We are delighted to share the 2023 season fishing reports from the Bolivian jungle lodges Sécure, Pluma and Agua Negra. These three superb, remote lodges offer exciting fishing in the Bolivian Amazon rainforest for dorado, pacú and yatornana. Keep checking back to this page for all the updates from the fishing guides.
Heli Fishing – 2023 season fishing reports week eight
This week on the heli programme, we hosted repeat friends Bill and Ryan, both great anglers, and our new friends Kevin and Joel, all from the United States. We were also joined by our friend Quike “Biguá” Olivier, born in the world champion fútbol country. We shared very good experiences exploring new places with them, and despite the heat of the week the fishing was on our side, with good catches.
Secure Lodge – 2023 season fishing reports week 14
This week we shared Sécure Lodge with a great team of fishermen hosted by Justin Miller.
The week began with two days of cool weather, with the temperatures dropping so the water wasn’t as warm as in recent days. This situation made the pacú fishing slower than the average for this time of the season because the fish are much more sensitive, becoming quieter when this kind of change happens. Regardless, fishing deep pools—typical pacú places—and going down with fruit imitations, the guests landed some and also lost some.
The low water level made the dorado game very technical and it was a challenge everywhere. Despite that, everybody got chances both up and down stream, fishing the lower spots and channels from canoes and walking quite a bit on the upper beats. We found nice yellows along the beaches and both landed and lost fat fish during feeding frenzy situations. And as the highlight of the week, the last day gave us a marvellous 24lb fish, landed by Brian Wise on the upper section.
Pluma Lodge – 2023 season fishing reports week 14
This week at Pluma Lodge, we hosted six American and two Australian anglers. Water levels reached the lowest of the season due to the dry weather, and all rivers in the system were crystal clear, perfect for sight casting situations.
All of the crew made the most of these conditions, catching big dorado and yatorana on streamers. In addition, fruit dropping from jungle trees made pacú fishing on ball patterns very good and great fun.
Agua Negra – 2023 season fishing reports week 14
A good week at Agua Negra with some excellent fish landed.
Heli Fishing – 2023 season fishing reports week seven
In this, our seventh week of the helifishing programme, we had the pleasure of receiving several repeat guests: Mussil’s father and son, Bob, all from the United States, and a couple from Russia, Alena and Oleg, who have shared many good times with us in every Tsimané destination. Both the weather and the fishing were on our side, and we were able to fly to various environments and enjoy the benefits of being one of the very few people who set foot on the headwaters.
Secure Lodge – 2023 season fishing reports week 13
The 13th chapter of the season at Sécure Lodge began with a group of friends who kicked off the week with tight lines, losing several fat dorado and landing two pacú on the first day. The lower section became more active throughout the week, giving us chances with some feeding frenzies and attacks when we hit the logs and cast deep into structure. Throughout the rest of the week everybody got nice dorado on their rods, including two twenty-pounders.
The “pacú game” showed us a very good programme with a good number of hook-ups, and black plates from 10 to 16lb stranded on the beaches.
The headwaters far up above the camp were technical as always with crystal clear water, sight-fishing situations, and very nice yellow gifts. The biggest fish of the week was a 21lb. dorado.
Pluma Lodge – 2023 season fishing reports week 13
This week we hosted six American and two Australian anglers. The week started with hot days, growing fresher at the end. Due to the dry season the water level was low with crystal clear water, which allowed every angler to get their golden trophy.
Agua Negra – 2023 season fishing reports week 13
Last week we had an enjoyable visit from two friends from home, Ryan and Bill, from the United States. The weather was good but with very hot conditions that in some moments made fishing a bit slow due to the high water temperatures. Fishing in all our rivers, we had very good chances of dorados, pacú, and giant yatorana.
By the end of the week, we landed a couple dorado around 15Ib two over 20Ib, two large pacú, and several big yatorana.
