ANGLING ON THE FLY

Saturday, August 2, 2014

Trip Report: Isla del Sabalo (July 13 - 19 , 2014)

Guide Samuel, "Oz", and Baby Tarpon on the flats...

A group of our most avid baby Tarpon clients have recently returned from Isla del Sabalo. This was their 6th annual trip to this fishery and they reported in with smiles once again! I must give tribute to this group because they truly understand that ebb and flow of Tarpon fishing. They reported back with an atypical fishing report,... not a bad report, just a different experience this time.

Isla del Sabalo is renowned for its incredibly vast system of mangrove-lined "rios" that are the arteries for baby Tarpon migrating in and out with the tides. It is along these routes that guides and their anglers will ambush the baby Tarpon as they migrate out of the rio with the falling tide. This group has always cherished stalking these fish in the channels. Intercepting the baby Tarpon as they unsuspectingly and lazily roll on the surface, revealing their presence. But again, this trip was different.

On this trip, there were not many baby Tarpon in the channels. This trip was booked on the same tide profile as past trips, but Mom-Nature served up a different playing field on this trip. During this week, the baby Tarpon were out of the mangrove rios and were cruising the shoreline flats. As such, this group adapted their strategies and played the flats fishing game instead with the baby Tarpon. What an exciting pursuit,... to pole across thin flats and encounter sight fishing opportunities for baby Tarpon. Even more, the group reported that they found some larger baby T further off the coast in the deeper flats.

Isla del Sabalo has a multitude of facets, and that is what makes this remote fishery such a gem. This group understands the jewel they have available to them. The quality of this fishery keeps them coming back. And yes, they are already looking forward to their 7th trip to Isla del Sabalo in 2015!

Robert and a gem of the baby T taken on the flats...

Majestic ocean-front view from the lodge...

Judy hooked up with the largest Tarpon of the trip...

... and a "grande" this was!

Some baby T were found in the channels...

Happy guides and...

... happy anglers.

Saturday, December 1, 2012

Trip Report: Anglers Inn - El Salto (Nov. 2012)

Recently, repeat client Charlie and his friend Brad (Camas, WA) returned from Anglers Inn at Lake El Salto with a stellar report and testimonial about their fishing and overall experience. This was Charlie's 3rd season fishing El Salto during the fall topwater Largemouth Bass bite. Here are the reports from Charlie and Brad respectively...

Charlie displaying a jumbo topwater El Salto Bass!

Hi Keith,

For me this year was almost the antithesis of last year. In 2011 the water was low and we caught incredible numbers of 2 and 3 pound bass with a few 4 pounders and a 5 and 6 pounder thrown in. This year with higher water we caught many fewer, but the fish over all were much bigger. (I don't know it the water level has anything to do with it.) We each caught several over 5 pounds and most on top. Of the 4 1/2 days, only one day left us without a plus five pounder. Though the numbers were not there, the anticipation of big fish kept it very interesting, and even the small fish were bigger.

As usual, the whole experience makes me want to return. The members of the staff make it a most enjoyable time. Juan, our guide, worked very hard to take us to fish and seemed to have a knack of finding the big ones.

I certainly hope to return at the same time next year! ~Charlie

All smiles for El Salto Bass!

Keith, I have had a week to collect my thoughts on last weeks trip, but simply put it ranks right up there as one of if not the best fishing experiences I've ever had. To share it with Charlie made it really special. From the time you sent me the blue information packet to the long ride back to Mazatlan airport and everything in between the trip was a huge success from the camp hosts Herby, Steve and his wife Geoff to the incredible staff,... especially Jose, Sammy and Ramon who made sure everything ran smoothly and made us safe and comfortable - they were true professionals in every sense.

Now let's talk fishing, I won't speak for charlie but your choice of guides was spot on! Juan was incredible, from his boat handling skills to his making sure we both were seated before throttling the boat up to get it on plane he projected safety confidence and knowledge and I very much appreciated that. Juan also put the both of us into personal best trophy Bass and as an added bonus the man has a unnatural ability to spot wildlife, he pointed out a huge Mexican black snake, large lizards in the trees and sunning on the rocks charlie and I had no clue they were even there!

