Know Your Knots - Flyfishingtails

Argentina, as a fly
fishing
destination, is
better known for
its wild trout and
sea run browns
from the colder
southern regions
like Patagonia.
But the
international limelight is shifting to a
species of fish called the golden dorado,
found in the tropical northern province of
Corrientes. Over the years a ‘dorado culture’
has emerged in these home waters of
Argentina and the guides have followed it
like a religion.
One such guide, Ramiro Badessich and I
became friends while working on Desroches
Island Lodge in the Seychelles. Ramiro told
me of his home waters Corrientes and how it
offers fly-fishing for dorado on your doorstep,
from pristine marshlands, gin clear
tributaries and even in the city of Corrientes
itself. “We call it urban fishing,” he said.
Ramiro and I agreed that if ever we were
to visit each other’s homelands, we would
do some fishing together and no less than
a year later we were standing at Corrientes
airport…in the rain.
After Ramiro collected us from the airport,
we made a quick stop for supplies in town
and then headed north on a one and a half
hour journey to an infamous dorado fishing
town called ItáIbaté. Ramiro is the typical
Corinthian; flask under the arm, maté in
his hand and tough as nails - at age 30 he
still plays rugby. It is fascinating to hear
about the history of Corrientes, the role
its people played in wars past and how
Ramiro has been fishing for dorado there
all his life. He paints a colourful picture but
beware, Ramiro is a known prankster and
he pounces on gullibility.
We arrived in ItáIbatéand, pulled up to a
quaint guest house at the edge of town
overlooking the Paraná River where we
met Pinti Pinto, a retired doctor and now
full time Dorado guide. We were to be
some of his first guests at this new
establishment but he had been guiding on
the Paraná for many years. The Paraná is
a large river that forms the northern border
between Argentina and Paraguay and
in this region it stretches as wide as six
kilometres with countless scattered islands
and remote channels.
When you first get on the water you notice
quite a bit of commercial and recreational