Beautiful Parana River Golden Dorado
Parana River, Argentina
March 2023
I had been meaning to get down to Argentina for many years. I had always heard good things about both the fishing and the capital, Buenos Aires, which is a meat-eater's paradise.
My friend Gary joined me on this trip. Our original plan was to stay in the Pira Lodge and fish the Ibera Marsh for 3 days for numbers of small and medium Dorado and then transfer to the Suinda Lodge on the Parana River to try to hunt for a trophy. This was an excellent plan, but nature intervened and a prolonged drought in the Ibera Marsh prevented the Pira Lodge from opening. Apparently it hasn’t been able to open the past two seasons. Nervous Waters, the company we booked with, gave us notice about a month in advance that Pira likely wouldn’t be able to be opened and presented a range of options, including bumping the trip back a year, getting our money back, or just fishing at Suinda Lodge for the whole week. We opted for that, knowing it is not a numbers fishery. My buddy and I are not afraid to grind out a week of casting for shots at a couple of trophy fish.
March 2023
I had been meaning to get down to Argentina for many years. I had always heard good things about both the fishing and the capital, Buenos Aires, which is a meat-eater's paradise.
My friend Gary joined me on this trip. Our original plan was to stay in the Pira Lodge and fish the Ibera Marsh for 3 days for numbers of small and medium Dorado and then transfer to the Suinda Lodge on the Parana River to try to hunt for a trophy. This was an excellent plan, but nature intervened and a prolonged drought in the Ibera Marsh prevented the Pira Lodge from opening. Apparently it hasn’t been able to open the past two seasons. Nervous Waters, the company we booked with, gave us notice about a month in advance that Pira likely wouldn’t be able to be opened and presented a range of options, including bumping the trip back a year, getting our money back, or just fishing at Suinda Lodge for the whole week. We opted for that, knowing it is not a numbers fishery. My buddy and I are not afraid to grind out a week of casting for shots at a couple of trophy fish.
A monument in Buenos Aires
Some outstanding grilled lamb. Argentina is justifiably famous for its meat.
After an overnight stay in Buenos Aires, we flew to Resistencia and then drove about an hour and a half to the lodge. We arrived at the lodge around 5pm, just in time to go fishing. The fishing program there is from 6-11am, followed by lunch and a long siesta, and then another session of 5-8pm. We hurried to set up our rods and headed out. We were advised to put on Johnson Silver Minnow spoons, which I have never liked. They are pretty weedless, but the hooks are dull and they are soldered on and sometimes fall off under strain. I brought a hook sharpener and still could not get them very sharp. Still, within about 15 mins my buddy Gary hooked a fish. It jumped and we were excited to see it exceeded 20lbs. Unfortunately, it threw the spoon and its dull hook almost immediately and was gone. We got some more bites but couldn’t keep any hooked until near the end of the session when I got a small one to stick. We were pumped given the action we had in a short time while still getting our bearings.
My first Golden Dorado of the trip
One of many spectacular sunsets the Parana served up during the week.
We went back to the lodge and had dinner, which was delicious. That was a recurring theme of the week; the food at the lodge was excellent. There were 3 kinds of appetizers after every session, and a couple of meal options. For breakfast there were more than 10 options that were made to order. There was an incredible amount of variety of delicious options made with local ingredients. Sometimes it felt like we were on a food trip with some fishing on the side.
The lodge itself was very comfortable, with AC and Wi-Fi. The Wi-Fi was a little shaky, but no one goes there for the Wi-Fi. They even gave us three different choices of pillow. Gary and I typically go to much more rustic places, so this was a change. The staff and service were outstanding.
Main lodge
Sitting and dining areas
Our cabin
Inside our cabin
Unfortunately, the fishing throughout the week was very tough. There was a father with his adult daughter there at the same time as us, and over 4 days I believe they boated something like 3 Golden Dorado and 2 Pacu, and none of the Dorado were big. They seemed like pretty serious anglers, but were mostly fly fishing which made things tougher. They eventually turned to the Dark Side (spoons). Some other anglers overlapped on the front and back ends of our visit and didn’t do much better, especially the fly fishermen. The water had risen to very high levels that week, and the fish were spread out and many typical spots were not fishable. Apparently this was due to lots of rain in Brazil. It was odd that Pira was closed due to low water and the nearby Parana River where we were was super high, but that’s what happened. Their water comes from different places. The water came down throughout the week, and was about 4 feet lower by our last day. It was still well above ideal levels though.
Gary and I tried a variety of lures, but the guide kept pointing us back to the spoon and it did get the vast majority of the bites. I had brought an Abu Garcia Toby spoon, and that was more effective than the Johnson Silver Minnow so I stopped using that as soon as I could. I also got some bites (and a couple of fish) on a fly fished with a bullet weight on baitcasting gear. That was it; no bites on walk the dog lures, soft plastics, Super Shad Raps, various crankbaits, etc.
Gary and I tried a variety of lures, but the guide kept pointing us back to the spoon and it did get the vast majority of the bites. I had brought an Abu Garcia Toby spoon, and that was more effective than the Johnson Silver Minnow so I stopped using that as soon as I could. I also got some bites (and a couple of fish) on a fly fished with a bullet weight on baitcasting gear. That was it; no bites on walk the dog lures, soft plastics, Super Shad Raps, various crankbaits, etc.
My first solid Golden Dorado
The Dorado did not make it easy. If they swiped at a lure and missed they rarely came back, and never hit on the second cast to an area. Many times they followed the lure and took half-hearted swipes but did not really attack. If they did bite, they immediately jumped and shook their heads to throw the hooks, which they often succeeded in doing. I don’t know how many we had throw the hooks, but it was a lot more than we caught. Dorado have hard mouths, especially the big ones, and you have to get at least a couple good hook sets in to have a good shot at landing them. Our guide Enzo was very good about staying positive and urging us to cast to promising spots again and again.
