Golden Dorado in Northern Argentina

Hunting Unicorns in Argentina
A Hosted Trip for Golden Dorado – April 5 to 12, 2025

I started guiding and fishing in Argentina in 1985. Between the seasons I’ve guided and the trips I’ve hosted, I’ve probably traveled there fifty times in the past forty years… and I can’t wait to return!

In December of 2024 I traveled with a friend to the northern province of Corrientes and the Parana River, in Argentina, to fish for Golden Dorado… a lifelong dream of mine.

Our outfitter, SET Fly Fishing, runs three very different operations in the immense watershed of the Parana, often combining two, or even three venues in a trip.

Our first destination was Jetu’u, located on the expansive Isoro Marsh, where we didn’t see any other outfitters. Jetu’u was a great place to begin the experience and get used to the drill, with plentiful action and numerous fish every day in the 3 to 12-pound class; a six to eight-pound fish being the benchmark.

Our second destination was Itati, located on the Upper Parana. This is where we hoped to catch our unicorn, a Golden Dorado of over 20 pounds.

While the water is big, the targets are similar; drop-offs, current seams, over-hanging vegetation, as well as boulders, rocky points, rock walls, and fast water.

The outfitter recommends an eight-weight rod with a floating WF warmwater line, which seemed perfect for throwing light streamers and topwater flies at Jetu’u. I felt under-gunned on the Upper Parana and switched to #10 with an intermediate sink-tip and a double musky fly.

Contacts with fish were fewer and further between… but good fish were caught, and it was the perfect way to conclude the trip!

If you’re interested in joining me on my Golden Dorado adventure next year, please drop me a line or call me at 651-433-4168.

We act as booking agents for SET Fly Fishing. If you can’t join me on my hosted trip, contact me to arrange a trip that works with your schedule.

Contact me for more information!

ITINERARY

April 3 – Depart US, fly overnight.

April 4 – Arrive Buenos Aires in the morning. Our group will be met at the international airport in Buenos Aires and transferred to a wonderful hotel in the city’s Recoleta District. We’ll have lunch at my favorite sidewalk café, and after sightseeing and a nap, we’ll walk to dinner at a neighborhood restaurant and enjoy a fitful night’s sleep.

April 5 – The group will awake fully rested and enjoy a continental breakfast before being transferred to a private airport for our charter flight to Goya aboard a Grand Caravan EX followed by a short drive to Jetu’u Lodge. A short afternoon fishing session is not uncommon. The guides from Set will always go the extra mile.

April 6/7/8 – Fish for Golden Dorado in and around the Isoro Marsh

April 9 – Transfer to our second destination, Itati Lodge, via Cessna 180 (weather permitting) or by SUV. Arrive, enjoy lunch, and fish in the afternoon and evening.

April 10/11 – Fish the Upper Parana for Golden Dorado from Itati Lodge.

April 12 – Depart Itati Lodge, transfer to private airport, fly to Buenos Aires, transfer via Grand Caravan EX (with lunch on the way) to the international airport fly overnight to the US

April 13 – Arrive in the US in the AM, go through customs and immigration, catch flights to home.

PRICING

$8,350 per person/double occupancy, one boat and guide per two anglers, 7 nights/6 days

Inclusions