Fly fishing South America for one year: Part 2 by Dizzy
This note is from my first day at Pluma, October 1st.
Olley from Ard Vary McCleid and I fished together. We flew south upstream in the chopper for about 20 minutes and touched down on the start of beat number 7.
After the chopper left, we assembled all our gear. Our guide, Nicko, gave us a rundown on how to stalk the fish, what to expect, and how to play different species.
The environment was stunning – the flora, the cliffs, the birch trees lining the beaches, and the bouldery waters resembled the New Zealand river system, except for one glaring difference: the large amount of bait fish, ranging from 20mm to 600mm in length, were prolific.
The water temperature was much cooler than Kendjam, Brazil.
Olly started casting and covered some great runs, but no dorado. We wandered to the next good section of likely waters.
Although very skinny, I covered some waters with the #9 intermediate tip. About the third cast, my first dorado came charging at the fly.
I kept stripping hard, had a hit, a tail grab, and another tail grab on the long streamer, but the fish turned off.
The morning continued with Olley and me leapfrogging. I stayed below as Olley covered some new waters just 100 meters ahead. I looked up to see his rod buckled, and he was walking backward – he’s on!
I packed up and walked up to watch him land the first dorado of the day, a great solid male fish.
We got some great shots, and the fish was released. Olley and I were astonished at how such skinny waters could contain such large fish. We carried on until lunchtime with no other fish on the board.
RELATED POST: Part 1 of the one year journey
I was up again, covering some skinny waters with a waterfall rapid.
On the first cast, stripping flat out from a long cast upstream, a dorado smashed my fly. There was no connection, but the dorado slashed again. Strip set, and she’s on for young and old.
The fish cartwheeled across the waters, and after about seven minutes, it was in the shallow sand where Marco grabbed her – bloody awesome. More happy shots, and she was released back into the shallows.
High fives and thank-yous flying, we carried on, Olly and Marco on point. We lingered and did a series of pocket fishing and riffles as we would in New Zealand.
I rounded the bend to see Olly and Micko on a fish. I scampered up to see this huge black shadow on the sands – Micko called pacu. This was a huge fish from the head of a deep pool at some rapids.
A long, strong, heavy fight continued. The beast was not giving up. Micko finally walked into the sandy bottoms, and within a couple more minutes, he had the fish by the tail.
Olly was amazed at the power of this fish. He compared the speed and power to GTs, saying it was amazing. More happy shots and fish release.
We took some pictures of the mouth and teeth of this fish – teeth unlike ours behind big, hard lips.
We carried on fishing until we reached beat 9, with no more fish taken out or seen. We called the chopper in for the half-hour flight back to base.
Man, what a day!
October 2nd
Bento, Olly, and I had the pleasure of fishing together with the second head guide, JP.
Today promised something different – a journey to the higher part of Pluma where none had ventured before.
It was uncharted territory for the guides and chopper pilot, and we embarked on two 35-minute runs, scouting the river below from the chopper.
Passing over sensational freestone and bouldery rivers, we descended below the tree line with the pilot displaying impressive knowledge.
As the guide and pilot pointed out various features, we observed schools of baitfish and occasional large suribi catfish.
After Olly joined us, we rigged up and walked downstream, fishing up.
In this rugged canyon, we didn’t see much until we noticed the absence of sabalo, the primary prey for the golden dorado.
Once Olly and the chopper returned, we set off into unknown waters, with JP leading the way.
As Olly captured some great pictures, we walked along a wadable river with varying depths. Soon, we spotted sabalo of various sizes, a positive sign.
JP spotted some dorado in the bottom end of riffles, and Bento hooked one with a huge dry hopper pattern.
It was an exhilarating experience with insane runs and aerial jumping, resulting in the first catch of the day.
My turn came, and I too landed a medium-sized dorado in JP’s capable hands, capturing underwater footage for a release.
Throughout the day, Olly drew comparisons to the South Island, emphasizing the striking similarities.
As we continued, Bento caught another golden, and we spotted large yatorana. A long cast with a large streamer resulted in an intense battle, with Olly capturing every moment on video.
These fish exhibited incredible pulling power, showcasing their untamed nature in waters untouched by flies or humans.
Our day unfolded with each of us, including Olly, landing fish and capturing high-resolution shots.
Despite needing editing, the photos were a testament to our adventurous journey through the sensational jungle, involving walking, rock hopping, and wading.
We even encountered tapia, and at one point, we observed a pair of them up close for 30 minutes, with Olly filming.
As the day neared its end, I landed another yatorana, and we explored a section where I had success blind casting.
A decent golden charged my fly, and with JP’s assistance, I landed it.
We leapfrogged, taking turns in a deep hole where we witnessed a frenzied encounter with a massive golden estimated at 20lb.
As the day concluded, we found a suitable landing site and had an epic swim while waiting for the chopper.
Olly managed to catch another dorado and yatorana upstream.
An otter, unaccustomed to humans, provided a playful spectacle, captured in Olly’s photos.
The chopper picked up three of us, leaving JP behind, and we met Chucky, the headman, who informed us that they had scouted another untouched river.
Excitement grew as we were invited to explore this new river and canyon area the next day, with Chucky also bringing filming gear and a drone.
Tomorrow promised another adventure.
October 3rd
I battled gastro all night, feeling unwell since 6 pm, and had minimal sleep. Despite being sick at breakfast, I couldn’t miss the anticipated epic day.
Garry and Jude also fell victim to the gastro bug, opting to skip the day. With hopes of not needing a toilet during the chopper flight, I soldiered on.
