TRIP REPORT: Dorado, Rio Juremento, Argentina

Recently Toby Coe while on a business trip to Brazil took a few days off to visit the Rio Juramento river in the Salta provence of Argentina. He filed this report below. You can view Toby Coe's photography at his WEBSITE.

I would love to have returned from Argentina with tales (and pictures) of monster dorado and broken rods, however the reality was that I have never travelled so far for so few fish! Three days on the Rio Juramento and one day on the Rio Dorado gave up only one fish from six strikes. The guides, however, were almost as wound up as me however and explained several times that this was very, very unusual. Guys coming over to fish with them normally get 10-20 strikes a day from which they typically land 2-3 dorado.

They weren't sure exactly what had caused the fishing to be quite so bad. Although the weather was quite cold, it hadn't got cold enough to change the water temperature enough (I don't think) to cause the fish to stop feeding. Sometimes trips just don't all go according to plan I guess!

On the plus side, the set-up down there is great. The guides have the fishing down to a tee. Fishing the Juramento from drift boats is similar to casting big streamers for trout on some of the western rivers of the US and Canada, just harder work! The flies they use are big and casting them all day on an 8 wt gets pretty tiring. Plus you lose a LOT of flies to the trees, branches and other structure that you are casting at. I would love to catch this river on a good day though, when 20 strikes from dorado in a day is more than possible. My guides best trip with clients was with a father and son team, who had 96 strikes in two days!

By the way, I say 'strikes' as actually hooking a dorado is somewhat tricky. That first hit is so fast and their mouths so hard that often the hook doesn't take hold. Combine that with the almost inevitable jumps that follow as soon as you try to set the hook and you quickly see why about 1 dorado is landed for every 5-6 strikes.

For those that like their small stream fishing, the Rio Dorado is an absolute gem. A crystal-clear mountain stream about 60-100 ft wide, running through tropical rainforest, it offers something completely different to the Juramento. I think this is where Todd Meon and Brian O'Keefe filmed the short movie in the current edition of Catch Magazine.

I'd definitely recommend the place for someone keen on getting into dorado, just make sure you take a lot of big flies and make sure you're happy casting them without a lot of effort as you'll be doing it all day! I think timing is critical as well. The guides were emphatic that October to mid-November is the time to be there as the dorado are feeding hard prior to the spawning period.


Image 01: That's a lot of baitfish! Keep in mind that this photo was taking from about 200 ft up, on the top of the dam and the fish in the picture are all around a couple of feet long.


Image 02: A typical fly for the Juramento


Image 03: Guide Marcello fishing a typical pool on the Rio Dorado


Image 04: Finally! Marcello and I were somewhat exultant when we finally landed this fish.

Testimonial: Glovers Reef, Belize

Hi Mat,

Just back from Belize, and just wanted to say what an amazing time we had thanks.

It all went completely as you 'scripted', all the connections were good, and people met us where you said they would, the two guides you set up were both good at their jobs, slightly differrent approaches, which added to the experience of Permit hunting, on the flats, which was electrifying, seeing that black sickle fin sliding through the shallows.....

Saw a fair few permit and had more shots here than anywhere else I have been, and saw a fair few other species too, bones, jack crevalle, cuda, rainbow runners, and in blue water, tuna, dorado, kingfish, more cuda's... lots of fish !!

I cant wait to have my next adventure with you Mat, as everything was perfect, organised with the minimum of fuss my end, and seemlessly from yours, thank you.

Take care,best wishes.
Nick Foster-Brown

TRIP REPORT: RIO GRANDE, ARGENTINA, SEA TROUT

Client David Reverdito finished on the Casa Blanca Lodge trip and flew down to Argentina to catch the end of the Sea Trout season out of Aurelia Lodge. He had a reasonable week considering the snow and high water...

"Ended up with 6 sea trout landed for the 5 days, 13, 14, 3 x 15 and 19lbs. Very happy given the tough conditions, high water and cold so fish not very active. Lodge, guides and staff very nice". DAVID REVERDITO, AUSTRALIA.

You can read about David's fishing adventures at DUCKBILL's FISHING BLOG which has a full report of his week on the Rio Grande.

TRIP REPORT: CASA BLANCA LODGE, MEXICO

We sent a group of intrepid UK anglers down to Casa Blanca Lodge, Ascension Bay, Mexico in early April on a quest for bonefish, permit and tarpon. Despite some fierce weather they managed all three and had a great time doing so. Here is a few images kindly shared by Ian and Kevin.

"Our week was troubled by high winds ,but when the guides managed to find spots that weren't too badly effected we pick up some nice bones and tarpon, with a couple of real monsters looking at my fly as well .

I was also delighted to get a snook slam, my first ever. The group had several shots at permit in difficult conditions, with Ian Bailey finally catching. A big highlight was the fantastic company of the group." KEVIN, UK



These images are courtesy of Ian Bailey of BOOK BINDERS of LONDON. We will be displaying a series of books produced by the Book Binders at the CLA gamefair.









FOR INFORMATION ON OUR UPCOMING TRIPS TO CASA BLANCA PLEASE CALL US ON +44 (0) 1621 743711, VISIT OUR WEBSITE OUR WEBSITE or email us.

Los Roques permit

Congratulations to Rob Smallman on conquering his permit quest. Rob has fished in many locations for these fish and has managed to land his first permit on a recent three week stay on Los Roques.....


