Untamed Angling is pleased to be featured in another new episode of The Venturing Angler Podcast. In this episode, Rodrigo Salles and Tim Harden discuss jungle fly fishing at Kendjam.
Click here to listen to the podcast.
Dr. Meng Son recently made his way to the “River of Giants” and documented his trip with a great journal and some excellent imagery. His journal:
The Amazon is the largest drainage system in the world responsible for almost 20% of the entire worlds fresh water discharge into the ocean. The Rio Marie is a tributary of the Rio Negro River which is the second largest Tributary of the Amazon River. Three years ago Untamed Angling built “the Untamed Amazon” to navigate and fish 500 miles of the Rio Marie and it’s 60 lakes and 180 tributaries. Only accessible by float plane, the mother ship with its navy of custom made 21 foot skiffs, fish virgin water by moving up river daily covering around 500 miles of prime Peacock Bass habitat. The Untamed Amazon can generate 100% of its electrical power from its own solar cells and batteries. Imagine having 24 hour electricity, hot showers, daily laundry service and internet on one of the most remote rivers in the world. It is perhaps the most unique fly fishing vessel of its kind and the food and accommodations are amazing. This trip ranks as one of the best fishing expeditions Ive ever taken.
Steve and I were lucky enough to fish with some great anglers this week. Along with long time fishing friends, Victor, Judy and John Leonard, We got to fish with Michael Michalak (owner of the Redding Fly Shop) and two great new friends — Joe and Juan. Together we landed 531 Butterfly Peacocks and 47 Temensis (Giant Peacock bass GPB). Of the nearly 50 GBA we caught, 11 were 10-15 pounds, nine were from 15 to 20 pounds, and three were over 20 pounds. The largest one caught this week was 25 pounds, just 3 pounds off the current terminal tackle world record.
It’s easy to get caught up in “Giant” fever when you are here because there is a lot of talk about the next world record. Even the guides seemed to set the “Big Fish Bar” at plus 20 pounds and don’t get too excited about sub 20 pounders. We only managed three all week and two were caught by John Leonard out of 8 anglers. Everyone got some fish this week over ten pounds which is realistically an amazing stat in itself. For me, it was about comparing the experience to a good day of striper fishing since it was my first experience fishing for Peacocks. A bad day of fishing for Peacock bass is better than a good day of Striper fishing on San Luis. Even with gloves, tape and stripping guards, I got line cuts through my protection. These are truly brutal fish (my favorite). The main classes of fish that are caught are the Butterfly Peacocks (Cichla orinocensis) which average 3-10 pounds and feature three distinct ocelli (Butterfly like markings) along its sides. They fight like San Luis Stripers on Steroids. The Cichla Temensis is the Giant of Peacock bass. They spawn in beds in the river holding there young in there mouths. When they get large, these lose their spotting and develop three black bars down their orange brown flanks. In this spawning state they are known as “Acu”. This same species can go into a non spawning state know as a Paca-Asu. The Paca don’t reproduce and focus on hunting and eating. The Paca are stronger and more vicious because of the lack of reproductive distractions. They are differentiated by purple blue flanks with white spots. On an average day, Steve and I put 20-60 fish to the boat and I can truthfully say that these fish hit harder and pull harder that stripers the same size. Over the last 6 weeks, anglers are getting on average 2-3 shots a day at large GPB or Pacas. Not only are they an awesome fish to hook on Streamers and Poppers, they are beautiful fish with no two the same. My biggest fish of the week was caught on the first day on the next to last cast of the day at 15 pounds. The monster hit my 5/0 streamer 3 feet off the bank and made a run for timber like a Lingcod for rocks, It was everything I had on my 8 weight to turn it and my running line cut through my finger tape like butter giving me a nasty line cut on the first day. Not to under-rate them, but like really big stripers, big peacocks are good for two or three great runs and then they give up. No one I talked to fought the big ones into backing. John Leonard who has been to the Rio Marie 4 times caught most of the large fish. His 25 pounder was caught on his now perfected technique of free drifting a Popper five feet from the boat while contemplating cutting the fly off. Victor, one incredible fly fisherman, caught an unusual 20+ pound Paca which the guides say fight harder than a 25 pound GPB. A 20 pound Paca is a rare fish indeed and I heard a few guides say its the biggest one they have ever seen.
