A Typical Fishing Day at Agua Boa

At the Agua Boa Amazon Lodge, they focus on providing our clients with the best fishing for peacock bass in the entire Amazon Basin. If the river is too high, they will rebook you at a later time. The reality of fishing the Amazon is that water conditions are the most critical factor. We want your trip to be both a pleasure and a success.

Other outfitters in the Amazon will often fish you in flooded conditions. In the Amazon where water levels can vary as much as 35 feet in a year, water level is the single most important factor that will affect your fishing. When the water is too high, fish push up into the forest and feed. They are impossible to catch in these circumstances.

Low water is not a problem. It may make boat travel difficult, but the fishing just gets better and better.

Please be sure to inquire into the high water policy of any outfitter you should choose to book. This will be one of the biggest decisions you will make on any trip to fish the Amazon. We know you will find few that offer a policy as fair as ours.

The fishery on the Agua Boa River is in our fifteen years of exploration the best we have encountered. It is perfectly suited to flyfishing. The water is so clear, that most strikes are visible. Many anglers visit the Agua Boa Amazon Lodge strictly to sightfish for peacock bass, arowana, pacu and a host of other jungle species. Peacock bass, however are the primary target of most anglers.

There are three species of peacock bass present on the Agua Boa: the butterfly, spotted and temensis.

The Butterfly Peacock is the most numerous in the system. Butterflies are aggressive takers on poppers and 3-4 inch streamers, they are great fighters and jump often. They range between 2 and 8 pounds with approximately a 3 pound average in the system. Butterfly Peacocks provide plenty of action between shots at larger fish.

The spotted and temensis peacock bass are both a totally different beast. These two species are the largest of the peacocks and can attain weights of 25 pounds. These Peacocks are some of the most aggressive gamefish on the planet. They wander in schools of up to 40 fish and feed together working bait like bluefish. It is difficult to describe a school of these large peacocks in full feeding frenzy. Needless to say that 1 pound baitfish are flying everywhere in a desperate attempt to escape. In many cases the baitfish will jump onto to dry land to escape. If you can get your fly into the action, the results are spectacular: a ferocious take, a blistering run, a jump and or a run into structure are just a few of the possible obstacles you might be confronted with.

The other jungle species are also well worth pursuing. The aruwana looks and acts a lot like a tarpon. They have huge scales, are air breathers, spooky and wander through the river in schools in search of baitfish. Aruwana are a surface oriented fish, they are very visible and provide exciting sight casting, but beware they are spooky and difficult to hook and land. Aruwana have a split eye that allows them to see above and below the water. As a result they are very sensitive to false casting and an unnatural movement to the fly. Smaller patterns stripped slowly and in short increments seem to be the most successful cast. Remember, watch the fish and try to keep your fly as close to the fish as possible when retrieving your fly. Aruwana have a jaw similar to tarpon and require a hard strike, they are aerial fighters, good runners, and average 6-10 lbs, but can reach nearly 15 pounds.

Pacu, also known as the silver dollar, are a fun fish and can be taken on trout patterns like Royal Wulffs, caddis and flesh flies. They are shaped like a permit and in the Agua Boa they reach weights of 5 pounds. In front of the camp there are pods of hundreds of pacu rising nightly.

Pirarucu, the giant tarpon of the Amazon, reach weights well in excess of 200 pounds. These fish look and act a lot like tarpon, but are so smart that at the lodge they have not landed more than a handful of them. It is tough to describe the excitement of seeing them and trying to manage a cast to one.

About the Agua Boa River:

The Agua Boa River offers anglers the only exclusive access fishery in the entire Amazon. This is the only lodge or settlement on the river and together in cooperation with the Brazilian Institute for Protection of the Amazon, has placed the Agua Boa into an area of permanent protection. It is one of the few areas of the Amazon that you will not see another inhabitant during your entire stay. The river is small and flanked by a combination of upland forest, flood forest and savanna. This combination makes for scenic fishing and best of all clear water flowing over white sand.

Many of the fish you catch on the Agua Boa will be sighted before your cast. Our boats are fitted with poling platforms strictly for the purpose of sight fishing. In deeper areas a sinking line works well and is a great way to try for fish over 15 pounds.

It is the combination of clear water and white sand that makes the Agua Boa a flyfisherman’s paradise, not blind casting a 10 weight with a six inch fly for 8 hours a day. There are also excellent wade fishing opportunities.

Peacock Bass Fishing:

Peacock bass fishing is a complicated affair that requires some patience initially to catch and land the larger fish. Smaller fish are not nearly as difficult and will provide solace for those that seem to be losing their big fish. Here are a few fishing tips that we think will help you on your trip.

