An Epic Fly Fishing Adventure Chasing Golden Dorado in the Bolivian Jungles

Jasper Taback • AnyCreek

If sight fishing crystal-clear rivers for powerful jungle fish is on your angling bucket list, look no further than Bolivia’s Agua Negra River. If it’s not on your angling bucket list, get it on there.

Fly Fishing in the Amazon Jungles of Bolivia

Fishing in the Amazon is no small undertaking — luckily, you won’t have to go it alone. Untamed Angling — a team of fly fishing adventure experts — offers all the support you could ask for in this wild environment. A charter plane drops you in the middle of the jungle, and a scenic boat ride brings you to the Agua Negra Lodge, your home base for a week-long, unforgettable adventure.

Grass huts on the high banks of a river in authentic Bolivian jungle fly fishing for the Golden Dorado. — Authentic Bolivian jungle fly fishing for the Golden Dorado. | photo provided by Untamed Angling

Big Aggressive Fish in Small Rivers

In the Bolivian Amazon, small mountain rivers hold huge golden dorado — arriving in the tributaries by the millions each year to spawn. Large dry flies and streamers are their meal of choice, and these fish are not subtle when they take (think angry, native brook trout, just five times bigger and stronger).

Fly Fishing in a Wild Environment

From the moment you touch down in the jungle, you’ll be enveloped in sounds of life. This is no 30,000 foot flyover — you are in it. When you fish, expect to do a good bit of wading. It’s not difficult wading, but there’s a lot of it, and you’ll want to be ready. A few weekly treadmill miles on your New Year’s resolutions list could help.

Fly anglers exploring by canoe the jungle tributaries of Bolivia for the golden dorado to fly fish for. — Exploring the jungle tributaries for the Golden Dorado. | photo provided by Untamed Angling.

Fly Fishing Guides That Know the Jungle

You’ll fish with a team of expert guides ready to support you — an English-speaking guide, as well as two native Bolivians. Golden dorado are hungry, but the fishing can get technical. A stealthy approach and an accurate cast are your keys to success, and your guides will take care of the rest. They’re the few people on the planet that can say they know these waters, and they make for pretty great fishing buddies.

A Fish That Doesn’t Disappoint

A Golden Dorado jumping out of the water as a fly angler tries to reel it in. — The strike and fight of a big Golden is savage. | photo provided by Untamed Angling

The first time seeing a golden dorado is an exhilarating experience. You’ve practiced your presentation at home, you’ve got a beastly 8 inch streamer, harnessed to some heavy bite tippet. All that’s left is to execute.

A good presentation to some juicy jungle pocket water is usually rewarded with an explosive eat — but the hard part is still ahead. Golden dorado come to life on the end of a fly line, mixing powerful runs with acrobatic leaps in an effort to break you off. Stay cool, manage your line, and you’ll bring a glittering golden trophy to hand. Or perhaps, in the heat of the tussle, they shake the fly loose in mid air, leaving you dumbfounded on the riverbank, itching for that next glimpse of gold.

Fly Fishing in the Jungle, Enjoy the Whole of It

It’s tempting to stay locked in on the fishing, but don’t forget to stop and look around. Keep an eye out for jaguars, sloths, spider monkeys, macaws, poison dart frogs… the list of remarkable creatures goes on in the most biologically diverse place on Earth — and each is worth a short break between casts.

Fly anglers relax with food and drink at the end of a good day of fly fishing for Golden Dorado in the Bolivian jungles. — Good food after a great day of fishing in the jungle. | photo provided by Untamed Angling.

The Planning and Logistics Is Taken Care Of

This trip is wild, but the planning doesn’t have to be. Click here for trip details, and let AnyCreek guide you to an unforgettable fly fishing adventure. Golden dorado are South America’s most sought-after game fish, and there’s no better place to fish for them.

Keep casting, keep exploring.