Back to the fishing, the morning bite for the both of us was terrible...... charlie for months told me how outrageous the morning bite would be but the afternoon/evening bite more than made up the disappointment of slow morning fishing with the clincher being the first evening as Juan took us to a shallow bay close to camp and ask us to cast against the bank pulling our Dalhberg Diving bugs over bushes and other debris only to watch in amazement the water explode taking turns hooking and landing back to back to back 6+lbs fish to cap off an already great day! Charlie and I hooked fish on a variety of surface and subsurface patterns, with deer hair bass bugs, foam and standard deer dalhberg divers, foam gurglers, foam divers in a variety of styles and colors, my personal favorite colors white, yellow, black purple and blue and green frog representing the floating aspect..........and silver and white clouser minnow, airheads and gummy minnows doing the damage subsurface. Again Keith the fishing, especially the surface bite exceeded any and all expectations that I had and am already looking to next year! Thanks again and tight lines! ~Brad

Thursday, October 25, 2012

Back on the Blog "Grid"... South Caicos, Yucatan, Alaska, and, coming next, Amazon...

The best medicine for the soul...

To start, I must apologize to all you that have frequently and faithfully followed my blog over the years. I have been quite absent from posting since the New Year (YES, almost 10 months ago!) Although my hosted travels continued throughout the year, I was simply challenged by the lack of time and energy because of some unfortunate events in the family (multiple funerals... ugh.) Anyhow, the family and I are coming out of the "fog" now and, therefore, you will now see frequent and consistent posts from this point forward. I am back on the GRID!

OK, enough of the personal blab... let's show and tell about fly fishing travel! Over this past year, I hosted a number of trips to my favorite destinations. On these trips, I focused much of my time capturing imagery of these favorite destinations. Over the past years, I learned a great deal about the fine art of photography from the likes of Ken Hanley, Gregg Holland, John Sherman, Brian O'Keefe, Dan Blanton, and many other photographers' work. From each trip, I created a photo journal that I hope will give each of you the feel (or rather, the BUZZ!) about each destination and all that each has to offer. Here is a sampling of my favorites photos from each trip and a link to my photo journal from each trip:

South Caicos Bonefish (April 2012) Beyond the Blue Charters
South Caicos Photo Journal

Yucatan Tarpon (July 2012) Isla del Sabalo and Tarpon Cay Lodge
Yucatan Photo Journal

Alaskan Silver Salmon and Jumbo Rainbows (August 2012) Alaska West
Alaska Photo Journal (some photos compliments of Bill Kalm and Jim Bare)

South Caicos - Beyond the Blue Charters

Yucatan Tarpon - Tarpon Cay Lodge and Isla del Sabalo

Alaskan Silver Salmon, Rainbow Trout, Dolly Varden, and Grayling

And finally, I am in Miami (MIA) now and en route to the Amazon (Manaus, Brazil). I will be hosting another group for the brutish Peacock Bass! Check back in a couple of weeks for a complete trip report and photos. Fish ON!

The target species this coming week... YEAH!

Wednesday, February 1, 2012

Trip Report: Amazon Peacock Bass by Bill Blanton

A big thank you to Bill Blanton (Ft. Myers, FL) for writing this wonderful report from last month's trip to the Amazon with River Plate Anglers. Also, Bill is an exceptional photographer and surely captured a visual representation of the trip too. It begins here...

In the world of freshwater fish, the peacock is the badass. He’s the snotty kid with the mean attitude. He’s the playground bully who’ll take your lunch money, bloody your nose, send you crying to the teacher after recess.

He’ll straighten your hook, pop your leader, wind your flyline through a maze of roots and underwater tree branches. Give him a chance, he’ll break your rod.

Once you subdue him and get him in the boat, he glares defiantly with those blood-red eyes as if to say, “So … is that the best you’ve got?”

In mid-January, I joined Dan Blanton and five other pilgrims for a journey into peacock country. From Miami we flew to Manaus, Brazil, where two massive river systems, the Rio Negro and the Rio Madiera, join the Amazon. We spent one night there in a luxury hotel, then flew by single-engine, 12-passenger prop plane to the tiny community of Santa Maria on the banks of the Rio Branco, a tributary of the Rio Negro. We boarded a launch at Santa Maria, motored downstream on the Branco to its junction with the smaller Rio Xeriuni, then headed back upstream a ways on the smaller river until we encountered our mobile camp — four air-conditioned cabins for anglers, a cook shack, dining hall, guide quarters and generator barge — all mounted on pontoons so they could be towed from site to site by a riverboat “tug.” The camp moved three times during our eight days on the water.

By mid-afternoon of the first day, Dan and I were rigged and on the water fishing out of a 21-foot jon boat, equipped with 30-horsepower Suzuki and stern-mounted trolling motor. Our captain was Moe, the head guide. For about an hour or so, Dan and I politely took turns manning the bow, with one angler resting while the other fished. It only took a few hard pulls from peacocks to change that arrangement. For the rest of the six-and-a-half fishing days, we both cast at the same time, one from the bow, the other from midships. We alternated positions daily. We fished it like it was a job, casting continuously, pausing only to change flies, grab a drink of water or stretch weary muscles.