The travel to the Amazon Explorer is arduous. We left San Jose on a 5 hour redeye to Charlotte. From Charlotte we headed to Miami and on to Manaus. The total travel time with layovers was 24 hours. The next day we took a 4 hour float plane to the mothership and didn’t start fishing till the next day. You would think that I would be use to this kind of travel after two Bolivia Amazon trips this year but it’s getting harder and harder to sleep in airplanes for me. I need some special pillows for the next trip. You need to get a Brazilian Visa 6 months in advance and a yellow fever Vaccine.
The boat is awesome- even better than Bolivia’s luxury lodge. We were delighted with the full picture window, air conditioned, double occupancy rooms with hot showers, The main socializing room has a beautiful lounge and dinning area as well as a outdoor lounge area with jacuzzis and a rear viewing deck. The food is excellent and the laundry service is fast and good. The Laundry service was so fast and efficient that you could bring only one set of clothes to fish in and they would be cleaned every day on time for the next morning. Which is what Mike Mitchell had to do since his luggage did not make it to Manaus on time. Mike ended up fishing the week on donated fishing equipment and underwear. There is 24 hour electricity. One of our group was able to use his CPAP machine every night. On top of all this luxury and comfort is a highly skilled and friendly captain, chef and staff. The group of guides are Brazilian and Argentinian. They work well as a team to optimize each fisherman’s chances at big fish. Guides are rotated daily and I enjoyed every one of them. These Brazilian and Argentinian guides are all extremely experienced and just great guys to fish with all day. There is not a place in the world that at least one of these guides haven’t worked a season. I learned about baby tarpon in Brazil and Icelandic brown trout fishing in lakes. When Steve got tired, I insisted that the guides fish. They are all great casters and you can learn more from watching them fish than practicing. Most admitted that fishing the Marie is in its infancy and things also change from year to year making it hard to develop a real system.
I suppose I thought the fishing would be automatic with virgin water and fish that have never seen flies, but its not that easy at times. The fish are sensitive to water temperatures and water flow. We fished over large areas of dead water to find the HOT spots. The big fish can happen at any time and especially when you don’t expect it. John second 20 plus fish was caught just dangling the fly under the boat. The 3-10 pound Butterfly Peacocks keep it exciting and we had many double hookups. It was a good strategy to rest and wait for your partner to hook up before casting. At our best spot, we caught 50 peacocks in one area till we were got tired and left looking for bigger fish. I calculated that each of us casts about 1000 times a day and its a challenge to cast flies accurately to the shoreline all day with out snagging excessively.
The Peacock bass operation owned by Untamed Anglers has produced world record Peacock bass on the fly year after year and produces more 20 pound plus Peacock Bass than any other river in Brazil. Anglers live on a Mothership that rivals the luxury river cruises of Europe (on a smaller scale) and if you are one of the lucky few that books a spot on the Amazon Explorer (which only take 4-8 anglers. a week for ten weeks a year) you have the opportunity to fish 500 miles of virgin water on the largest catch and release fly fishing only reserve in the world. The operation is only three years old and the number of people who have EVER fished the Rio Marie can fit in the upstairs lounge—maybe less than 300 anglers. It’s truly a brand new destination and you are fishing for fish that have never seen a fly.
— Dr. Meng Son
Essential Gear for Peacock Bass on the Fly in the Amazon
When you travel to one of the world’s most remote fishing locations in search of one of the world’s most powerful, aggressive, and infamous gamefish, the right equipment is critical. In fact, certain gear items can truly make or break your trip. Don’t even think of venturing to the Amazon for peacock bass without the following:
1) The Right Fly Lines
All fly lines for the jungle should be warm water lines. Fly lines designed for cold water become soft, limp, and gummy in hot weather, and simply will not work in the Amazon. Saltwater lines work well, as well as lines designed specifically for fishing the jungle. These lines are made to maintain some stiffness and remain slick in hot weather, so they won’t tangle as much, will form the loop and turn over better, and will shoot through the rod guides with less friction under the equatorial sun.
