Sécure
Gone in a Second
This sixteenth chapter at Sécure Lodge turned out to be an experience full of nuances, starting with the cosmopolitan group of anglers who visited us this week.
One angler from Argentina, two from France and three from the United States became part of another great immersive experience in a style of jungle fly fishing that rarely resembles anything else.
The river offered plenty of contrasts. Clear water at excellent levels gave way midweek to an unusual brownish tint, surely from some distant rain in the headwaters of the Upper Sécure. Far from becoming an obstacle, it improved our chances to approach dorado of every size.
Among those encounters was one unforgettable surface take: a fast, precise cast from Sylvain to a group of big dorado on the hunt. His floating fly survived less than a second.
Elsewhere, Chadwick landed two dorado from the same feeding frenzy, Darrell intercepted a dorado tight to structure from the canoe, and Fernando came within centimeters of landing a huge fish at the very beginning of the trip.
6 Fernando (Argentina); Sylvain & Paul (France); Aric, Darrell & Chadwick (United States). Fernando on his second visit; Sylvain and Paul, family members who fished Pluma last year, on their first visit to Sécure.
The week began under extremely hot conditions. That changed quickly from the second day onward into cool days and nights, a remarkably comfortable setting for fishing.
A few typically tropical showers came with strong winds that took the air temperature several degrees below what is usual at this point of the season.
The water started clear and at a very good level. Midweek it took on an unusual brownish color, surely the result of some distant rain in the headwaters of the Upper Sécure.
Far from becoming an obstacle, the stained water made close approaches easier and multiplied the encounters with dorado of every size.
Catch of the Week
Gone in a Second
Walking stealthily upstream through slightly turbid water, Sylvain spotted a group of large dorado hunting together.
The opportunity required speed and accuracy. He made a fast and precise cast.
The floating fly barely had time to touch the surface. It simply disappeared.
An instant later, everything became chaos: churned water, the fly line ripping out of his hand and one of those dorado jumps that slow time down until the entire scene freezes into a snapshot to remember forever.
The 20-pound dorado that finally came to hand was the perfect ending to an unforgettable sequence.
Memorable Moments
Centimeters from the Bank
Just minutes into the adventure, Fernando hooked and fought a huge dorado.
The fish came all the way to the shallow sand of the beach and simply came off at the very last instant, only centimeters from the bank.
No photograph. No fish in hand.
But certainly no difficulty remembering it.
Twice from the Same Frenzy
Chadwick, for his part, made the most of a single feeding frenzy, landing two dorado one after another from the same burst of activity.
Later that afternoon, with a foam hopper he had tied himself, he made a precise cast to a pacú he could see close to the surface.
The pacú never had a chance. A big yatorana, as opportunistic as ever, appeared out of nowhere and stole the offering first, turning a carefully planned pacú presentation into something entirely different.
Tight to the Wood
Drifting quietly downriver by canoe, looking for dorado among the submerged wood, Darrell found them patrolling tight to the wood structure.
He placed his floating fly exactly in their swimming line and intercepted one: a solid yellow ingot, built on precise positioning rather than distance.
The Week at Sécure
Like beads that link together into a necklace, some rare and inimitable jewel, the memorable moments of this chapter go well beyond what fits in a fishing report.
Heat and cool weather, clear and stained water, surface takes, feeding frenzies, fish tight to the wood and one enormous dorado lost only centimeters from the bank.
The river kept changing the terms of the game. The opportunities kept coming.
Fernando, Guides & Staff
Sécure Lodge, 2026
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