Jako Lucas is no stranger to the Fly Fishing Film Tour, nor far-off, stoke-filled destination fishing adventures. For this installment of F3T Behind the Lens, we sat down with the team behind Black Sheep: Jako Lucas of CaptainJack Productions and Wade Kelly of Flow State Productions. Black Sheep and this formidable team take us deep into the Bolivian Jungle to chase pacu on dry flies. This technical fishery is described as a freshwater permit—for good reason, too. Follow along to learn more about this adventure and the making of this riveting F3T Film, Black Sheep.
Flylords: Wade, can you tell us a bit about yourself?
Wade: My name is Wade Kelly, and I’m the founder and Managing Director of Flow State Productions. We specialize in end-to-end digital solutions, serving solely outdoor brands in Videography/films, marketing/socials, websites, and design. I’m an avid outdoorsman, angler, spear fisherman, backcountry hiker, and bow hunter. Everyone who works with us must meet the criteria of “outdoorsman/woman,” haha. I started this business with one camera and one lens a decade ago, and now we’re a fully fledged small but efficient digital agency servicing outdoor brands all over the world.
Flylords: Black Sheep, the film’s title, carries some symbolic undertones. How did you all arrive at this title?
Wade: The concept is a multifaceted metaphor and came from the fact that Pacu are considered a ‘bycatch’ or undervalued species compared to Dorado (which is what everyone comes to target), making them a “black sheep” of sorts. The same goes for us, completely pivoting the film and going against the grain of a typical Bolivian Dorado film. Plus, pacu also have a dark black coloration, giving the title a more literal meaning, too.
Flylords: Tell us about the Pacu and where you find them.
Jako: As I mentioned in the film, whenever people mention fishing in Bolivia, all conversations lead to Dorado. However, I always thought that people were sleeping on Pacu. Pacu are in the same family (Serrasalmidae) as piranhas, but not only do Pacu get much larger, they are also omnivorous. So we can target them in various ways on the fly, whether it be streamers or dry flies. They do love feeding on fruits/nuts that fall from trees and float down the river.
They are native to the Amazon and Orinoco basins. In this film, we were fishing various rivers in Tsimane, Bolivia. In most cases, we were fishing in small, crystal clear water. Basically, a trout river in the jungle. And to top it all off, we were targeting them with dry flies. Mostly big yellow or green hopper patterns. I believe most of the time, they probably thought it was just a big fruit floating down the river. They can be pretty picky, but once they eat that fly, all hell breaks loose. They have so much power with that round body, and I think they fight much harder than Dorado, in my opinion.
Flylords: When did you first decide to make a Pacu fly fishing film?
Wade: Jako has been to Bolivia many times, however this was my first. The trip started on the typical Dorado-focused mission until we hit a few larger pools of water and caught a few nice Pacu on large dry fly hoppers, to which I was stunned. After discussing it with Jako, he confirmed that there weren’t really any films out with Pacu as a focus, so we decided to pivot. Pacu on a dry fly is such a visual spectacle that we just couldn’t ignore it. This, coupled with the fact that the fishing for the ‘trophy model’ Dorado was hard going, although we managed a handful of really nice ones that are incorporated into the film.
Flylords: A few years ago, I interviewed you for the Costa film “4 of a Kind,” which highlighted your quest for all the permit subspecies. Pacu have been described as a freshwater permit. What are some of the similarities between the two?
Jako: Just like Permit, Pacu can drive you insane. You can make the perfect presentation, the fish swims right over to your fly, inspect it, and refuse the fly, leaving you questioning your life decisions. And then some days, they will just race over and smoke the fly. But just like Permit, you need to have confidence in every part of your angling ability, be able to roll with the punches, and stay confident.
Flylords: Walk us through a classic Pacu shot and your go-to Pacu setup.
Jako: All the fishing in Bolivia is done hiking upriver. They live in pretty small but deep pools in the river. So approach is key, especially with the clear water. Pacu are very aware of their surroundings. Interestingly enough, Pacu are very sensitive to sound. Very often, when they hear a sound in the water, like footsteps, they would go investigate. They usually think it is a tapir, a mammal that lives in the jungle. The tapir goes into the river to get away from horse flies, and they also go into the river to poop. Believe it or not, Pacu will key in on the poop for food scraps.
Luckily, Pacu are very easy to spot in the river, with their big, round, black bodies. Once they hear the noise, you should be ready to get the fly in front of them, and this can happen really quickly. The presentation can land pretty hard, as it imitates the plop of the fruit or nut. If they like what they hear and see, they will swim over and investigate. The eat can be pretty savage, or they could just slurp the fly. Once they eat, it is important to get a proper strip set. But be careful of the quick turn and burn. Then, try to get close as they can run you around the rocks. After that, just hope and pray.
Flylords: Making a fishing film deep in a foreign country is hard enough, but you all were deep in a jungle hundreds of miles away from anything. Were there any major mishaps/challenges you can share now that you all successfully produced a fantastic film?
Wade: My business is solely built on cinematic content and marketing for outdoor brands. That statement alone means that we are required to take minimal yet cinematic equipment into crazy remote places and produce films that would usually have a larger crew and equipment associated with it. However, this is impossible due to flights, logistics, and the sheer physicality of the locations. The Bolivian Amazon is no exception. We drowned 2 lenses, a drone, and lost action cams, among a number of other things. That, coupled with humidity, vegetation, insects, rain, heat and walking for miles up river over boulders, swimming and climbing; it really made for a difficult but extremely rewarding trip. The last 2 days, we only had 1 lens left, so we were constantly swapping it between still and video cameras. It was a WILD time. We wouldn’t have it any other way.
Flylords: What were some other key pieces of gear you all found essential deep in the jungle?
Wade: For me, it is 1000% a robust waterproof Yeti Panga Backpack. Second to that, it was fishing tights because the sand flies are INSANE.
Flylords: Thirty-pound dorado is pretty epic bycatch. How hard was it to remain focused on sightfishing Pacu?
Jako: Man, I have always said that I will catch anything that swims. So it’s very hard to stay focused. I have been pretty lucky to catch some dinosaur dorado, and I love Pacu fishing, especially how we did it, with dry flies. We were also pretty locked in, but we did stray off the goal every now and then.
Flylords: Chasing Pacu deep in the Bolivian jungle is not your run-of-the-mill destination trip. Any recommendations for folks who now want to up their dry-fly game with a Pacu?
Jako: As I mention to my clients a lot when destination fishing, it is good to have a target species or a goal, but make the most of any situation to catch what is in front of you. We do live in a world of social media, which often makes things look much easier than they are. If you want to catch a Pacu on a dry fly, make sure you can cast a good line quickly. Bolivia is also a very physical destination; hiking up those rivers is no joke. So fitness can help you be focused when the opportunity presents itself. I think it is very important for us to be more transparent on the fishing abilities required for these exotic locations. You can travel a long way to some of the most remote places in the world, but it will still come with its challenges.
Watch the Film
The 2026 Fly Fishing Film Tour is on the road, bringing another exciting lineup of captivating stories from the water to the big screen. If you want to watch the films in this year’s Behind the Lens series, check out the F3T Tour Schedule and purchase tickets for a show near you!