Equally important is to bring several different lines — floating, intermediate, and sink tip lines. In very low water conditions or when lots of fish are spawning, floating lines are often used. However, intermediate lines are the go-to lines under most conditions for big peacocks. That’s because under normal water levels, the hookup rate on floating lines drops dramatically. Higher water means more current. Therefore, the fly not only needs to get down deeper, but it needs to get deeper faster and in stronger current. Switching to an intermediate line gets the fly to the strike zone quicker and keeps it there longer. The same principles apply if the water rises more, and a full sink tip line might be required for deeper water and stronger current. Properly weighted lines can lead to many, many more eats and hookups by monster peacock bass.
The correct line taper is also very important. Flies for peacock bass are large, bulky, and wind-resistant. Ultra-aggressive weight-forward tapers help to turn over big flies much more easily. Leave your bonefish lines at home; they’re designed for delicate presentations with small flies. When you consider that you will be casting more or less all day long for a week straight, this factor is even more important. A line taper that does most of the work for you can save your arm tons of fatigue — and leave you enough strength to fight these brutes.
Finally, peacock bass are renowned for destroying lines by running straight into the middle of snags when hooked. By bringing several different lines for different scenarios, you will always have backup lines if needed. Consider bringing two intermediate lines, as they are used most often.
Examples of good line choices are the Scientific Anglers Mastery Titan Jungle Floating, Scientific Anglers Sonar Titan Jungle Clear Tip intermediate 30 foot clear tip, and a 24 to 30 foot 200 to 300 grain sink-tip fly line such as the Scientific Anglers Sonar Jungle Custom Tip.
2) The Right Rods
More than perhaps any other species, you do not want to be under-gunned when targeting trophy peacock bass. Beefy, fast action rods are mandatory. Also don’t get cute by downsizing in line weight for “sport.” There are several reasons for bringing only stout rods to the Amazon.
You’ll be casting bulky flies with an aggressive weight forward taper line. These lines load fast action rods easily, whereas slower action rods may not hold up. It may sound counter-intuitive, but using a beefier rod will actually save you energy. The rod will do more of the work for you. This becomes very important when making hundreds of casts per day with aggressive weight forward tapers and big flies. Rods that lack the necessary backbone not only tire your arm quicker, but they may not even be capable of delivering and turning over a big fly coupled with a super-weight forward line.
These fish are not only big and very powerful, but they live near heavy cover. Rods that can handle that combination can be the difference between heartache and the fish of a lifetime. While it may seem self-explanatory, it’s difficult to overestimate the initial power of big peacock bass. The first few seconds of the battle are critical as the fish makes the first powerful dive for cover. You need all the help you can get in stopping the fish before it gets there. Your reel often won’t help because the fish will reach cover before the line is on the reel, but a rod with lots of backbone can make the difference.
For trophy peacock bass (Cichla Temensis) that can reach 30 pounds, a stout 9wt or 10wt rod is the best bet. A backup rod is highly recommended for the same reasons that backup lines are essential. Trophy peacock bass have a tendency to destroy gear, and you don’t want to travel all the way to the middle of the Amazon only to break the only rod you brought with you. For the butterfly peacock bass found in large numbers from 2-8 pounds, a 7wt or 8wt will fit the bill nicely.
3) Protection for Your Fingers
When trying to entice peacock bass to eat, you will make lots of casts, with LOTS of aggressive strips. When the fish does eat, you will set the hook hard and attempt to stop the fish as soon as possible — often well before the line is on the reel where the drag can do the work. For both of these reasons, gloves or stripping guards are critical. They will save you the pain and annoyance of small slices, cuts, and burns on your fingers. In a remote, tropical environment, avoiding cuts that can become infected is all-important. And even if these small injuries do not pose a risk of serious injury, they can sideline you and ruin your trip. Gloves or finger guards not only protect from annoying injuries, but they can allow you to put that extra pound or two of pressure on the fish to keep it from reaching cover.
If you plan to use gloves with fingertips cut off, make sure they cover the parts of your fingers you use for stripping before taking your trip. Better yet, use stripping guards. It is a great product made for this purpose.
4) Protection from Sun and Heat
When heading to an equatorial location, you probably do not need to be told to protect yourself from the sun. However, there are a few tips that may not be obvious. For example, your sunscreen should not have any fruity or sweet scents, as it will attract bees and other insects. It also needs to be waterproof, at least 30 SPF, and applied to all exposed skin.
