THE NEW LA ZONA LODGE

As I have written in past posts, clients fishing in La Zona are no longer staying at Los Tres Sietes.  There is a new lodge which is a ranch style house.  It consists of 3 large bedrooms.  2 of the bedrooms have private baths while the 3rd has a separate bathroom in the room directly adjacent.
Each of the rooms have A/C and numerous electrical outlets to charge batteries.   In the main dining room there is a large table for meals.  There is a large refrigerator stocked with water, sodas, and beer.  There are rod hangers in the hallways, plus there is a large screen television.

Next door to the main building is a newly constructed foundation where meals are prepared.  There is a large dining table and stocked refrigerator in this building also.  There is no A/C, but large fans to keep the room cool.  So you have the option of having meals in this building or the main building.
Caretaker, Lucus, cleans the swimming pool daily which is a great way to cool down after a day of fishing.  There is a lighted deck on the main building so you can relax and have a few drinks while discussing your days fishing.  Laundry service is again provided.  Meals as always are delicious so expect to put on a few pounds during your stay.  Van transportation is provided from you arrival in Buenos Aires on Thursdays and return on Tuesdays in time for you flight home.  There are a few prime dates remaining in 2018 with popular dates in 2019 going fast!  Contact Giuliana Bradanini or myself for more information.  You will be guaranteed with the largest golden dorado on earth!

La Zona, Uruguay River, Golden Dorado January 5th to 8th

Had the opportunity for fish on the Uruguay River out of La Zona Lodge for golden dorado.  I have been fortunate to fish out of La Zona Lodge each year since the zone opened to fisherman.  The water was the lowest I have seen in all my years.  However, guides Elbio and Alejandro put the group of 4 onto 7 trophy dorado with the largest tipping the scales at 50 lbs.  The top lures were large Yo-Zuri Poppers, Shimano Orcas, and heavy duty spinnerbaits.

There are new accommodations at La Zona Lodge.  All in my group like the new Lodge over Los Tres Sietes where I stayed for numerous years.  Contrary to false rumors each bedroom has air conditioning.  There are 3 spacious bedrooms at the new lodge.  The large single rooms have private bath while the shared room has a bathroom directly next door.  There is a large living room complete with refrigerator, dinner table, and big screen television.  There is a large deck to enjoy a few beers after dinner along with a new well kept swimming pool. 
About 20 yards away is a new building where all meals are prepared.  There is a large dining room which is available to have you meals should you desire.  In all the trip as usual was fantastic.  Hector and Giuliana Bradanini are wonderful hosts and will do everything in their power to make your stay a trip of a lifetime.  The 2019 season is already start to book so make sure to act now to get prime dates for the best golden dorado fishery on earth!

POP POP POP Poppers

It is quite exciting to see a monster sized fish reach out of the water to smacking a popper.  On my recent trip to La Zona, the water was extremely low.  The key to getting the dorados attention was to cast poppers. 
We did not "pop" the poppers but reeled them in as fast as possible.  The best poppers were ones with large cupped mouths such as the Klures poppers and the Yo-Zuri Bull.  Kermett Adams of klures makes some of the best wooden poppers and choppers on the market.   A few dorado over 40lbs got fooled by this technique.

In a few weeks I will be off to Misima Island off of the coast of Papua New Guinea out in the Indian Ocean hoping to fool massive size Giant Trevally.  Odds are this will be quite a different retrieve as the lures will now not get reeled in with sonic speeds, but a steady popping retrieve will be used.  I have gather quite a collection on various sizes and types of poppers specifically for this trip.  One in particular has caught my attention.  Dave Killalea of Old Dog lures out of Australia makes huge poppers out of timber.  They are each handcrafted and can weigh up to 220 grams.  Other good looking poppers I plan on using are the Heru Cubera, the Sebile Splasher 165 gram, and the Halco Roosta Popper.  

So add a variety of lures to your arsenal.  You never know which will be the hot lure and hate to have your partner catching fish after fish and not have one to loan you!

Just hope my shoulders and arms can last casting these massive lures let alone when the big Giant Trevally or Dogtooth tuna gets hooked which is another issue in itself!

Christmas Gifts

Dragging super strong spinnerbaits over the boulders which lie in the Uruguay River in the section known as "La Zona" has been the key to landing huge golden dorado the past few years.  To my knowledge, there are no store bought spinnerbaits available which can stand up to the viscous strike and pulling power of huge golden dorado.  Friend, Sparky Bullock, has designed a spinnerbait just to remedy this issue.  Sparky has friends who own a machine shop which are able to work with the extra thick diameter wire which is needed.  His design is either a 1 1/2 oz or 2 oz leadhead attached to the wire.  An Owner hyper wire split ring is attached to the leadhead then a SPRO Heavy Swivel is attached.  The extra strong single hook can then either be attached to the swivel or to another split ring.  This enables the hook to rotate during the lure tossing leaps by the golden dorado.  This is a huge advantage over a fixed hook.  Joe has only been selling these spinnerbaits to a select few.  However, he has agreed to sell them to friends of mine.

The spinnerbaits come with choice of blades, blade colors, skirt colors, and leadhead color.  For La Zona I highly recommend extra large double willow blades with orange/black skirts either weight.  Just drag these spinnerbaits around the boulders during your drift and you might be rewarded with some huge golden dorado over 50 lbs as I was fortune to last year.  Musky, big pike, and other monster species should also be fooled by Sparky's spinnerbaits.  Contact Joe Bullock at joe@bullock.com and tell him you are a friend of mine!

Christmas Gift

Want to send someone fishing at a World Class fishing destination as a Christmas Present but do not have a small fortune to send them to an International destination?  Well, Keith Kennedy of Born To Fish Charters operates our of Venice, LA.  World class fishing is available in Venice at a mere fraction of what it cost for an International trip.  Keith regularly put folks on trophy redfish throughout the year.  Everything is include when you book with Capt Keith.  He has excellent rods, reels, and the lures to use.
He also offers packages which include housing and meals.  To get to Capt. Keith's you can fly into New Orleans then rent a car for about a 2 hr drive to Venice.  For more information contact Keith at (504) 908-3108

Last minute Christmas Gifts

Can't decide what to get that outdoors person in your life for Christmas?  Give Tom Ashby of AmericanLegacyFishingCompany a call.  Tom has countless years of experience evaluating the top products for fishing, hunting, and basically anything associated with the outdoors.  His company is the largest Gloomis dealer in the world and has a massive stock of top of the line Shimano and Daiwa products plus many many more.  The company is located in Evansville, Indiana and ships to any destination on earth.  Give Tom a call at 18774026350 or worldwide 18124026350.  Check out the products on the site, www.americanlegacyfishingcompany.com.  If you sign up for their newsletter you get a 10% discount on your first order.

EARLY CHRISTMAS GIFTS

What better way to surprise the fisherperson in your life than to put a few wooden lures made by Kermett Adams under your Christmas Tree! 

Kermett uses top of the line Eastern Red Cedar to create his lures.  Each lure is hand painted and touched off with a tough clear coat.  Kermett is suddenly becoming very popular with his top of the line chopper series.  These choppers have recently fooled many peaock bass over 20 lbs.  He also makes great lures for golden dorado and largemouth bass. Kermett uses some of the finest hooks and split rings on all his lures.   Give Kermett at shout at kkadams.aol.com