A year’s fishing in Argentina
Argentinian Pedro Miles tells the story of his fishing in Argentina during the year 2022, and man, there’s been some fishing going on!
2022 started with a bang as in January I celebrated my 80th birthday. As in previous years my fishing stops before Christmas and does not resume until mid-February as during this time my wife and I are visited by my children and grandchildren during summer school break.
Early in March I started my fishing year in the
Rio Dulce
The Rio Dulce (Sweet River) flows south east from the foothills of the Andes in the north western province of Salta through Tucumán and Santiago del Estero and into Córdoba where it flows into the largest body of inland water in Argentina: Mar Chiquita (Little Sea). About 30,000 years ago a tectonic movement created a ridge that cut off the access of the Rio Dulce to the Paraná system that resulted in the forming of Mar Chiquita. As the only way waters leave Mar Chiquita is through evaporation, over the centuries they have become saline, normally similar to sea water but in years of drought this can increase two to three-fold.
I presume that the fish that populate the Rio Dulce, the same species as those of the Paraná system, were locked in by the tectonic movement, including large populations of the Sabalo (Prochilodos lineatus) and its predator and great game fish, the Golden Dorado (Salminus brasiliensis).
The vast marshes and floodplains of the delta of the Rio Dulce before it flows into the Mar Chiquita (aka Mar de Ansenuza) are an ideal hatchery and nursery for all the fish in the river.
The sandy soils the Rio Dulce flows through, are permanently eroded and the trees on the banks fall into the river forming structure both above and below the surface, ideal lays for Dorado where they wait to ambush their prey. Large sandbanks are also formed where occasionally a group of Dorado will corner schools of Sábalo and a feeding frenzy occurs.
The one great advantage the Rio Dulce has for me is that the town of Loreto, in the Province of Santiago del Estero, close to the better fly-fishing waters of the Dulce, with a suitable hotel, is less than 200 miles north of home.
Several guides offer their services on the river, rowing inflatable rafts or catamarans that are floated down stream.
Though trophy size Dorado have been caught, the usual sizes are in the 3 to 6 kilo range, good sport when using 6 to 8 weight fly rods with floating or intermediate lines. Four feet 40/50 lb leaders with 30/40 lb steel trace tippets are necessary to resist the Dorado’s sharp teeth and a strong strip strike is needed to set the hook in their bony mouth. Flies tied on 3/0 to 4/0 hooks with plenty of body to move water are best in these somewhat silted waters. Black craft fur heads with 4 to 6 saddle feathers in chartreuse, red or yellow and plenty of flash will do the trick. The strategy is to cast close to structure, allow the fly to sink then strip fast to draw the Dorado’s attention. Line control is vital as on occasion the Dorado will strike as the fly touches water. It said that a good cast will get a strike or hook the fly on structure.
At the end of March, I fished the Paraná River
Puerto Piracua
20 km east of the town of Florencia, in northern Santa Fé Province, on the western banks of the Paraná River, I stayed at Piracuá Lodge, owned and operated by Alexis Rouvier and Diego Castillo. They operate two contiguous lodges, four double en-suite bedrooms with a big dining and living room for fly fishermen and a larger one next door for bait anglers.
Fishing is done from North Carolina 16 foot skiffs with a 60 hp 4 stroke outboard with an electric trolling motor and casting platforms both fore and aft.
The Paraná River is a massive river that flows south with headwaters at the confluence of the Paranaiba and Grande rivers in the rainforests of southern Brazil to where it joins the Uruguay River to form the River Plate that flows into the Atlantic Ocean. About 3,000 miles long, in South America it is second only to the Amazon River, and it flows through Brazil, Paraguay and Argentina. It is navigable for a good part of this and is an important waterway for Paraguayan and Argentine cities on its banks. The average flow (1971/2007) is about 18,000 m³/s with a maximum of 60,000 m³/s to a minimum of 2,600 m³/s. Currently after a 3-year drought its flow is about 7,000 m³/s.
Over 130 species of fish make the Paraná their home. Of these the following are of interest to fly fishermen.
Freshwater Dorado (Salminus brasiliensis)
Top of the list for anglers, this golden hued fish is a major trophy, a powerful swimmer with massive jaws make it the top predator of the fish world in these waters. Trophy size dorados, usually females, weigh over 10 kilos, 20 + kilo Dorados have been taken on the fly. Nevertheless 4 to 8 kilo Dorado put up a challenging and acrobatic fight.
