THE BANJO PLAYS AN APPEALING TUNE TO UNINI RIVER PEACOKS

                                      Gary N. Laden

As I was channel surfing one Saturday morning, I caught a glimpse of television fishing show host Wayne Hockmeyer admiring a trophy gamefish that he had just landed. When I encounter a fishing program, I usually pause my incessant channel changing long enough to see where the host is fishing and what he’s fishing for.

Hockmeyer went on to say that this hefty bass, as well as other gamefish species throughout the world, simply couldn’t resist the lure he had invented – “The Banjo Minnow.”

"Another infomercial about a new gimmick lure..." I muttered to myself. Flashbacks of Flying Lures, Walking Worms and Helicopter Lures danced in my head. “How many gullible anglers would have lighter wallets after being duped by Hockmeyer and his magical new lure that fish simply couldn’t resist?”

Ironically, the more I viewed the program, the more I became intrigued with this lure, one that appeared quite enticing to a host of bass, trout, tarpon and pike. Underwater photography revealed that these gamefish were almost hypnotized into a feeding frenzy by this lifelike plastic baitfish. My interest was further piqued as I continued to watch fish after fish inhale this lifelike plastic baitfish as it haphazardly darted and swam, on and beneath the water's surface.

BANJO MINNOW - DESCRIPTION AND ACTION

"The Banjo Minnow perfectly duplicates the spastic action of a real live injured minnow, and fools predator fish, triggering a genetic response that makes them bite...it's that good," preached lure originator, Wayne Hockmeyer to his television audience with a strong New England accent.
 

I had never met Wayne Hockmeyer; had never seen him grace the pages of my favorite fishing publications, nor observed him on the victory stand at a Bassmaster Classic championship event collecting a big paycheck. However, this affable angler presented a pretty convincing case to me as to why this bait would catch fish over the 30 minute airing of the infomercial. This guy seemed to know his stuff - or had a very good script writer and used trick photography.

I had never witnessed such convincing footage like this before, but was skeptical as to how it was obtained. Where these trained pet fish, starved so they would feed on cue for the camera? Were the action scenes I observed of fish competing for this plastic baitfish somehow staged by hi-tech computer graphics? Does this bait really elicit a “genetic response” in gamefish? Would it work for me?

BANJO AND SOUTH AMERICAN PEACOCKS

The species I personally am most passionate about is the peacock bass of South American rivers and lakes. I have been fishing for them since 1989 in Brazil, Venezuela and Peru, and am always looking for an edge over my fellow anglers, something unique that the peacocks may not have encountered. Would the Banjo Minnow actually work in the remote jungles of South America on real live peacocks?

I had noticed that legendary angler and television fishing show host Babe Winkelman was featured on the Banjo Minnow infomercial and on their website as well. The fishing footage he shot of giant pike inhaling Banjo Minnows in the Canadian wilderness looked very authentic. I had introduced Babe to peacock bass fishing some eight years ago and thought he would give me the real scoop on this bait.

"I only learned of the Banjo Minnow recently and have not yet tried them on peacocks, but there's no reason that won’t eat the Banjo Minnow," offered Winkelman, “especially if they’re not in a real positive feeding mood.” "Several years ago, someone proved the effectiveness of the Banjo Minnow on negative pike right after ice out and I have been a true believer in them ever since. The bait has allowed me to get the most incredible action footage for my TV shows that I have ever filmed.”
 

MEETING WAYNE HOCKMEYER - GO FISHING TOGETHER

I was now intrigued enough about this lure to contact Wayne Hockmeyer, a native of Maine now living in south Florida, and asked him if he would like to take a trip with me to Brazil to test the Banjo Minnow on peacock bass in the wilds of Brazil’s Amazon watershed.

“I have been dreaming about a peacock bass trip to the Amazon,” an obviously excited Hockmeyer replied. “I know nothing of this region of the world, but if the water levels are right and fishing conditions are conducive to the peacock bass striking other lures, there is no doubt in my mind they will strike the Banjo Minnow. I have never seen a fish not respond to the lure.”

