ISSUE 3

CHUM MEETS ROOSTERÉ// 3rd Annual Moldy Chum Field Trip - Baja Style

TSIMANE GOLDÉ// Gold in the Rivers of Bolivia

COLORS OF COLORADOÉ// A Gallery of Beautiful Colorado Fall Foliage

GEAR REVIEWÉ// A Look Inside the F-Stop Satori EXP Backpack

I finally finished my third issue! It’s been a great year of travel and I’m excited to share it with you. In this issue I’ll be taking you to Bolivia where we chased golden dorado, Mexico for the third annual Moldy Chum field trip, and our closer neighbor, Colorado for some awesome fall color images!

As always, I have a ton of prints available for purchase in the latter portion of the newsletter. Please take the time to check them out. These newsletters are a huge investment in time, work, and money so your support would be greatly appreciated! Simply click on the images in the “Gallery” section of this newsletter and you will be taken to my website where you can purchase a variety of print sizes!

Thank YouI’d like to extend a special thanks to the team at Untamed Angling for inviting me to experience Tsimane - the hosts and guiding staff as well. It was the trip of a lifetime!

Kate, Justin, Josh, and Eric - thank you so much for yet another awesome trip to Baja! It’s always a blast!

To my boss, David Leake for opening up the opportunity for this Bolivia experience. You the man!

THANKS TO MY SPONSORS AQUATECH, HOWLER BROS, TAILWATERS FLY FISHING AND SAFARIOUS FOR ALL THE HELP ALONG THE WAY!

Editor, publisher, designer, photographerMatt Jones

matt@theflyphoto.comwww.theflyphoto.com

The Fly Photo5000 W. AmherstDallas, Tx. 75209214.693.3226

ABOUT THE COVER: Angler Jared Louviere cradles his untamed dorado underwa-ter as I capture some images. This was one of my only opportunites to shoot some decent unerwater pics as the water clarity persisted to cloud the opportunity.

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TAILSI used a Canon 100mm Macro to capture the beautiful detail of a

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FEATURE // TSIMANEGOLD IN THE RIVERS OF BOLIVIA<1 0

< 3RD ANNUAL MOLDY CHUM FIELD TRIP - BAJA STYLECHUM MEETS ROOSTER7 0

< F-STOP SATORI BACKPACKGEAR REVIEW5 8

<A GALLERY OF BEAUTIFUL COLORADO FALL FOLIAGECOLORS OF COLORADO6 0

MACRO SHOT OF GODEN DORADO SCALES

Twenty six hours after lift off from Miami, 5 anglers and I sat aboard two Cessna as

we cruised over the jungle below, I couldn’t help but notice how similar the jungle canopy was to the vast wilderness of Alaska. There were countless winding rivers that made their

way through the jungle just as they do through Alaskan tundra. A blue tarp and opening in the trees was a cocoa field signature. I couldn’t stop staring and thinking about the 6 days of fishing (photography for me) that laid ahead, having no clue what to expect.

Tsimane (Chimane) Lodge, is situated in the very remote Parque Nacional Isiboro Secure, which is about 1.5 hours Northwest of Santa Cruz, Bolivia. Tsimane Lodge takes its name after the Tsimane people which are indig-enous to the area. Anglers have the privilege of fishing two different locations when they visit; first being the upper Securé, and then on to the Pluma, where access to the Pluma, Itirisama, and Securé rivers are within reach. The first camp sits on a high bluff, where the eye is first drawn to the rapids below and then up to a towering cliff that is covered in small shrubs and rocky rubble. After three days of fishing anglers make the transfer to the sec-ond camp. It’s a quick 10-minute flight and then an adventurous off-road drive through the jungle for about 30 minutes. The second camp is a carbon-copy of the first, only sitting right on the river. Instead of watching flowing rapids, there is a constant interaction of hunt-ing dorado (most active feeding time is in the morning) and it’s prey, sabalo. Both camps were built from local, hand planed wood - making the entire experience that much more rustic. The surrounding landscape was simply breathtaking. Towering canopies of various trees and tall shrubbery gripped the rivers edge, and riverbanks in most cases were uneven collections of large river rock and boulders. There was always a stir in the air as hundreds of differing butterfly species were on the move looking for any salt residue left behind on the rock floor. The variance in color on these butterfly wings was something I’ve never seen before, and will hold as some of the strongest visual memories of my trip.

