Here
is what the Angling Report
had to say:
We told you in the March
issue that flooding in
the Amazon
region of Brazil this
season had shut down a
lot of the peacock
bass fishing (see
Article ID 1819). You’ll
remember we said an exception
could be the Agua Boa River,
where Royal Amazon Lodge
fishes. Well, several subscribers
who fished with Royal Amazon
report enjoying rather
good fishing despite high
water. One of
them is subscriber Dan
Adams, who fished with
Royal Amazon in January,
although Jeff Vermillion
of Sweetwater Travel (Tel.
888-347-4286; 406-222-0624.
Web: www.sweetwatertravel.com)
warned him that high water
would make sightcasting
impossible
and the fishing iffy.
Adams says sightcasting
was indeed limited to occasional
moments when the lighting
was just right, but there
was nonetheless
plenty of action. He says
that big gaudy flies enticed
good strikes, with streamers
working best. He says sinking
tips were a must,
and the best rig he used
was an 8 weight rod with
a 9 weight line with an
intermediate sinking tip.
This allowed him to cast
40 to
50 feet under the trees
without overworking himself
in the high temperatures.
Adams says the guides worked
hard to explore sloughs
and lagoons off the main
river in search of fish.
He says they were very
flexible
and accommodating, allowing
him to take a siesta break
during the hottest part
of the day and start or
end the day when
he wished.
Later in February, when
Ernst Schmidt fished with
Royal Amazon, he says if
his party had not been
told that the conditions
were
less than optimal, they
would have thought them
perfect and the fishing
excellent. He says that
some days they saw 100
fish per
boat, with some peacocks weighing
up to 14 pounds. He says
his group of four anglers
brought their wives, three
of whom were non-fishermen.
By the end of the trip
he says they were all crazed
anglers who couldn’t get
enough time on the water.
There were some days during
Schmidt’s trip that
saw heavy rains and rising
water, making the fish
sluggish. But he says the
guides would simply pole
into lagoons where the
water was often quite clear
and there were plenty of
willing fish. In addition
to
the fishing, he says the
service at the Royal Amazon
Lodge was great.
Brian Griffith also
fished in February with
Royal Amazon and agrees
with Schmidt’s
assessment. He reports
catching a minimum of
25 fish a day with at
least one of those weighing
over 10 pounds. His wife,
who is not an avid fisherman,
caught fish every time
she accompanied him on
the water. Griffith says
they strictly fly fished,
casting clousers and deceivers
on floating line with
sinking tips. He too was
taken to lagoons that produced
good numbers of fish, but
he says that every cast
to a log, tree or alcove
in the river bank produced
fish willing to chase flies.
“If
you are interested in strictly fly
fishing for peacocks,
don’t let high waterreports
put you off,” he says. “The
guides know their stuff
and will put you on fish.” |