Pacú (Colossum mitrei)
This vegetarian fish feeds on flowers and fruit that fall into the river from the trees that line its course. Their favourite is the fruit from the Inga Tree (Inga edulis). In summer the pods of this large leguminous tree burst open and their coffee bean type seeds drop. As these trees line the waterways they fall in and are promptly taken by the Pacú. Their compressiform body shape make them strong swimmers and so put up a good fight. The cast is challenging as the coffee bean shaped fly must fall under the Inga trees and make a good “plop” to draw the Pacu’s attention. The females are larger than the males and can weigh up to 6 kilos. Steel trace is a good choice as the Pacú has powerful jaws and teeth to break open these seeds.
Pirá Pitá (Brycon orbignyanus)
Colourful attractor dry flies such as Fat Albert or Chernobyl Ants imitating flowers or insects will draw the attention of these mainly vegetarian fish that can get as large as 4/5 kilos. They will also take Inga seed imitations.
Tararira (Hoplias malabaricus)
Tararira or Wolf Fish is found in the slower and warmer waters of the deltas next to the Paraná. They will take a wet fly, though my favourite way is with poppers with a weed guard. They have sharp pointed teeth so steel trace tippets and pliers to remove the hook are necessary.
Chafalote (Rhaphidion vulpinus)
A member of the Dog Fish family. Has two long canine teeth in its lower jaw that when closed fit into holes in the upper jaw. This sleek silver coloured fish is less numerous than the other game fish in the Paraná, weighing up to two to four kilos, they put up a good and acrobatic fight. They will take wet flies similar to those used for Dorado.
Surubí (Pseudoplatystoma coruscans and Pseudoplatystoma fasciatum)
These two members of the Platystoma family are found in the Paraná river, spotted Surubí and barred Surubí, aka shovel-nosed catfish. They are large piscivorous fish that prefer deeper waters such as the main channels of the Paraná. They can weigh more than fifty kilos though 4 to 12 kilos are what can be expected. Powerful and long-winded swimmers when they take will dive deep and put up a long fight before they can be brought alongside. Their lays are hard to find from the surface which makes it difficult to catch on the fly. Fast sinking lines and wet flies that move a lot of water are the best choice.
A few weeks later I fished from the town of
Esquina
On the eastern banks of the Paraná in Corrientes Province about 230 km downstream from Puerto Piracuá. The fishing is the same as in Puerto Piracuá, except that most guides have larger outboards as they have to travel longer distances to get away from from crowded waters. Numerous hotels, lodges and outfitters offer their services to fish this part of the river.
In April I went south to NW Patagonia to fish the
Limay River
The Limay flows North from its headwaters in Lake Nahuel Huapi for about 480 km till it joins the Neuquén river and they become the Negro River that flows west into the Atlantic Ocean. At the confluence with the Negro it flows at an average rate of 760 m³/s. 5 hydroelectric dams on the Limay produce about a quarter of Argentina’s demand for electricity. Two major fishing areas can be found on the Limay: Upper Limay from the headwaters to the reservoir of the Alicurá Dam, about 60 km and Mid Limay from the Pichi Picú Leufú Dam to the reservoir of the Chocón Dam, about 80 km. Every year in our fall, at the end of the season, I fish one of these sections for the big Brown and Rainbow trout that move into the river to spawn. The fishing is done floating drift boats, covering different sections of 10 to 15 km in length with 8 weight rods, sinking lines, wet flies, 6/7 foot leaders and a 12 lb tippet. Imitations of minnows, small catfish, fresh water prawns and crabs, leeches, etc are good choices.
On our first day we floated in three boats from the headwaters for about 10/12 km. Several Browns were taken and I managed to catch a nice Rainbow on a Shadow tube fly. It poured with rain towards noon. Fortunately, it stopped raining at lunch time so could enjoy a nice riverside lunch. The afternoon cleared up and we fished with some success till around six pm when we arrived at the pickup point.
The following day we fished from where we had left off the day before. A bit longer section of about 15 km.
Overcast and cold. after lunch it cleared up and had a lovely afternoon. We caught several nice Browns.
On the third day, now only four of us as two of our friends returned home, we had planned to fish the Nahuel Huapí lake but the weather turned bad and the lake was closed to boating. We drove to the NW end of the Traful Lake where the Pichi Huaum river flows into the lake and fished from the banks. We did not stay long as it was drizzling and windy. Only a couple of Rainbows and a nice Brook trout were caught.
