Peacock bass fishing TESTIMONIALS

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February, 2010 NEW!

We fished with Glad at Antonio's camp on Cuinini River

Ruth and I had fished for almost everything, everywhere.

Then we heard about the monster peacocks in Brazil. Our Florida peacock guide, who just happened to broker these trips set us up, and GAME ON!!! From the floatplane landing on the river to the first sight of our floating cabins, we could hardly wait.

We were introduced to our guide, Glad, and hit the water. We had seen amazing peacock strikes on TV, but they do not do them justice. These amazing fish literally destroyed our 7 oz lures which we were casting 300-400 times per day. We only used the large lures because we only wanted big fish. And Glad put us on them.

In 6 days we caught over 20 fish in the 15-22 pound range. On the final day, Ruth could only endure 1/2 a day. Our shoulders were killing us but I couldn’t give up the last day. So, Glad and I hit a few repeat spots close to camp. in 20 minutes, I was rewarded with a 14 and 15 pounder and then a lifetime dream, a 25+ pounder crushed my lure for a 30 minute fight.

Glad was as excited as I was, but he wasn’t through with me yet. With this monster in the net, he handed me another rod and said to catch his partner. After another 10 minutes I was exhausted. I said uncle; we took photos of my trophy, and released him to hopefully excite another lucky angler sometime soon. Glad, as well as the camp personnel, and all the other fantastic folks we met that made this a trip of a lifetime are so much appreciated. We can’t wait to come back down to test the monsters again.

Hugh and Ruth Spiegel

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2nd week of October, 2010

My experience with RiverPlateOutfitters

We flew by floatplane from Manaus to just inside the mouth of the Xeriuni where it joins Rio Branco (roughly 1 degree south of the equator). The water was high but we found pretty good numbers of smaller fish and had some 100+ fish days which are always fun. Although I occasionally loose a few fish with this little lure I absolutely love to throw a Heddon baby torpedo in bull frog colors and work it like a crazed critter scrambling for its life. With a 6’ med homemade rod and a stradic 1000 CI4 carbon fibre reel I landed 100’s or peacock up to 14 pounds on that little rig and lost only one baby torpedo (30# powerpro).... of course I also threw a variety of riprollers and pavon props along with the standard yozuris and rapalas and my own handtied jigs but the baby torpedo is simply a blast with the bigger fish (gigantic explosions)

As we moved upriver we found lower water and started finding some larger fish and still found good numbers as well. The Xeriuni is an absolutely gorgeous river with lots of beautiful sandbars and loads of lost lagoons. I just love hacking thru jungle covered creeks to find a huge lagoon that has not yet been fished.....you just know there are going to be some monsters in there..

We had 4 extra anglers with us in this camp for a total of 12. The staff did a great job of handling the extra workload and other than a few trolling motor issues I’d have to say that everything we really well. The food was perfect and tasty as always.

My fishing partner Jeff and I boated quite a few teeners on a wide variety of lures. I lost 2 nice fish on some of my own hand tied jigs so even though I was bummed to loose them I was pleased to know that the new jig colors that I tried were well accepted.

All in all I wish the trip could have lasted a week or 2 longer but there is always next season.

John Gore

March, 2010

Camp 1 – Xeriuni River

.... To give you our exact location, follow a detailed map about 200 miles up the Rio Negro from Manaus, Brazil. Look for where the Rio Branco dumps into the Rio Negro. Follow up the Rio Branco and flowing in to it from a north westerly direction you will find the Xeriuni River.

We landed a float plane near the Xeriuni River mouth and as the plane dropped us off and we were met by our fishing guides who drove us upstream by boat.

We are presently camped on a gorgeous sandy beach about twenty miles upstream from the Xeriuni River mouth. The operation that puts this trip together is called, River Plate Outfitters, and I can assure you from my personal previous experiences they run a fantastic operation that is extremely unique and offers prime fly fishing opportunities not found at lodges.

If you can’t see yourself camping in the Amazon, think again. This is a very comfortable camp. Two anglers share efficient air-conditioned tents that even have their own bathrooms with shower. This convenient floating camp goes to places where river boats can’t reach when water levels drop. We could never fish here this week with a river boat because the water level is approximately seven feet lower than normal! It is so incredibly low that it has me concerned, however the guides and our camp manager assure us fishing will be good.

Jeff Currier
Extracted from http://flyfishingbum.blogspot.com/

January, 2010

Our trip began on 20 January when we flew to Miami and spent the night there ...Upon arrival, we were met by our camp host, Jerry.
He showed us to our respective floating cabins which were really neat. Each contains a private bathroom with shower, two twin beds, a set of shelves for personal belongings and an air conditioner. Talk about first class while being in the bush!

None of us had thought we would fish the first day so it was an extra treat! ... We had a great afternoon boating 17 Peacocks with the largest being 5+ pounds and we had three doubles (that is, we each had a fish hooked at the same time)...It was an excellent way to begin our trip!...We had a great adventure – truly a unique experience – of catching & releasing Peacock Bass on the fly rod. They are a beautiful fish that puts up a great fight! We thank everyone involved from River Plate Outfitters (as well as our outfitter, FishQuest.
Let’s do it again soon!

Please visit http://www.ruggieroweb.com/Brazil_2010/brazil_2010.htm to view the day by day report that our guests have kindly shared with us!

Lindy & Ed Ruggiero

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January, 2010

.... "This week’s fishing experience and success was incredible in many respects. We landed an impressive number of Peacock Bass, some of which were mammoth proportions. In addition to the 'count', our group was also pleased with the variety of tactics we could employ throughout the week. From topwater to subsurface, and from sparse to jumbo flies, our fishing was successful with a variety of methods and flies....

... The lower water levels created a much different fishing scenario than last year’s trip. Last year, with the high water levels we focused our blind-casting toward the bank structure and submerged jungle tree line where the Peacocks would be patrolling for a meal. This year was a much different scene – the river level below the jungle tree line, exposed sand bars, shallow flats and lagoons (or 'lakes' as the guides like to call them), and narrow river braids and channels. We would fish a variety of areas in a section of river or lake – bank structure if water was deep enough, dropoffs at exposed points, sand flats, and, most surprisingly, dead-center in the middle of a lake or lagoon. All of these qualities added up to a fishing experience that was much more diverse, intimate, and visual.
Most apparent was the ability to see the Peacock Bass in some areas. The low water conditions concentrated the fish on some shallow flats or sand bars.

... Seeing Peacock Bass cruising the shallows puts an angler in the 'hunt mentality'. It was awesome to see a number of fish in the shallows and get to choose which fish you wanted to pursue… of course, it just so happened that we always seemed to choose the biggest Peacock when we had the choice!

... On this trip, our group was fortunate to post remarkable numbers of fish for the week – almost 1850 Peacock Bass were landed." ...

Keith Kaneko
Extracted from Keith Kaneko blog

Read Other Kaneko's testimonial
Read February, 2009 Kaneko's testimonial

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