Dorado, Pacú and Pirá Pita in Alto Paraná

While on vacations in Puerto Valley with my wife I had the opportunity to fish the upper Parana river area. One morning I went out with Mariano Miraglia, Fabian Anastasio and Matías Pavoni. Both Fabian and Matías guide in Alto Paraná, a Nervous Waters destination. Since they told me that the fishing was hot during the previous days my expectations rocketed.

After a short navigation we arrived to a small stream with fast moving water. We didn't see any fish activity. Water visibility was about 30 inches, perfect for fishing but less than the usual by this time of the year.

The SAGE Method 890 gaved me the necessary confidence to make any cast that I wanted. I was after the Pacú, one of my top ten bucket-list species on a fly. On the recommendation of the guides I tried one of the plastic beads that Marcelo Morales had given me. Previously I had pierced it with a hot nail. The trick was to let the bead run freely over the hook eye, so when the fish bit it slid up freeing the hook. The hook was a 2/0 Owner Aki with 3 inches of wire leader (7x7 AFW 26 lb). I built a 9 feet leader using Maxima Chameleon (Butt: 3 ft - 40 pounds; Mid: 3 feet - 30 pounds; Tippet: 3 ft - 20 pounds), slightly shorter than the 10 or 11 feet that I normally choose for dorado and pirá pitá. It took me a while to get the hand to the bead. In shorter casts under 60 feet I had to make longer rod drifts. In longer casts I had to strip some line and false cast.

Matías lost two fish in the middle of the fight, one seemed to be a Pacú. Then a large silver pirá pitá took my bead, these fish fight like crazy, they are strong and never seem to get tired! Later Pablo got an even bigger one. As noon approached, a thunderstorm came over us. Before fleeing for cover I made one more cast: the little bead fell under some tree branches. I saw the shadow of the Pacú when it approached to inspect as the bead was sinking. The end of the line turned sideways showing the strike like I was nymphing. The fish made a solid burst downstream getting deep into my backing. After several minutes of heavy pressure the fish started to show signs of tiredness. When I thought I had him the hook pop off. A tremendous void invaded me because it was my one and only chance.

On our way back escaping from a ferocious storm we made some casts in a promising spot for dorado. We hooked 4 and landed two. That was it for the morning, thunders and lightning's said enough.

The day before my return to BA Mariano invited me to go out in the afternoon. The weather report was grim, announcing thunderstorms, but we decided to go out anyway.

We started fishing with big streamers Andino style. Pirá pitás showed up from everywhere. We landed several, both yellow and silver species. It happened twice that really big dorados chased our flies but didn't grab them. Believe me, the sight of those dorados well over 20 pounds will almost made our hearts explode and left us shaking. We changed fly colors but neither turned out, it wasn't the right time or who knows what with this intriguing (to call it nicely) fish.

We decided to keep going downriver and try some rocky points. Those are "all in" spots that may pay with some fabulous dorados, it wasn't the case this time.

We had a couple of hours left and went after the Pacú. While driving the electric engine sitting on the platform I could perfectly see how a Pacú that was hiding under the shade of a big tree took the bead. Unfortunately Mariano didn't manage to hook it.

The heat was unbearable (108° F), we were soaking wet. In less than two hours we had already drunk a gallon of soft drinks and were making use of the ice bottles. Nothing cared since we were on fishing mode.

After moving to another stream it was my turn. I changed the hook to a 2/0 Gamakatsu SC15 because of its wider gap. We saw something moving near some lush branches that touched the water. I made a cast. The violence of the strike was such that my old Xi2 690 was useless, I was fighting with the rod handle. Mariano took the boat out to the middle of the stream and helped me out a little in dragging the fish out of cover. It was a powerful fight with strong runs and head shakes. Finally I brought him to the net. The celebration was legendary: my first Pacú on a fly!

By sunset we didn't need to say anything, we both knew it was time to go back after one cabezon (a.k.a: big dorado).

Mariano had an amazing string of angry strikes on a suri streamer, landing several pirá pitás and dorados. One of the biggest pitás attacked the streamer 3 times until he hooked it.

At one point he said, "Your turn Nico, toss THE streamer". He was talking about a black andino 10 inches long on a 4/0 hook with lead eyes and a Muddler head. It was like throwing a head towel but I didn't care since it was the kind of treat that my precious was looking for.

We passed down a lagoon outlet, the perfect hunting ground where monster predators wait for forage fish. I made a 60 feet cast. As the fly slapped the water I started making long strips. The water erupted when the fish grabbed the fly. When it jumped Mariano said: "There's the ruler of this place". What followed was a display of brute power. After the celebrations we realized we had achieved a grand slam with a plus; dorado, Pacú and both species of pitá pitá.

What amazes me is that my desire to fish is always stronger. Thankfully, it's never enough!

More info about the species:

Pacú: https://www.flydreamers.com/en/species/131/pacu

Pirá Pitá: https://www.flydreamers.com/en/species/132/pira-pita