To understand peacock bass, you need to first consider their habitat. Most everything in the Amazon is being eaten, or is in the process of eating something else. As a general rule fish in the Amazon are built tough with razor sharp teeth or brutal strength. This makes for interesting fishing as some fish will cut you off and others will pull you straight into the structure and tangle you up. Peacock bass do not have the razor sharp teeth, but there is not a fish that is tougher in fresh water. They are happy to break rods and the toughest mono going to get away. Peacock habits vary to a large degree depending on the size of the fish. Small to mid-size peacocks tend to congregate around structure for both food and protection. Large peacocks tend to feel a little more comfortable in not getting eaten by predators. Over time they become bullies and roam the lagoons and river channels in packs.

Peacock bass are a pursuit predator, which means that they will keep after their prey until it is either in their belly or on the shore. It is not uncommon to have large peacocks drive shoals of baitfish onto the shore. Believe it or not, we have seen peacocks fly out of the water in unsuccessful attempts to get small birds. Certainly it sounds ridiculous. After your trip, our guess is that you will believe it. Fishing tips:

Fish everything…structure, shoreline, middle of the lagoon etc. Don’t get keyed into just casting at the bank. Also if your partner gets a strike, throw in the same area. Remember these fish are attracted to commotion. The most important tip we can give you is trust your guide’s instincts. Our guides are experienced on the rivers we fish and will do their best to get you into fish. If you order them around, your fishing will probably suffer. That is not to say that if you are curious about an area, that suggestions aren’t welcome. We divide the river into beats so that anglers do not see anyone else during their day. Guides and beats are rotated daily so that you get a chance to see the entire river. Please remember that we have over a hundred miles of fishable river.

A good deal of the fishing on the Agua Boa is sight fishing. Stay alert and be ready to throw at likely targets. In the river in some cases you will be able to see the fish from a good distance…often as much as 50 yards. Remember that this is not dry fly fishing…just get a cast to the fish with minimal false casts and get the fly moving.

Sighted river fish can be spooky and certainly will see you if you false cast too much. If they are feeding, it is a different story. It is better to throw a fast cast than a perfect cast with twenty back casts. Peacocks on the feed are a sight to behold. They will run up onto shore and even bump into the boat in their pursuit of baitfish.

We suggest you rig two rods. Set one up with a 200 grain sinking line and a big fish fly and the other with a floating line and a 3-5 inch deceiver type pattern.

Strip rapidly in medium length (say 6-10inches per strip) and focus less on the speed of the strip than on keeping the slack out of the line between strips and keeping your rod tip pointed at the fish and low to the water. Strip at a comfortable yet rapid pace until you either see the fish eat or feel the fish hit. Keep a sharp hook, hit them hard, strip down and hit them again…then hang on tight…and enjoy!!!

Fighting tips:

When you have hooked a big peacock, don’t try to muscle him or you will lose your fish, break your tip and/or rod. Once hooked, be sure to let large and small peacocks run. Remember to let your drag do the work. With peacocks you will want to be sure to keep your fingers away from the reel handle on any run. If you forget, bruised knuckles will help you remember on future fish. Peacocks usually make unstoppable runs. When they stop, apply heavy pressure. When a peacock takes off, you must let him run. Don’t worry about the fish getting wrapped up in cover. If you think you can keep him away from it by applying pressure late in the fight that is fine. Once they get into cover, give the fish slack and let your guide help get the fish out with the boat. Many times the fish will swim back in the direction it came and get you untangled. In a worst case scenario, your guide may swim down to untangle the fish.

Line choice:

A tropical saltwater floating line like the bonefish or tarpon tapers are the line of choice. This is essential as coldwater lines for steelhead and salmon can turn to chewing gum in the heat.
There is no question that in deeper lagoons and in the deeper portions of the river, a sinking line can make a big difference. Bring a 200 grain sink tip line. Bring a spare line just in case. These fish can take the coating off a fly line in no time.

The Fishing Boats:

The fishing boats are 20 foot aluminum skiffs with poling platforms and four stroke motors. They will accommodate either one or two people fishing at a time. When sight fishing, one fisherman can cast to the deeper shore with a sinking line and the other can cast to fish that you see. This is the best combination. If you are interested in fishing alone, please let us know. We do offer a single fishing supplement.

A Note About Fishing Numbers:

The Agua Boa has the finest fishing anywhere in the Amazon for peacocks from 6-18 pounds. They catch fish every year up to 23 pounds, but would caution that if you are strictly after a world record that you consider a blackwater, and not a clearwater river. Blackwater rivers produce the largest peacocks, but are very poor fishing. Simply put they do not have a high density of fish, birds or wildlife. If you are after quality or quantity fishing, the Agua Boa is your best option anywhere in the Amazon. A fairly normal day would be 15-30 peacock bass per rod. If you want to catch 75 fish a day, that is always possible. Please just let us know your interest. There are inland lakes where you literally can catch fish until you are tired.

That said we hope that while you are here that you won’t keep count of your peacocks. At the end of the week it won’t really matter if you have boated 342 or 600 peacock bass, but you will remember a single shot at a 18 pounder over white sand! If you do keep track of your numbers, please keep it to yourself. That way everyone will enjoy the results of their day.