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Following on from the Bolivia trip I dropped in at La-Zona on my way home to finish off my dorado experience.
La-Zona, located in Northern Argentina, is on the Rio Uruguay - one bank is Argentina and the other is Uruguay. There could be no greater contrast with what awaited me at La-Zona compared to what I had just come from in Bolivia. A huge dam wall, reinforced riverbanks, flat, open plains either side. In a nutshell; hideous. However, for truly massive dorado, there is no other place on earth than can compare or compete, so I was game.
It's a colossal river, made even bigger by the torrent that was coming down from the headwater in Brazil. The river was up 4 metres and rising! Not a good place to be. With the level at 9metres and rising, and a state of emergency declared at 11metres one afternoon was going to be the extent of my La-Zona experience.
La-Zona is usually fished Dec-March, coinciding with the fishing in Tierra Del Fuego etc. but September/October is the start of the spawning run and this is when the larger specimens are usually taken - some of which reach over 70lbs!!
There's a maximum of two boats that can fish below the dam, and this is very well policed. There was another boat out that afternoon, fishing with spinners. I decided to try the fly, even though I knew there wasn't really much of a chance in the colour and height. I asked the guide the usuals; will this line be ok? yes, came the reply. How about this fly? yes, came the reply. Cast here? yes. This sort of retrieve? yes.
Now, either I was excelling at the sport, and was becoming some form of dorado expert, or the guide had just retired to the fact that we weren't going to catch anything so it made a damn bit of difference what I put on or where I cast! It was the latter, of course.
A small fish - certainly of La-Zona standards - soon followed on the fly, which was an achievement and saved a blank. We heard reports that the other boat were doing well, so I turned rather sheepishly to the guide and asked if we could perhaps have a go with the spinning rod? A spark came to his eye, he was bouncing with enthusiasm, he roared yup the engine and within a blink of an eye we were lobbing plugs at Uruguay!
The afternoon was fun, and some nice fish followed, but, again, not huge by La-Zona standards. The other boat, however, fared much better, landing 4 fish over 30lbs, up to a whopping 38lbs.
La-Zona in all its glory!!
What you come to La-Zona for!!
Some fishing shots:
TT.
http://www.frontierstrvl.co.uk/publi...orado&m=public
La-Zona, located in Northern Argentina, is on the Rio Uruguay - one bank is Argentina and the other is Uruguay. There could be no greater contrast with what awaited me at La-Zona compared to what I had just come from in Bolivia. A huge dam wall, reinforced riverbanks, flat, open plains either side. In a nutshell; hideous. However, for truly massive dorado, there is no other place on earth than can compare or compete, so I was game.
It's a colossal river, made even bigger by the torrent that was coming down from the headwater in Brazil. The river was up 4 metres and rising! Not a good place to be. With the level at 9metres and rising, and a state of emergency declared at 11metres one afternoon was going to be the extent of my La-Zona experience.
La-Zona is usually fished Dec-March, coinciding with the fishing in Tierra Del Fuego etc. but September/October is the start of the spawning run and this is when the larger specimens are usually taken - some of which reach over 70lbs!!
There's a maximum of two boats that can fish below the dam, and this is very well policed. There was another boat out that afternoon, fishing with spinners. I decided to try the fly, even though I knew there wasn't really much of a chance in the colour and height. I asked the guide the usuals; will this line be ok? yes, came the reply. How about this fly? yes, came the reply. Cast here? yes. This sort of retrieve? yes.
Now, either I was excelling at the sport, and was becoming some form of dorado expert, or the guide had just retired to the fact that we weren't going to catch anything so it made a damn bit of difference what I put on or where I cast! It was the latter, of course.
A small fish - certainly of La-Zona standards - soon followed on the fly, which was an achievement and saved a blank. We heard reports that the other boat were doing well, so I turned rather sheepishly to the guide and asked if we could perhaps have a go with the spinning rod? A spark came to his eye, he was bouncing with enthusiasm, he roared yup the engine and within a blink of an eye we were lobbing plugs at Uruguay!
The afternoon was fun, and some nice fish followed, but, again, not huge by La-Zona standards. The other boat, however, fared much better, landing 4 fish over 30lbs, up to a whopping 38lbs.
La-Zona in all its glory!!
What you come to La-Zona for!!
Some fishing shots:
TT.
http://www.frontierstrvl.co.uk/publi...orado&m=public