So Just How Tough Are Dorado?

The fishing world has been talking recently about dorado and what kind of fight they can put up once hooked. If you haven't seen the video of their spectacular acrobatic leaps, just scroll down the page and take a gander. If that isn't enough to get your blood pumping and adrenalyne rushing, take a look at this photo.



That's me. As you can see by the look on my face, I am not very happy. Why you ask? Let me tell you. You can see that I am holding two pieces of a fishing rod. A fishing rod that used to be my brand new one piece carbon graphite rod that I picked up specifically for this trip. Now it is a memorial to the fight that one dorado put out our first day on the Paraguay River.

I knew that I should use a medium to heavy action rod but since it was the first week of the season and I knew we would mainly be catching smaller 8-12 lb dorado, I figured a light action rod would be fine. I was wrong and I paid the price.

I also paid the price (or as we say in Brazil, paid the monkey) for only using 17lb test line. I had my line snapped more times than I like to remember. Rogerio figures we lost as many as we caught the first day on snapped lines and because we used hooks too small. Since we pulled in over 30 fish that first day, that is saying something.




Our second day I borrowed a heavy action rod from my new friend Silvio who owns the Tuiuiu Marina in Caceres, Mato Grosso. We also switched to size 8/0 barbed hooks and 30lb test line. After that my line snapped only once but then it was by a monster pintado (speckled catfish). We could see him in the water and estimated he weighed over 60 lbs.

You can bring your own gear from home or use the gear we provide. We use only Shimano reels and we will definitely provide you with the right rods and tackle so you won't have to go through what we did.

But because of the way dorado, pintado and barbado struggle once hooked, we can't guarantee that with even using this equipment you won't suffer a snapped line, bent hook or even broken rod or reel.

When you are ready for this kind of fishing action, give us a call - 1-800-582-2105

http://www.fishbigfish.com/