Golden Dorado were in my dreams but sometimes it just isn’t meant to be. Gary Clark and I have been trying to get down to Argentina for two years now to “test the waters and the ware” of these Giant Golden Dorado. The area know as Salto Grande is the principle place of residence for the true GIANTS of the Golden Dorado. This is proven world record class territory. The opportunity didn’t work out for me this month but it did for my fishing partner Gray and here’s his report:

I just returned from Salto Grande in Argentina (actually Uruguay) where I finally experienced fishing for perhaps the ultimate freshwater game fish—the Golden Dorado. I’ve wanted to make this trip for several years, but dates, permits—whatever—have not allowed until recently. Three friends invited me to be the fourth in a group to Luis Brown’s River Plate operation on the Uruguay side of the river, and I jumped at the invitation. Since you may have heard of the area as “LaZona”, I use that term to refer to the fishing area Salto Grande and not for another fishing operation with a similar name on the Argentina side.

Let me give you a bit of the not so good news first. Unfortunately, we arrived to find the water high and muddy. Rains to the north have filled the reservoir with very muddy water and of course when the turbines generate, the flow into the river is not a pretty sight. Having said that, the fishing I experienced as a first-timer was terrific! Two of my companions had fished the area previously and they assured me that numbers were down considerably, but the action I experienced was most impressive nonetheless. We caught 219 total. My partner caught a 40 pounder on the second day, and the other guys each had a 30 pounder later. I was the little fish guy managing a pair of 24 pounders over the four days of fishing with many more up to 18 pounds or so. We only used artificials and no live bait. Our best fishing occurred over the two days on the weekend when the turbines weren’t cranking as much and the flow of muddy water was diminished.

The River Plate operation has been running only a few months, but I can assure everyone that it is first rate. The manager is Luis Brown’s son, Patrick, and he is one of the nicest young men you will ever have the pleasure of meeting. He is 27 years old, a graduate of TCU, and worked outside the business for a few years before joining the family business. With his business sense and pleasant accommodating personality, he is certain to make a success of the operation. They use the Horatio Quiroga Resort Hotel on the Uruguay side of the dam, and it is a very impressive place. The rooms are private singles and are very comfortable and spacious. Breakfast meals are served in the main dining room while the lunch and dinner meals are served in a private dining room.

Fishing sessions are from 7:30 to 11 AM and again from 3:30 to 7 PM in the afternoon. These sessions are government regulated and actually work out quite well. The boats are stable,safe and very fishable. The guides are father/son teams who know the waters and rocks extremely well as they were previously commercial fishermen in the area. Best lures were Rapala Super Shad Raps, CD18′s, and Mag 30′s all in firetiger as well as some local lures with deep diving bills. The most fun I had was catching many however, one after another, on my homemade heavy wire spinnerbaits. The strikes were vicious and no matter how sturdy, they needed serious repair after only a few Golden Dorad. Please understand going in that you will miss MANY strikes and will lose numbers of fish on the jump. I had one that jumped NINE times by actual count. These fish have teeth and extremely tough mouths so wire leaders and numerous hard hooksets are a necessity.

My 24 pounders simply whetted my appetite for the real monsters up to 60 pounds and I can’t wait for a return trip to this unbelievable fishery later this fall. Do yourself a favor and get down to the marvelous fishery for the Golden Dorado just as soon as you can.

Good fishin’

Gary Clark

Kissimmee, FL

Fishin’ Expeditions has recently joined with the River Plate Anglers Operation to represent this outstanding destination and world class Golden Dorado fishery…Salto Grande. Over the next several weeks we will be adding detailed information to this new and improved Fishin’ Expeditions web site all regarding the operation located in Uruguay. In the meantime, if you are interested in a Golden Dorado trip, please call us at 618.755.4950 or drop us an email with any questions.