CRISTALINO RIVER AND THE BLUE PEACOCK BASS

Ezequiel Theodoro da Silva

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My interest was piqued regarding a fishing excursion to the Cristalino River when Marcio Mattos, an IGFA world record setting angler for the Brazilian fish "matrinxã" (Brycon hilarii), offered the following enticement : "The most beautiful and most productive place to fish for peacock bass in the central region of Brazil is the Cristalino River, located near the Bananal Isle. The scenery is breathtaking. I visited this destination several years ago and the violent strikes of the many fish species are still etched in my mind. Truly unforgettable, believe me! If you decide to go there, please do include myself in your caravan."

Each year, a group of eight friends and fellow anglers visits a variety of rivers of the Paraguay basin in the Pantanal region. The Araguaia basin, however, was an area that we knew very little about.

"It’s time for a change in the fishing scenery," offered one of the members of our caravan, pointing out that "this way we may find new and challenging fisheries and might learn how to deal with species we have never seen, like the huge piraibas and pirararas (big Brazilian non-scaled fish, similar to the catfish) and, of course, fight against various types of peacock bass - the most valiant game fish in the world."

A tremendous amount of information was exchanged at the end of 1997. Letters, telephone calls, e-mails, personal conversations, etc. contributed to our decision of visiting the Cristalino River. We would have five months to plan the details of this long trip. However curiosity was the main feeling at that moment.

We estimated two days to reach the lodge. We left Campinas (São Paulo State) on the 15th of May at 8:30 a.m. The highways and roads through which we traveled were good. We decided to make a stop in Goiania, capital of Goiás State, in order to spend the night and get some rest.

The next morning, around 5 p.m., we departed from Goiania and went straight to São Miguel do Araguaia where, after a quick lunch and refueling of our tanks, we started our way to the village of Fio Velasco, the last village in the Northern region of Goiás State. Fio Velasco is situated on the banks of the Araguaia River – it has a good restaurant, a mini-shop of Indian souvenirs and materials for navigation (fuel, outboard motor oil, etc). It is also the place where the visitors have to park their cars, paying a fee of 5 dollars per day.

From Fio Velasco to the Cristalino River it is a two-hour trip by boat. Fishing guides are a must because the rivers and the currents are very dangerous. This part of our adventure was really nice because we had the chance to appreciate the fauna and flora of this region. This long boat ride afforded us the opportunity to take a lot of photos as we navigated downstream.

THE TUCUNARE LODGE (POUSADA DO TUCUNARÉ)

A neat place: very clean and comfortable. There is enough room for 30 fishermen who can choose to stay on land or on "boatel" (boat motel). Food is excellent and tasty. The apartments have two double beds, but the bathroom is collective.

The manager is very helpful, but we advise other fishermen to monitor fuel consumption for the rented boats as we faced some problems when the bill was presented at the end of the week. The lodge hires the fishing guides (called "piloteiros" or boat pilots). It should be said that the guides who worked for us were well prepared and knew how to move around the rivers and lakes of that region. Also, without hiring a guide is just impossible to fish in the Cristalino area because the geography is really complicated.

There are good structures for anglers to fish in this region. We fished sandbars, points, weed beds both in the Cristalino River and in adjacent lakes.

The peacock bass, especially the ones belonging to the "pitanga" (yellow) species, were very abundant in both the river and the adjacent lakes and lagoons. These were not large fish, however, the average weighing around 4 pounds and measuring 25/30 centimeters at the most. Schooling peacocks preferred the front parts of the small sandy beaches and everybody was into fish in a matter of minutes once a school was located. The strikes were aggressive and enjoyed by all. Unfortunately some had to be sacrificed because the piranas also attacked and bit them.

Bigger peacock, the ones belonging to the blue species and reaching 8-10 pounds, were mainly found in the lakes in the early hours of morning or in the late hours of afternoon – basically under lower light conditions. The strikes generated were with a ferocity that belied the size of these powerful fish. Many of our treble hooks were straightened or were simply pulled loose from the baits.

Some of the lunker peacocks were also caught at the entrance of the big lakes, where the water demonstrated a slightly stronger current. The best cover to target larger peacocks came around weedbeds, sunken trees and logs near the shoreline.

After the first day, when the five different boats (2 fishermen plus guide on each) returned home in the afternoon, we discovered that only two kinds of peacock inhabited those waters: the yellow one (called "pitanga" in Portuguese) and the blue one.