Later that afternoon Sebastian fished the mouth of the Correntoso River, one of the iconic trophy trout fishing waters of Argentina and close to where we were staying. A record male Brown was caught here on the fly weighing 11.1 kg in the 1960’s; a record Rainbow weighing just under 9 kilos was also caught here several decades ago. The river is very short, only about 200 m in length, and it carries water from the Correntoso Lake into the Nahuel Huapí Lake. On its banks, facing the Nahuel Huapí, is the renowned Correntoso Hotel, built in 1917, that has hosted thousands of anglers from all over the world. Long casts with sinking lines drifting the fly and mending so it goes deep is the strategy here. That day the fish were not biting, only a few takes and a couple of fish landed.
The following day the weather was miserable, nevertheless we took the motorboat to the Espejo lake where after a bumpy and wet cruise we got to the lee side where the waters were quieter and moving up the coast with the electric motor managed to catch several trout. I caught a perch, the only indigenous game fish in these waters.
Upper Limay
After our return home in Córdoba, Sebastian and I decided to return to the upper Limay in the following month of May, before the season closed.
Early in May, Sebastian and I flew to Bariloche and from there took the shuttle bus to Villa Angostura, a lovely town about 80 km west of Bariloche on the Nahuel Huapí Lake where, as usual, we stayed in Sebastian’s family’s summer home.
We had contracted 3 days fishing with our guide Christian to once again float the upper Limay.
The approaching winter meant that the mornings were overcast and the temperature below freezing until about noon, every few casts had to clear the ice from the ferrules of our rods.
As usual we fished different 10/15 km sections every day, from the headwaters of the Limay and the following day starting off where we had stopped the day before.
We caught several very nice Browns each day and on the third afternoon Sebastian caught a trophy sized Brown.
During the winter I made several trips to The Dulce and Paraná Rivers.
Olnie Lake
My son Dickie and I decided to explore a new fishing destination for Rainbow Trout in the northwest of the Province of Santa Cruz, the southernmost Province of continental Argentina. The continent ends at the Straits of Magellan with the island of Tierra del Fuego to the south.
We flew into the town of Calafate, in southwest Santa Cruz, a tourist destination as it is from there you access the Glaciers National Park (Parque Nacional Los Glaciares) where visits can be made to the Glaciers Perito Moreno, Upsala and Spegazzini that all feed the waters of Lake Argentino.
The morning after we arrived, we fished the head waters of the Santa Cruz River, that flows east from Lake Argentino to the Atlantic Ocean 200 miles away. This gigantic river with a Flow of about 800 cubic meters per second, is renowned for its Chinook Salmon runs in the month of November and Steelhead Trout runs in the month of March. I managed to catch a small resident rainbow.
The following day we were picked up by our guide to drive 470 miles north to El Roble Lodge.
About two thirds of the trip was on paved roads, the rest on well-kept gravel roads.
The Lodge is on a large ranch of about 45,000 acres in the steppes west of the Andes Mountain range, 3,000 feet above sea level, dry, arid and very windy; not a tree in sight. We saw numerous wild horses grazing on the steppes, indigenous guanacos and grey foxes. Condors soar the skies above.
The lodge has three guest bedrooms with private bathroom and two single beds. A living dining room, mud room and facilities for the staff and guides.
The fishing area includes Lake Olnie I, 2 square miles of clear water fed by a spring creek about 10 feet across and thaw from the snows in spring and summer; a stream that flows out of Olnie I into Lake Olnie II that meanders the two miles between these lakes.
Olnie II has siltier waters, is much larger than Olnie I and is where most of the big trout can be found after the spawning season that extends from October to mid-November. A few minutes’ drive from the lodge and easy to wade, with long shallow waters, 100 feet away from the shore the water is still knee deep and after the spawn full of big trout, showing their dorsal fins as they cruise the shallows for food. The scuds are so numerous they cruise with their mouths open like whales eating krill.
2022/2023 is their second season so it is it has been very lightly fished.
The spring and summer days are long, we are 47º South, the usual fishing times were 9 am to 1 pm, back to the lodge for lunch a rest and 4 pm to 9 pm and back to the lodge for drinks and dinner at 10 pm.
We arrived at the Lodge, after a 7-hour drive, in the late afternoon. Things looked promising as when we forded the stream next to the Lodge, large rainbows swam away to avoid being stepped on by the wheels of the pickup truck. After settling in we still had 90 minutes of sunlight, so we walked to the spring creek next to the lodge, set up our number 6 rods with floating lines, a 9 foot leader and a 0x tippet and were soon onto our first fish, we landed at least 10 fish, all 4 to 6 pounds before returning for dinner.
Pedro Alfredo Miles
The following day in the morning we fished the lake, number 8 rods with either floating or intermediate lines. Numerous catches, most were smaller than the day before. Longer casts were needed to get to deeper water.
