Exclusive Fisheries
Brazilian authorities have granted OUR OUTFITTER their own exclusive fishing entry permits to over 12 Indian Reservations and Government Preserves!!!! Thanks to these permits our Hunt Nation clients will not waste time in marginal and over-fished waters, but will go directly to the best fishing at the time you go.
Fly-In Floating Cabins
This outfitter has shown serious genius in coming up with a unique scheme for accessing prime fishing areas quickly, without being tied to a permanent lodge! With most permanent lodges, sooner or later clients have to go further and further afield to find top notch fishing. Not so with this scheme. He has come up with the idea of floating individual cabins, which are towed one behind the other, into the prime fishing areas. These truly unique and highly mobile air conditioned Fly-In Floating Cabins mean you literally are sleeping almost on top of the fish! And fresh new areas are easily moved to. Due to the roaring success of this lodging concept, they have just added five similar, independent cabin facilities!
They normally handle 8 – 12 guests at a time, picking them up in Manaus and transporting them directly to their comfortable Fly-In Floating Cabins. This is done via charter planes to nearby landing strips.
Next day you wake up in your very own Fly-In Floating Cabin, alongside a Caribbean-like white-sand beach, rested and ready for breakfast and fishing.
BEST TIMES:
The best time to fish is from July to April. The Brazilian Amazon encompasses a huge area of territory, with literally thousands of separate watersheds. The equator “cuts” the region into two separate areas, which are called the “northern” and “southern” Amazon. Water fluctuation varies in each watershed (and tributaries), depending on its proximity to the equator. The equator’s convection activity changes in a dependably-cyclical pattern that creates a wet and dry season in both regions.
During the wet season, the rivers overflow their banks and spread out over a tree-filled flood plain, which means that angling is completely unproductive at this time, and not recommended. Water levels in this fishery are critical, so do check on them!! They can make or break a trip.
When the rains subside, the water level slowly recedes back into a central lagoon-filled river channel. Prime fishing occurs when the receding water forces baitfish out of their vegetation and into open water. Knowledge and careful monitoring of these water fluctuations is an essential part of angling success. Many fixed lodges run operations in areas with marginal high water periods when the fish are completely inaccessible. In these cases, angling results suffer tremendously.
With as much as a 6 week variance, the southern part of the Manaus region is productive from September to October; the north east of Manaus is productive from November to mid-January, and the north from mid-January to the end of March. They refuse to operate during ‘fringe’ periods when water levels and angling conditions are questionable.
Even within the dry season — which goes from September to March, it is impossible to predict when and where the best water levels will be. Therefore, in order to deal with the ever-changing water levels, they will move the Fly in floating cabins to over 30 remote and/or exclusive fisheries. These are spread over a 300 mile radius. They are looking for the best water levels available. They also always keep one Fly-In Floating Cabin on “stand-by” in order to navigate to the next best water level fishery. Occasionally, in the middle of the week, if need be, they will even take guests by floatplane from one cabin operation to another, as far as 300 miles, in the search of optimum water levels
Note: In order to maximize fishing potential throughout the season, and keeping in mind the varying water conditions, they will change the rivers to be fished so you stay on fish.
Other species to fish for include Pirapitinga, Jacunda, Apapa, Tambaqui, Pirarucu, Bicuda, Picua, Piranha, Aruana, and Pescada, among others.
STYLES OF FISHING: Many anglers who fish here do so with conventional spinning or baitcasting tackle. Many others prefer to fly fish. You are welcome to fish with either or both kinds of tackle.
All camps have courtesy casting rods with reels and line for the use of guests. Every season the stock is renewed and brands and models may change. Guests usually bring along their favorite tackle and we highly recommend bringing three -or four- piece spin, casting, and fly rods that you can carry on the plane. The cumbersome one-piece models often get lost or broken in transport no matter how well they are packed.
Bait-casting and spinning rods should be LONG-HANDLED/medium-heavy action models designed with plenty of backbone for hook setting/pressuring big fish (recommended for 1-3 ounce lures). Bait-casting reels should have a high-speed retrieve ratio, as lures are normally worked at an extremely fast rate. Bring at least two rod and reels, because you might break a rod or strip the gears in one of your reels. Because of this, most anglers prefer to use casting rods instead of spinning models.