The work paid off in fish. Over the six-and-a-half days, we caught 270 fish ranging from two to 14 pounds. There were several other double-digit beauties and a whole bunch of seven- and eight-pounders that put a good bend in our rods. We caught all four species of peacock common to our area: the Azul, the Butterfly, the Paca and a fourth whose name I could never master, a fish that looked like a blend of Butterfly and Paca. In total, our group of six anglers caught 909 fish over the same period. One angler, John Waldum, landed fish of 22 and 18 pounds. We also caught a mixed bag of piranha, oscars, dogfish and other weird species endemic to the Amazon region.

The fishing was brutal. We were casting stout nine-weights equipped with Rio Tropical Outbound Short intermediate lines, frequently out to 70, 80, 90 feet, with large, wind-resistant flies. On no other fishing trip have I cast so many times at such distance. Each morning, I’d strip line off my reel until there were only a few turns left around the arbor, load it into the absolutely essential vertical line management device, in this case a travel bucket from Sea Level Fly Fishing, and go to work. For efficiency, we made a lot of casts with water hauls instead of aerializing the line. But there were times when, for accuracy’s sake, we had to false cast a few times before placing the fly.

With the two of us casting at the same time, large hooks were continually flying through the air around and over the boat. I only hit Dan three times, thankfully, in the back with the hook eye instead of in the face with the point. He was kind enough not to return the favor.

Accuracy was essential. The dynamic of the Amazon riverbank is that large trees, up to 50 or 60 feet in height, grow right up to the water’s edge. In times of high water, the bank erodes away from the root systems, and the trees fall in the water. On a typical shoreline, you don’t encounter one or two logs. Instead, it’s a maze of very large fallen trees, rotting logs, entangled branches — peacock heaven but hell for anglers trying to place a fly in an unobstructed spot.

The trick was to drop the fly as close to the obstructions as possible, swim it though the tangle of branches, then let it sink a bit once it reached the open water. Oftentimes, the water by the banks would be three to six feet deep. That changed, of course, depending on overall water levels. During our trip, water was high, but not unfishable.

A common exchange after one of us seemed to get a bump on the retrieve would go like this:

“Bite?”

“Wood.”

“Damn.”

As a guide in South Florida, I’m used to poling my boat over to a mangrove shoreline to help an angler pluck his fly out of the branches. I never make a big deal out of it. It’s all part of the game, so I didn’t feel bad at all when our Brazilian guides had to troll or paddle to a branch so I could dislodge my fly. Call it karma.

However, it was above and beyond the call of duty when two guides had to dive into the water to retrieve fish that had tangled themselves up in the roots.

Before Brazil, I’d heard talk about how hard-pulling peacock bass are. Since fishermen are known to exaggerate, I was somewhat skeptical. Anglers said they used “gorilla” leaders of straight 40-, 50- or even 60-pound mono. I was determined not to do that since it sounded like a good way to break a rod or lose a fly line. Instead, I employed one of Capt. John Quigley’s excellent five-foot twisted leaders for a butt section, then attached a three-foot segment of 40-pound mono for a tippet. The twisted leader is created from 20-pound mono, but its built-in stretch gives it a cushioning factor that reduces break-offs and still protects line and rod.

The pull? That was no bull. The first take, even from a small fish, is a shock. You’re stripping in the line on the retrieve, when, suddenly, it stops. I don’t mean you get a jolt; I mean, the line stops.

Then it goes the other way … fast.

I’ve pulled a lot of snook out of the mangroves over the past 18 years. When a snook turns and heads for the roots, I try to steer him the way he wants to go and use his own momentum to keep him out of the bushes.

You can’t do that with peacock. You’ve got to pull straight back against the run — immediately — and not give an inch. Then you’ve got to keep pulling for all you’re worth, being careful to play the fish off the butt of the rod instead of the more fragile tip, all the while hoping your guide can get the trolling motor turned around quickly enough to ease you away from the bank.

Forget the reel. Both Dan and I lost large fish trying to put them on the reel. (On the other hand, John Waldum lost his line and 100 yards of backing to a fish he hooked in the open water and had to play off the reel).

The fight continues when you get the fish away from the woods. The peacock will jump, make short runs, dive under the boat. Once it’s subdued and in hand, the game’s still not over. More than once during picture taking, a seemingly dormant peacock suddenly came back to life while being held for the camera, wrestling itself out of our hands and thrashing around in the boat. This might happen three or four times with one fish. Even after several minutes of posing for photos, they were very strong during the release. Red eyes glaring, they’d give one powerful tail kick and be gone.

