Fly-fishing has a beautiful way of taking you to places you otherwise would have never gone. Whether that is bushwacking down a side channel of your local river or flying to a different continent, the adventure is half the fun.
Four plane rides and one hemisphere later, we touched down on the dirt strip runway deep in the Amazon jungle. When I say deep, I mean that for ninety minutes of our puddle jumper flight, there was only water and jungle to be seen below. Half-asleep and fully stoked, we were greeted by champagne flutes from the welcoming staff at Agua Boa Amazon Lodge. Less than one hour later, we were humming along the Agua Boa River on eighteen-foot jon boats equipped with poling platforms, in pursuit of the vibrant and violent peacock bass.
“15 meters, two o’clock!” Two strips and this colorful predator is shadowing my fly, losing its mind. When it finally decided to devour my six-inch long fly and I managed not to trout set, this five-pound (schmedium sized) peacock kicked my pale Montana ass. After some close calls with every log jam this thing could find, we wrangled him in boat-side to admire the exotic beauty. Red eyes, yellow cheeks, orange fins – peacocks look like steroidal bass painted by God himself with a forehead rivaling that of Peyton Manning.
Despite being stationed in the remote jungle of the Amazon, Agua Boa Lodge had all the creature comforts for gringos to feel right at home. Each day after fishing in the hot, equatorial sun, we were greeted back at the lodge with ice-cold caipirinhas (Brazilian margaritas) and a shaded swimming pool.
Our fishing days were divided between poling landlocked lagoons and structured banks of the main river. The lagoons were filled with violently rolling Arapaima breaching for air from the depths and peacocks of various sizes hiding around the shallow banks. The main river offered incredible sight fishing for Peacock bass either cruising the banks, bedded up, or hiding amongst the structure.
Seven days in the Amazon jungle taught us a few things. One – we are very much included in the food chain of this incredibly dense ecosystem. Two – every thirty seconds, some critter is getting thrashed by a larger critter or many smaller, aggressive critters. Caiman, river otters, piranha, dolphins, predatory birds, snakes, etc. Three – for a place as rugged as the Amazon River basin, you need gear that can handle the abuse.
For safely transporting our rods, reels, flies, lines, pliers, boga grips, and more, I brought along the impenetrable Sea Run Norfolk Expedition Travel Case. With TSA combination locks and an armored exterior, I knew I could count on my fishing gear arriving safely.
Unlike most rod travel cases today, the Norfolk Expedition case has ample storage compartments to stay organized and a panel divider to keep up to six rods safely packed away. Peacock Bass and Arapaima are rod-breaking species, so it was great to have room to pack extra rods for the trip.
Sight casting to peacock bass in the Amazon River basin should be on every fly angler’s bucket list. The whole experience puts into perspective just how wild our world truly is once you break free from civilization.
Article and photos by Jackson Bland, follow along with Jackson at @troutcowboy.
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