Each camp had a “pet”. Our first encounter was the friendly and inviting white-bellied par-

rot - his name was Profundo. I referred to him as our “meat eating, alcohol drink-ing, singing, parrot friend” as that’s pre-cisely what he was. Chorizo? He ate it. Scotch? He drank it! Beer? Couldn’t stop. Chocolate? Made him whistle longer and louder. Literally the coolest bird I’ve ever met. A three week ocelot graced our prescence at the sec-ond camp. She was so beautiful and fragile. Her mother dropped her in the jungle while being engaged by local hunters.

My first impression of this lodge was complete astonishment. It was shocking how beautiful it was. Again, it’s built from all local wood, giving it a very special feel. I felt as if I were staying in a 5 star resort. Inside our jungle style “tiki huts” were tile showers, fancy sinks, hot wa-ter, comfortable beds and much more! No detail was missed, and every amenity was put there for the guests ultimate comfort. The fact that all of this was available to us in the most remote part of the jungle blew my mind.

Obviously we were in Bolivia for one reason, and that was to catch golden dorado. Surely

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you have read about this fish in magazines or seen one of many short films, but if not, please read on. Yes, they are gold, very gold! They are also equipped with hundreds of razor sharp teeth that are used to sever prey in half. Take the aggressiveness of a giant trevally and pair it with the acrobatics of a tarpon, and poof! Meet the golden dorado. Without hesitation, these fish will smash just about any dark colored streamer put in front of them and if you screw up the hook set, don’t count on that same fish to chase your fly again. As he swims back to his cover, he’s laughing at the fact that you just tried to trout set him. STRIP STRIKE DUDE! Another characteristic of this fish that blew my mind is its kind regard to annihilating the hell out of its little cousin. In other words, they are cannibals. It was common to hook up with a small dorado (3-5lbs) and have a monster (20+lbs) dorado come in and inhale it. Not only is your hook in the mouth of a dorado, but it’s inside the stomach of another. Dou-ble hookup!! Eventually, you would get your fly and fish back, but this time it was just the head.

A typical days itinerary was simple - fish your assigned beat for the day with your guide and skilled dugout canoe “drivers”, which in this case were two local guides. All fishing beats showcased various types of water - shallow runs, deep undercut banks, back eddies, etc. While most “fishy” locations held fish, sometimes we would scratch our heads as our guide would say, “sometimes they just aren’t here”. The most exciting time to fish for golden dorado is when they are hunting. There is no mistaking a hunt. Golden dorado will attack sabalo (primary food source) with

extreme aggression. The average sabalo is comparable to a small bonefish, a perfect bite size snack for dorado. They are almost always in large groups and migrate up or down river just as a salmon would. The closest thing I can compare a “hunt” to is when a roosterfish pushes sardina into the beach. What makes it so intense is the fact that there are multiple fish hunting at once; so when that dinner bell rings, it is absolute chaos! Instead of waking up to chirping birds in the morning, it’s the thrashing sound of feeding dorado - no joke.

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PARROT PULLUPS

A pack of large dorado startle a school of Sabalo as they approach to feed. This is something you will see everyday at the Pluma Camp. Such an incredible sight!

It’s such an incredible sight to see that I actually laid motionless for two hours on the shoreline with my 400mm tel-ephoto waiting for them to hunt in front of me. Patience paid off as I witnessed this no more than 30 feet away. Un-fortunately I only had one morning to shoot this event. Next time, I will be out there every morning!

PHOTOGRAPHING THE HUNT

About this image

Camera Body: Canon 7DLens: Canon EF100-400mm f/4.5-5.6L IS USMISO: 320Shutter Speed: 1/1250Aperture: 5.0Focal Length: 235mm

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HUNTING IN INCHES OF WATER

CANIBAL RISES

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When shooting fast moving, jump-ing fish on a bright sunny day, I always shoot in manual and shoot up to a full stop underexposed (by increasing the shutter speed). This does two things. First, when the fish does jump the sun will reflect off the scales of the fish and there will also be plenty of splashing water. Both of these variables would normally have unrecoverable blown highlights if the jumping fish is not accounted for when evaluating the exposure of the scene. Second, under-exposing the scene will create a nice separation between the subject and background. For this image, I was 1/3 of a stop under exposed, giving me an extremely fast shutter speed of 1/8000. Again, this will properly expose the subject, which in this case is the fish and water drops, while underexposing the background (water), giving the image a ton of depth. The obvious difficult part about these types of images is having tack sharp focus. If the fish is small, you will likely want to choose an auto focus option. For larger, more sluggish jump-ing fish, going manual is definitely an option that will yeild great results.

