From: 04/20/2024
To: 04/20/2024
Type of Water: Freshwater
Species: Golden Dorado, Wolf Fish, Catfish, Boga
My time at Popayan Lodge with Pachamama Fly Fishing was nothing short of world class. Luciano and his team went above and beyond to ensure a quality experience from the moment I landed in Salta.
After three years of communication and pandemic induced trip cancellations, I was overjoyed to arrive in Northwest Argentina for a few days of golden dorado fishing. The lodge is a quaint, remote country estate accessible by a dirt road that involved several creek crossings, wooden gates, and livestock traffic. The total travel time from the airport to the lodge was about three hours.
My first night I was greeted by the staff and served an excellent, traditional Argentine parrilla meal. With local wines and quality steaks, I was already content with my trip before the fishing began.
The next mor View more...My time at Popayan Lodge with Pachamama Fly Fishing was nothing short of world class. Luciano and his team went above and beyond to ensure a quality experience from the moment I landed in Salta.
After three years of communication and pandemic induced trip cancellations, I was overjoyed to arrive in Northwest Argentina for a few days of golden dorado fishing. The lodge is a quaint, remote country estate accessible by a dirt road that involved several creek crossings, wooden gates, and livestock traffic. The total travel time from the airport to the lodge was about three hours.
My first night I was greeted by the staff and served an excellent, traditional Argentine parrilla meal. With local wines and quality steaks, I was already content with my trip before the fishing began.
The next morning we ate breakfast, discussed a game plan for the day, loaded up the ATV, and departed for a full day of fishing. The river is accessible by ATV, with the lodge having access to several different trails that lead you to different points on the river. On day one, we elected to start at the lowest access point and work our way up river throughout the week. The river is stunning, with crystal clear springs feeding the jungle stream. The river reminded me of medium sized trout streams I had fished in the Pacific Northwest of the United States, with deep pools, fast rapids, and gigantic boulders surrounding the river. The only difference was this wasn’t a trout stream, we were fishing for the top predator of this ecosystem, the golden dorado.
We used 8 weight rods and casted weighted streamers all week, with the occasional dry fly or rat pattern tied on if conditions appeared right. We changed up color, size, weight, and retrieval frequently to figure out what would provoke a take from a trophy fish. Luciano was an expert on the behavior of the fish, their eating preferences, and coached me throughout our time on the river together. Given that it was winter, the water was a bit colder, the fish were not as active, and eats were spread out sporadically throughout the day. After day one, I was still longing for my first connection with a golden dorado.
After another excellent meal, great conversations, and a restful night, we began day two from where we finished fishing the day prior. We continued to move upstream and began to notice more and more schools of sábalo, the prey of choice for dorado. Luciano relayed to me that wherever there are sábalo, there are almost certainly dorado. I quickly missed a strong take in a churning whitewater section of the river, where I watched as my fly tumbled through the rapids and disappeared with a huge flash of gold. I strip set but felt nothing on the end of my line, I had missed my first take. We continued on for the day, stopping at a riverside camp for lunch, with optimism about the upcoming pools. We worked our way as far as we could walk before risking trekking back to the ATV in the dark, and arrived at a picturesque set of pools at the end of our day. With huge boulders and crystal clear water, I was certain there would be a dorado, or ten, in these pools. I approached the first pool, set my feet, and prepared to launch a long cast up into the rapids at the top of the pool. My fly landed out of sight, just around the backside of the large boulder cutting into the river. I began to strip and saw a large dorado rise from below, chasing the fly with determination. I continued to strip and within seconds, the fish was hooked and airborne. After a spectacular display of acrobatics, the fish was landed and my mission was complete. Luciano and I cheered and celebrated as we took a quick photo, unhooked the fish, while taking great care to ensure a successful release and recovery. As we walked back to the ATV, all we could do was smile and look forward to another day of fishing. Our third day fishing was met with a changing weather pattern, which led to more difficult fishing. Despite this, I had two more opportunities to connect with a fish throughout the day. The day flew by and we left the river satisfied, the dream of a golden dorado had been achieved.
Luciano and his Pachamama team are crafting a truly world class fishing destination at Popayan Lodge. With comfortable accommodation, high quality dining, attentive service and staff, and an unparalleled ecosystem on the Popayan river, their lodge has everyone one would want for a destination fly fishing trip. I highly recommend this trip to any and all passionate fly anglers looking to check golden dorado off their bucket list, and am already planning my next adventure back to Salta, Argentina.
Zack Mega (Utah, USA)