Wear lightweight socks. They are cooler than shoes, save your feet from the direct sun, and still allow you to feel your fly line on the deck. Line often catches on or under shoes when shooting line or when a fish runs. For that reason we often fish barefoot when on a boat, but the intense sun in the Amazon can fry bare feet. Socks are a life saver.
Similarly, hands tend to get some of the most direct sun while fly fishing — especially when you are casting and stripping all day long. Lightweight sun gloves not only protect your fingers from the sun but also from cuts and burns when stripping line and fighting fish.
A full brim, lightweight hat with a moisture wicking band, such as a good straw hat, is highly recommended. It not only protects face, ears, and neck from sun, but it can provide shade for the rest of your body when the sun is directly overhead and keep your whole body cooler. A ball cap does not.
Long sleeve shirts and long pants are also more effective than sunscreen (which wears off over time), and can also help keep annoying insects off your skin. Light colored clothing seems more effective for insects. And obviously the lightest weight, coolest clothing made will help to keep you cool. Patagonia and Simms make comfortable, super lightweight, and quick drying shirts and pants.
The face always seems to get the most exposure even when wearing a hat. Remember, sun reflection off the water is almost as intense as direct sun. And the skin on your nose, lips, and ears is more sensitive than on other exposed parts of your body. A Buff or bandana protects your face from sun both above and reflected from below. Buffs or bandanas can also be dunked in cold water to cool you off during the day.
Finally, super high quality polarized sunglasses, such as those by Costa Del Mar and Smith/Action Optics, are essential.
5) Quality Camera
Keeping in mind that weight limits on small planes limit the amount of gear you can bring, try to include a high quality camera. You will be in an incredibly pristine environment full of exotic flora and fauna. The bird life alone can be worth the price of admission, with parrots, macaws, parakeets, toucans, cotingas, flickers, manakins, woodpeckers, and hummingbirds commonly seen. Similarly, the butterflies and flowers can be absolutely stunning. Plus, you stand a very good chance of catching record class peacock bass, which are one of the most photogenic fish on the planet. You will not regret taking lots of high quality photos in the Amazon!
This is not an exhaustive Amazon gear list, but the above items are essential when fly fishing for peacock bass — and many of them may not be obvious. Make sure you bring them along to be prepared and to fish as effectively as possible on what is sure to be an unforgettable trip.
Schuyler Marshall
Travel Specialist
Tailwaters Fly Fishing Co.
(Text Florian Kaiser; Pics Florian Kaiser und Breno Ballesteros Rezende)
Florian Kaiser and Breno Ballesteros spend a unique week jungle angling Rio Marié in the Amazon Basin of Brazil with Untamed Angling during the 2016/ 2017 season. We will be featuring Florian’s travelogue of his angling ventures in a seven-part travel journal. This is the last part seven – make sure you have a look on the six parts before!
We had one more day to fish the next day. To reach fresh water and new grounds to explore, Untamed Amazon did move upriver again during dinner. That is an awesome experience – you enjoy dinner, sip a decent well-tempered Argentinian Malbec and in the background of the big panoramic windows of the dining room the virgin jungle passes by! That is just surreal. If you experience that you have to be happy.
Thus the next day we would have fresh water to explore. The vessel anchored close to the entrance of a smaller creek. A creek that was only fished before during the exploration season in 2014. Next morning we would fish kind of truly virgin water again!
Next morning was we went that tributary upriver the thought of being one of very few humans that fished and visited that place was overwhelming. I got goose bumps at every bend of that small creek! Loved it!
Fishing was mixed to good. We found a couple of pots and spots of several Butterflies. Breno checked in again for the larger sized 4-7lbs fish and I for the smaller ones. At the end of the day we would have caught more than 40 Butterflies. Had a nice fish barbecue with some bees flying around and went back to the main river and upstream after the lunch to spend our last hours fishing at Rio Marié. As if the fishing god was close to us we both landed a good sized GPB to end that trip. Breno got a good fish of 76cm and around 16lbs and I caught a smaller one to finish the trip of something of around 70cm and 13-14lbs. It might sound snobbish, but a fish below 15lbs is just nothing to special at Rio Marié so you might to easily forget the precise figures.
Last cast, very last cast, final cast. That was Rio Marié!
