Fly fishing is only a small part of many of the packages and itineraries that we put together for our clients. On a recent three week honeymoon to Argentina that we designed for Mr and Mrs Bently which took in Buenos Aires, Patagonia, Polo estancias, Medoza vineyards, Iguazu we were able to fit in a few days fly fishing for Dorado in the Corrientes region. It's great to get good feedback and Chris shares his thoughts below:
Hi Mat & Georgina,
Many thanks for orchestrating such a wonderful honeymoon. We took away fond memories from each and every destination and have sworn to return to the country within the next couple of years. It has so much to offer, the food is fantastic and the people so friendly.
Fishing for Dorado is immensely exciting, each cast must be precise and every foot of fast moving river must be fished through, lest you miss a whopper lurking in amongst the calimote. The river guide, Sergio may not have much of a grasp of English but he has a nose for Dorado and can handle the boat with finesse, every so often complimenting me on a good cast 'excellent!' or pleading for the Dorado to make an appearance 'Come on Dorado!'. His boat handling skills gave me the confidence to stand on the bow and work the fly in every conceivable direction. My first fish was hard one, after a couple of hours of surprisingly accurate casting in muggy humid conditions and following several fly changes we finally hit on the right combination for the day. A red muddler head, with tungsten eyes and white hackle, a long cast between the mud bank and camiloti, saw the fly land and swirl its way into the faster turbid water within inches of the lily pads. The water swirled a fin appeared and the fight was on, retrieving line off the boat deck back onto the reel whilst trying to stay connected with the fish was tricky, the fish ran, dived bucked and jumped, with every few yards of progress the fish would win it back, causing the drag to whine. Time for me stands still when connected to a decent fish, the anticipation of landing the fish is countered by the apprehension of losing it. My arm aches and the lack of fighting butt on he rod and dogged fish on the end makes the struggle seem all the sweeter when eventually I bring the fish alongside the boat and Sergio deftly reaches down and tails the fish into the boat. I can't really believe it, my first fish is much larger than expected a double to be proud of.
Just before lunch I'm talking in broken Spanish to Sergio about my desire to see an anaconda in the wild, and just as luck would have it we both spot something swimming in the channel. Getting alongside we see it's a constrictor snake over three metres long and five inches wide. We pester it a little by staying close but realise that we'll be the hunted if we don't quickly move away from the lily pads. The day starts to pan out as a jungle river safari, with countless eagles, storks, vultures, kingfishers, turtles, capybara and Cayman all putting in an appearance. This is not a place where you would go for a dip, the brown muddy water belies the danger within.
The rest of the days fishing is long and hard, with only a couple more fish coming to the boat after a hearty lunch by the bankside. Working the fly in ever hotter conditions and with the mosquitoes upon us we decide to throw in the towel at around 5.35pm.
A full days fishing is rewarded by my wife waiting for me on the jetty in Esquina as the sun goes down and a cold beer back at the Estancia. When dining with the lovely owners the previous night, Ageles and Diego were guarded as to whether they thought I might catch any fish and are now pleased to tell me that Sergio was impressed with his Gringo charge. Diego and Angeles are natural hosts, in particular Angeles has a sixth sense that no amount of hospitality training can buy. She is programmed to please, and as we converse over another tasty three course dinner my wife and I can think of no finer company to enjoy our surroundings. The Estancia Don Joaquin is turning out to be the most interesting and comfortable place we've ever visited. Whilst the odd unwanted visitor might crawl into the room at night, the rest of the wildlife stays outdoors and Angeles and her husband are doing a grand job of keeping my wife entertained whilst I enjoy the river Paraná. Nikki loves horses and is happiest when on four legs so an afternoon of polo, lassoing practice and a hack has kept her busy, we both go to sleep looking forward to another day.
I arise to start the second day of my fishing adventure, breakfasting on fresh coffee scrambled eggs and pastries and say goodbye to my wife, leaving her to enjoy a lie in. I jump in the waiting truck with Diego and drive ten minutes to the port. A brief greeting with Sergio and we cast off both knowing that we've got jobs to do. In true business like fashion I've landed two fish close to the bank within the first forty five minutes. Several more fish follow before lunch bringing our tally to five fish. I'm mindful that if I can keep the pace up I might have a red letter day. Sergio's love for the Dorado is infectious so I almost feel obliged to give him my rod whilst I enjoy one of the ice cold beers provided by the estancia. It would be fair to say Sergio's casting needs a little work, but it gets the job done and after we've both tried three of four different favoured spots, Sergio is into a fish.
The fish jumps repeatedly, and I'm lucky enough to catch a few leaps on the camera. Sergio is pleased and has sated his appetite for Dorado so it's back to the gringo again, but now I see that my right hand is badly blistered, with five large swelling tender bumps on my fingers and palm. One has burst whilst fighting a six pounder earlier in the morning and despite applying ice my hand feels like's it's on fire and my casting is awful. I become a little sloppy so elect to take some respite and we have an early lunch on the bank. After a greedy portion of empanadas and veal escalope we head back out. The weather is cooler than the previous day and the mosquitoes are leaving us alone. I miss many fish, as rainbow trout tend to, the Dorado seems to be nipping at the tail of my fly making it increasingly shorter with each bite. Eventually there's virtually no tail left and I'm considering using dynamite on the bu*gers! Another change and I finally manage to keep the fish on. Fishing for Dorado is tantalising, you might spend ten minutes speeding along at forty knots, weaving in an out of big lily pads to reach your swim to find that on your fist cast you overshoot and stick your fly in a tree. Fortunately Sergio's grasp of English swear words isn't good either but he can tell your annoyed with yourself for having to now disturb Sergio's favourite swim. To make me feel a little better the guide tells me that fishing in the winter (May to September) can be some of the hardest months to fly fish, when the water is hottest in the summer (November/December) the Dorado becomes much more active, intercepting flies on the surface and chasing down virtually any pattern offered with gay abandon.
Of course my wife 'selfishly' wouldn't let me reschedule the honeymoon so I'm in their winter and the fish are proving fickle. Still I have just three hours left and I'm not going to let piffily ailments ruin the chance to finish the day off in style. Eventually I manage to keep another fish on the hook bringing the count up to seven (3lb-8lb) by 4.30pm. This is where the tally stays despite hooking a further four fish, none of which make it to the boat. The time has past five thirty in the afternoon and the mosquitoes have joined us for dinner signalling that the long day is over. Sergio and I head back to the port in Esquina. Angeles and Diego are already waiting at the jetty to pick me up and drive me home so I can shower and relax with a beer before another tasty dinner. Ten fish landed over two days, with lots of pictures and plenty of stories to tell of my first jungle fishing adventure.
If you want to experience amazing wildlife, play at being a gaucho and catch Dorado whilst relaxing in comfortable surroundings with fine hosts and agreeable food then Estancia Don Joaquin is the place to stay. We're not normally the type of the couple that revisit a place as we consider that there are so many different places to visit in the world but this experience is one that we'd like to repeat.
Best Regards
Chris Bentley
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