PHOTOGRAPHING The JUMPERS

About this image

Camera Body: Canon 7DLens: Canon EF100-400mm f/4.5-5.6L IS USMISO: 400Shutter Speed: 1/8000Aperture: 4.5Focal Length: 100mmExposure: -1/3

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FALL NEWSLETTER

WWW.THEFLYPHOTO.COM

RIVER RAFTING

If the planets align and this “hunt“ unfolds in front of an angler, get ready. My fishing partner ended

up with a bit of luck as more than 10 dorado over 20lbs came into hunt a short 20 feet from his rod

tip. All it took was a short cast and he was on his way to landing the largest fish of the trip “ a super

fat, twenty five plus pound fish. It was a jaw dropping sight watching a fish of that size massacre

his fly in no more than 8 inches of water. Damn, it gets my heart going just thinking about it!

“JARED!!!! HUNTING DORADO RIGHT HERE

AT THE CANOE!!! QUICK! CAST CAST CAST!!!”

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AnAtomy of A killing mAchine

BUCKET MOUTHThe enormous mouth allows the dorado to scoop up it’s prey with ease, especially in shallow water where it will typically be found feeding. The mouth on a 25lb fish could easily fit 2-3 medium size sabalo.

ALL SEEING EYE

RAZOR SHARP TEETH + POWERFUL BITEHundreds of razor sharp teeth (shape similar to that of a shark tooth) in addition to a powerful jaw, make biting prey in half no obstacle.

I’m no fisheries biologist, but I would bet that these eyes play a significant role in finding sabalo in the super shallow water when a hunt gets underway.

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On the contrary, pacu are a much more laid back species. Think of pacu as the permit of these waters. Not only is the shape of a pacu similar to that of a permit, it’s fight is as well. While employing a stealthy approach for dorado is recommended, pacu demand it and are far more reluctant to take a fly. As we floated the river, soft disturbances heard or seen in the water’s surface continually stretched our curiosity. We would then look to our guide expecting an explanation, and without hesitation he would whisper, “pacu”. We quickly learned that this disturbance was pacu feeding on leaves or large seeds from the towering trees above. In addition to plant matter, sabalo is also in their diet. Flies var-ied from black streamers to flat, green pop-pers. Jared finally broke the dry spell on our fifth day and by the sixth, had 4 pacu under his belt. His largest was close to sixteen pounds and was taken on a green popper that was dead drifted through a fast rapid.

Every day was different. Each day brought a new guide and a different beat to fish. If you are up for an adventure, overnight camps are available on request in which anglers travel to virgin waters in search of fish that have never seen a fly. My fishing partner and I decided to camp on the upper Pluma. It’s not very often you can boast about a jungle camp-ing experience so we figured it was worth giving a shot. Camping has its ups and downs; for our particular experience, the 600% jungle humid-ity made it very difficult to get any quality rest. Other than that, it was exactly the adventure I had expected.

That night after dinner, we used a conventional rod and cut-bait to fish for catfish. Once the bait had sunk to the bottom it wasn’t long before the line went tight and started making its way up or down river. Give it about 5-6 seconds and then set the hook - hard. The fun part is not knowing what’s at the other end of that line. We ended up landing a few catfish weighing a little over 65lbs which is on the lower end of

PACU

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PACU TRANSFER

DORADO SCOOBY SNACK

the scale. Our guide, Vincente, told us these particular species can weigh in at upwards of three to four hundred pounds. I’m not say-ing that I had one of these on, but I did hook into 3 very large fish that I had zero control over until they ultimately snapped my 80lb wire leader. I can only wonder what was at the other end.

For the first time, my interest and awareness were constantly peaked throughout the trip. Whether it was the local guides pursuing their meal for later that evening with their bow and arrow, groups of squawking Macaw flying overhead, staring into the endless green jun-

gle, the brightest milky way I’ve ever seen, or witnessing a father and son butchering their fresh Tapir kill on the shoreline - there was not a single dull moment to be had. Six days is far too short to experience what this jungle has to offer. I can only hope to make it back for another six. I want to thank Untamed Angling for the invitation to make this trip – the staff, accommodations, and dining were outstand-ing. Also, I’d like to thank my partners in crime – Dr. Jim Cochran, Jared Louviere, Courtney Rogers, Barrett Clark and Ron Foster. It was an absolute pleasure sharing this adventure with you!