More about that pull: On the second day, when we’d gained a little experience, I got a hit from a very large fish, perhaps the largest we encountered during the entire trip. I was an instant late in controlling the line, so the fish accelerated toward the bushes. When I finally got a good grasp on the line, it was too late. He had gained too much momentum. I pulled. He pulled. The leader broke.

The 20-pound twisted leader butt section held, but the 40-pound tippet parted at the knot to the fly. I’m real careful with my knots and proud of how they hold up, but after studying the tippet for a few minutes, I abandoned the Improved Homer Rode Loop Knot I’ve used for tarpon, sails and other large critters and switched over to the knot Dan was using, the Harro version of the Non-Slip Loop Knot. No more problems after that.

We all exhibited combat wounds. Under normal fishing conditions I wear sungloves on both hands. On the middle finger of my rod hand, I place a finger guard. After three days of battling peacocks, I had to increase the protection to three finger guards on the rod hand: one on index, one on middle and one on the third finger. Under the finger guard on the third finger, over the big open bleeding blister, I placed a band-aid and over-wrapped that with a one-inch wide strip I’d cut from a bandanna. I wound the rest of the bandanna around my palm to cushion it and slid the sunglove over the whole bandaged mess so my hand resembled a small pillow with fingers sticking out of it.

On the line hand, I placed finger guards on thumb and index finger. By Day Four, the back of my line hand swelled up in a puffy mound, a reaction, I guess, to the constant rapid stripping. My back hurt, my shoulder ached. The first few casts in the morning were reminiscent of a pitcher warming up in the bullpen: A few easy throws of 20 feet or so, a few more out to about 30 feet, then a little more velocity, a 40-footer with a little heat on it, then, finally, the fast ball, a long cast into the wooded banks.

Even landing 270 fish, we encountered dry spells. We’d work a bank for a while catching nothing, then one of us would get a bite. Sometimes, that’d be the only fish in the spot, but, more often, one fish meant others, perhaps many others, in the vicinity. The last day of fishing started slowly until we found a pod of Paca lying in the deep water off a sharp point. We cast our flies up to the point, stripped a couple of times, then let our flies drop for 10 to 12 seconds before we resumed the retrieve. The hit would come on the first or second strip after the drop. We caught seven or eight fish there before they wised up.

Later that day, we worked a U-shaped indentation in the main river channel right across from a small village. In a stretch of about 40 feet, we landed 23 fish in an hour and a half, the largest running seven pounds. That afternoon, we hit the same spot again and caught another 10 or so, including our best fish for the trip, Dan’s 14-pounder. Our total for the day was 52 fish, so three-fifths of our grabs came from one spot.

Based on my experience of just one trip, fly selection is important but not critical. The most important thing was to put the fly in the right place.

Still, some patterns worked better than others. We both caught fish on a wide variety of flies and fly types. My favorite was a version of Rob Anderson’s Reducer tied, like almost all of my flies for the trip, by Bill Logan of Roseburg, Oregon. It was buoyant enough to swim though the branches but heavy enough to sink effectively once it reached the open water. The orange, yellow and blue bucktail and orange grizzly hackle seemed an appealing color combination. The fish loved it. The Reducer was most effective in the morning. In midday, fish seemed to want a change-up. One day, I pulled out a 3/0 black and yellow Enrico Puglisi tarpon fly. The “Rotten Banana Peel” fly worked great for an hour or so, then lost its effectiveness. Another great midday fly was a small chartreuse and white Clouser. Late in the afternoon, fish seemed to want something with more bulk, so I changed to variations of Dan’s Flashtail Whistler. The most effective color combo for me was chartreuse and white.

Dan fished a wider variety of flies than I did but probably caught most of his larger fish on versions of the Whistler.

Because of the high water levels, topwater flies weren’t effective. Everyone tried them for a bit — Dan cast a Ron Dong Crease Fly for an hour or so on our last morning — but the fish just wouldn’t come up for it. Intermediate lines with bulky or weighted flies were the ticket.

The trip was organized by Keith Kaneko of Angling On The Fly. Unfortunately, Keith was not able to accompany us. River Plate Outfitters did a magnificent job of getting us there and putting us in a position to catch fish. Our camp host, John Silvia, was a genuine delight, a great organizer, host, fishing adviser, emergency field surgeon. Guides were professional and capable. Food and accommodations on the river were first-class.

It was a great trip for a great fish.

