DISCOVERING BRAZIL

Rubinho

  "The planning of the trip had been made in detail. Nothing had been forgotten and now we threw the baits in the water and waited for the attack of the fish. Everybody was very anxious  and it was not easy to wait some hours for the navigation in order to reach the fishing points".  

Although it was the very beginning of the season of the peacock bass fishing in the Amazonia, the crew of Miss Bebel Boat  had already done research about the level of the water in some good fishing spots. This factor is important for the fishing of the peacock bass because, with high-level water, the schools get into the forest (igapo) making it difficult for the baits to reach the fish. 

At present time, August to October (2000), there is no alternative for fishing but to look for affluents of  Madeira or Madeirinha River once in the Negro River area the waters are still impracticable. Near the Madeira region, everything begins earlier along the year and in August it is already possible to find fishing points, but the fisherman must have a good knowledge of the area. 

Having some disposition to navigate for more hours it is possible to find the peacock  bass not only in amount but also in size- lunker and aggressive ones that challenge the techniques of all expert fishermen. But it is not always very easy to find the big fish. For that to happen, it is necessary that the tourist structure makes great efforts to fully analyse and to describe the area. Very often, the fish are far away from  Manaus (capital of the Amazon State) -  the starting point of most of the trips in the Amazonia. It is very common to navigate for thirty hours (or even more) in order to find good fishing conditions. Usually,   success is not found in the first spot and it is necessary to count on the expertise of the boat people. Information and good will become fundamental characteristics to reach the objectives of the trip.  

All those aspects are taken very seriously into consideration by PESCAVENTURA when organizing groups that want to accomplish big dreams in that region. With those two groups formed in September (2000) we were OK because  Miss Bebel Boat, captained by the commanding expert Sabá and operated by an old friend, Old Guila, offered all the necessary conditions to guarantee a good fishery.   

The first group, formed by Brazilians only, was from the cities of Sorocaba, Sao Roque and Salvador. They would be the first group of the season to fish in the  area we had chosen. The second group, quite different from the first,  was formed with fishermen from Texas and  New Jersey (USA).  It is interesting to be in contact with people from all over the world because we learn  various  techniques and get in touch with cultural diversity.  

Although both groups were formed with fishermen that assumed the catch & release philosophy, the interests during the trip were different in many aspects. For the Americans, everything is new because  they seem to have vague ideas about our country and more vague ideas about distant areas like the Amazonia. Each leaf, each tree or each regional curiosity is highly valued  and the Americans observe all the details, even details related to the cleaning services, etc. On the other hand, for the Brazilians, the fish have more importance -  even a small fish is a good fish to be caught. There is no doubt that, for them, the fishery itself is their biggest objective.     

In fact, as planned, it would be a great risk to fish close to Manaus, because, unlikely the previous year, the waters were still high. After we got to know that situation, I called the crew of the ship and the group of tourists in order to discuss and review our first strategy. It would be necessary to change the program and to reduce one day of fishing because of the new distances we had to go through. Had we kept the five-day program of fishing, we would have to seek closer points and to run the risk of not finding good water conditions. The best alternative  - soon accepted by everyone -  would be to travel about thirty six hours and warrant four good days of fishery.   

THE TRIP 

Our heart accelerates and we feel breathlessly. It was the accomplishment of a great dream. For months we thought of nothing else but only of planning the fishing trip. Before we took off, big and strong peacock bass got into our dreams, attacked lures and broke a lot of lines in endless battles. 

At the airport the very first contact with reality... It is time to get to know the partners and to start the development of new friendships. The eyes of everyone have some different type of glow.  They look like children before Christmas eve believing Saint Claus really exists – they see the old man going down the chimney.

During the flight, the group talks only about fisheries, fishing equipment and the like. Nothing really serious goes around - only old stories about big fish. After landing in Manaus and getting on the ship for the first time,  everyone’s heart accelerates even more – we can hear the beats at a distance. The first movements of the ship are anxiously awaited and only when she begins to navigate on the Negro waters the heart rhythm goes back to normal. Everyone seems to be pretty much relaxed because nothing went wrong. The real adventure has begun. 

The long trip does not bother anybody. There is a lot to talk, to know, etc. -  the fishermen have to prepare their equipment and to get some rest in order to be in shape for the first day of fishing. As a matter of fact, the trip itself has become a pleasant part of the whole adventure.   

To go down Rio Amazonas, to go up the Madeira River, to know the city of New Olinda, where everything is only reached by water, is an experience that enriches our views of the world. After a channel,  called “hole” by the local people, we get the first contact with darker waters, appropriate for the peacock bass. It is a long itinerary to the Canumã River, one of the most beautiful parts of the trip, not only for the beauty of the river, but also  for the curiosity of being an indian reservation. A fast stop in one of the villages makes the trip even more interesting. After the reservation, few hours separate our baits of the lunker peacocks. 

Along the fishing days,  everything proceeds as planned.  The fish begin to show up and happiness reigns in the middle of the Amazon jungle. In the evening all the adventures of the day are exchanged in the group. The big fish that managed to escape, the baits lost with the broken lines, the big bites, the alligators , the cobras (sucuris or boas), reminding the film "Anaconda" -  every aspect of the fishing adventure helps to build a new experience.  

Every fishermen gets renewed, gets more humanized and happy. It is the contact with that exuberant nature that transforms us into new men. To keep in mind these moments is a real privilege and anglers know its meaning very well. Each fish that is caught and released is a sign that we can enjoy those moments forever. The emotion of releasing the fish generates a lot of  happiness in ourselves. There is no doubt it is worthwhile to respect Nature and its phenomena of providing for life.  

The trip back home is a chance for making new plans. The following year is a promise of new experiences and new friends. Everyone wants to come back to that marvelous place. The dream begins a new cycle.  

Respect and admiration are basic attitudes in sport fishing. The savage fish survival is a warrant for the  development tourism fishing in Brazil. Releasing the fish back into the water provides for emotion and happiness to every fishermen.   

TECHNIQUES AND EQUIPMENT 

To be successful when the fishing  the peacock bass some rules should be followed   

Casting: The peacok bass hunts near logs,  drowned trees, vegetation, stones, etc., waiting for different types of prey. Placing the bait in the right spots facilitates the capture. Besides, accurate casting avoids different problems like entangling, hooking branches and the like.  Frequent uncoiling the baits in the margins ends up destroying the fishing pleasure   

Variety of Baits and How to Cast them: To give the bait the correct action is a guarantee of good bites. The bait has to represent live fish. A reasonable diversity of baits will be a warrant to find the bait the fish is biting at the specific moment of the day.  

Equipment: Success in the fight with a lunker peacock depends on a well-balanced equipment. If the equipment is too heavy, it will embarrass the castings, hinder the work of the bait – this problem will make the fisherman get very tired because of the 400 to 1000 shots in a single fishing day. On the other end, an equipment that is too light makes it  almost impossible to avoid that the fish swims to their defense structures (one of the main characteristics of the peacock is to get rid of bait or break the line by entangling itself in drowned wood logs). 

Fishing Guides: A good guide knows best structures and points to find the fish. The Amazon guides generally know the fish’s behavior and this will help us choosing the correct equipment and baits.  

Boat Partner: The sociability is intense (about 8 hours per day) in a quite reduced space due to the dimensions of the aluminum boats. One should not forget that this type of fishery depends on the quality of the boat and all the people that are on board. Individualism and selfishness of the fisherman will certainly lead to great disasters.