This trip was slow in terms of action, but it was good for developing the mental side of the fishing game. You had to stay very focused for hours, ready to react to a split second bite and set the hook as hard as you could, preferably multiple times, before the fish had a chance to jump and throw the hook. You only got a small handful of chances each day, and they could come at any time. It was not easy to maintain that level of focus for hour upon hour with no bites, but how you instantly reacted to those couple of split second bites basically determined whether it was a successful day or not.
This trip was slow in terms of action, but it was good for developing the mental side of the fishing game. You had to stay very focused for hours, ready to react to a split second bite and set the hook as hard as you could, preferably multiple times, before the fish had a chance to jump and throw the hook. You only got a small handful of chances each day, and they could come at any time. It was not easy to maintain that level of focus for hour upon hour with no bites, but how you instantly reacted to those couple of split second bites basically determined whether it was a successful day or not.
Gary trying to keep a leaping Dorado hooked
One of Gary's Dorado leaping
Dorado unhelpfully leaping away from the net
The Johnson Silver Minnow sometimes stayed pinned
In the hottest bite we experienced during the trip, I managed to hook four Dorado along with a couple bites I missed, all in the same spot in about 45 minutes. Two were medium-sized fish that jumped off, and two felt much bigger. The last one felt extremely heavy. I got two very hard hooksets in, but it surged and snapped the rod (near the butt and not at a joint, which was weird) and got away. I was gutted from that one; it will be one of those ones that got away that I will always remember. Somehow out of 6 good bites I hooked 4 and landed none. Not my best showing.
I would have given a lot to have landed the monster that broke this rod
One of Gary's fish that made it to the boat
A rare double
My second biggest fish of the trip. Each one is absolutely stunning
Most morning and afternoon sessions we could count on a handful of solid bites. Almost all of them came next to structure with good current. My best session was 4 fish landed in a morning, and I had one full day where I landed no fish at all. We saw big fish rolling or hunting every day, and got some bites every day, so that kept our spirits up and helped us to keep casting.
Sunrise Golden Dorado
We spent a little bit of time fishing for Pacu, which was interesting. Pacu are fished with bright rubber or plastic balls that look like fruit. You cast them near the shore line and try to have them plunk into the water like a fruit or nut falling from a tree. I didn’t manage any Pacu bites during the couple hours we fished for them, but my friend Gary hooked a monster Pacu. Unfortunately, it headed straight into a clump of vegetation despite Gary’s best efforts to stop it. He couldn’t feel it and we assume it had gotten off, so our guide grabbed the braid and started trying to drag in all the grass to get the hook back. Incredibly, the fish was still in there somewhere and took off on another blistering run that cut our poor guide’s hand. At that point it came off, and when Gary retrieved everything we found that the Pacu had bitten through the hook. Pity we never got to see that beast.
On the last morning, I hooked two medium fish right off the bat. They both jumped off, but I thought that it would be an action-packed morning. Unfortunately, the action completely died. We went to several spots and didn’t see any fish moving, not even small ones. It just felt like we were casting for hours at dead water. I was struggling to keep focus and it was getting hot. At 10:30 I was even considering just throwing in the towel. However, fortunately I didn’t because out of nowhere, at a spot that did not look very promising, I had a pack of big Dorados charge out at my spoon. One bit and I set the hook and it let go, but fortunately another one grabbed it just 15 or so feet from the boat. It was moving forward when it ate the spoon so I didn’t feel it at all, but I saw the take and was able to reel fast and set the hook. It jumped immediately and I could see it was a good fish. We backed out into deeper water and I loosened the drag, and crossed my fingers and prayed that it would stay on every time it jumped. Thankfully it did, and we were able to net what was by far the biggest fish of the week. I almost fell over with relief. After some pics we got it back in the water for a release.
On the last morning, I hooked two medium fish right off the bat. They both jumped off, but I thought that it would be an action-packed morning. Unfortunately, the action completely died. We went to several spots and didn’t see any fish moving, not even small ones. It just felt like we were casting for hours at dead water. I was struggling to keep focus and it was getting hot. At 10:30 I was even considering just throwing in the towel. However, fortunately I didn’t because out of nowhere, at a spot that did not look very promising, I had a pack of big Dorados charge out at my spoon. One bit and I set the hook and it let go, but fortunately another one grabbed it just 15 or so feet from the boat. It was moving forward when it ate the spoon so I didn’t feel it at all, but I saw the take and was able to reel fast and set the hook. It jumped immediately and I could see it was a good fish. We backed out into deeper water and I loosened the drag, and crossed my fingers and prayed that it would stay on every time it jumped. Thankfully it did, and we were able to net what was by far the biggest fish of the week. I almost fell over with relief. After some pics we got it back in the water for a release.
Almost...
Almost...
Success! The big payoff from a week of casting.
That was pretty much it for action as the last afternoon we got blanked on both Pacu and Dorado. The Nervous Waters representative was very straightforward on what to expect on this trip, and he was quite accurate. The fish are pressured by both commercial and sport fishermen, and are not easy to catch. However, it is a huge river and there are lots of big fish in it; you just have to put in the time. We saw some cool animals while we were there, including otters, caiman, monkeys, a fox, and many different types of birds including eagles and Cara Cara. It’s a cool place but you have to come in with the right expectations. I think it would have been an amazing combo with Pira Lodge as we had planned, but Mother Nature had other ideas.
Male Howler Monkey
Female and Male Howlers
An Eagle watching us fish
Our excellent guide Enzo
Sunset on the final evening