Bill Blanton

Gallery of Bill's photos - CLICK HERE

The Third Time's the Charm - Peacock Bass in Brazil with River Plate Outfitters (Jan. 14-21, 2012) by Dan Blanton

Below is a great report and photos by Dan Blanton who fished with us in the Amazon in mid-January:

The Third Time’s the Charm

Peacock Bass in the Brazilian Jungle with River Plate Outfitters

Well, it took two years after our original booking date to get there – Where? The Brazilian jungle and peacock bass with world-renowned remote camp operator, River Plate. We had first scheduled a departure date in January of 2011 but were cancelled because the river banks were overflowing into the jungle a half mile from unprecedented rainfall. We rescheduled to March same year and again were cancelled the night before departure, bags packed, and drooling to get going – high water again. River Plate gave us a full credit for the coming year. They are extremely honorable folks.

What a let down – a serious heartbreaker for all in our group of eight anxious anglers. Only three of our group had ever fished the Amazon for peacock bass before; Keith Kaneko of Angling on the Fly travel and the Leonard boys – father and son, John and Jon. Actually there would be five Johns in our camp when we finally made it there: John Waldum (JW); John Franzia (Franzia) and his wife Mary Lynne; John Leonard; Jon Leonard and our camp host, John Silvia. I called Jon Leonard “Little Jon” just to help keep things straight. JW just fit JW...

We had a wonderful group of people who all got along splendidly. It couldn’t have been a better assembly if they had been picked by Dr. Phil.

The first leg

Our last and final re-booked date was to depart Miami International on TAM airways, January 13, 2012 (a Friday) – good thing I’m not superstitious...

We arrived at the Manaus International airport right on schedule and after a slow time getting through immigration and customs, we were met by River Plate owner, Luis Brown and his superb transfer people. After introductions and a bit of a wait until all of us had our luggage and were re-grouped, we were transferred by van to the Five-Star, Cesar Hotel; and believe me, it was 5-star, with a marvelous staff, excellent rooms and a wonderful restaurant. The entire River Plate operation and its logistics is nothing but first class – but I knew that already from reports I’d read; and from anglers I’d spoken with about their operation over the years. Now I was there with partner Bill Blanton to witness it first hand and to be able to heartily confirm that everything I’d heard and read about the operation was true.

As the old saying goes “The third time is the charm” and all went off with out a hitch this time – well with almost no hitches – nothing to obsess over anyhow.

Reports were that the water was still a bit high in the river system we were scheduled to fish; but with luck, it would drop and we’d experience good opportunity; hopefully, good fishing. Suffice it to say:

We SLAMMED THEM!

About the fish and the fishing

As it turned out there were only 7 out of 8 scheduled people in our group since Keith Kaneko had to cancel for personal reasons. There was one couple with us, the Franzia’s, John and Mary Lynne. Mary Lynne was our camp morale booster and official “happenings” photographer. Mary Lynne didn’t fish; which reduced our total rod-wavers to six. In just 6-1/2 days of hard-ass fly fishing, we landed more than 900 fish (the guides are required to keep accurate daily counts with clickers). My partner, Coz, Captain Bill Blanton and I landed more than 270 to 14 pounds with lots of 6- to 12-pounders in the mix; and we lost count of the 3- to 5- pounders and smaller, medium-all-purpose fish caught and released, keeping only a few daily to augment camp dinners. Bill’s largest Azul peacock was a bit over 10-pounds and I managed to best a 14-pound Azul. Of the four species of peacock bass: the Azul (or Assu), the Paca, the Butterfly and the Popoca, the Azul grows the largest – but the Paca might be meaner for its size, somewhat like a smallmouth bass, often preferring moving water.

The largest fish of the week went to JW (John Waldum) with a 22-pounder; his second gargantuan, an 18-pounder. He also got his clock cleaned by a monster that got into his backing about a hundred yards breaking off his entire fly line around a bloody stump or something. There were certainly plenty of those around – lots visible and many that weren’t. We were fishing in hazardous conditions when it came to flies and lines. Everyone in our group though, managed to land double-digit fish, a few teeners.

Casting requirements

Casting requirements and conditions (structure – blow-downs, stumps, brush trees, you name it) demanded extreme accuracy, with both long and short casts and so many of them that we all developed several blisters on our casting hand within the first day-and-a-half. Thank God JW had brought a large bottle of squeeze, instant glue, and the perfect stuff for sealing blisters and cuts after proper cleaning. I had packed a bottle of brush-on Krazy Glue for that express purpose but it never made it to camp – TSA? And, yes, we all wore Armara palmed Sun Gloves – which didn’t provide enough protection for our obviously tender casting hands. Thank God for Stripping Guards too – lest we suffered sever finger line burns. Bottom line – if you couldn’t throw tight loops and lots of them, you had better have flies with good snag guards...

