Contemplaiting a Golden Durado Trip

[flycaster1]

Done a fair number of peacock bass flyfishing trips to SAmerica, and now I'm thinking about a golden durado trip. I try to flyfish mainly on the surface and I'm well aware that durado strike subsurface. Nonetheless, I hear that durado are great fighters and surface jumpers...and that does strike my fancy. Anyone care to share their durado experiences and/or opinions?

[randrade]

Done a fair number of peacock bass flyfishing trips to SAmerica, and now I'm thinking about a golden durado trip. I try to flyfish mainly on the surface and I'm well aware that durado strike subsurface. Nonetheless, I hear that durado are great fighters and surface jumpers...and that does strike my fancy. Anyone care to share their durado experiences and/or opinions?

Yes, spectacular surface takes and very aerial, but I recommend you do a little R&D on your poppers and divers since you absolutely need a wire leader and heavy hooks and this affects how they work. I am still haunted by an 8-10 pounder smashing a popper one still morning just before sunrise. They are the supreme predator of the area and it shows. Least you think you are breaking new ground though, try to read John Waller Hills' (yes, the same Hills of Hampshire's river Test fame) account of his experiences fishing for Dorado in the Parana drainage during the early part of the 20th century.

As for advice, I have fished for freshwater dorado only once for just a few days so my experience is very limited. However from my research on the subject it looks like there are lots of places where one can fish for these fish in Argentina, Paraguay and even Brazil and Bolivia. These places range from gigantic muddy torrents to lakes to streams that would be small for trout rivers. I went to the Pira lodge last year and it was ok but I will try to make my next trip a DIY.

If lodges and guides are your cup of tea (or would it be yerba mate in this case?), the Pira lodge is probably pretty good. It is certainly plenty elegant, with wonderful people and outstanding service. The guides however thought I was crazy to want to use surface flies. The fish I mentioned above came from a morning jaunt in a little branch of the estero that is just in front of the lodge while everyone was sleeping.