Mission: South America

On the 1st of August my girlfriend and I are flying out for 5 months of exploring South America.

It’s going to be a trip about growing with people, tasting landscapes, breathing culture, experiencing local cuisine and, of course, fishing!

I’ve been dreaming of South American fish for years. The first time I read about Patagonia, I believed it would be my Mecca. Then, with age, I learnt about Peacock Bass and spent many hours daydreaming about catching these stunning fish in the rivers inhabited by river dolphin. A trip to Buenos Aires and Eastern Argentina introduced me the Golden Dorado – a massive brute of a specimen hung over a fire place in hacienda of an estancia north of Rosario caught my eye and later a taste on spinning tackle caught my heart – and then all I wanted was to hook one on fly.

Books, magazine articles, first and second hand accounts, videos and photos did nothing to dampen my eagerness to explore this continent properly.

And now it’s happening!

Tickets booked. Bolivian visa in process. And with only three set dates that we need to adhere to, we are going to be travelling by feel and will truly see where the road takes us.

Planning, day dreaming and scheming.

My South American bucket list is short and simple:

Peacock Bass in the Amazon
Golden Dorado in a clear river
Sea Run Patagonia Brown
(and possibly a Tarpon in Colombia)

I know that there are hundreds of other fish to be caught, and trust me, I’ll give as many of them a bash as possible. But that my simple, sweet and rather sexy bucket list right there.

The hardest I think will be the Sea Run Brown – the Patagonian sea run waters seem so tied up in syndicates and private water that I may need a bank loan to fund the fishing. But we shall see.

Fortune favours the brave and we’re keen to get brave 🙂

More to come….

Green: Air travel. Red: Land travel