In the afternoon we drove to where the stream flows into Olnie II lake and fished the stream. This was absolutely incredible. We must have caught over 30 fish between us. The biggest ones around 6/7 pounds.
On the 2nd day we returned to the stream in different spots and fished both in the morning and afternoon. The wind, permanently present, picked up with 60 mph gusts. Throughout the day it got colder, light rain became sleet and then snow. Nevertheless, the fishing was incredible, though the casting was challenging. Into the wind had to cast with the rod parallel to the ground, with the wind in my back a roll cast would go a long way. That night it snowed and the surface of both the spring creek and the stream froze.
As a result of this on the third and last day we returned to the lake in the morning where we did well. In the afternoon, we fished the spring creek both up and down stream of the lodge. It was cold and every few casts had to clear the ice from the ferrules of our rods. Another incredible afternoon.
In all I must have caught 30 good sized fish of no less than 4 pounds. Black or orange Woolly Buggers or cone head streamers, egg patterns, attractor dry, such as Fat Albert and Chernobyl Ants, were all successful.
In the month of November, Dickie and I drove to the
Ibera Marshes
Located in the north-eastern province of Corrientes in Argentina the Esteros del Iberá, declared a World Heritage Site in 2002, are a gigantic fresh water reservoir, second only in the world to the Pantanal Marshes in southern Brazil. The Iberá marshes stretch from the northeastern limits of the Province with Paraguay, toward the south west where their waters feed the Corrientes River that flows into the Paraná River close to the town of Esquina in south western Corrientes Province.
It is said that the marshes could be the silted up original course of the waters that flow south from the Brazilian Rainforests into the Iguazú and Paraná Rivers and later into the River Plate where they join the Atlantic Ocean.
4,000 species of animals and plants can be found in Iberá. The marshes include lakes, lagoons, peat bogs, islands, water courses and the “embalsados”, floating islands of vegetation. Some of these floating islands are solid enough to host trees such as the Ombú (Phytolaica dioica) and Laurel Amarillo (Nectandra lanceolata). In the dry season, when the water level drops, their vegetation fixes roots to the soil below and when the water rises, they float once again.
130 species of fish, 40 species of amphibians, 60 of reptiles, 350 species of birds and numerous mammals make the Marshes their home.
U.S. philanthropist and conservationist Douglas Tomkins (1944-2015) spearheaded a project to return cattle land to the wild donating hundreds of thousands of acres to what is now a Provincial Park and a rewilding program to reintroduce or reinforce extinct or endangered animal species to the area including the Giant Anteater, Tapir, Marsh Deer, Red and Green Macaw, Collared Peccari, Giant Otter and have recently released the first Jaguars into the wild.
An angler’s interest in the marshes is that they are a major habitat to the fish species of the of the River Plate basin including Fresh Water Dorado, the premier gamefish of Argentine fresh waters.
Many of the fish born in the marshes do not migrate into the Parana River and remain there for life.
The waters in the marshes are clear and not too deep, and as a result the Dorado acquire a darker hue than those of the Paraná River due to the effect of sunlight and are singularly beautiful. Sight-casting with surface flies make for exciting takes. Standard steel trace is shiny and visible in clear water so bite tippets must be dark and fluorocarbon leaders are best as their light refractive index is closer to that of water than that of nylon monofilament and therefore less visible.
Fast action rods are best for casting the large flies that tempt Dorado, # 6 to # 9 rods, 6-to-8-foot tapered leaders ending in .40 mm (35 lb) and 10-inch bite tippets such as Rio’s Powerflex Wire Bite, 30 to 40 lb, is a good choice. Though some anglers use a straight 40/50 lb leader others may find it easier to turn over the fly with a thicker butt on the leader..
Large 6-inch streamers tied on sturdy hooks such as the Rise 11019 I, # 3 to # 5 as well as articulated flies tied with Waddington Shanks. Surface flies like mouse, frog, Titanic, big bugs and other patterns are a must. Weighted muddler heads and other bulky synthetic material heads in black with coloured tails of feathers or synthetics and some flash to catch the light all do a good job. I have found that all black flies are good at Magic Time (sunset). Tube flies are a good choice as they are not as mistreated during the fight, but the short flexible tube at the end of the tube to fix the eye of the hook must be large enough to accommodate the eye of large hooks. If the hook is not fixed it can snag on the leader. There is a large piranha population so a good supply of flies is necessary as they do not survive a bite from one of these sharp toothed fish.
