LA ZONA OCTOBER 2 TO 5, 2023

 La Zona has been experiencing high water this fall.  My friends who fished in September left early as the levels rose over 13 meters so the Argentina dam Police deemed the fishing would be unsafe.  Since I was already in Argentina at Jurassic Lake Lodge, I still went with the intention of just visiting friends.  I called the group of 4 who were to fish with me and told them to reschedule.  When I arrived at La Zona Lodge, the water had dropped below 11 meters, so I was told no problem fishing.  

I have been to La Zona numerous times and am good friends with the owners, guides, and have numerous friends who live in Concordia.  Since I was alone, I asked Santiago if he would come fishing with me on day 1.  We were guided by Alejandro who is one of the best dorado guides in the world!  The morning produced lots of strikes on spinnerbaits, Super Shad Raps, CANO poppers, and deep diving Rapalas.  The dorado were not the giants over 40 lbs we were looking for, but the strikes were numerous.  In the afternoon, the giants came out.  Alejandro masterfully sthe turbine wall as far as we could.  We put 8-inch musky twister tails on the spinnerbait hooks.  The strikes were numerous, and we both landed some huge dorado.  

The bite continued the entire morning.  The spinnerbait skirts and tails were destroyed so lots of tackle repair was done at lunch.  In the afternoon, Alejandro motored us back toward the turbine walls.  The water is very wicked like a washing machine.  It is extremely different to prevent the boat from crashing into the dam walls.  The guides boat ability is one of the reasons why La Zona Lodge catches by far the majority of dorado exceeding 50+ lbs near the Salto Grande Dam.  Around 6pm the bite slows so Santiago and I toss CANO poppers toward the Uruguay shoreline.  It is strike after strike until we pull lines around 7pm.  Santiago catches two trophies which are his all-time largest dorado.

On Tuesday, I ask friend, Mariano Bradanini, to fish with me.  Today, we are fishing with Elbio, the other great dorado guide at La Zona Lodge.  We tell Elbio to motor us back to the turbines.  The giants are still there and feeding.  We again cast the doradokiller spinnerbaits and landed numerous trophies.  In the afternoon, Mariano asked me to take out his son which was not a problem. 

He out fished me 3 to 1 and had a great time.  On Wednesday, friend Mateo, would join me.  I have known Mateo since he was a in his low teens.  Now, he is taller than I am.  He once landed two dorado over 50lbs the same morning which were longer than he was!  Alejandro guided us again and the giants were still there.  I get a huge strike.  Alejandro motors the giant out to calmer water as it is impossible to reel once the dorado gets into the strong current.  So, we pull the dorado to where the boat is safe from slamming into the dam walls.  Alejandro gets very excited as he pulls the dorado into the boat.  It is over 1 meter, so he guessed the weight around 50 lbs.  Once weighing on a certified boga grip it was exactly 50 lbs!  A few mintues later, Mateo hooks into a giant.  Alejandro once again does a magnificent job of motoring the boat out to calm water.  The beast is finally landed and pushes the boga grip to 48 lbs.

We slammed the giants the rest of the morning.  In the afternoon, strong winds from the south came up blowing directly into the dam.  The police pulled us over and said the river is unsafe so we could not fish.  The next morning, I take out friend Jorge.  Elbio's turn is back up to guide us.  The fishing is again tremendous.  I land another 48 and numerous over 40 lbs.  Jorge also has great action.  

This was perhaps the best trip in my life for giant dorado at La Zona Lodge.  I felt guilty that I told my friends to reschedule.  For the 4 days of fishing, the boat landed 25 dorado over 30 lbs (I only record 30+ lbs dorado).  The results are as follows:

1 at 50

2 at 48

2 at 46

3 at 44

2 at 42

4 at 40

1 at 38

1 at 36

As you can see, the La Zona Lodge guides know where the big dorado are year around.  Much demand has returned since the Argentina and Uruguay governments permit fishing next to the dam again.  Plus, the doradokiller spinnerbaits and CANO poppers were the key in tempting the giants.  La Zona Lodge has some limited opens through 2026.  They have a special discounted rate for October 2025 where giants can be caught with decent water conditions.  The dorado spawn around Novoember so pack the pounds on in October as evident by giant girths.  So, I have another week to fish.  I call my freinds in the USA to come on the trip as the fishing is outstanding and for now the water levels are fishable.  Stay tuned for week 2 results!!