Summary: I got the unofficial world record with the biggest GPB ever caught on fly up to date (28,5lbs), got another fish of 23lbs and had an awesome time with my friend Breno, the Russian team and the lovely crew. The experience was just marvelous and will last very long. Thank you for all that! Thank you to ALL on site, back home and elsewhere that made this trip such a blast!
If you are in pursuit of GPB with the barbless fly, Rio Marié is the ultimate place to go. You will have the very best chance to catch a fish beyond the magic 20lbs mark. The whole setting is marvelous! The fishing is kind of work and does not provide the visual appeal of NZ trout fishing in gin clear water or the crazy stuff you might experience fishing for Golden Dorado. You must bring determination and perseverance and fitness. But if you are interested in the best fishing GPB-destination possible combined with perfect logistics and lodging: book your slot now! You might experience one of your best fishing days and will fish one of the very last virgin spots on this globe.
Questions of any kind (tackle, background, booking, advice, …)? Contact me.
If you like what you read: share it via social media and tell your fishing buddies and send me a note!
If you are interested in a trip to Rio Marié for Giant Peacock Bass contact me or Untamed Angling
Florian, fly fishing since twenty five years in the northern and southern hemisphere in fresh- and saltwater for many species. Enjoying outdoor sports, mountain biking, photography and good wine. Fly fishing is only one of his hobbies, but the one he kind of loves most. Florian is European Ambassador of Thomas & Thomas, Pro Staff of World Fly Angler (leading distributor of fly tackle and top line brands in Europe) and of Marlo Reels from Hamburg/ Germany.
(Text Florian Kaiser; Pics Florian Kaiser und Breno Ballesteros Rezende)
Florian Kaiser and Breno Ballesteros spend a unique week jungle angling Rio Marié in the Amazon Basin of Brazil with Untamed Angling during the 2016/ 2017 season. We will be featuring Florian’s travelogue of his angling ventures in a seven-part travel journal. This is part six.
In case you consider booking your slot at Rio Marié, do not expect to catch record fish, do not take it for granted. Still, Rio Marié is without any doubt the very best place with the highest chance on this planet to catch a +20lbs Giant Peacock Bass. Word. So if you are a decent and seasoned fisherman (that means casting 18-20 meters more or less a whole day and knowing what to do), you might have a relatively high chance to catch a +20lbs GPB – but no guarantee! Do not complain about “not enough big fish”. Fishing is special and might be kind of boring at times, but if you are in GPB-fly fishing and want to catch a big one or if you want to fish in one of the last virgin spots, Rio Marié is the very best place to go!
It was that night that Untamed Amazon would be relocated and moved further upstream after we finished fishing around 5 pm that day. All boats were daisy chained behind the big boat and we started the engines to continue our way upriver. We had appetizers and eventually dinner on a moving ship right in the middle of the jungle. That feeling alone was just awesome! In the meantime it got dark and eventually pitch black outside and we were going up a river that became tighter and smaller mile by mile upriver. Orleans the Boat Principal or Captain and its copilots or so called deck hands navigated the vessel upstream. Remember it was pitch black night. They once in a while pointed out the shore with a very bright beam of a big spotlight to check their location. I followed our route with my iPhone and Google Maps and was totally fascinated, taking several long exposure shots with my tripod from our balcony right at the bow of the ship of that scenery: a moving ship with the light beam wandering around. Later Breno and I went to the bridge of the ship. In the beginning an assistant and later on Orleans himself maneuvered the big vessel upstream through the darkness. It took several minutes before Breno and I could see anything on the pitch black bridge looking outside. Only the spotlight beam gave an impression where we were on the river in respect to the banks, numerous twists and bends of the river. Aware of a very narrow section of the river followed by and immediate bend that I figured out from the map I was curious how we would continue. We did not dare to ask the captain as the atmosphere on the bridge was highly concentrated and only very few words exchanged. But it soon turned out that we would anchor just a few hundred meters downstream of that challenging section on a perfectly suited beach. The touch down on this beach was handled by Orleans with exceptional care and caution. Untamed Amazon touched the beach as if you would gently touch the face of your beloved.
Imagine, it is most likely the very last you want to experience an out of control vessel of that size on a pitch black river in the upper Amazon. Horrible thought.
Impressions like these on the bridge are a lasting part of such a trip and a detail that is normally not available to a client.