Here are a few examples of the most popular tackle combinations:
BAITCASTING: G. Loomis, G3, three piece IM6 6’6″ Casting + Abu Garcia’s 5500 C3-Two Speed level wind reel. SPINNING: G. Loomis, G3, three piece IM6 Spinning + Diawa’s ‘4500 Regal-Z’ spinning reel.
Lines (Spin / Cast)
50 LB. Berkley ‘Gorilla Braid’ (green color). (Kevlar sinks and is therefore not suitable for top-water fishing).
Lure Selection Chart
Make sure to bring AT LEAST the minimum number of recommended lures listed in front of each lure type — in a mixture of BOTH light and dark colors/shades (i.e. 10 of the ‘propeller-type’ top water, 8 of the minnow/jerk bait, etc…) Angling conditions will have you going through a lot of tackle. In many cases, there are several brands of lures listed under each classification. Those listed first are the most popular, although the order could be a topic of serious dispute among peacock veterans.
Quantity: 10-12 lures, or one of the PEACOCK KITS
Classification: PROPELLER TYPE (topwater)
Company: HighRoller Fishing Lures
Model: RipRoller Series
Size: 5.25″, 6.25″ or 7.25″ RipRoller
Color: Perch, Halloween, Clown, Peacock, Fire Tiger, Speckled Peacock, Pearl Chartreuse Head, Black/Orange.
Quantity: 8
Classification: MINNOW/JERK BAITS (surface)
Company: Cotton ‘Redfin’ Cordell
Size: 7″-1oz
Color: Chrome/black
Compay: Bomber
Model: ‘Long A Minnow’
Size: 6″ hvy. dty. hointed 1oz.
Color: Silver Flash
Quantity: 8
Classification: Spoons
Company: Tony Aceta Model: # 17 PetSpoon’ Size: 1 oz.
Color: Chrome
FLY TACKLE:
Patterns
Streamers fished on sinking lines seem to be most productive for catching larger-sized fish as well as peacock bass. Popular streamers include 6-inch (5/0) bi-colored, heavily-dressed bucktails in red/yellow, olive/white, black/white, and orange/black. Big Deceivers, Bunnies, Saltwater Zonkers, Clousser Minnows, and other flashy bait-fish imitations all take fish. All patterns should have generous amounts of matching Flashabou or Crystal Flash. Big saltwater poppers are exciting to fish, but can be extremely exhausting to cast and retrieve for prolonged periods.. HINT: TROLLING BIG STREAMERS CAN ALSO BE DEADLY!
Gaines saltwater popper in red/yellow and pearl/olive hold up well and are hard to beat in terms of their ‘action’ in water. ‘Sliders’ are productive in clear water situations. Popovic’s ‘Silicone Mullet’ in olive and white is hard to beat.
Fly Rods
They should be fast action models, because they load sinking lines more efficiently, and they generally have more ‘backbone’ than softer models. Bring at least two fly rods, because they often break under the ‘jungle stress’. Reels don’t need to hold a lot of backing because peacocks don’t make long runs, so a smooth strong drag is essential. It is recommended that you have a ‘heavy’ fly rod & reel combination: A stiff/fast action, 9-foot, nine or ten-weight rod (Sage 990-3RPLX) + Scientific Anglers ‘System 2- 89’ reel.
And recommended ‘med-heavy’ fly rod & reel combination (for smaller fish): A stiff/fast action, 9-foot, seven-weight rod (Sage 790 – 3RPLX) + Scientific Anglers ‘System 2-78’ reel.
Sinking Lines
They are undoubtedly much more effective than floating lines. A Teeny ‘300 T-Series/Sink Tip’ (this line can be fished on anything from a seven to ten weight rod) is our number one choice, followed by a Scientific ‘Uniform Sink V’ full sinker. Also bring a floating line for poppers and sliders. A line with drastic weight-forward taper (like Scientific Anglers ‘Mastery Saltwater Tarpon’) matched to your rod weight will handle the wind-resistant poppers most effectively. A Small Cotton Minnow Seine is a must in order to keep your fly line from tangling in the boat’s seats, floorboards, rods etc.
