After attending the World Recreational Conference in Sao Paulo (see my blog post on 6 September) I was lucky enough to venture deep into the Amazon rainforest to fish a remote tributary of the main river seeking the fabled peacock bass on fly. There were eight of us Australians who went on this trip of a lifetime and it certainly lived up to our expectations with every minute of the trip providing lifelong memories. I was the only flyfisher on the trip and held my own against the lure fishermen.
Just a ‘baby’ peacock bass caught on a popper.
Getting there was half the fun. From Sao Paulo, we travelled to Manaus, then onto Santarem, then further to a small mining port on the river we intended to fish. Not everything was smooth sailing and those who have travelled throughout South America will understand what I mean!
Rock bars were the usual fishing spot with no hope of a cast from the jungle-clad banks.
The fishing was incredible and rod-busting peacock bass were prolific right from the first evening. The second day proved to be a little tougher and we soon realised that any rock bar or snag that fished well required about a full day’s rest before it was worth visiting again. The local guides knew what they were doing and over the four days of fishing, they put us on to species as diverse as piranha and pacu.
VRFish’s Dallas D’Silva with a piranha – the cause of much grief for our flies and lures!
All species readily took a fly and halfway through the second day I realised that popper patterns were much more exciting to use, with bow waves and ‘boofs’ providing me with more than enough rushes of adrenalin to keep me fishing through the oppressively hot and humid conditions. Large baitfish patterns were also great, but the piranha made a mess of them, often taking several swipes at a fly before there was nothing left but a bent hook and some chewed-up epoxy resin.
The main prize – a beautiful peacock bass.
I highly recommend a fishing trip to the amazon for anyone with good general fitness, a bucket load of resilience, excellent camera skills and a keen sense of adventure. The biodiversity of the place has to be seen to be believed. Beg, borrow or steal the gear required as I did. Just don’t take anything lighter than a 10 weight, 30lb tippet and a reel with serious stopping power. And don’t forget pliers and lip-grips for those toothy critters!