Heli Fishing – 2023 season fishing reports week six
In the sixth week of the helifishing programme, we were honoured with the presence of a wonderful, fun, and experienced group of anglers from around the world: Jason and Tom from Canada, Alex from Germany, and Kyle from Wyoming in the United States. With this group we have shared beautiful experiences, including adventures in the canyons of some of our headwaters and good fishing. Highlights included catches of dorado on mice patterns and pacú on grasshoppers. The weather was benevolent and allowed us to vary environments and basins. Despite this being the sixth week of the second season, we continue to be amazed at how pristine our environments are.
Secure Lodge – 2023 season fishing reports week 12
This week at Sécure Lodge we received the last team of guests hosted by Alexander Gonsiewski: six fishermen from the USA.
The week began really well with the weather changing the first day, becoming cloudy and bringing wind and a soft rain which made the pressure drop a lot. That weather meant more activity: nice dorados were hooked and the pacú gave us many chances. We landed one of them and lost another in the fight.
After that, the rain brought dirty water conditions, making the fishing slower the second day of the week. Going deep into the creeks was the best choice, and the Maniquicito gave us a great session with big golden ones. With the river improving but not totally clear, we had a rematch with awesome strikes on top water flies, using poppers and disturbing the surface in shallow spots.
In the second half of the week everybody got into their golden prizes, and another pacú was stranded on the beach in the upper section. The biggest fish of the week was a 17lb dorado.
Pluma Lodge – 2023 season fishing reports week 12
Week 12 of the season at Tsimané Pluma Lodge saw us host four Argentinian, two American, and one British angler. After a rainy start, the group enjoyed perfect weather conditions, allowing for awesome dorado and pacú fishing on streamers.
Agua Negra – 2023 season fishing reports week 12
Last week we had the chance to fish with four anglers from the USA: Jason, Perry, Kipp, and his son Hawk. The fishing was good, mostly on the tributaries and some days on the main Sécure. The water was a bit colored in the Sécure but clear on the Agua Negra and Chimoro where we had most of the shots at fish. Overall, the weather was nice with sunny days and cool nights. We had many chances at fish during the week and were able to land two big pacú, some huge yatoranas and 20 dorado (five over 15Ib, two 20Ib fish, and several medium-sized ones.
Heli Fishing – 2023 season fishing reports week five
Week five of the helifishing programme saw us hosting a group of nine friendly fishermen, some from Australia and others from the United States. Led by Joshua, they alternated between the heli and regular programme, giving everyone the chance to experience different environments, from the headwaters where the rivers are small and crystal-clear, to those surrounding the lodge where there is concentration of fish and feeding frenzies. The fishing was very good until the middle of the week when we had heavy rain that prevented us from going out one day. It took another day for the water to clear, then we were able to finish with an excellent last two days.
Secure Lodge – 2023 season fishing reports week 11
The eleventh week in the upper Sécure began with clear water and sunny days. After the first day, we had consistent rain the second night which made the water rise, increasing levels in the river and both creeks, and giving us extra chances everywhere with fish moving and taking flies on surface. All the fishermen found feeding frenzies in the flats and structures downstream and were able to connect with both medium and large-sized dorado.
In the headwaters above the outcamp, we were able to walk far up, playing that great game where the sight fishing is the rule. As a result, awesome golden dorado were landed on the beaches.
We also had good opportunities with pacú, landing some and losing others as they took flies with short strikes. The biggest fish of the week was a 22lb dorado.
Pluma Lodge – 2023 season fishing reports week 11
Week 11 at Pluma Lodge saw us hosting anglers from South Africa, Canada, and the USA. The week started with hot weather conditions, giving us good sight fishing for dorado and pacú.
After one rainy day the water turned muddy, making the fishery good for both streamers and popper patterns. After that, good weather conditions allowed all our anglers to catch their golden trophy.
Agua Negra – 2023 season fishing reports week 11
After a big rain we had favourable weather during the first two days of the week and we took full advantage of it, fishing the Agua Negra and Chimoro before further rain made the rivers dirty again.
