Sécure
When the River Wins
This week, Sécure welcomed six anglers from the United States, including returning guest David Coolidge.
The first day began under intense heat, and two large dorado breaking off early in the trip felt almost like a warning of what was to come. As the days unfolded, encounters with big fish became a constant, but so did the outcome: one after another, the largest dorado that took our flies found a way to win.
By the end of the week, nine big fish had literally exploded 40-pound leaders.
Then came prolonged rain, a sharp drop in temperature, and a river that rose and changed completely. Yet somewhere between the broken leaders, the changing water and the quiet rides back to the lodge, the week ultimately became about something larger than the fish we couldn’t bring to the bank.
6 David, Schuyler, Jeffrey, Corey, David, & Eric (United States).
The first two days brought what we might call normal conditions for this point in the season: clear skies, considerable heat, and long warm days on the water.
By midweek the weather turned abruptly, with prolonged rainfall and a significant drop in temperature, both in the air and in the water.
It was one of those weeks when the environment itself seemed to change around us as the days unfolded.
We began the week with the Sécure running low and clear.
From Tuesday onward, we watched the river gradually rise, lose clarity, and cool. Eventually, it developed into a very high and turbid river, slowing the fishing opportunities for a couple of days.
It was a dramatic transition from the conditions in which the week had begun, and one that required anglers and guides to experience two very different versions of the same river within only a few days.
Catch of the Week
The Ones We Couldn’t Land
Every week, this section is supposed to celebrate the fish we managed to bring to the bank.
This time, the river wrote a different story.
Nine large dorado took our flies during the week. Nine encounters with the fish everyone comes here hoping to find. And nine times, 40-pound leaders were literally broken, leaving behind the familiar sequence of adrenaline, disbelief and, finally, silence.
Not one of those great tigers of the river made it to the bank.
And perhaps that is precisely why they are our Catch of the Week.
Because these rivers don’t only offer victories. They can teach, humble and intimidate in the same measure that they fascinate. This week belonged, from beginning to end, to the fish and the water.
For our six anglers, the fish that escaped became part of a deeper journey: one filled with wonder, humility, and the desire to return and keep searching.
Sometimes, the catch you remember most is the one you never held.
Memorable Moments
What the Photos Don’t Show
Some of the most meaningful moments of a fishing trip happen when the rods are already resting.
At the end of one fishing day, returning quietly to the lodge, David Coolidge looked toward the local guide sitting in front of him and reflected:
“When I’m heading back, in the peace of the return, I look at the local guide sitting in front of me and think that these people have sweated and worked hard all day to open the doors of paradise for me.”
David was visiting Sécure for the second time.
After a week filled with opportunities that couldn’t be captured in photographs, his words expressed something that numbers, weights and photographs sometimes cannot.
For those of us whose work is devoted to creating this experience, a single reflection from a guest can sometimes become a Fishing Report in itself.
Looking Ahead
No trophy photograph can tell the story of Week 11.
Nine encounters with large dorado, broken leaders, a river transformed by rain, and the words of a returning guest did it instead.
Some weeks are remembered for what you bring to the bank. Others remind you why you came in the first place.
Fernando, Guides & Staff
Sécure Lodge, 2026
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