Yahapé Fly Fishing – Dorado, Pacú and Pira Pita

BarrettArgentina, Dorado

Pacu Man!!

Pacu Man!!

When you talk to seasoned Dorado fishermen about their favorite places to fish, the name Repeski comes up quite often, and it’s easy to see why.  My first experience fishing the area was last July with our friend & consummate guide, Peto. Although the middle of winter wasn’t prime time, I was enthralled with the style of fishing and saw enough action keep me begging for more.

Located between the small towns of Itatí and Itá Ibaté along the enormous Paraná River in Northern Argentina, the Repeski area offers fly fishermen enough diversity and challenge to ensure there’s never a dull moment. Big, challenging fish is a sure recipe for an angling addiction, and Repeski has that in spades. Fishing here is more akin to largemouth bass or snook fishing –  plying the shoreline w/ precise casts into dense cover. Every cast is a challenge, demanding concentration and above-average precision. Here a difference of 2 feet determines success or failure. This is of course part the allure of Repeski.

Because it is a tailwater fishery, the water runs relatively clear, allowing anglers to see most of the strikes as they happen. It takes either nerves of steel or Zen-like absent-mindedness to remain calm and not pull your fly away when you see a double-digit dorado rise out of the depths to chase your 7-inch long streamer.   In addition, there’s always the possibility for gold or silver Pira Pita (looks similar to a shad) and Pacu (the permit of the Rio Parana), which sit under fruit-laden trees waiting for a breeze, bird, or monkey to knock lunch into the water. You essentially never know what’s going to end up on the end of your line on any given cast, but you can bet your ass that whatever it is will have razor-sharp teeth and an attitude to match.