Fishing was excellent during the four days that the rivers were in good condition, and we found good shots at fish by hiking to the upper parts of the tributaries. We had great chances on dorado and several pacú, and we managed to catch more than six fish over 15lb, a big pacú, and several medium-size dorado. The biggest fish of the week was an 18Ib dorado in the lower Agua Negra.
Heli Fishing – 2023 season fishing reports week four
In our fourth week of the helifishing program, we had the honor of having a group from the United States, led by Luis. We also had Ray “the Beast” Malone for the second week in a row. We had good weather conditions and were able to fly to the furthest headwaters of our basin. On one hand, the full moon made dorado and pacú fishing a little slower, but on the other hand (as the natives who know and predicted) it made the big catfish activate, and we landed two on streamers and lost another couple.
Secure Lodge – 2023 season fishing reports week ten
In week ten of the season, we hosted a group of six friends from the United States and one angler from Canada. We started the week with dirty and cold water, driving the dorado into the shallows to look for sabalo. These conditions gave us the chance to find feeding frenzies in the upper sections using floating lines and streamers.
When the Cree River improved with low and clear water the fishing became more technical, but despite that our anglers found ways to get into nice fish, especially in the camp waters. The creeks also gave us good trophies including three pacú—and one was the biggest landed so far this season: a 20lb jungle permit.
The biggest fish of the week was a 21lb dorado landed in the regular upper beat by Greg Willoughby fishing floating lines.
Pluma Lodge – 2023 season fishing reports week ten
On the tenth week of the season at Pluma Lodge we hosted a group of British friends, four of them coming for their third time. We were treated to excellent weather conditions and plenty of action. Every angler got it golden trophy, including pacú on streamers.
Agua Negra – 2023 season fishing reports week ten
Last week we were visited by five good anglers from the United States and one from Canada.
Fishing was difficult in the main Sécure River due to the big change caused by the last significant rain, and the water remained colored. The Agua Negra and Chimoro were the waters that gave us the most chances this week, and we were able to catch several good dorado, a pacú, and some yatorana, but unfortunately due to the technical fishing in clear waters we could not land many of the fish that we had on.
By the end of the week, we landed two dorados over 15Ibs as well as one medium-sized and one large pacú.
Heli Fishing – 2023 season fishing reports week three
In our third week of the helifishing programme we hosted a couple Brazilian friends, Pedro and Alina, for the second time. We also had Ray from Australia, also a repeat guest, as well as Mark from the United States. We were lucky enough to share very good fishing experiences, with catches of great pacú on dry flies and very good golden dorado. The rain clouded a beat the end of the fishing week, preventing us from being able to fly one day and forcing us to throw poppers the next day quite successfully.
Secure Lodge – 2023 season fishing reports week nine
The ninth week is in the books. A group of six friends from the United States joined us and we started the week fishing the upper beats, experiencing good temperatures but low and crystal-clear water. The conditions made for technical fishing, pushing guides and fishermen to the limits; rigging longer leaders than usual and camouflaging lines from the fish was the key to success.
The regular upper beat was the most productive, where we caught fish in the 15lb range and one pacú. We found many dorado chasing sabalo, as well as solitary fish sitting in shallows where the skilled anglers managed to catch even some of the trickiest.
The camp gave us an amazing experience yet again, although on the last day of the week a storm hit us and the river got high and dirty.
Pluma Lodge – 2023 season fishing reports week nine
On the ninth week of the season we hosted eight American anglers at Pluma Lodge. We experienced good weather conditions on the first few days, making medium and large dorado very active; we also caught pacú on streamers, and even catfish! In the middle of the week rain appeared and made the river rise. Despite that, our crew made it awesome in muddy water, catching dorado on popper flies.
Agua Negra – 2023 season fishing reports week nine
Week nine of the season gave us the chance to fish with four friends from the U.S. Fishing was good most of the week, mainly in the tributaries. The main river was difficult due to a bit of rain the week before and another big rain on Thursday of this week. We had the chance to make two camps in the Agua Negra, and also walked the Chimoro where we sight fished and caught very nice dorado.
