Fly Fishing for Peacock Bass by Bill Elliott

Sunday, August 1st, 2010

Colorful Butterfly Peacock Bass

So, you have watched several TV shows and read what you could find on the subject – how difficult can it be? Just because you are traveling to a truly remote location in the Amazon jungle, don’t be fooled into thinking that you will be able to cast in any direction and have a 20 pound peacock explode on your fly. I have been fly fishing now for 49 years and have thrown a fly to almost everything that has gills and swims; take it from someone who has just returned from spending my 20th week casting a fly for these truly fantastic fish. If you want to have a rewarding experience then there are a few things you need to know. 

Choosing Tackle 
Choosing how heavy to go for these fish will be determined by the time of year you travel. After 9 years, I have settled on a 10 weight for casting streamers and a 10-11 mega when throwing surface flies. 90% of my fishing is casting subsurface streamers that represent the bait that they feed on. These flies are large, 6 to 8 inches, with a full silhouette. When you match up the 10 weight rod with the proper fly line, they cast with little effort. I highly recommend the purchase and use of a 10 foot clear sink tip line (Scientific Angler makes this line). The first 10 feet of clear line sinks slowly and the balance of the line floats. Since the line is clear, a short butt section is used with a 2 foot piece of 80 pound mono ending in a loop and to this, 3 feet of 50 pound mono making a loop to loop connection, so that my entire leader is only 5 feet from fly line to the fly. This short leader makes for ease in casting the large flies. I know that you are asking why 50 pound leader? I can tell you that you will be glad you did. On my most recent trip, I had 7 fish break the 50 pound line on a straight pull. During the high water, this is about the only way to insure that you will land a big fish. Take a hint from the plug guys that use 80 pound Power Pro and have that broken. When the river drops to its lowest fishable level, you can play with lighter lines once you have caught enough peacocks to know what to expect. My largest Peacock Bass  is 22 pounds and was taken 4 seasons ago on 16 pound tippet. When the river is up and the fish can take you into the trees or brush piles, stick with the heavy line. 

I tie my flies on a size 4/0 hook and have many that are very colorful enough to say the least. Just remember that this is the tropical fish capital, so expect highly colorful fish. I spend little time fishing surface flies and after 20 trips, I have produced some very big peacock bass but the numbers dramatically decreased. My personal belief is that these fish hold closer to the surface when it’s overcast and are more likely to be attracted to a surface disturbance. This is when I have been most successful with large surface flies. At this time, I would match the 10-11 mega with a high floating line and keep the leader short at 5 to 6 feet. During the early higher water conditions, I always bring a series of Hi D shooting heads from 300 to 400 grain. This is truly ugly fishing (chuck and duck) but it will get the fly down to some of the larger fish holding off deep points. I recommend bringing at least 3 dozen flies and 2 of each weight rod. Also bring back up lines in the event that you break or lose one. I will be supplying the lodge with a gross of flies this season, but to be on the safe side, you should be sure to bring your own. 

I hope this information will aid you to be better prepared for your first encounter with this amazing fish.

Story by Bill Elliott.

Global Sporting Safaris, Inc. is a Full-Service Fishing Travel Agency located in Casper, Wyoming and established in 1991. We have a staff of 7 Fishing Travel Agents and Hunting Consultants with a combined 175 years of experience.   We hold integrity, ethics and honesty in high regard and deal with each client in a one on one basis.   Global Sporting Safaris invests time, effort and financial resources in developing our outfitters and guides with a constant eye on the quality and professional services they offer.

Global Sporting Safaris always recommends Hunting & Fishing Trip Cancellation Insurance from Travel Guard.  For an instant quote, click this link.

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Amazon Peacock Bass Fly Fishing – which flies to use?

Friday, July 30th, 2010

Peacock bass will readily strike streamers, bunny leach patterns, big salt water & deer hair poppers making them an excellent fish for they fly fisherman. Most of the peacock bass you will catch on a fly will be in the 2-6 lb class but there are techniques to entice the larger fish into hitting. The larger peacock bass are usually found in deeper water. The average fly fisherman will spend his time casting to brush and point dropping into shallow water 3-6 feet deep. For big peacock bass, fly fisherman need to fish around points that drop into 10-20 feet of water, or around sticks and fallen trees away from the bank.

Another good technique for the fly fisherman looking for big fish is to utilize a plug caster as a teaser to raise the bigger peacock bass to the surface from the deeper water. The fly fisherman should cast his fly right behind the plug casters big top water lure when he gets a hit or has a fish on. Peacock bass very often travel in pairs, as these fish spawn during the low water time frames of the dry season and it is not unusual to pick up a second fish once the peacocks have been raised to the surface.

Peacock bass up to 23 lbs have been caught via fly fishing using this technique. Big streamers 4-7 inches long, tied with extruded nylon rather than feathers are the best type of flies to use for Peacocks. The secret to these big streamers is to tie them with a lot of flash in them and to retrieve them in short quick jerks that will entice the chase instinct in a peacock. Bright attractor patterns simulate the bright tropical fish in Rio Negro. Flies, regardless of pattern should be tied on 2/0 or 3/0 strong premium hooks that will stand up to the fierce strikes of the peacock bass.

