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I just got back from a dream trip to the Amazon jungle! I spent 7 days at the Agua Boa Lodge in Roraima, Brazil. The Agua Boa is a tributary to the Rio Branco which feeds the Rio Negro and eventually the Amazon. Our group flew into Manaus, which is south of the equator, then hopped a charter 200 miles back to the north, to the lodge. The lodge is 80 air miles and 140 river miles from the nearest village. Commercial jets don't even over-fly this remote part of the earth. It's hard to describe how remote this little slice of civilization is.
We fished for peacock bass along the river and in numerous lagoons connected to the main river. The lodge limits the tactics to flyfishing only for peacocks. I have fly fished in Utah only for the past two years, so I am far from an expert. This was a crash course in fly fishing of epic proportions. Fishing hard and non-stop for seven days with 8-10 weight rods and huge flys for up to 8 hours a day. It was the some of the toughest fishing I've done, but so worth the effort!
I caught three different species of peacock, arowana, jacunda, two species of catfish (one was a 50 lb red tailed cat), and two species of piranha. My largest peacock was a 12 pounder. These fish are incredibly gorgeous when they rush your fly. Some of their colors rival the dorado (mahi-mahi).
The lodge is amazingly civilized considering how remote it is. One of the staff greets you at the end of every day at the dock with a tray of cocktails. You can take a dip in the pool or just shower up for dinner.
What a fantastic, once in a lifetime trip!
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My preparedness plans is to have sea based mobility by sailboat because zombies can't swim far and I can visit remote and beautiful places like you showed us in your pictures. I too am on a crash course to become proficient with many styles of fishing. Anyone know how to surf cast? I bought three surf casting rods and many salt water reels and gave it a try with some practice weights. If anyone wants to give it a try or can show me how to do it, then I'll bring those rods fishing and we can give them a try.
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Wow now that is a trip. Nice!
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Wow! And I thought my summer Shoshone trip was going to be remote. Cool, so very cool.
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Dang! That one is also on the bucket list. Way to go on getting them on the fly! I can imagine how explosive the strikes were[cool]
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Musky, were were not fishing them with top water stuff, but the water is quite clear in this river (Agua Boa=Good Water) so the strikes were quite visible most of the time. They seem to come out of nowhere like lightning. The fish were very lit up. It was VERY exciting. I was very fortunate to be able to go on this trip. Bucket list stuff for sure!
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Sounds like a blast. Good place to be this time of year!
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That is one of my dream trips!! The closest I have come to fishing for them was when I was doing some work on Miami Beach. They are all over in Miami Dade county. I tried to get over to Miami, but I had no vehicle other than public transit or a taxi. A guy I worked with at the site was able to make it over to Miami on a subsequent tip and caught a couple. He said they were amazing fighters. They also have Snakehead just to the north too.
Hopefully I get another chance. We will have work there this fall. . . .
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Holy cow, Jim! What an incredible trip! I also share the dream of tackling some peacock bass, red tail cats, golden dorado, and some others in South America someday.
Way to go!
(No pics of the red tail? Those are really neat.)
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While it is true a zombie cannot swim very far, they are VERY lethal when they have enough gas to fill up their Jet Skis.
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Amazing trip and pics. There are a lot of jealous people reading this.
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Sounds like a tremendous trip. I've been to the Amazon once in late March but the waters were high and not the best time of year for fishing. It was a conference in Iquitos Peru for work and not primarily a fishing trip. It's on my bucket list to return to the Amazon to fish. Is this consider a good time of year to fish Agua Boa? Is the water higher and fishing not as good earlier in the year?
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Exactly! That's why the sailboat because it can sail out of range of fuel powered boats.
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Wow! incredible fish! thanks so much for sharing that!
Question- Why fly fishing only?
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wicked awesome!
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Okay, I hate you. J/K
Awesome.
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That's awesome! Peacock bassin on the Amazon is definitely on my bucket list, great pics.
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Justin, I had my hands full with the fight. My boatmate that day had an awesome camera. He has video of most of the fight and some good pics as well. I just have not got them from him yet. I can't wait to see them myself.
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riverdog, we were the last group of the season at Agua Boa. The water is getting very low as it is the end of their dry season. Many of the big fish were very spooky in the low clear water and the guides were having a tough time getting up and down the river without bottoming out on the occasional sandbar. They open the lodge back up in Oct or Nov, I think. That's where you'll get the 100 fish days they refer to. It rained on us the last three days we were there. I don't know if that's an indication that it was changing or not, but they said the river would soon be up over the banks to the pool.
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] Seems only fair right?