Marcio Mattos, an expert in pavon fishing, said "Well, folks, as I told you before, this place is just like an aquarium. There are many species of fish swimming in the river and lakes nearby. But the peacock bass have to be ‘hunted’, especially the lunker ones which belong to the blue species. So, I advise everyone to fill up the tanks and move the boat smoothly along the banks. Use the electrical motor so you won’t tend to spook these fish. The casts have to be long, sending the lures near the vegetation surrounding the lakes." We used bright-colored baits most of the time. Dark lures seemed not to work well, apparently because the water was crystal clear - sometimes we could see the fish coming up from the bottom to take a lure. As the big peacocks were mixed with the small ones, we were obliged to fish with 4 to 5-inch baits. Needless to say we lost a lot of artificial baits (about 5 per day) because the piranas cut the line, thick cover in the form of trees gobbled up others and/or the fear to disentangle the baits in the bottom. Whenever an angler visits the Araguaia Basin he has to estimate a loss of 5 to 7 baits per day; so the tackle box has to be planned carefully or he will be forced to stop fishing as a consequence of bad planning.

Despite the presence of big schools of piranas (black, white and spotted ones), we really enjoyed fishing in the region. As a matter of fact, the piranas schooled like a pack of hungry sharks. Natural baits (alive or dead) are a waste of time because the piranas attack them as soon as they are thrown into the water. Any lapse of the fisherman’s attention when unhooking these nasty critters could result in a painful bite and sometimes, as they told us it had already happened, the loss of a finger.

The Araguaia and Cristalino Rivers are not natural wonders of the world, but, in our opinion, they really could be. That region, also called "Pantanal de Goiás" (Pantanal from Goias State), is just like an expressive painting. The various colors of nature, the contrasts you see along the rivers, the many species of birds, the unforgettable moment of dawn and sunset, etc. developed a very special feeling in ourselves. "The pictures I took at the Cristalino were praised by everybody", said one member of our fishing group.

The magic of the Cristalino River is its transparent (or crystalline) water. As a matter of fact, the river is not very deep, making it possible for us to observe the fish movement. " Just like a big aquarium," as uttered by someone during one of the evenings we spent there. The forests are untouched and preserved - only the creamy sand of the beaches alters the many hues of green. In short, that is a region to humble the fisherman’s soul and to be kept forever in his memory.

São Paulo – São Miguel do Araguaia = 1445 km (898 miles)

Goiânia - São Miguel do Araguaia = 499 km (310 miles)

São Miguel do Araguaia – Fio Velasco = 55 km ( 51 miles)/non-paved road

Fio Velasco – Cristalino River = 2-hour trip by boat

Pousada do Tucunaré (Tucunare Lodge)

Fee : 75 dollars (meals, boat and outboard motor included)

Accommodations : simple, clean, one fan per room

Reservations : Giampietro Ciscato

Phone Number : (0055) 11-4361 8539 São Paulo or (0055) 62-9965 5086 (camp)

 

Pousada Fio Velasco (Fio Velasco Lodge)

Fee : 35 to 60 dollars (meals, boat and outboard motor included)

Accommodations : very clean, air-conditioner in each apartment for 6 people

Reservations : Robert Schaffer

Phone Numbers : 062. 774.1978 / 062.321.1013

Attention : (1) These prices were valid for May/1998 and they do not include fishing guide fee (20 dollars per day) and fuel/oil.

(2) Be sure to control all your expenses during your visit lest some extras may appear on you account.

Solar protector 30 ; dark glasses with anti-reflex lenses; jacket - nights are pretty cold; bug repellent; water - two to three bottles a day ; fishing license ; contention pliers to hold the piranas.

Baits and Equipment

Surface (propeller, sticks and poppers) and sub-surface; length - 3 to 5 inches; colors – bright, lemon-green, yellow, gold and silver. Light and medium equipment (rod and reel) are the most recommend ones.

Peacock bass (blue and yellow/pavon or "pitanga" ), "aruanã", pirana (black, white, tiger and "xupita"), "traira" ( somewhat similar to the American pike), "cachorra" , "apapa" and " matrinxã ".

Note : We tried to catch the famous "pirarara" (a huge fish with red spots on its body) and the "piraíba" or "filhote" (the biggest non-scaled freshwater fish in Brazil) in many points of the Araguaia river, but were not very lucky. 

Ezequiel Theodoro da Silva

Rua Dr Carlos Guimarães, 150 Apto. 41

13.024-200 Campinas, SP, Brasil

e-mail: emarthi@terra.com.br