairs of these fearsome predators.
Colour changes or seams where crystal clear side waters joined the main river proved deadly as did the myriad lagoons and creeks that also produced many fish. The fish are very susceptible to water temperature; a cold snap means they’re deeper whereas warm weather quickly brings them up to the surface. Like any other flyfishing, it’s a case of watch, assimilate, learn and experiment!
The most exciting fishing by a country mile occurs when the Golden Dorado enter shallow water in pursuit of bait fish. Packs of marauding Dorado chase ill-fated little silver fish and set about decimating them! In fifty years of flyfishing, I’ve not come across anything to compare to the spectacle we were to see on most calm evenings. Dropping a fly into the melee induced an immediate strike although not necessarily a hookup. You have but an instant to set the hook via a series of authoritative strip strikes; fail to do so and the fish is gone. The Golden Dorado has a bony and toothy mouth and they are quite a challenge to hook. The typical quick upwards jerk of the flyrod tip a la dry fly fishing is quite useless for these fish and one needs to “retrain” to achieve success! Tactics are more akin to Kingfish and Barracuda in the Indian Ocean than trout.
The Wolf Fish is mostly found in heavily weeded areas and in contrast to the Dorado a delayed strip strike is needed; count “uno, dos, tres” then strip strike a few times to set the hook or popper.
Golden Dorado launch themselves skywards multiple times during the battle. Not the scorching runs associated with some gamefish but rather a slugging match mostly played out close to the surface. They are spectacular fighters; a big fish leaves one with trembling hands although in the midst of some of the frenetic activity, the priority was to get the fly back into the water! During some of these frenzied late afternoon sessions of maybe two hours, my fishing friend Nicolas and I had 40 plus fish between us; truly astonishing action.
Mostly one fishes from a well equipped skiff with the guide expertly positioning two anglers via a bow-mounted electric motor. However, one also comes across what are in effect little streams where water empties out of the flooded areas of the Delta; what fun it was to get onto terra firma and cast to Golden Dorado literally packed into a stream no larger than our own Upper Test! Think of 6 to 8 pound fish smashing your fly on pretty much every cast and you will get the drift! And then, as quickly as they arrive, the fish are gone as they ghost away to another area to terrorize baitfish. Many of the Dorado had their own tails and fins damaged by their relatives; truly these fish take no prisoners!
Tackle wise, it is very much 8 weight country; the flies and poppers are mostly big and fairly bulky so casting can be some work! Indeed, as I write this a couple of weeks after returning, my elbow is still grumbling about the abuse! Wire traces are standard fare and I find the heavily front-end loaded weight forward flylines to be helpful in launching flies the size of small birds! The Andino Deceiver is a particularly popular pattern although when the fish are on song, they will hit pretty much anything you put before them!
I’m a big fan of split cane fly rods and used my 8 weight made by Chris Carlin of Alaska to good effect. Having caught other very large fish on this rod, I felt confident that it would handle these fish and it did not disappoint. We did however encounter a fair amount of unseasonable wind and I was glad to have brought my carbon and glass rods along.
Golden Dorado can reach epic proportions of 30 pounds plus although we didn’t come across any of these monsters. A “bigger” fish is 5 pounds plus with some getting on for double figures. The Wolf Fish can also grow to sizeable proportions and I had one of around 8 pounds. Over the course of the week, I had about 120 fish and truly one couldn’t have asked for more. In every sense, a fishing extravaganza and if taken together with the magnificent bird life, breathtaking sunsets and scenery generally, it is truly a more than worthwhile journey.
The “Golden Dorado River Cruiser” venture was set up by my good friend Luciano Alba and his father Roberto; they are also the owners of the famous Estancia Laguna Verde at Lake Strobel in Patagonia. I generally travel to Patagonia with a couple of good friends including the very well known flyfisher Peter Cockwill and on this occasion we were all thrilled to sample another of the delights of Argentina; namely the Golden Dorado!
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