Dear Matt,

Thanks to Mat of Fly Odyssey we went to Los Roques. From a non-fishing wifes point of view it is one of those places that once tried, is never forgotten. The place and the friendly people have a charm all of their own. The colours and lovely beaches make a joint trip with a fishing husband the most balanced and most eagerly awaited destination we have been to. In short, a gem!

Take care,

Nikki



Rob and Nikki stayed at La Cigala. We can provide packages to La Cigala starting at £1800 per week. For mor information please email us or call on +44 (0) 1621 743711.

British Columbia Spring Steelhead

The spring steelhead fishing ion the Skeena and its surrounding rivers in British Columbia is really firing. Just had this report through from Andrew Rushton owner of Kalum River Lodge.

Happy to report excellent spring Steelhead fishing at Kalum River lodge. Clients last week landed 44 Steelhead during their week. Clients were into multiple hook ups most days.



Average size was 12-14lbs. Largest fish hooked was over 20lbs. Warmer temperatures and rising water are bringing fresh fish into most of the rivers we fish. We also expect to see some early King salmon showing up in the Kalum the next couple weeks.



Regards
Andrew

If you would like further information on the Spring or Autumn steelhead fishing on the Skeena and surrounding rivers please call on 01621743711 or email us.

Iceland: Winter sightseeing tours

Iceland Winter Wonderland

We helped to put together a bespoke trip to Iceland in search of glaciers, northern lights and even some ice fishing. Pam and Alan Ball share some of the highlights.....

Winter Wonderland ( even without any fishing !!!)

The trip to Iceland in January was a lovely surprise ( especially as we had planned to go to the sunshine in Morrocco but the temptation of seeing a few rivers and the Northern Lights took over !!)

Iceland has many natural attractions the scenery the wonderful northern lights the food ( more of that later ) and above all the people. The airport is efficient and welcoming and Reykjavik is a lovely little city.



Because we had to change our plans due to the weather ( we seemed to take the snow with us from England ) we spent a little more time in the city than we had expected.
Whilst it is small it offers some of the best food we have had anywhere in the world. The fish and lamb are exceptional ( especially if you avoid the fermented shark ) but it is worth experimenting with the tasting dishes some of the restaurants offer. We didn’t expect to eat minkie whale, reindeer or puffin but all were a pleasant surprise.
We were taken out some nights to “hunt the lights “ but to no avail. We did however get the chance to meet a very nice Icelandic horse ( whatever you do don’t call them ponies ) in a cosy stable at midnight --- it is a long story !

Reykjavik also has it’s Latin side. We found a delightful café full of locals who meet every Wednesday to perform the Argentine Tango and most welcoming they were.
Leaving Reykjavik allowed us to see some of the most magnificent scenery with volcanoes, frozen waterfalls, geysers, hot springs ,glaciers and even a beach. The glacier trip was undertaken in the largest 4x4 vehicle know to man and we have the photos to prove it ! The glacier is blue and to driving on the ice is a very disorientating experience but fun.



Our plans changed frequently due to the weather and it was down to Throstur and his team that everything worked so well. He kept in touch with us whilst we were in town and on the move. He is a real gentleman and did everything he could to make our trip a success ( even organising fireworks !!!)

It was really helpful to see the large relief map of the island in City Hall to make sense of the geography. Driving in winter in Iceland is an adventure the black ice and new snow does make you a little anxious but confident drivers and studs in tyres meant we had an uneventful journey.

We travelled south first hosted by Christian who not only kept us up to date with geography history and his culinary expertise but also kept Alan hanging on a hook with his tales of fishing in the long summer days. He proved a really lovely companion who suffered our sense of humour without complaint. We stayed in the small cosy lodge at Minnivallalaekur and got a chance to see the rather cold and windy river ( mainly through the window ) but here we did get to see the Northern Lights and that really is very very special.



The rivers we passed although rather icy in January look inviting and some of them small enough to tempt the sight fisherman. We moved further along the north east coast and met up with our next host Suddi. He is a larger than life character ( who certainly has seen life !!) He took us to our next stop the lodge at Breiddalsa.
This certainly presented a stunning snowy picture as daylight dawned. The lodge is extremely comfortable and Suddi’s cooking lived up to our experience of Icelandic food and hospitality.

We ventured out of the lodge to see the fish hatchery and some of the wonderful landscape. ( and Alan has now become an ace reindeer spotter )

The ice fishing was fairly brief because of the weather but a unique experience first to drive onto the lake then to fish through holes with the smallest rods you ever did see. The most essential piece of ice fishing equipment? A soup ladle! (To scoop the reforming ice from the hole).



Our return to Reykjavik was a little sooner than expected but the weather played it’s part again and thanks to Siggi we arrived at the airport and a brilliant pilot took us safely back to Reykjavik.

Iceland is a land of stunning scenery wonderful food and some of the most hospitable and flexible people we have ever met. They have one great selling point for any would be fisher person and that is ‘no biting mosquitoes’ even in summer.

So would we go back probably yes but we might give January a miss !

Our thanks go to everyone involved in the trip but Throstur made sure it all happened and a big thank you to him and his family.

Many thanks once again to Mat and Fly Odyssey for providing yet another adventure but this time in the snow. We’re now re-packing for another fly fishing odyssey to Mexico hopefully for some saltwater fishing and sunshine and no more furry hats!!