Veselin Spasov - Pro Team flyfishing.bg
A short story and some photos from an excursion in the Bolivian jungle that we did with uncle Mitko (Dimitar Kumanov) in August 2022. We are one of the few white people who have ventured so far into this river thanks to our Indian helpers. Canyons, boulders, climbing, swimming, kayaking... one of the toughest fishing trips ever. Where did the boats in the first picture come from... poor imagination. The Indians pushed and pulled them through rapids and shoals, with the risk that at any moment they would step on a stingray and be severely mauled (they easily penetrate thick waders and make a serious cut).
We fished with streamers in the 16-20cm range, mostly on 6/0 hooks, grade 9 rods and intermediate-tip floating lines. Leader 50 LB fluoro and wire tippet 40 LB. Dorado like sun and warm water, so they were most active from around noon to 5:00 p.m. Super aggressive and crazy fish, brutal catches, jumps... full program. When you hook a fish, if there are others nearby, they begin to circle around the caught and try to pull the prey out of its mouth. They do the same with the sabalot they feed on... two dorado dismember a large sabalot that they otherwise cannot swallow themselves.
I caught all three species of predatory fish that live there - golden and silver dorado, and jatorana. There are surubi catfish in the lower reaches, but usually their fly catches are super random. One of the Indians caught us through the wreckage of a piece of fish, on the bottom. The silver ones are small, up to a kilo and a half, rarely larger ones are caught. The jatoranata is an omnivorous fish, which for its size is an excellent fighter... a bigger one quite pissed me off👌
In addition to the fish, we also caught a gastrointestinal virus, which dragged on for quite some time. It hit me the hardest, and on the best day of fishing, when we got deep into the jungle, I lay in the tent all day exhausted. It's hard to get sick up here, it's good that I lived quickly so that I could go back the next day on these pebbles. Uncle Mitko caught 5 fish that day, dropped a few more, saw 2 tapirs... well, you had a good time without me, he returned to the camp with a smile from ear to ear. The drive home was a nightmare... more than 55 hours from our hotel in Bolivia to Bulgaria and with airport disruption🤣 But I'd still go through all the trouble even just for a day of fishing up there😀
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