40 SECOND EXPOSURE OF MILKY WAY

JUNGLE CAMPIN’I’ve camped quite a bit in my days, but I’ve never had the opportunity to camp in the deep remoteness of a jungle. Sounds of insects, birds, and feeding dorado surround you as you sit and stare at the brightest sky you’ve ever witnessed. There is truly nothing like it and looking back, I’m so glad that I made the decision to go camp.

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TAPIR

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Our first day on the river we had a very rustic experience that really put us in our place. We approached a father and son that had passed us earlier in the day. As we floated up we watch in amazement as they butchered a freshly killed Tapir. This thing was huge. As we watched this incredible site, I began thinking about how wildly opposite our cul-tures were. To me it was a dead animal but for them, it was a huge accomplishment that would feed their family and village for an entire week. They couldn’t stop smiling as they hacked away at massive bones with a machete. One of the more startling moments was when our boat mate pulled a live fetus out of the remains. It shivered violently as I pho-tographed it, then passed on. I will never forget it.

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2 \\TAPIR. IT’S WHATS FOR DINNER. THE BABIES TOO.

COME TO TSIMANE LODGE!

BOOK NOW!!!

Tailwaters Fly Fishing has reserved two back-to-back weeks at Tsimane Lodge for the 2013 calendar. If you have any interest in visiting this wonderful place, you must ACT NOW! Availability does not last long and we have already begun seeing some interest for next year. I will likely be leading these two groups and will be docu-menting everything from behind the lens. The 2013 dates are as follows:

September 20 É 28 // 4 Spots Open

September 28 É October 6 // 6 Spots Open

2013 Headwater OutcampsFor the more adventurous angler, there are now 3 out-camps that will be available. This will allow anglers to fish the headwaters of the Pluma, Itirizama, and Agua Negras rivers. These are virgin waters that will open up an even more remote and adventurous fishing experience. For more info on these camps please view the details and sample itinerary here: CLICK TO VIEW

Please contact me for more informtion regarding these trips: matt@tailwatersflyfishing.com

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A great backpack is hard to come by when it comes to not only carrying camera gear, but being comfortable and multifunctional. I know this because it’s taken me the better part of 5 years and more than 5 backpacks to figure this out! In comes the F-Stop Satori EXP. This pack is the largest of their Mountain Series lineup with a volume of 62 liters. The Satori is built with an in-ternal aluminum frame, allowing for a comfortable ride when carrying a heavy load. After loading this thing up for my trip to Bolivia, it weighed in at fifty two pounds. I packed the following:

• EOS Canon 7D w/battery grip• EOS Canon 30D w/battery grip• Canon EF100-400mm f/4.5-5.6L IS USM• Canon EF24-70mm f/2.8L• Canon EF-S 10-22mm f/3.5-4.5 USM• Canon EF 100mm f/2.8L Macro IS USM• Canon Speedlight 430 EX II• Rode Shotgun Mic• Pocket Wizards (2)• Singh Ray ND-Grad Filters 4x6 (3)• GoPros (2)• MacBook Pro 15”• Miscellaneous cords and accessories

As you can see, massive amounts of gear can be stored. This all depends of course on which “ICU’s” (Internal Camera Unit) you choose to configure your pack with. In all, there are 9 sizes which allow you to configure your pack to prepare for any type of trip. With this control of cus-tomization, balancing camera gear, clothing, and whatever else you need is an absolute breeze.

My first day on the Securé, I knew that I’d made the right decision getting this pack. The ter-rain we were walking was NOT easy. Not only were there endless amounts of rocks and boul-ders, but they were on the slippy side. Carrying over forty five pounds of camera everyday while walking sometimes up to seven miles, the comfort and balance of this pack made my job that much easier. The pack is equipped with a ton of pockets and sleeves making small accessory organization a no-brainer. If I could only boast about one thing on the Satori (or any F-Stop pack for that matter), is the fact that it is such a customizable unit. The construction is top notch as well.

View this product here: www.fstopgear.com

F-STOP SATORI EXP

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