I mentioned before that the fishing was only one (though important) aspect of this venue. A big part was provided by the various mentioned factors: comfortable ship, motivated, skilled and friendly crew, awesome location, good food and excellent service. To do the kitchen some justice and to provide some samples of meals Leandro and his team created, I added some examples. Thank you for that great part!
Knowing that it is hard to keep up the good mood on such a vessel among the crew, it will be a challenge to foster the spirit and good attitude. This needs to be done and supported by a good team, fair leaders, good food and sufficient rest for the team. Not easy but needed.
On the fifth day we would fish upstream Rio Marié again and Untamed Amazon would follow us, thus again another spot for the night. Imagine that, isn’t that awesome! We would reach a section of the river that probably was only fished during the scouting phase in 2014 by western fly fisher and before that most likely only a couple of times since the beginning of time by humans at all. Virgin water!
We fished it – with some success. One of the better fish of the day was a GPB of around 77cm (14-16lbs? cannot remember). On that day Breno started to get an appointment for the remaining days with large Butterflies – he constantly caught these in the 4-6lbs and even touching the 7lbs range. I checked in for the remaining smaller ones.
Again this afternoon a storm front build up. The thunder and lightning was coming closer and closer. We fished one of those smaller bays of the main river with some bites but not much success. Breno and I briefly communicated and agreed “let’s fish for another 15 minutes and then get back to Untamed Amazon before the storm would hit us” – it was just after 4pm. But both of us had eased our fish-thirst so we were willing to call it a day rather early. Exactly that we did just minutes after as the storm approached and hit us within minutes. Lightning very close by, we in the middle of the open river, heavy hard rain, we were totally soaked reaching Untamed Amazon close by and we were relieved not being fried by a lightning strike. It does not help to know that your chances to survive a lightning strike are something of around 70% – I just do not want to experience that.
Shower (semi warm, as there was no real warm water on Untamed Amazon) and a warming coffee did the job, only a piece of cake was missing.
Stay tuned for the last day of that awesome trip!
If you are interested in a trip to Rio Marié for Giant Peacock Bass contact me or Untamed Angling
Florian, fly fishing since twenty five years in the northern and southern hemisphere in fresh- and saltwater for many species. Enjoying outdoor sports, mountain biking, photography and good wine. Fly fishing is only one of his hobbies, but the one he kind of loves most. Florian is European Ambassador of Thomas & Thomas, Pro Staff of World Fly Angler (leading distributor of fly tackle and top line brands in Europe) and of Marlo Reels from Hamburg/ Germany.
(Text Florian Kaiser; Pics Florian Kaiser and Breno Ballesteros Rezende)
Florian Kaiser and Breno Ballesteros spend a unique week jungle angling Rio Marié in the Amazon Basin of Brazil with Untamed Angling during the 2016/ 2017 season. We will be featuring Florian’s travelogue of his angling ventures in a seven-part travel journal. This is part five.
Our fourth day of our great adventure was guided by Agustin. Agustin spend the first part of the season at Kendjam, guiding there the first regular season with the new lodge (see my Kendjam Blog about Breno and my visit during exploration Season 2015 to this highly regarded Untamed destination). This morning in the bot, more ironically joking than serious I said: “I am going to catch a 28lb fish today!”
Fishing was again cast by cast to the shore and towards structure. Some fish to the boat. But not so many. We fished a lake with some freshwater Dolphin action. This made me put on my 70-200 2,8 Canon lens and taking some hundred shots of breathing Dolphins. To take a proper shot of them is kind of a challenge, as they are very quick. So only a low percentage of the shots would be sharp and relevant.