Our final destination

The river we fished was called the Xeriuni, a trib off the Rio Branco which branched from the Rio Negro. It took almost two hours in our charter plane, flying over jungle so thick you couldn’t see through the canopy anywhere except when a decent-sized river cut a swath through it. The vastness of the Amazon is truly astounding and from high above it takes on the appearance of a thick, green, impenetrable carpet. We finally landed on a short, grass airstrip at the small village of Santa Maria. There we were met by our guides who led us to transport boats for another two hour ride down the Rio Branco to the Xeriuni and our floating, movable camp. I can’t tell you how happy I was to see the water color change from red/brown to clear tannin and finally to glimpse the camp as we rounded a river bend. “It won’t be long now”, I thought. I didn’t think I could get that excited about fishing anymore.

After a quick lunch, camp orientation and introduction to house staff and guides by host, John Silvia, we headed to our assigned cabins to unpack and rig gear.

Guides and gear

Our guide the first day was called “Moe” and he was a BIG boy; head guide and ran the camp maintenance and overall operation. He was a superb guide and was incredibly fly-savvy. All the guides were. It didn’t take Bill and me long to rig three rods each: a floater, intermediate and fast-sinker. The floaters and I-lines were Rio Tropical Outbound Short lines in 9- and 10-weights. Quigley twisted leaders were looped on the line-loop and a tippet of straight 40-pound about 4 feet long was decided best choice for surviving wood and other line-severing obstructions, plus twisted leaders provided stretch for shock absorption – the hell with IGFA 20-pound...

I chose a TFO 10-weight Baby Blue for a primary rod although I brought along two 9-weight sticks: an Orvis Helios and one of Sea Level FlyFishing’s new “Stealth” rods. After a half day of swinging the BB, developing several blisters on my casting hand and straightening three jig hooks on three bruiser fish, I made the switch to the Stealth 9 with a 435 grain intermediate and stayed with it the rest of the week. It cast, fished and fought those critters brilliantly; I fell in love with that rod. The reel happened to be a Sage 3400D but that was inconsequential – we never played a single fish off the reel all week. There was no point in it once we hauled them out of the sticks; the fight was pretty much over by then.

In retrospect I wouldn’t take any 10-weight rods for this fishing. Strong 9-weights with guts for pulling hard but with a tip for extremely accurate casting – lots of casting from 40 to 80 feet – will suffice; and you won’t destroy your hand, arm and rotator cuff. Some of our folks did break rods but all admitted to making angler errors, usually high-sticking. Bring at least three, better four rods if you make this trip. Reels should hold the appropriate line but should also be light. Beefy drags are not required from what I could tell; but one trip certainly doesn’t make me an expert.

As for fly lines: from what I learned, I wouldn’t even take a floating line next trip because I found I could cast both subsurface flies and poppers/sliders/darters and fish them properly with the ROS Tropical Intermediate. The big poppers and Pole Dancers could be cast much easier with the I-line, than with a fat floater – just something to think about. I would take a fast-sinking line of some kind just in case although Bill and I never needed one.

Boats

The boats we fished from were well-appointed 21-foot, fairly narrow, aluminum John Boats powered by fast 35 hp outboards and controlled with good electric motors that always worked – all day long! The skiffs felt a little tippy at first but you soon got your “legs”. Wider boats wouldn’t be able to snake through the many narrow, wood-choked creeks, water pathways to productive open bays and slow moving branches of the Xeriuni. The skiffs were fast, well-suited for the job and I found them perfect platforms. Bill and I would take turns fishing from the bow platform, alternating each day.

Flies

I got advice on all the hot peacock bass flies and I had the bases covered. Between Bill and me we could have supplied the entire camp with flies and a fly shop or two. I caught fish on every fly I showed them; but some did produce better than others. Pelado flies, sparse with a red tail worked very well as did any fly with lots of yellow/red/orange and orange/griz in it. Bill hammered them on a slim version of Rob Anderson’s “Reducer” fly. Bill’s version was more “Deceiver-like” and not as full as Rob’s.

I did well on a red FT Pelado. They loved it; but so did the piranha, which chomped the Flashtail off; but not before I landed a good number of fish on one. I also slew them one afternoon on my old FT White Whistler Grizzly tied on a jig hook. Of course I just had to catch my first peacock bass on a Whistler and I did it with the classic FT red/white/griz. FT Clousers scored well too, especially in white/chart with a chartreuse pearl Flashtail. I tied some Pelado flies using yellow brush tails with a flame tip made for me by Pat Dunlap of Cascade Crest Tools. The big Peacocks loved those, including a couple of Faux Fur flies Pat sent me to try. Anyhow, they are not too particular if you can get the beef through the doorway and into the dining room.

