River Plate Outfitters
Manaus • Brazil

Rio Plate Anglers base their operations out of Manaus, Brazil, affording them easy access to at least a dozen remote tributaries of the Rio Amazon and Rio Negro. The location of these remote waters, in the heart of the Amazon Jungle, is more isolated than can be imagined. It is a rain forest setting with clear tributaries, monkeys, wild parrots, and colorful toucans and most importantly, fish that will bend a rod until it breaks.

Peacock bass, pound for pound, without a doubt have to be the meanest, hardest hitting, hardest pulling fish, in the world. These fish are awesome and once experienced, will forever change your view of what a truly bad-boy fish is all about. Working for three years with the owner of the Rio Plate Anglers, Luis Brown, we've gained a thorough understanding of the seasons and the best times to target this gamefish. By crossing north and south of the equator between August and April, we are able to target waters when their levels are normally low and clear. It's when the floodwaters have retreated from the jungle interior after the rainy season, where huge populations of peacocks concentrate on shallow sandbars, rock outcroppings, and the entrances to creeks and tributaries. It's at this time when the peacocks are most aggressive, slamming brightly colored streamers and savagely striking top water flies and baits. Fishing for peacocks is combat fishing, not for the mild mannered!

This is a Peacock Bass safari on a grand scale, with the comfort and grandeur of its African counterpart. What sets it apart from other programs is the use of modern aircraft to access the remote camps. In about an hour (180 miles), traveling in a brand new Cessna Caravan on floats, anglers will land at one of the mobile camps that would normally take a riverboat three to four days to reach. There is virtually no down time with Rio Plate Anglers and after storing your gear and having a quick bite, you'll be on the water fishing with your guide. The mobile camps are very spacious, featuring modern, well-equipped barges (10'x15') that serve as accommodations. Each barge features 24-hour electricity, a shower, portable toilet, sink and vanity, individual-oscillating fans, shelves to store equipment, and table and chairs. Exquisite meals, ice-cold beer, and fresh cotton bedding greet anglers at the end of each fish-weary day. Fly fishermen generally average two to four dozen fish a day. Guides are excellent, soft-spoken natives, and they are very helpful and knowledgeable. The mobile accommodations are a break through in being able to navigate the shallow river headwaters and pursue fish well above the fishing pressure, far away from the civilized world. The package includes nearly 7 full action-packed days of fishing. It includes everything except the round trip flights from Miami to Manaus, Brazil. Built into the package are the turbo-prop, 10 passenger aircraft that will take you from Manaus to the camp, the shallow-draft skiffs that transport anglers above commercial angling, along with every Coke, beer, and bottle of water.

Space is very limited (8 total anglers). A party of less than 4 anglers may be cancelled. The floatplane reduces travel time by half a day coming and going, adding a full day of fishing! A great value!