Fly Fishing Tackle for Peacock Bass

This aggressive jungle species is well suited to fly-fishing, leaving many Peacock Bass fly fishing world records to be set. An 8/9 or 9/10 weight fly rod is recommended. Reels should have a good drag, hold at least 150 yards of backing and be spooled with weight forward bass taper floating and intermediate sinking lines. For leader: we suggest 6-8 feet of 17-25-lb. monofilament.

Peacock Bass Fishing Flies

Global Sporting Safaris, Inc. is a Full-Service Fishing Travel Agency located in Casper, Wyoming and established in 1991. We have a staff of 7 Fishing Travel Agents and Hunting Consultants with a combined 175 years of experience.   We hold integrity, ethics and honesty in high regard and deal with each client in a one on one basis.   Global Sporting Safaris invests time, effort and financial resources in developing our outfitters and guides with a constant eye on the quality and professional services they offer.

Global Sporting Safaris always recommends Hunting & Fishing Trip Cancellation Insurance from Travel Guard.  For an instant quote, click this link.

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Tips on tackle you should take on your Amazon Peacock Bass Fishing Trip!

Friday, July 30th, 2010

I have put together some trips to help you make the most of your next Amazon Peacock Bass Fishing trip.  Some of these tips are common sense and some I put down from past experience.  I have fished the Rio Negro River for monster peacock bass twice in the last 4 years.

Most Amazon Peacock Bass fishing outfitters you book with will supply bait casting and/or bass rig polls, reels, line and top water plugs only. 

In preparation for my last trip, I asked our Amazon Peacock Bass Fishing Outfitter how often the guides change the line on the lodge reels.  I was told that the local Amazon bass guides are supposed to change the line each week and always cut off 3’-4’ of line each time you catch a peacock or hang one up on an underwater structure.  BUT… the outfitter says the Brazilians are very frugal and can’t see wasting the line so they don’t do it as often as they should, hence the possibility of some anglers will break off fish possibly due to frayed line.  Global Sporting Safaris recommends that if you have extra bass reels with a minimum of 6:1 retrieve but better off with a 7:1 retrieve and a capacity of 100 yards (minimum) of 80lb test braided Dacron, to go ahead and bring them with you.

Peacock bass will not always hit top water baits; they are sometimes suspended several feet under the water.  Our Peacock Bass fishing outfitter recommends and has personally caught many 20-24 pound peacocks by doing the following.  If you miss a peacock bass strike on the surface, immediately flip out a “Crystal Minnow” that dives to a depth of 5’ and almost always catches the fish that missed the top water strike.  Our Outfitter has caught dozens of 21, 22 & 23 lb fish and all (except one) where caught on HighRoller Riprollers.  Riprollers are smaller (4.5 to 6.5”) and lighter than the large heavy woodchopper and won’t tire you out in the 90+ degree tropical Amazon heat and work just as well or better.

I found a site doing a search peacock bass lures called; www.monsterpeacockbasslures.com.  Monster Peacock Bass Lures also offers “Package Deals” that include the best peacock bass lures, Mangrove Gloves and Digi-Fingers from $159 to $209 depending on how many lures you are buying.  The Premium pack is $209 and represents a cost less than 3% of the trip and airfare cost.  If you are traveling 36 hours and across the Equator to fish and I would recommend that you get one of these packages and not solely rely on the Top water Woodchoppers as that is what most Amazon Peacock Bass Fishing outfitters will supply.  I personally bought the Premium Pack and was glad I did!

Fly Fishing for Peacock Bass

If you plan to fly fish for peacock bass, there are special flies needed.  We recommend you contact Bill Elliott at (561) 747-5409 who custom makes special Peacock bass flies.   Bill uses special material because of the heavily toothed fish in the Amazon.  He also matches the types of baitfish found in the Rio Negro River, home of the World Record Amazon Peacock bass.

Global Sporting Safaris, Inc. is a Full-Service Fishing Travel Agency located in Casper, Wyoming and established in 1991. We have a staff of 7-Fishing Travel Agents and Hunting Consultants with a combined 175 years of experience.   We hold integrity, ethics and honesty in high regard and deal with each client in a one on one basis.   Global Sporting Safaris invests time, effort and financial resources in developing our outfitters and guides with a constant eye on the quality and professional services they offer.

Global Sporting Safaris always recommends Hunting & Fishing Trip Cancellation Insurance from Travel Guard.  For an instant quote, click this link.

Tags: amazon peacock bass fishing, brazil peacock bass fishing, Fishing, Fishing Blog, fishing for peacock bass, Fishing Travel, Fishing Travel Agent, Fishing Travel Agents, fly fishing, Global Sporting Safaris, GSSafaris, Peacock Bass Fishing, peacock bass fishing lodge, peacock bass fishing trips, peacock bass fly fishing, Pecock Bass Fishing
Posted in Amazon, Fishing, Fishing Destination, Fly Fishing, International Travel, Peacock Bass Fishing |