By the end of the week, we were able to land more than 20 dorado—six of them over 14lb and one over 21lb, as well as several yatoranas and a big pacú.
Heli Fishing – 2023 season fishing reports week two
In this, our second week of the helifishing programme, we managed to explore some of the rivers’ headwaters for the first time in the season, finding—despite the somewhat cold weather—good opportunities for both pacú and dorado. We keep experiencing amazing situations beyond only the fishing.
We also were lucky to be part of an incredible experience mixing fishing with science, as together with “Science on the Fly,” we took samples of water from the different environments where we fish, to monitor periodically and alert of any possible change.
Secure Lodge – 2023 season fishing reports week eight
Week eight started with cold nights and mild temperatures during the day due to the southern storm the previous week. With the water clearing and warming up in about two days, we decided to fish the regular beats instead of the headwaters.
Whether we went to the lower or upper beats the dorado showed up in schools, crashing sábalo on the banks, and we had many chances to fish to them. As the water was a little higher, we decided to rig rods in two ways: intermediate tips worked very well when fishing deeper channels, while floating lines were better for feeding frenzies.
By midweek conditions levelled out and two groups went camping, finding nice dorado. Kevin Papa was able to land a nice surubi catfish. Maniquicito Creek was the highlight of the week, where we spotted huge fish in trout waters and although we connected with some of them, they all won the battle—showing us why they are the river kings.
Pluma Lodge – 2023 season fishing reports week eight
On the eighth week of the season we hosted a big group of nine anglers from the United States, who alternated between the regular and helifishing programme.
The weather was mostly cloudy and fresh during the week with crystal-clear water in the Pluma, Itirizama, and Sécure Rivers. These conditions gave our fishermen and fisherwomen many successful sight-cast dorado and pacú catches.
Agua Negra – 2023 season fishing reports week eight
Fishing with old friends is always fun. This week we had returning for the third year the pleasant visit of Jim Lichfield, Bob Wilson, Shannon, and John.
We had very good weather all week and we were able to enjoy all our fishing programmes. The fishing was very good in all our rivers, and we also spent two nights in our outcamp in the upper Agua Negra. Both the main Sécure River and the Chimoro were also really fun, and we landed several really nice dorado and pacú.
Heli Fishing – week one
This was our first week of the second season of the helifishing programme. We had the pleasure of hosting our friends Helmut and Vaidas, both repeats, who shared a good time and have been fishing with both us and Marcelo Perez. We had the chance to fish the headwaters of several of the rivers in our basin, with good results despite the rains on the last day of fishing. We had good catches of dorados and pacú, but without a doubt one of the most remarkable things has been the catching of pacú and yatoranas on dry flies. We also witnessed a good run of migratory fish which—although not surprising—is always fascinating to watch.
Sécure Lodge – week seven
Week number seven is done, and what an incredible time we’ve had! With optimal water and air conditions, a massive run of sabalo arrived into the system, in addition to the run that is already in the upper section. Anglers found and caught many dorado in every beat, from the lower beat all the way up to the camp. Conditions were perfect for streamers, long leaders, and floating lines although we did land dorado in the pools with intermediate tip lines as well.
The camp didn’t disappoint at all. We found dorado sitting in the shallow riffles and cruising in schools looking for sabalo, which gave the anglers a lot of opportunities, and we landed several good fish. The pacú also showed up at the end of the week when a storm hit and the wind blew hard, dropping flowers, fruits, nuts, and leaves all over the pools. The team made the most of it, landing three very nice pacú.
Pluma – week seven
On the seventh week of the season at Pluma Lodge, we hosted six anglers from the United States. Weather conditions were exceptional, with crystal-clear water in both the Pluma and Sécure Rivers, giving us many chances to sight cast to dorado, as well as pacú catches.
