There are trips you take, and then there are the ones that change how you think about fishing altogether. For me, the Rio Marié falls into that second category. This is the place where the biggest peacock bass in the world live. Fish that look like bass, fight like saltwater predators, and carry colors that feel painted straight from imagination. I have chased peacocks in Miami canals and dreamed about the giants in Colombia and Brazil for years, but the Marié sits at the top of the mountain.
The story begins with Rodrigo Salles, co-owner of Untamed Angling. He has built these operations in Brazil from the ground up, partnering with local tribes and creating one of the most authentic, ethical, and thoughtful fishing experiences in the world.
After a week with Rodrigo in Kendjam, checking off new species, it was hard to imagine anything could top this trip. That was until Rodrigo mentioned the Rio Marié—a place so remote and untouched that peacocks reached 20 pounds. He was headed to the headwaters with a small group and offered up a spot for the first trip of the year.
It was a once-in-a-lifetime offer, and the angler in me couldn’t pass it up. Adventure, untouched waters, and trophy fish—the type of trip that could leave part of yourself behind in the jungle. I even missed a friend’s wedding for it. Meghan, I am truly sorry, but I would be lying if I said it was not worth it—life back home could wait.
An Adventure In Itself
Getting to the Rio Marie was an adventure in itself. Covering wide expanses of jungle wilderness in a small prop plane comes with its risks, and this trip would be no different. It started with a tiny Cessna flying into the remote town of Manaus. From there, the real adventure began. A float plane arrived to take our small crew deeper into the jungle.
Once we took off, it’d be hundreds of miles of jungle until we hit the Marié. Anytime I’m on a plane, especially a small one, I feel that pit in my stomach. But this was different. Looking out the tiny window, feeling the turbulence, watching an endless stretch of jungle roll beneath us. Pure wilderness as far as you can see.
I couldn’t stop thinking about the millions of creatures down there. Places no one I know has ever set foot in. Things I’ve never seen before. It’s a wild feeling. The true definition of stepping outside your comfort zone. It was excitement, nerves, and curiosity all colliding at once. Then suddenly, a dark ribbon winding through endless green emerged. We had made it to the Rio Marié.
The plane touched down beside the mothership, a beautiful vessel that looks modest from the outside but transforms into a home out in the jungle once you step inside—basecamp for the week. The real adventure was about to begin.
Maiden Voyage
Overnight, the mothership forged deeper up the Rio Marié. I was excited, overwhelmed, and on a boat with people from all over the world. We had all traveled for days to reach this remote, special place. And now we’re all side by side, rigging rods, tying knots, and checking leaders. Stories start floating around, quiet at first, then louder. The shared glow of anticipation started to grow.
The night before, during our first dinner, I kept looking at the walls behind us. Trophy fish from past seasons. Giant, wild, unreal. You just stare at them, and your imagination runs wild.
The next morning, our crew split off onto a support boat with Rodrigo, a guide named Rafa, and a handful of local crew. For the next four nights, we camped and pushed upriver, fishing sunup to sundown every single day.
We were here for one thing: the temensis, the giant peacock bass that lives only in this system. The caliber of fish that tests your tackle in every sense. Fishing for them is like bass fishing on steroids. Eight, nine, and ten-weight rods. Huge saltwater style streamers and poppers, paired with endless blind casting into structure. And every cast could be the fish of a lifetime. That knowledge keeps you moving even when the heat feels endless, and your arms start to burn.
The jungle here is alive in a way that hits you immediately. Tannic water from decaying leaves. Very few mosquitoes, thanks to the acidity. The bees, however, were plentiful. For whatever reason, they were obsessed with me. For whatever reason, I couldn’t escape them. Maybe it was the sweat. Maybe the color of my shirt. But they were on me all the time.
After catching several smaller peacocks, I had my sights on what we came here for: a true 20-pound bass. I made what felt like a perfect cast. Right into a piece of structure that just looked fishy. I start stripping. One strip. Two strips. When it happens…I felt a tickle in the middle of my back. I knew exactly what it was. One of the bees was working its way up the inside of my shirt. As if on queue, I take my hand off the line to shake off the bee, and the temensis I was after engulfs my fly. I scrambled to save the opportunity, the bee flew out of my shirt, and the fish got away.
Water’s Unknown
Each night, we reached the small native mothership as it leapfrogged upriver. We would bathe in the river, eat local fish, talk about the day, and fall asleep exhausted. Mornings came fast, and every day brought new water, new lagoons, new chances. Rodrigo told us stories of places that had only been fished once or twice in the past decade. We pushed into water that had never been fished before.
At one lagoon, I managed only to snag a tree behind me, but Rodrigo still let me name it Jared Lagoon. That is the kind of humor and kindness that makes him who he is.
The fishing was not easy. It was relentless work. Blind casting for hours, trying to find the right angles, trying not to destroy the boat with my back cast. I burned through at least fifteen of Rodrigo’s flies. He gave me a hard time, and I deserved it.
Trophy Temensis
My goal for the week was simple. Find a temensis over twenty pounds. In the peacock world, this is the benchmark: like a thirty-inch brown trout, ten-pound bonefish, or a hundred-centimeter GT. Every species has a number beyond which it stops being a great fish and becomes a once-in-a-lifetime fish.
I worked my ass off trying to make it happen. Thousands of blind casts into structure, hundreds of river miles to cover, and plenty of respectable bass, but not the one I was after.
We continued upriver on the last day, casting to likely structures when we reached a shallow underwater sandbar. I couldn’t see the bottom, but it had a fishy feel to it. The kind of underwater haunt that a giant would be cruising.
I made a blind cast along the edge of the sandbar and began my retrieve. Then the take came. Violent. The pure power of the fish sent shocks through my hands as he ripped line off the reel. It didn’t take long for me to realize this fish was different. After an ensuing battle of tug of war, we finally got it to the boat, landed it, and put a tape on it…
It was a mix of joy, relief, and disbelief—almost emotional. I had just accomplished something that, a week earlier, felt completely out of reach. And with that, I earned myself a custom hat, an Untamed Angling ritual if you hit the twenty club. It feels ridiculous and absolutely perfect at the same time.
The Journey Home
The last days brought clearer weather and better fishing. We worked back down the river and soaked it all in. The people, the crew, the rawness of living among the local community, the sensation that you are seeing the Amazon in a way almost no one ever gets to. The captain knew every twist of the river by memory. The entire experience felt surreal, like you were part of something ancient and alive.
This was one of the most rewarding fishing trips of my life. A true adventure in the purest sense of the word. Something that will stay with me forever. Untamed Angling has created something rare here, and anyone lucky enough to experience it should count themselves fortunate. It is not easy, it is not cheap, but it is real. And in the world of fly fishing, that might be the most valuable thing of all.
If you ever get the chance to chase giant peacock bass on the Marié, take it. You might leave part of yourself in the jungle, but what you bring home will last forever.