Most of my flies were tied on 3/0 Targus 9413 jig hooks; some on the old EC413 and some were on 600s J hooks. I like the jig hooks better and the only three that opened on me were the ones I pried open using the beefy 10 with the electric motor in full reverse. Next time I might go with 4/0s.

Use strong hooks!

Overall, fishing for Amazon peacock bass with River Plate was a marvelous experience, one I’ll never regret having done. I’d do it again in a heartbeat! There is no other fish that hits a fly (except for maybe a New Guinea Bass) harder, faster, with more arm-jolting power than a big peacock bass. It’s a give-no-line contest which they often win if you don’t know how to dance the “down and dirty”.

If you have been considering a trip to Brazil to fish for peacock bass I highly recommend you’re not wasting more time thinking about it. Book it! Book it with Keith Kaneko’s Angling on the Fly; and insist on River Plate Outfitters. You won’t be sorry – but don’t forget to bring the brush-on Krazy glue...

Dan

Thanks Dan for this great report and photos (links below)...

Dan's Photo Gallery links:
Gallery #1
Gallery #2

Thursday, January 26, 2012

Lake El Salto Fly Season Wrap-Up!

Primetime at El Salto ends with a SPLASH!

Well, I am excited to report that this past season's fishing at Lake El Salto was strong! We had multiple groups fish El Salto from mid-November through mid-January and all had consistent fishing for Largemouth Bass up to almost 9 pounds. There was good sessions of topwater on some trips, but most of the bass were fooled in the top of the subsurface water column (down to about 6 feet).

And of course, the fantastic accommodations and service was provided by Anglers Inn. It was great to see the all of the same friendly staff members such as Jose, Sammy, and Tony. Also, Anglers Inn purchased new boats that are absolutely ideal for fly anglers. The boats are configured with spacious, level front and rear casting decks and super comfy seats for each angler. Anglers Inn seems to keep raising the bar every year with incredible service and hospitality.

Finally, here is a recap of the top tackle that produced BIG bass this past season. The top flies this past season are as follows:

TOPWATER FLIES

Chewy Pop (yellow or white in size 2/0)
Bisharat's Flat Fred (shad)
Pultz's Popper (black over silver, black over chartreuse in size 2)

SUBSURFACE FLIES

Bisharat's AirHead (brown over white, chartreuse over white in size 1/0)
Big Game Gummy Minnow (pearl in size 2)
Clouser Minnow (chartreuse over white in size 2/0)

LEADERS

Topwater: RIO Striped Bass (7 1/2 foot / 20#)
Subsurface: RIO FlouroFlex (20#)

KEITH'S GO-TO SETUPS

Topwater: Sage BASS (330 grain line), Sage 4580 reel
Subsurface: Sage TCX 890-4, RIO Outbound Short Type 6, Sage 6080 reel

The bass will be going on the spawn soon at El Salto, which marks the close of primetime fly fishing season. The lodge continues to run strong for conventional anglers until July, but the spawn and springtime afternoon winds make conditions less than ideal for fly fishing tactics. So, with this said I look forward to another incredible fly fishing season at El Salto in Fall 2012 / Winter 2013. We already have weeks on the books for hosted trips, so if you are interested please drop us a line to inquire. Fish ON!

FAT El Salto Bass

El Salto Bass CRUSH the AirHead!

Mr. Hanely showing the goods at El Salto...

Lodge manager, Jose, putting on a show with Spanish Coffee!

Loretta showing off her BIG fish of the season. WOW, 8.8 pounds!

Morning run for topwater bass...

Ladies' double up for El Salto Bass...

Topwater "POP"...

The close of another spectacular season at Lake El Salto...

Monday, December 5, 2011

Trip Report: El Salto Largemouth (Nov. 19-23, 2011)

Charlie displaying one of his many topwater trophy Largemouth at Lake El Salto

We are excited to share a recent report from our Anglers Inn - El Salto repeat clients, Charlie and Tim of Camas, WA. They had one of their best ever topwater trips to El Salto! Here it is:

Hi Keith,

I just want you to know that we hit it right this year and the fishing was great! Here is a pictures of me with my biggest fish and my son with a big smile (he got bigger fish and lost a couple of big ones). We got 27 one morning and lost 14 all on topwater. The next morning we landed 26 and the fish were a little bigger. Sure was fun watching my son have fun catching good sized bass on flies on top. We caught some under on gummy minnows and clousers and such, too. Thanks for all the help. We hope to go next year at the same time if all goes well.

Charlie

So far, this fall season has been excellent for topwater action at Lake El Salto! We have more groups heading down there this month and next, so we will share the upcoming reports soon. Fish On!

