I just returned from a wonderful cast and blast trip to Argentina. Five of my friends and I left on January 6, 2006 to fish for the fabled Golden Dorado and to shoot high volume doves. We were very please on both counts.
We left Atlanta on Delta and flew overnight into Buenos Aires, a wonderful city to visit, overnighted there at the request of four of the travelers, and the following morning flew North on Aerolinas Argentina's airlines to Corrientes, Argentina a trip of some three plus hours with one stop off.
At the Corrientes airport, we were met by Juan Jose Sala, who goes by JJ, the managing partner of FH Outfitters of Cordoba, Argentina. JJ, whom I had met in Michigan in August of 2005, greeted us warmly at the airport entrance and proceeded to assist us collecting our luggage for the trip to El Dorado Lodge. Eldorado is situated north of Mercedes, Argentina, a 3 ½ hour van ride from Corrientes, the last 35 miles of which are on a dirt road which has a large number of potholes, washouts and small log bridges.
El dorado itself is owned by Carlos, a cattle and sheep rancher, who owns a few miles of both banks of the Corrientes River. The Corrientes River originates on his property at the bottom end of the Ibera Marsh, where three small streams exit the marsh to form it. This is a wonderful place to fish.
Eldorado is a comfortable place to stay. It has three bedrooms with single beds; each has its own bathroom with shower. There is a common area where you eat as a group and this area also has a sitting/card playing area. All rooms have air conditioning and there is a ceiling fan in the common area. The lodge is of adobe construction with a thatched grass roof. It is very clean. I cannot imagine being in this area without a/c as the temps reached 112 degrees by noon. The lodge food was very adequate, with a full American breakfast served at the time of your request, a nice 3-4 course lunch and a fine dinner after fishing that included steaks, lion chops and a full outdoor roasted lamb during our stay. All meals included wine and beer. After the first day because of the heat during the day, we were waking at 4:30 am, having breakfast at 5:00, leaving for the boats at 5:30, fishing until 11:00-11:30, having lunch and a siesta, leaving at 5-5:30 pm to fish until 8-8:30, when the mosquitoes really did appear.
Carlos had a canal dredged from the river to within 300 yards of the lodge; a flat, easy walk across the pasture to reach the boats. We fished with a guide and two fishermen per boat. The boats are a semi-V with a large casting area on the bow suitable for fly fishing. Motors were 20-40 hp Hondas and Mercs.
The Dorado is truly a golden colored fish with front teeth like a piranha's and back teeth similar to a shark. It strikes viciously on both plugs and flies and jumps straight up out of the water and shakes its head vigorously trying to dislodge the lure. Many fish completely cleared the water by at least a foot and jumped 3-5 times; then they go to the bottom or towards the shore and shake their heads like a bulldog. In two half days and four full days of fishing, my group landed in excess of 90 dorado, with the largest being my 10 pound beauty; the average fish was 4-6 pounds.
The group consisted of both plug casters/trollers and fly fishermen; both methods worked well and indeed five of our six caught a Dorado on the fly. My partner and I primarily fished flies and were quite successful. Our equipment consisted of 8 wt rods, saltwater bonefish type reels with Scientific Anglers Streamer Express WF-250-S sinking lines and 200 yards of backing, 4-6 feet of 20-30 pound Maxima leader material and then 8-12 inches of 20-30 pound wire leader material, necessary as everything here has sharp teeth. We used both American Fishing Wire Surflon and Tyger leaders with equal success; both can easily be attached with standard fishing knots. Our Dorado flies were deceiver patterns in 2/0 and 4/0; color combinations which were successful for us were black/silver, blue/silver, green/silver, black/purple, black/yellow, cockroach and especially red/yellow. Flash flies in the above colors and sizes also worked well. Our guides told us fishing dorado on the surface is not a high-probability proposition as they do not see/strike well on the surface; indeed I fished them high for an evening with several savage strikes and no hookups. Casting/trolling rods and reels were of medium saltwater variety with 12-20 pound mono and wire leaders. Lures were Rapalas and Yozuri's in perch, fire tiger, silver/blue, silver/black and especially gold/black. Rattle Traps in the above colors also worked well. Jointed Rapalas were quite effective.
There where three guides in camp, two of which I fished with personally. Ernesto Mazzola has a fly shop in Cordoba, fishes Dorado three months, Patagonia trout three months and trout in his home area the balance of the year. He is a fine fly casting teacher and a considerate guide who speaks passable English. Peto DN can also teach fly casting and is a wonderful fishing companion who has spent 18 years fishing Dorado both personally and as a guide. His enthusiasm is almost overwhelming; his English is excellent. Gambino, the third guide was well liked by those who fished with him, he speaks very little English.
There were other species available: piranha so numerous that in small streamlets coming into the river, you could catch them on every fly cast with a small deceiver or even with just the eyes on a hook once the feathers were eaten off. We also caught two varieties of catfish up to 14 pounds, a small barracuda like fish, and what the locals called "mudsuckers", which were prevalent in sometimes large schools.
For a non-fishing companion, the lodge's amenities would probably be lacking with no pool/beach/TV. On the plus side, a bird watcher would be delighted with the many varieties of birds to be viewed at close range including ducks, storks, egrets, ibis, etc. Horseback rides are also available.
After five nights and six days of fishing, we left El Dorado by van for an hour trip to an airfield near Mercedes, where we boarded a two engine charter flight for Cordoba to shoot doves at JJ's Sierra Bravo hunting lodge. FH Outfitters owns this lodge, located one hour Northwest of Cordoba in a fantastic dove shooting area. Estimates of the doves in the valley are 30 million!
Sierra Bravo is indeed an "upscale" lodge with A/C, TV, pool, dining area, sitting area, bar, large comfortable bedrooms with bath, a chef, Stephano, etc. Your every want is anticipated. The food was fantastic and plentiful. Shooting was of the two-three cases variety each morning and evening, if desired. Browning, Benellie and Beretta in both 12 and 20 are available. Lunch was served under a tent awning in the field and then a siesta afterward if desired.
We shot doves for two days; other varieties of bird hunting include ducks, pigeons and Perdiz. Larger game including red stag and water buffalo can be arranged.
I will certainly book future trips with FH Outfitters. The attention to detail was wonderful.