Our flight to another river system took 25 minutes. Three guides flew in first to scout the area, and the chopper returned to get us on the way.
Despite the challenges, the day promised excitement. After setting up our gear, Chucky, the head guide, pointed out a huge dorado. Beeno made a perfect cast with a large donkey mouse pattern, resulting in a spectacular fight.
The fish, weighing over 17.5 lb, showcased its massive shoulders in some impressive pictures before the release.
As we explored the river, Chucky called me up to target a large golden. A smaller dorado raced in and stole the fly, triggering chaos with three goldens smashing the water.
Despite losing the fish due to an aggressive encounter, I persevered and landed a smaller model.
The morning continued with both of us landing excellent fish and losing some at the bank.
The canyon closing in required a large swim upstream. Despite cramps mid-swim, we navigated through, capturing some great pictures.
With the third swim, cramps hit, complicating things due to high temperatures, continuous sweating, boulder crossings, and dehydration from the previous night’s gastro.
The day unfolded with numerous golden catches, a couple weighing around 5 kg.
Notably, there were no Yatorana fish in this area. Chucky, equipped with goggles and snorkel, spotted two large catfish during a swim.
Meanwhile, another guide witnessed a massive ferret scampering across rocks.
A memorable golden was hooked during a blind pocket cast in fast waters, resulting in an intense fight captured on video. The fish eventually wore through the line, a sensational moment.
As we reached the extraction point with time to spare, we continued fishing. Two large canyon swims lay ahead, bringing both exhaustion and challenges. Despite struggles, we made it through, and fishing resumed.
An easier day was promised for tomorrow by Chucky, providing a glimmer of hope for a smoother experience.
The adventure continued, leaving us wondering what the next day would bring.
October 5th
I woke up to a welcome reprieve in the weather. The cool temperature of 24 degrees brought heavy rains, grounding us due to low visibility.
They estimated a few hours of delay, and it was intriguing to see how the cicadas would respond to this cool change.
As night fell, there were noticeably more cicadas, hoppers, and flying insects than before.
The day began late, and we were on the water around 10:30 am after a chopper drop-off.
By 11:30 am, we were well into the walk with excellent conditions. We flew up above the dirty waters onto the Pluma River beat 2. The morning started slowly, with both Breeno and me dropping dorado.
We pushed upstream to a long, deep, slow-flowing hole known for pacu and maturo catfish.
Good pacu were cruising, and large catfish rested on the bottom. I cast to them, but none could be enticed.
We continued upstream and found a nice pacu at the bottom of another long, deep run. I cast, but it moved into the deep.
As we slowly crept along the shore, a pacu was breaking the surface feeding. I cast a size 4 red streamer on a #8 rod, and after a slow strip, felt a grab.
The line ripped out, and an intense fight ensued. Micko identified it as a huge pacu.
The fight lasted for many minutes, with electric blistering runs and backing out. Eventually, we thought we were making ground, but more runs followed.
The fight continued downstream, and Breeno and I lifted a massive maturo (catfish) out of the water.
After over 20 minutes, we successfully tailed the giant, measuring 145 in in length and weighing over 100 lb. It was a phenomenal experience.
After some cocoa leaf chewing and a buzzing break, we had lunch in a shady spot.
We continued upstream for more golden, but they were elusive.
At 3:00 pm, another pacu was spotted, and Breeno landed it using a huge hopper pattern. We saw many smaller golden but didn’t pursue them.
At 3:40 pm, another pacu was spotted. I cast the #8 dry fly, and after a long cast, the pacu immediately engulfed it.
The fight was intense, and the pacu went around a large log, causing a moment of worry. However, with some skillful maneuvering, the pacu was successfully landed, marking another success for the little #8 rod.
Tomorrow, with similar weather expected, promises to be wonderful. We’ll see what unfolds.
October 6th
We set out to explore new waters, traveling about 40 km in a southeast direction. Unfortunately, we encountered many dirty tributaries due to rains two days ago.
Despite the challenges, we traveled further than ever before and found some relatively clear waters.
Upon turning back, the pilot dropped us off on the river, and we started upstream. Olly was the first to land a nice golden, and we continued casting into pocket waters and clearing edges.
The fish were actively smashing the fly, but many were lost and adorned by larger, aggressive goldens as they joined the fights.
At one point, a sabila of about 4 lb was attacked by a huge dorado, cutting my leader as it took the sabila. I lost two more solid golds as they headed towards me, not allowing the hook to set.
Finally, I set the hook into another good fish, managing to land another impressive golden with some fancy footwork to clear the line from my ankles.
Further upstream, Olly and I both caught some yatorana, a beautiful fish that performs well for its size.
We took a break for lunch under some nice shade as the morning cloud burnt off, and humidity built.
The water seemed to be clearing a bit, and in some locations, you could see the water level had receded a clear vertical meter from its previous height two days prior.
The tributaries drop quickly in these mountains, but some take longer to clear than others.
We moved on and each caught another golden before reaching the chopper extraction location, marking a wonderful closing to the last day of fishing.
This leg of the journey has been truly memorable. To make the most of the heli leg, it’s essential to be in fit condition for rock hopping, rough and slippery walking (even the guides slip on the rocks), and some swimming.
The weather is hot and very humid. In discussions with Chucky and JP, late August is considered an optimal time for this trip.
Regarding fitness levels, they accommodate well, as exemplified by a couple from the US who were well taken care of, and suitable heli waters were chosen for them.
We all rose early for the boat trip to the jungle airfield, where we will board a plane back to Santa Cruz.
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