I was kind of distracted and took it very easy, several times switching between the fishing rod and the camera to take shots of the freshwater dolphins. As usual we changed the location several times to fish the various types of structure from lakes to lagoons to creek mouths. Eventually we fished a big lagoon with sunken trees providing the perfect habitat for the really big GPB. To that point it was a rather slow day, not many fish to the boat. I had changed my fly some time ago to a rather small white Deceiver with some grey/ blue sprinkled in that I must have tied several years ago for a saltwater trip. With this kind of fishing it is crucial that you are always focused on your fishing as you don’t want to spoil your low number of chances on a really good fish. Thus, either fish concentrated or make a break. I tried to keep my concentration as high as I could…
Fishing the mentioned self-tied fly on a 300 something grain sink-tip line on my 9 weight rod, letting it sink for several seconds to get it close to the ground, I started a slow retrieve with some shorter quicker pulls mixed in to trigger a possible following fish…
Not at the bank but kind of close I got a solid hook up and an obviously decent fish was hooked. That was not one of those Butterfly Bass that explodes but a solid powerful mass of fish. With those bigger GPBs the immediate judgment of its weight is hard as their behavior can be highly different. Some burst and dart away over 15 meters, as a good fish on Breno’s fly did (+16,5lbs) or show limited strength and can be dominated quickly as my 23lb GPB from the day before. The fish on my line was possibly stronger as it showed a lot of energy right in the tight space between sunken trees, the close shore and the boat moving boat in the upcoming wind gusts. To add thrill I got a knot in my line (it might have been a freshwater line, but the tendency of lines to tangle was not much less with specific warm water lines, this specific line was a Vision as it was the only available at a German mail-order shop a year ago), Agustin was able to solve that while I was holding and fighting the fish with the remaining line. The fish knew its territory and managed to wrap the line at least half around one of those trunks of a sunken tree which are the home of these fish. This obstacle was solved by me and the fish showed its full beauty for the first time on the surface. WOW! That was huge! The local guide tried to net it but as usual the fish got angry facing the net and darted away. It was kind of nerve wrecking – this was not one of those 7lb NZ SI trout that you would prefer to land, but if you would miss it, you might catch another one in the next pool – this was a decent or even a very large GPB! A fish that thousands of fly fisher (and bait fisher) pursue to catch for years. So all of us – especially Breno, to make me quit moaning about casting the whole day – really wanted to land it! The next attempt to net it did again not succeed, I was afraid that the barbless fly would come loose and just pop out. If that would happen the whole jungle would hear some very angry Bavarian swearing (normally I do not swear because of a lost fish, mostly I laugh heartedly about myself, but in that case I would make an exception). Again the netting attempt did not work but the fourth attempt succeeded! Fish on board and just there we saw its size and weight. The IGFA scale and measure showed the measurements: just shy of 13kg, thus around 28,5lbs and +90cm (on some pictures of the measurement it looks more like +92cm)!
Holy sh*t – just about now we realized that this fish was not an “ordinary +20lb GPB” but the most likely biggest Giant Peacock Bass ever caught on fly up to date!
No more words needed. The crew was excited, Breno was excited and lucky that I could not further complain about this “boring casting casting…” and I felled a total new feeling I never had with fishing: kind of sports like satisfaction. Thankful, speechless, …
One annotation to documenting and landing that fish: Everybody aware of the IGFA rules knows by my report that this was not an IGFA-confirmed World Record but most likely just the largest ever caught GPB on fly. With IGFA I would have needed to use a 20lbs class tippet (which is kind of crazy with these fish, as it might lengthen the fight unnecessarily and or might end in a breakoff) and nobody would have been allowed to touch any of my tackle during fight and the fish would have been measured out of the net on the measures. We did not do any extreme posing pictures, so the fish size is not over exaggerated, the pictures rather understate its size especially compared to my tall size.
I am not a fisherman that needs or seeks attention as long as I am satisfied myself and had a good time out on the water. Thus I asked the team to not tell anything about it to the other guests. Celebrating the joy silently was the way. Only the locals spread the word and I got several thumbs up (real ones, not the virtual ones)…
Stay tuned for the next days of this awesome trip!
If you are interested in a trip to Rio Marié for Giant Peacock Bass contact me or Untamed Angling
Florian, fly fishing since twenty five years in the northern and southern hemisphere in fresh- and saltwater for many species. Enjoying outdoor sports, mountain biking, photography and good wine. Fly fishing is only one of his hobbies, but the one he kind of loves most. Florian is European Ambassador of Thomas & Thomas, Pro Staff of World Fly Angler (leading distributor of fly tackle and top line brands in Europe) and of Marlo Reels from Hamburg/ Germany.
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At Untamed Angling we dream about these waters, and pursue the most remote and difficult-to-operate angling destinations in the world, undeterred by the distances, difficulties, obstacles, and the naysayers. We are wholly driven by legends, myths, and the spirit of adventure.
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