Tsimane: Adventure Angling where the Andes meet the Amazon

The story of how the Tsimane operation came together is almost as crazy as hooking a 25 pound dorado on a short line. In the beginning there were just the Tsimane and the Yuracaré people living simple hunting and fishing lives in a portion of Bolivia where the base of the Andes meets the lowlands and the rivers flow north into the Amazon.

By KEN MORRISH, FLY WATER TRAVEL

Then, in the 1980s, as the demand for cocaine soared in the northern hemisphere, intrepid narco-traffickers boldly made their way up a very special river to an ultra-remote Tsimane community. Once there they somehow enlisted the tribe to hack a primitive airstrip out of the jungle. Once completed they landed planes loaded with raw coca leaves,

and through a process of bathing the leaves in diesel, made raw cocaine. They did this for many years but ultimately, through tracking diesel purchases, the little lab in Tsimane territory was shut down by the authorities and the locals returned to life as normal. The only real difference being that they now had a secret airstrip.

In time an ambitious young Mormon missionary learned of this band living in the Asunta region and their airstrip and headed in for a visit. He liked the place and the people and saw it as an opportunity. He must have also liked to fish because word spread of what he saw in the river; packs of big bright golden dorado mercilessly tearing through schools of unsuspecting baitfish.

These rumors made it back to the Argentine dorado fishing intelligentsia and soon Marcelo Perez and his contemporaries at Untamed Angling were on their way to making the Tsimane operation and Bolivian fly fishing history.

Today the operation is a multifaceted collaborative effort that works closely with the Isiboro Secure Indian Territory and National Park, its tribal leaders and over 70 local families that help support this remarkable operation.

The Ultimate Game Fish

The golden dorado (Salminus brasiliensis) is without question one of the world’s greatest game fish. With massive powerful jaws, razor sharp teeth, vicious predatory instincts and wild aerial displays they represent one of the ultimate target species for the adventuresome fly angler. Indigenous to Brazil, Paraguay, Uruguay, Argentina and Bolivia they often hunt in packs chasing down their favorite baitfish the sabalo. They can grow to over 60 pounds and while most are in the 10 to 25 pound class they are all too happy to attack baitfish in the six to eight pound class. While fishing dorado at Tsimane it is common to hook a four or five pound fish only to have it attacked and in some cases completely swallowed by a larger dorado.

Were one to take the best elements of a tarpon, a steelhead and something nasty, like a barracuda, spray paint it brilliant gold and highlight it with black pinstripes you would have a golden dorado.

Sometimes you get half of your fish back, other times, just a shredded mess that looks like pasta with red sauce. It is equally as common to observe aggressive dorado trying to steal or eat the fly that is hanging out of the mouth of the fish that you are fighting. Generally speaking they display very poor manners.

Were one to take the best elements of a tarpon, a steelhead and something nasty, like a barracuda, spray paint it brilliant gold and highlight it with black pinstripes you would have a golden dorado. Were you to put that fish in the most pristine jungle environment imaginable, with untouched freestone rivers, massive log jams, incredible wildlife, countless bird species and kind fascinating native peoples, you would have Tsimane.

While the Tsimane systems have resident dorado year-round they also have a strong migratory population.

Each season, typically in late May and June, millions of baitfish migrate up the greater Secure system and with them come thousands of large, aggressively feeding dorado. Here it is common to see packs of fierce dorado herding baitfish into the shallows and mercilessly ripping through them. From a great distance you can see the frothing commotion as the bait leaps into the air in a desperate effort to escape. From a quarter mile away the raining down of sabalo sounds like a dump truck dropping 20 yards of gravel. When you find yourself in the midst of this carnage frantically casting a six inch fly into a fray of sharklike yellow fins and tails you will have arrived in the Tsimane Zone.

The Programs

To date, the Tsimane programs have had a number of configurations but moving forward there are two closely related yet distinct programs from which to choose.

Both trips begin with an overnight in Santa Cruz followed by a two hour small aircraft charter flight to a remote jungle airstrip. The hardest part of planning the trip is deciding which of the two options to select as they are both highly desirable and productive. In both programs anglers access the rivers by boat.

In some cases you will move about in large motorized dugouts and in other cases, you will use smaller traditional pole pushed dugouts captained by skilled native boatmen. Irrespective of the program both trips into the heart of the Bolivian jungle are best suited to adventuresome travelers who enjoy wade fishing and a fair amount of walking.

Secure/Agua Negra Combo Trip

This is a remarkable and diverse fishing trip where anglers will split their time between two newly constructed jungle safari camps during the course of their week. Both camps have handsome hardwood main lodge buildings where anglers will enjoy great hors d’oeuvres, an open bar, Wi-Fi and delicious meals paired with excellent Argentine wines.

Additionally all anglers will enjoy their own deluxe single accommodation safari tent complete with attached bathrooms, hot showers, bedding, and ceiling fans. Each week four anglers will begin at the Agua Negra Camp and a separate charter flight of four anglers will head into the Secure Camp. On the morning of the third fishing day, all anglers will pack their gear into motorized boats and fish their way to the other lodge for the remainder of their trip. Both lodges offer a primitive overnight out-camp option that takes two anglers. The Secure out-camp is easy to reach and more developed while the Agua Negra out-camp entails a good deal of hiking and is a true primitive camping trip.

The Secure is a beautiful midsized system with significant bedrock structure. It is a very productive system that has countless water types. The Agua Negra is much smaller and offers not only big dorado but the region’s most forgiving terrain as well as the greatest diversity of species including large pacu, pira pita and the elusive striped catfish known as surubi.

Agua Negra anglers will also fish the main Secure often casting at large woody debris from the boat. This combination trip is as good as it gets and a natural for parties of four keen on seeing a wide range of what the region has to offer.

Pluma Lodge

After landing at the Oromomo native airstrip, eight anglers will head up the Secure River by boat and then seven miles overland by rugged jungle road to the incredible Pluma Lodge. Pluma Lodge overlooks the Pluma River and has four handsome double occupancy hardwood cabins as well as a handsome main lodge building where meals and cocktails are served.

Additionally Pluma is very strategically located beneath the confluence of two worldclass systems, the upper Pluma and the Itirizama. Downstream of the lodge there are miles of clear water on the main stem Pluma. Beneath that anglers can access more than 30 km of the larger main stem Secure by motorized boat. These lower beats are the biggest water in the Tsimane program and reminiscent in some ways of classic steelhead fishing. For hearty anglers Pluma offers one or three night trips to primitive out-camps on both the Upper Pluma and Itirizama. These camps represent the ultimate jungle adventure and offer unparalleled sight fishing for large dorado and pacu. In the case of the upper Itirizama several hours of aggressive hiking and river crossings are needed to reach the camp.

This trip is the most demanding of the Tsimane offerings with truly rough terrain, challenging wading and in many instances technical and rewarding sight fishing to large dorado. For the right anglers it represents the ultimate jungle expedition in one the most pristine and beautiful places imaginable. The upper Pluma is very similar but less physically demanding.

All and all these programs represent the most exciting and enriching fly fishing experience imaginable.

Contact the author at: ken@flywatertravel.com

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