Several years of drought, caused by the weather system “La Niña”, throughout Argentina and Southern Brazil are affecting the waters of the Paraná system and the current water levels are several feet below normal. The Paraná river usually pours about 17,000 cubic metres per second into the River Plate, currently its flow is less than half of this. I do not think this has affected the fish population in the marshes but has limited access. The few channels open to motor boats carry a lot more traffic than usual and has restricted access to good fishing spots.
Several renowned outfitters offer Dorado fly fishing in the Iberá Marshes, amongst them Estancia Dorado and Nervous Waters’ Pirá Lodge.
We fished 3 days from Estancia Dorado on the banks of the Corrientes River, close to its headwaters in the marsh, our guide was our old friend Tulio Mochi. Every day we would motorboat into the marsh as far as possible fish there and fish our way back to end the day in the river. On the second day as the sun was setting, Tulio called last cast before heading back to the lodge. I cast across the river and mended to improve the drift when I felt a touch on my fly, I asked for another cast and placed my fly in the same place and again a touch. I asked for a third chance and this time managed to set the hook on a nice Dorado. It is not often that a last cast catches the fish!!
As a result of the limitations mentioned above, the fishing was not very good but we caught several Dorado, a few Piranhas and Chafalotes.
As I write this (March 2023) the waters of the Paraná system have risen considerably, about 3 m, and the volume of water has almost quadrupled. This could indicate the end of a 3-year drought and confirm that the Niña weather system is giving way to the Niño and a rainier future. This bodes well for the fish population as with the flooding of the lowlands a successful spawn can be expected.
During our trip to Patagonia to fish the Limay River earlier in the year, our guide Christian had told us that he and his group of guides had exclusive access to Lake Totoral on private property where excellent dry fly fishing could be had.
Lake Totoral is a smallish lake about 3.5 km long and 1 km wide. Access is from the road from Villa Angostura to the border with Chile, a couple of km before the frontier.
So, towards the end of November Sebastian, our friend Tommy Szamrey and I set out for Patagonia in Sebastian’s pick-up truck hauling Sebastian’s motor boat which he planned to leave in Patagonia to use in the summer holidays. We carefully planned our trip round Argentina’s football matches in the World Cup.
We arrived at our destination, Sebastian’s home in Villa Angostura, and while Tommy and I went shopping for our stay, Sebastian tried his luck in the Correntoso River. We planned to fish the Nahuel Huapí Lake for three days and Totoral (Bullrush in Spanish) Lake for two days.
We had good weather for the three days we fished the lake from Sebastian´s motorboat, several fish were caught using fast sinking lines and weighted streamers, one was immortalised by Tommy, cooking it that evening in the oven with cream and pine mushrooms.
On the 4th day Christian and his partner Gonzalo picked us up early and after a short drive got to the lake and soon were on the water in the drift boats with our # 6 rods with floating lines, 9-foot leaders tapered to 3X and an attractor black and white foam fly with long rubber legs tied on a fine #8 hook.
Sebastian and I fished with Gonzalo and Tommy fished alone with Christian. When we set out it was chilly with a slight mist so the dragon and damsel flies were not moving yet. Nevertheless, we soon saw a rise next to a rock on the coast so after two casts, fish on!! A hefty Brown.
We spotted several cruising Browns, and took several. Sebastian caught one that took the fly with such impetus that it jumped about two feet out of the water.
Late in the morning we saw a large Brown cruising behind a row of reeds, I placed the fly beyond the reeds in the direction it was swimming and lost sight of the fly, Sebastian and the guide at the same time shouted STRIKE, I lifted the rod and fish on!! I managed to get it away from the reeds and into clear water and soon a great fish was in the net.
When we joined the other boat for lunch ashore Tommy showed us a photo of the magnificent Brown he had taken, he saw it feed and cast to the spot and hooked it.
The three of us took several nice fish in the afternoon and at around 6 pm called it a day.
We had only one boat available the following day so it was decided that Tommy and I would fish the Totoral Lake while Sebastian dealt with matters at home and once again try his hand at the Correntoso River.
The morning was overcast and with a strong breeze which meant we could only fish the lee side of the lake and were unable to spot cruising fish. The dragon flies were active so we cast at feeding fish.
We took several Browns and Brookies, Tommy caught a nice Rainbow, and in the afternoon, I cast to a feeding Brown that leapt out of the water and took the fly from above.
On the 3rd of December we started out for home and spent the night on the way to watch Argentina beat Mexico in the World Cup.
Thus ended my year of fishing.
Gerardo Martinetto - gerardo@federicoprato.com.ar
Dickie Miles - dickiemiles1@gmail.com
Alexis Rouvier - piracualodgef@gmail.com
Peter Miles - pedroalfredomiles@gmail.com
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