Fishing
Guides & Rafts
Fishing in TARIQUÎA is not child's play. The river is very powerful, and so are its dorados. The rafts allow us to access points that are impossible from the shore and also to gain an advantage when pursuing a large dorado escaping downstream. Our guides are all professionals, expert rowers, fluent in English, and skilled in fishing techniques. In Tariquia 90% OF THE FISHING IS DONE FROM THE RAFT. You will not hike if you don’t want to, unless the guide needs to pass the raft without the anglers in a potentially dangerous rapid.
Tackle
We recommend 9-weight rods for one hand. The ideal is to carry two #9 rods, one rigged with a floating line and the other with a clear-tip intermediate line. It is recommended to bring one or two extra rods. The leader is an eight-foot 40 lb. straight fluorocarbon shock leader tied to a 40 lb. 15/20” wire tippet.We strongly recommend the new Thomas & Thomas Exocett 88 rods, MAKO 9500 or MAKO Tournament reels, Scientific Anglers Mastery Jungle Titan lines (special for the jungle), Absolute Fluorocarbon shock leader and Absolute Predator 7x7 knottable wire from Scientific Anglers. We have a small fly shop with lines, fluorocarbon, wire and an assortment of flies at the lodge.
Wading
The clothing needs are simple: quick-drying long pants, quick-drying long-sleeved shirts or hooded tops, thermal t-shirts, warm sweaters, a lightweight waterproof jacket, wading boots with felt soles, cotton and neoprene socks, and a 100% waterproof backpack to carry your gear while wading. Do not bring wading boots with rubber soles; they do not work on the slippery bottom of the Tarija River and can pose a real problem for your wading. Anyway, remember that 95% of the fishing is done from the rafts.
Flies
Big streamers or deceivers with red, yellow, orange, green, or violet tails are the most frequently chosen, 4 to 8 inches long, with 3/0 or 4/0 hooks. The strength of the fish in TARIQUIA requires high-quality saltwater hooks. Also, other fish imitations have also proven to be truly efficient, such as Puglisi streamers in large sizes, Lefty Deceivers, the Sabalo Snake from Umpqua, and others. Flies with excessive flashabou are not recommended. Foam poppers, Titanic Sliders, mice, Dahlberg Divers, and Pole Dancers are interesting options to lure dorado on the surface.