With son Kyle, a certified videographer who films most of the footage for the Banjo Minnow infomercials, in tow, Hockmeyer and I were headed to Brazil, where we would be guests of Don Cutter aboard the Amazon Cutter, a new floating barge style operation on the Unini River. The Amazon Cutter is just one of the three operations that Cutter owns and operates in northern Brazil under the umbrella of his parent company – Amazon Fishing Adventures. The Unini River is a tributary of the Rio Negro, located approximately 210 miles northwest of Manaus. The river is roughly 200 miles long with at least 250 connecting lakes and lagoons throughout its course. Its location is such that it can only be reached by private charter plane. The Amazon Cutter is located about 165-200 miles from where the Unini River empties into the Rio Negro.

The Banjo Minnow that Hockmeyer selected as his primary weapon, was a five inch blue/pearl colored model that possessed black eyes. Neither I, nor the other nine anglers who were also along on the trip could believe that this relatively small lure with a single hook placed at the very front of it was going to be very effective when compared to the time tested traditional peacock lures that are big, noisy and full of treble hooks. We all believed that soft plastic jerk baits had proven to be not very effective on peacocks and Hockmeyer’s totally unconventional hooking system defied common logic.

RIGGING THE BANJO MINNOW

My initial impression, after watching a demonstration of Hockmeyer working this bait, was that it would probably not be very productive. Or, perhaps the piranhas would tear them up at such a rapid pace as to render them useless for peacocks. The bait certainly did not make much audible commotion. There was little flash. I thought to myself that anything that looked so hapless, emitting such little noise and flash, would probably have been extinct 1.000 years ago in the cruel Amazon watershed, where everything eats everything and most of the fish have stingers, sharp teeth, emit electrical charges or inject toxins into its prey.

Hockmeyer just smiled and said, "The Banjo is not just another soft plastic jerk bait. It is a totally different lure altogether. If the water is clear or has reasonable visibility, I believe that it will out-fish any other lure in existence today. Realistic look and movement is much more important than sound. Since I have never fished for peacocks before, give me the week to learn what presentation the fish like and we will fish against each other the last day. "

BANJO MINNOW AND OTHER TRADITIONAL BAITS -  CHALLENGE & COMPETITION

Back in the states, Hockmeyer has an open challenge which states that he will put up $10,000 in a matching escrow account if someone will fish against him and catch more fish than he and the Banjo Minnow. Hockmeyer will only use the Banjo Minnow, and the challenger can only use one bait of his or her choosing and any size or color of that bait is fair game. This is a winner take all challenge.

With some 50 trips under my belt to the Amazon in pursuit of peacock bass, I was ready to challenge Hockmeyer, but with the stipulation that I could use any or all the baits in my peacock tackle arsenal against his Banjo Minnow. I try to be a versatile angler and will let the mood of the fish dictate what I cast. So, typically, I have four rods rigged and ready to cast at any time. Thankfully, despite little doubt in my mind that my time-tested peacock lures would best Wayne’s Banjo Minnow, he did not accept my challenge!

"Let us have the ‘challenge’ for fun, he said." “You can fish whatever you want and I will fish only the Banjo Minnow.”

During our head to head competition on the final fishing day of the trip, we both fished the front of the boat – elbow to elbow - with expert guide Joabson “JoJo” Teixeira, a skilled angler himself possessing more than seven years experience with American anglers and one of the finest I have ever shared the boat with.

According to Hockmeyer, the ideal rig for fishing the 5 inch Banjo Minnow is a 6’6” fast action spinning rod, spinning reel with flawless drag and stainless steel line roller and 30 lb braided line.

I thrashed the water with large topwater baits - Big Game Woodchoppers and High Roller Riprollers – and probed deeper with jerkbatis and jigs. Wayne fished his Banjo Minnow, such a subtle unobtrusive bait compared to my large and boisterous selections.

“Would the fish even notice his lure?” I thought to myself. Notice, they did.

