fishing

Matt Harris heads for the crystal-clear headwaters of the Rio Agua Negra for an angling experience he will never forget – dorado on the fly. Bolivian

The author with a superb rush 27lb golden dorado fishing

n the far south-western corner of the Amazon watershed, the headwaters of the The fishing Rio Agua Negra come splashing down So let me tell you about the fishing... As well as out of the mist-shrouded rainforests of dorado, there are tricky, fruit-eating pacu and theI Bolivian Andes. These waters will travel murderously strong surubi , and both are thousands of miles, tumbling their way into the astonishingly powerful. But for me, the dorado mighty Amazon before eventually emptying is king – an impossibly beautiful fish that into the Atlantic Ocean on the far side of the makes fishing for anything else feel like time continent. Up here, in the high forest, the wasted. Be warned: the fishing isn’t always easy. Agua Negra isn’t your typical, mud-stained If these rivers don’t get rain and become low Amazonian tributary, but a crystalline, rain- and ultra-clear, the fish become hypersensitive fed stream. Its boisterous currents cascade and are almost impossible to approach. My and gurgle over smooth boulders like the first few days on the Secure and Itirisama were waters of a classic freestone trout stream. intensely frustrating. Well versed in fishing for But this is no trout stream. This is a river the big, wily brown trout of New Zealand and full of gold. Patagonia, I know how to sneak up on fish in brasiliensis is the Latin moniker clear water. In spite of this, along with the rest for the freshwater dorado. These fish are of the group, I just couldn’t get near to the big, bullet-shaped killers, armed with a blood bigger dorado without them skulking into the curdling array of razor teeth and a muscle-packed depths or rushing out of the pool. fuselage wrapped up in a freakish, 24-carat Sure, I caught a few small fish, but the good- paint-job. They fight like tigers and leap like sized ones were almost impossible to get close lunatics, and they are one of the most spectacular to. Occasionally, one of the big trophy beasts I and astonishing quarries in the world. craved would come rocketing out of nowhere Dorado are typically found in turbid brown in a blur of golden mayhem to cannibalise one waters where ‘pot-luck’ blind fishing is the order of his little brothers that was flipping around on of the day. However, if you know where to look, the end of my line, but other than that, the big there are a few magical and almost impossibly appointed rooms and tents, delicious food, remote spots where you can sight fish for these attentive service, crisp white sheets and even fabulous, solid gold killing machines in fast broadband internet. flowing, gin-clear water… Every day on the river is a genuine adventure: “...solid Agua Negra is one of these places. a constantly unfurling panoply of beautiful In April, big numbers of dorado chase jungle landscapes, studded with exquisite huge schools of sabalo baitfish into the Rio flowers and a blizzard of stunningly beautiful gold killing Secure system and by late summer, the fish are birds, monkeys and cayman making it almost barreling into the tiny tributaries at the top of impossible to concentrate solely on the fishing. the system. The Secure often runs dirty, but its Encounters with the local Chimane people, machines in freestone tributaries, the upper Pluma, Itirisama who live in a few small settlements on the and the Agua Negra are, more often than river’s banks, are fascinating. This indigenous not, as clear as a New Zealand trout stream, tribe still hunt both fish and wild boar with fast flowing, allowing anglers to sight fish for these fabulous bow and arrow, and apart from the odd LA creatures at close quarters. I, for one, have rarely Lakers T-shirt gifted to them by American experienced more exhilarating fishing. anglers, these people live much as they have gin-clear done for thousands of years. Many of the adults Tsimane approach with diffidence, but the children are Tsimane is a series of lodges and camps a joy, splashing into the river and grinning for a water...” strategically placed to take advantage of this photograph with an infectious and unfettered spectacular annual migration, and it is surely glee that transcends all cultural barriers. one of the most remarkable operations in all of Untamed Angling, who run Tsimane, have fly fishing. Despite the incredible isolation of made great efforts to work with the Chimane the location and the seemingly insurmountable tribe, and employ boatmen from the tribe to logistical conundrums that it presents, the camps push-pole the log canoes that carry anglers up offer five-star accommodation, with fabulously and down the various rivers.