Peacocks are not the least bit leader shy. Most fly anglers use a straight shot (approximately six feet) of 40-50 pound monofilament leader material. Anything lighter will be snapped off like sewing thread when that fifteen pounder runs you into a tree or rock pile. You will go through a lot of leader material, because of the peacock’s extremely abrasive teeth. We recommend buying a 1/2-pound spool of Ande ‘Tournament’ mono.
TRAVEL: Passport and Visa considerations
A valid U.S. passport is required for entrance into all South American countries. Make sure your passport is valid and does not expire before or during the time you will be outside the United States. It takes up to a month to process a new passport, so please plan accordingly. Be sure your passport has at least 90 extra days remaining, after you leave Brazil!
To obtain a visa, your valid passport must be sent to the nearest Brazilian General Consulate. For your visa, your passport cannot expire within three months of entrance into Brazil.
Flight Information
Plan to travel to Miami on Friday, in order to connect with the flight to Manaus. We suggest you arrange your flight to Miami to arrive with enough time to make the connecting flight to Manaus.
On the return trip, connecting flights home should be planned no sooner than 2 hours after arriving in Miami. WE URGE OUR CLIENTS TO RECLAIM THEIR BAGGAGE IN MIAMI- THEN RE-CHECK IT TO MANAUS. This insures your rods and necessities are on the Brazil flight!
WEATHER and CLOTHING: Mid-day temperatures in the Amazon range from 85º – 95ºF. Generally there is some wind and intense sun during the day, so please be mindful of dehydration and overexposure to the sun. At night the temperature
drops to 65º – 75ºF. Although you will be fishing in the dry season, there are occasional rain showers (you are in the rain forest).
Don’t forget to drink plenty of fluids, even if you do not feel thirsty. Water is best. Beer and soda can actually dehydrate you (alcohol and caffeine are diuretics), so drink these liquids in moderation until you become acclimated. For safety reasons; we limit the beer to 6 cans per angler, per day.
Baggage Packing
There is a strictly-enforced restriction on all their flights as follows:
• Charter flight 45 lbs.
• Float-plane flight 30 lbs.
• Commercial flight 20 lbs.
• “Check-in” luggage must be packed in soft duffle bags with no rigid bottom.
All luggage (Carry-on & Check-in) will be weighed at the airport. No over-weight baggage will be allowed on any flight. Any excess baggage may be left in Manaos with our guide. Please do not bring coolers or hard luggage. The camp has daily laundry service, so bringing a lot of clothing is not necessary.
We recommend wearing loose fitting, lightweight, light-colored cottons or synthetics (Tarpon Wear, Patagonia, etc.). Some fabrics allow passage of UV rays, so don’t just bring any old shirt – we’ve seen people severely sunburned right through their clothes!. Long pants and sleeves are best to protect from sunburn.
2022 PRICING: ( Pricing assumes outfitter gets the required minimum numbers of people, whether part of your group or not. So you can book solo, and hopefully outfitter gets enough business to meet the trip minimum.)
Pricing varies with the trip you choose — so it is best to consult with us.
In general, the least expensive trip is the so called “short week”:- that is 4 fishing days and the price assumes 12 anglers in total are going, then the cost is $4550. You can book just yourself or any number of people, but 12 is needed to hold the price.
6 Fishing Days
• 8 anglers : U$S 5.590
• 12 anglers : U$S 4.990
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Short Week – 4 fishing days
• 8 anglers : U$S 4.550
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Premium “Single Occupancy”
• 6 anglers (6 fishing days) : U$S 5.990
• 6 anglers (4 fishing days) : U$S 4.990
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Remote Premium Roçado Fishery
• 4 anglers (Single Occuppancy) : U$S 6.990
• 8 anglers (Double Occuppancy) : U$S 5.99
The price includes:
• a 21 foot shallow draft bass style boat for every two anglers;
• All meals including wine, beer and hard liquor;
• Daily maid and laundry service
• Fishing license
• Ground transfers
• One hotel night in Manaus on your arrival.
NOT INCLUDED:
• International airfare (abt. $1.000 Miami round trip to Manaus)
• Suggested voluntary tips to camp staff ($250) and fishing guides ($250)
• Food an beverages in Manaus and private city tours
• Special transfers and hotel reservations when not arriving and/or departing with the group
• Airport departure tax
• Satellite phone calls ($5/minute)
• Extra hotel nights
• Customized transfer requirements: ask your agent
