January 2016
Since I arrived at Pira Lodge after Christmas, the guides and I have been busy scouting the region in order to find the very best fishing we can find for our guests. Compared to past years, the water is on the high side, but not so high as to be of a concern. We started scouting along the channels of the marsh, looking for productive areas, and we found dorado in some classic places such as Surubi and Escondido. Once we had those classic areas in our pocket, we branched out to find more fish. And, we found more fish in an area not too far from the confluence of the Corrientes River, where the whole marsh and the river join in a delta. We scouted the lower part of the marsh-and the results were good, not big dorado–most of them around 7 lbs, but we were able to easily catch them on floating lines with small deceivers which is always fun.
We also looked for fish in the clear water marshes where you find small channels with a gentle current. In areas like this, casting with floating # 6 or #7 on the structure we again we found nice dorado. So good for us so far.. because we are finding the kind of fishing we really like—active water–where you can land your fly and expect the attack of a golden dorado. The fish we caught in the clear water marshes were around 9 lbs.
We have also seen some really nice fish in the range 10-20 pounds and Jumped a few already on the Marsh.
The weather in the marsh now is hot, typical for January. Also we have had a few storms arrive, not much rain to rise the level of the marsh but enough to cool things down a bit. Wild life as always is incredible here. We see Capybaras and caimans along the channel when we run to the fishing spots. Bird watching is amazing too, with hundreds of different types of birds in the region.
We look forward to having a very good season,and hope we can welcome you to Pira Lodge sometime soon.
Jose Caparros, head guide Pira Lodge.