Despite the rain and temperature dropping on Thursday, all the crew got their trophy, including a dorado topping 37 inches.
Agua Negra – week seven
This week we were visited by four great fishermen and nature lovers, including Stain and Hilde who crossed the world from Norway to get to know and enjoy the Bolivian jungle. Also joining us were Nicolas, a young Argentine angler who loves fishing, and Tom, a very good fisherman from Costa Rica.
The fishing was very good throughout the week in all the rivers and the weather was also quite comfortable. We had only one lot of rain the day before the last, which dirtied the main river so we had to fish only the tributaries on the last day of the week. We managed to capture many dorado over 14lb including two over 20lb, six pacú, several yatoranas, and a surubi on fly!
Sécure Lodge – week four
The fourth week of the season started off with warming temperatures and good water conditions, and though in the lower and middle beats the fishing is still a bit slow, the creeks and the headwaters produced a good number of opportunities and fish landed.
With the conditions improving throughout the week, we decided to fish Maniquicito and Ashahana Creeks consistently and it paid off: the resident fish showed up and we landed two very nice dorado. One group decided to go camping and found a lot of active dorado in the headwaters, landing several while sight fishing.
Pacú also started to get more active, and the anglers had the chance to fish to them on the surface.
Pluma – week four
On the fourth week of the season, we hosted eight fishermen from the United States. Two of them had visited us at Pluma Lodge two years ago, and we were glad to see them back again! Big dorado were landed by all our anglers on beautiful sunny days, and we enjoyed clear waters in all rivers we fish at this location in the Bolivian jungle.
Agua Negra – week four
This week we had the opportunity to meet four good friends from London. After a week of extreme cold and rain, the temperature began to rise and the rivers cleared up. With this change, the weather was favourable all week and the fishing chances were good. Even though the Agua Negra offered technical fishing, we were able to get several good dorado and a big pacú. We mostly caught the larger fish while fishing the structures and riffles of our main Sécure River.
Sécure Lodge – week one
Another season starts here at Sécure Lodge. The long wait is already over and we’re back in the water, surrounded by the green forest, blue skies, clear waters, and hungry dorado. This week we hosted a group of seven anglers from all over America; fishermen from Bolivia, Brazil, and the United States came looking for fresh golden bullion.
The week started with extremely low and clear water, which gave us the chance to stalk fish in the shallows while they were chasing sabalo. Then the rains arrived and the water turned murky for three days so we had to adapt to different techniques, fishing topwater flies as poppers, making noise in the surface. The results were excellent, and we landed several good fish those days.
At the end of the week, the water turned clear once more and two groups decided to go camping and were treated to many chances of sight fishing in the headwaters. Meanwhile, the anglers staying at the lodge wanted to fish the creeks.
Ashahana and Maniquicito Creeks are our “trout spring creeks,” water where every single cast counts. We were lucky enough to land nice-sized fish while sight fishing for resident dorado, and also a big yatorana.
Pacú fishing was low due to the water and air temperature but despite that, we connected two that unfortunately won the battle.
Pluma – week one
The season began with heavy rain that prevented fishing during the first day, and the high level of the river would remain throughout the week, generating both changing water colour and temperature. Here in Pluma we hosted six American and two Chilean anglers. With the assistance of our guides, everyone finished the week with good-sized dorado, as well as several failed bites. They also managed to capture a pacú, which is not normal at the beginning of the season.
Agua Negra – week one
We start this new season with many expectations, new structures, and a good water level. The weather was not with us during this first week, but we still had an excellent week with five great people from South Africa. We had some heavy rain on the first day which caused the rivers to rise and the temperature to drop, impacting the fishing for most of the week. But even with less than ideal conditions we were able to find excellent results, capturing more than seven dorado over 14Ib and four big pacú.
If you have enjoyed reading the Bolivia 2023 season fishing reports and would like more information on fishing in Bolivia, please contact Charlotte Chilcott or call us on +44 (0) 1980 847389. Alternatively, click HERE if you would like us to contact you.