Fishing a combination of topwater lures, jigs, and subsurface jerkbaits, I landed 5 fish by noon, slow by the typical fishing standards of the very productive Unini River. Even Jo Jo admitted the bite was off that day. Not that “off” for Hockmeyer, however, as he had 12 in the boat, including a 21, 17, 15 and 13 pounder – all caught on his blue/pearl Banjo Minnow. My largest was 11 pounds. It was very obvious that it had nothing to do with luck and that the afternoon would only result in more of the same. I conceded the contest so his son Kyle could put down his camera and also fish on his last half-day of our trip.

“It took me awhile to figure these fish out,” said Hockmeyer. “Normally I fish the Banjo with a very short quick jerk and then I pause creating slack line and anticipate the strike. However, these peacocks are so aggressive, you needed increased twitching and only pausing or stopping the bait on slack line for an instant. They simply do not like a "dead bait," - they wanted movement. It took a little time for me to adjust and fish faster while still creating slack line after my jerks, but once I did, the Banjo produced just as effectively as my slower largemouth bass fishing technique does at home. I simply raised my rod tip higher than normal and adjusted my timing on the jerks and pauses. I still imitated a wounded baitfish, just at a faster pace. The ability to create a perfectly realistic life like illusion is totally controlled by the angler and that is what makes it so effective"

After our lunch break, I also wanted to give the Banjo Minnow a try. Within the first 15 minutes, I had put an 18 pounder and 13 pounder in the boat.
 

"PLAYING THE BANJO"...

I used a slightly different technique than Wayne. I would point my rod towards the water and use the wrists to twitch and dart the lure, almost the way I would work a hard plastic jerkbait. I would almost never skim it across the surface, but would work it just inches below for my strikes. His son, Kyle, with only four hours to fish, caught a 15 and 13 as well as smaller fish. Like Babe Winkelman, I had become a believer.

Is the Banjo Minnow the ultimate peacock bass lure? It was on the day we fished, there was absolutely no question of that fact. I have never encountered another bait as productive as the Banjo Minnow was that morning in getting inactive, reluctant fish to bite.

Because of slightly rising water caused by several days of intermittent showers during our trip, Jo Jo had speculated that the fish were a bit turned off, as they tended to feed much better in falling water. Standing shoulder to shoulder with him in the front of the boat and fishing as hard as I could with five different well known peacock baits, I could not duplicate what Hockmeyer had done fishing only one Banjo Minnow.

A SECOND CHALLENGE  BEFORE SURRENDER

Am I prepared to take only Banjo Minnows on my next peacock trip? No! As Hockmeyer himself says, "if the water was very stained with virtually no visibility, I would fish a noisy topwater bait. I love my minnow, but I fish to catch fish and the Banjo is a visual lure; it is about creating a perfect visual illusion of a hurt prey, if the predator can not see the illusion, then fishing it is pointless."

I also want another Banjo Challenge, on a day when the fish are really biting, before I totally concede victory to Hockmeyer and the Banjo Minnow. Would I do as well or better if conditions were ideal?

Hockmeyer just smiles and says, "Yes, you could probably catch the same number of fish that I did that morning, but I would catch twice as many myself and the result would be the same."

My answer is prove it! I spent years learning how to "walk the dog" with a Zara Spook, teaching people the finer points of fishing big noisy propeller lures and now he is telling me that they are virtually obsolete! I want another challenge! I do not surrender easily! I am not throwing away my tackle box........... but I will add a lot of Banjo's to it, just in case.

We are both planning our next trip and a second challenge. As Wayne said, "I came to get top water fishing footage and ended up having one of the great fishing trips of my life aboard the Amazon Cutter on the Unini River.

“The peacock bass is truly one of the great gamefish in the world. It is a largemouth bass on steroids and something I will travel south to do again and again. It was a week in my life that I will never forget. Wait until you see the footage that Kyle and I obtained of these wonderful fish slamming the Banjo."
 

AUTHOR - Dr. Gary Laden is an Atlanta, Georgia foot and ankle surgeon. He is also a fanatical globe trotting angler with several line class world records to his credit. He has published a text about peacock bass fishing in South America – the Complete Peacock Bass Angler and authored numerous articles for major fishing publications about the peacock bass.