Fishing in South America with Roxtons

The peacock bass, with its distinctively colourful markings, offers what is potentially the best pound for pound fight of any freshwater species.

They are famous for highly aggressive takes and short diving runs, sight fishing for these fish as they patrol the shores of lagoons is an adventure on light tackle.

Furthermore there are plenty of other species in the Amazon which will readily take a fly making each day's fishing a trip into the unknown.

Fishing for peacock bass is much like that of flats fishing where long accurate casts are often important when fishing with a fly.

Even more important is the retrieve you'll need to execute, as it must be extremely aggressive. The strips should be long and fast with a short pause between each one. This style of fishing can be lots of work, but the reward is incredible.

The first time a peacock bass attacks your fly, inhale it and then pull line and backing from your reel like a hooked greyhound - you'll understand why so many adventure fly fishermen have become obsessed with them.

Each day you will leave the mothership and head off onboard a smaller boat. Each boat has two anglers and one professional guide to take you to the best places to catch a trophy peacock bass.

Anglers fishing for peacock bass have also caught piranha, traira, bicuda, Amazon pellona, payarra, jacunda, oscars and even some surubim catfish on peacock bass lures and flies. It is not commonly known, but there are about 20 species of game fish in the Amazon region. Many of these will go after the same flies as a peacock bass, especially if it is smaller. So the old adage of big bait-big fish holds true here as well. It is common for peacock bass anglers to cast 7 to 10 inch streamers, deceivers, poppers, and other flies.

Fishing deep into such a large and complex ecosystem as the Amazon will give you lasting memories of marvelling at flocks of parrots, watching children from a small village play at the river's edge and the towering trees that form a green corridor through which the river flows.

The quantity and variety of the flora and fauna that inhabit the Amazon can only be gained from travel such as this where we will cruise along remote rivers surrounded by this incredible biological diversity.

The accommodation is onboard The Captain Peacock, a luxury yacht that offers the ultimate service and food available in the region.

The yacht has five double bedrooms with comfortable beds and large private bathrooms. This floating hotel has a huge air-conditioned dining room and sitting room, plus an air-conditioned recreation room with DVD and a satellite telephone that works on a prepaid card system.

Most importantly, the boat's ability to go into very shallow water ensures access to the fishing grounds in total comfort.

Rods
A tip action rod capable of developing high line speed to deliver big flies long distances and the power to stop a fast running, aggressive fish. We consider a 10- or 11-weight rod to be the most appropriate when targeting peacock bass.

Lines
To be properly equipped, one should carry a quality weight forward floating line and an intermediate sinking line for subsurface presentations. For those rare situations where you find deepwater oriented fish, either a lead core shooting head or teeny 300 through 450 fast sinking line or deep water express are useful. Most line companies now offer specialty "tropical" lines and these are a good choice.

Flies
Bring a large selection of both surface and subsurface flies in a variety of shapes, sizes and colours. The most successful flies for bigger fish are generally large profiled patterns tied on 3/0 and 4/0 hooks.

Important patterns include:
Poppers
Dahlberg-style divers
Large profile baitfish patterns
Lefty's Deceiver
Large Clouser Minnows.

Other Items
Trekking boots
Slip on sandals for use around camp whilst washing /showering
Binoculars
Torch
Seal tight waterproof bags
Sun Hat
Sun Screen
Wading boots
Other items of a personal nature.

Other activities include wildlife watching and exploring the jungle with a guide by boat.

Barcelos is a one hour flight by multi engine turbo prop flight from Manaus. Barcelos is the hub for the Rio Negro tour.

Olinda is a thirty minute flight by multi engine turbo prop from Manaus. Olinda is the hub for the Rio Madeira tour.