134 fieldsports fieldsportsmagazine.com fieldsportsmagazine.com fieldsports 135 fishing “...deep, fish were conspicuous by tree-trunks off of the track using bounded by powerful rapids at their absence and, after four our trusty Subaru and a hefty alluring either end. long days, I was starting to winch. Our boatmen poled the Lucas caught up with me and wonder if my luck was out. canoe way upstream, through long was clearly about to call it a day Then something happened to change the straights and wild, winding riffles, pools, all when he caught sight of a big, game. Walking back downstream after yet and finally, we came to a long, smudgy shape languishing in the another slow day on the stunningly beautiful brawling rapid. As Thomas and I nearside shadows of the pool. The Itirisama with fellow angler, Fabian Forget, clambered out of the canoe and of them light was off the pool now, and we felt the first few big drops of rain starting started to make our way stealthily the fish was hard to make out, but to fall out of the darkening sky. Our guide up towards the holding water finally I saw its silhouette against urged us into the dug-out log canoe as the rain above, the river suddenly exploded seemingly the golden gravel. Constricted intensified, and huge, lurid bolts of lightning – a wild golden combustion, as by trees and low creepers, I made started to light up the premature gloom in a a rabid mob of big dorado went a low, side-arm shot and as the spectacular and deafening display. ploughing into a huge school of stuffed full fly landed, I barely had time to By morning the rivers were all hopelessly sabalo, chopping the poor creatures wonder if the cast was a little short Thomas Schwingeler dirty and swollen with rain, but despite Fabian’s A hard-fighting fishing the pocket water to pieces with hideous, slashing, when the line was wrenched from pessimism, I thought that it might just be the surubi catfish on the upper Agua Negra razor-jawed bloodlust. So started an of savage, my hand and my rod contorted best thing to have happened since we’d arrived. absolute gold rush. Around almost right down to the cork. So it proved. every corner, we watched blitz The dorado came straight up We lost that day’s fishing, but by the next violent slugfest, as I tried to keep the fish out after heart-stopping blitz, as crazed sabalo- through the surface and left me in morning, as I woke to the sound of the million of the tree roots and sunken branches, and my wolf packs of big dorado attacked no doubt that it was a real trophy magical noises of the jungle, the Pluma River enraged opponent countered with a fabulous with a primal violence that sent – perhaps larger even than the big was plainly dropping and starting to clear. I told tail walking display that had me holding my countless sabalo – and bits of sabalo slashing beast that I’d wrestled out of the Fabian that today would be the day, and for breath and praying that the hook would hold. – flying into the crisp golden air Pluma a few days before. The fish once my relentless optimism was not misplaced. Finally, my brilliant guide Lucio deftly grabbed of the upland forest. Thomas and shot across the river, making for a The fish of the Pluma – deprived of the my prize by the wrist of its great tail, and we I could barely believe our luck as dorado...” huge submerged tree-trunk and I ability to hunt for a good 36 hours in the were looking down at one of the most stunning we took it in turns to pitch our big held hard, determined to stop it. high, mud-stained spate-waters – went on an creatures I have ever seen in my life: 27lb and a flies into the churning morass, and most All to no avail: the dorado bolted under the log astonishing feeding spree that afforded us one genuine trophy dorado. I was elated. times we would be rewarded as yet another and came kiting up on the taught line. It shot of the most remarkable day’s fishing I have ever A fish of that size is rare in the Secure River, golden psychopath walloped our fly and into the air, giving me one last glimpse of its experienced. From the moment that we first but I was soon being upstaged by my roommate rocketed skywards. titanic golden frame, before the hook hold gave stepped out of the canoe, fish were everywhere, Gene, a hugely likeable angler from the US As we worked upstream, the river became way and the fish splashed heavily back into the crashing into the luckless schools of sabalo who managed to drag a monstrous 31lb fish out even smaller and more intimate, and the valley water. It seemed churlish to feel disappointed with demented, psychotic abandon. While the from downstream. All afternoon, the fish would started to become steeper and more confined. after the day I’d had, but how I would have remaining spate-water in the river’s system betray themselves with their wild raids on the We were starting to climb our way loved to have seen that magnificent meant that we were unable to truly sight fish, wretched schools of sabalo, and the hunters into the foothills of the mighty creature up-close. the violent eruptions, as marauding packs of became the hunted as our big Andino Deceiver Andes, and the river started to Contacts It was the last action of a fabulous these great golden butchers crashed into the patterns wreaked havoc. I’ve rarely experienced break up into a series of tiny Tsimane is one of day. The light was starting to fade into terrified schools of sabalo, were impossible to more exhilarating fishing but, astonishingly, the cascades and deep, alluring pools, the most magical the west, and reluctantly, I accepted miss. A fly cast quickly and accurately into the best was yet to come. all of them seemingly stuffed full of operations in the that the gold rush was finally over. It world of fly fishing. It is melee almost guaranteed a savage strike. After waving goodbye to Fabian, Gene and savage, sabalo-slashing dorado. The simply a must-do. was time to head for home. Fabian opened his account with a cracking the rest of the group, who were heading home, action was utterly relentless. My trip was organised As we started the long trek back to fish of around 22lb, and then, after we’d taken I headed upriver to Tsimane’s newest camp, just Finally, after long hours of by Tarquin Millington- the camp, I took one last wistful look a number of beautiful fish in the mid-teens, I above the confluence of the tiny Agua Negra incredible excitement and any Drake at Frontiers UK. back at the tiny, sparkling headwaters Fabian Forget with an latched into a giant brute that abruptly came and the Secure. I was paired up with a German amount of golden carnage, the Contact Tarquin of the Agua Negra – it really did look impressive Pacu by email: tmd@ rocketing up through the surface to light up angler, Thomas Schwingeler, great company and shadows started to lengthen frontierstrvl.co.uk like an innocent little trout stream. the dark shadows of the emerald forest with a an enthusiastic Tsimane fan. We enjoyed some and our guide started to look Tsimane is brilliantly But no trout fishing would ever be spectacular, heart-stopping cartwheel. As I fantastic fishing over the course of the next few ominously at his watch. Surely organised and run by quite the same after this epic day clung on grimly, the great golden fish went days, but one day was simply off the charts. there was time for one last shot – I Untamed Waters. of mayhem and adrenaline-fuelled crashing off downstream in a blistering, On our third day, our guide, the excellent and pressed on ahead as Lucas helped Contact Rodrigo chaos. This little jewel of a river really Salles at Untamed knuckle-busting run, punctuated by more resourceful Lucas, decided that we would try to Thomas re-rig his hopelessly Angling: rodrigo@ is one of the most special experiences demented, catapulting vaults into the broiling push way upstream. We woke early and drove frayed wire leader, and, turning a untamedangling.com in all of fly-fishing. air, and the fight quickly degenerated into a through the jungle, dragging huge, storm-felled corner, I came to a long deep pool, I cannot wait to go back.

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