Wednesday, November 2, 2011

Trip Report: Amazon Peacock Bass (September 2011)

An incredible trip of "double-doubles"...

After a number of previous trips to the Brazilian Amazon during our winter months, my group and I were intrigued to fish the Amazon during the earlier part of the season. We had always heard of anglers fishing in the early season in the southern region of the Amazon basin. As I would find out, venturing to this remote region would be an exciting and different experience than our previous trips. And last season, Anglers Inn International of Mexico extended their presence with this Peacock Bass program in the Amazon. Anglers Inn has raised the bar on the mobile camp concept in the Amazon with much improved living quarters, dining facilities, and overall service. My group and I have fished with Anglers Inn in Mexico for years and can attest to their high level of service, hospitality and quality operations. And, we were happy to have this same level of quality on this trip. Even more, we were fortunate to have Anglers Inn International owner, Billy Chapman, Jr., host our camp for the week.

As we flew southward by floatplane from Manaus, I peered at the jungle below and noticed it looked different than the region north of Manaus along the Rio Negro. I saw an incredibly dense forest canopy that showed no signs of stark white sand that anglers often hope to see when flying along the Rio Negro. It was explained that this region did not have the sand bars like in the north. The rivers ran deeper, with steeper banks and lighter colored water. We were headed for the Matupiri River, which is a tributary to the Madeira River drainage. Upon approaching our landing run, we circled the camp before touching down gently on the river. As we slowed, the guides and staff approached in their boats. I immediately saw familiar faces. Yes, during this week we would be fortunate to have some of our favorite guides from past trips. Guides Caju, Renaldo, and Carlos’ faces lit up when they recognized us. It was a great reunion from a few years ago when we fished with them on the Tapera River.

The Matupiri is relatively deep in the main river. It was explained that this river was unique because even at its lowest levels, the large supply boats that draft a great deal of water can easily tow the camp. Also, this depth allows the float plane to land on almost any section of the Matupiri. In geologic terms, the Matupiri was a very young river with incomplete rock formation making the river color somewhat turbid from dirt on the banks and deeper because of the lack of sand. Whereas, the Rio Negro drainage is an older river and thus has extensive influx and movement of sand flowing down its tributaries.

This trip would be marked with a myriad of memories that went beyond fishing. The flora, fauna, and entire ecosystem were different than we had ever seen before. Even more, we quickly noticed that we were able to get closer to wildlife in this part of the Amazon. It was explained that this part of the Amazon basin was one of the most remote regions of the Amazon from the perspective of native population and tourism. In the north along the Rio Negro region, wildlife is much more impacted by the presence of human population because of the numerous native villages and the subsistence fishing activities. We observed a wide array of avian wildlife such as osprey, egrets, macaws, parakeets, kingfishers, and many other colorful birds. A most memorable sighting was when we heard the defining screech of a bird of prey. As we rounded the corner, we came upon a large raptor perched on a tree along the shore. This amazing animal showed no signs of fear and actually showed interest in our poppers that we fished beneath its perch. During our viewing, it would make a series of short flights back and forth from one tree to the next. It gave us an incredible view of this awesome bird of prey as it stretched its wings and made flight. It was the closest encounter I have ever had with a raptor in its natural environment.

During our week, Jim and I were continually amazed at how the wildlife seemed to accept our presence. On numerous occasions, a butterfly would perch on us allowing us the opportunity to photograph their beautiful colors. We also saw otters, caiman, birds of prey, and a variety of other wildlife during our week. What was quite interesting and welcomed was the absence of any biting pests. Mosquitoes and sand flies were non-existent on this trip. It was explained that it was acidity of the water from leaf decay in the forest and the lack of sand that creates an environment where these pests can not thrive.

One of the most amazing moments on this trip was a firsthand encounter with the Amazon’s most intelligent species of wildlife, the freshwater dolphin. Many of us had seen dolphin from afar during many of our past trips in the northern basin. However, the dolphins in the north would tend to stay quite far from the boat and would only show themselves briefly before disappearing below. Well, on this trip we would have quite a different experience. I had just hooked and landed a tough 5-pound Paca that Caju put on the boga. Suddenly, Caju begins to laugh and point at the water. Jim and I were shocked to see a 6-foot long dolphin at the boat-side looking at Caju and the fish he had on the boga. It looked like a scene out of Flipper, as Caju enticed the dolphin to repeatedly come to the boat in hopes of an easy meal. The dolphin was gorgeous, and it was the first time I ever got a chance to see this unique species of dolphin close up. It was light grey in color, had a flexible neck, enlarged pectoral fins, and a stubbed dorsal fin. On a previous trip, it was explained to us that these bodily characteristics were adaptations to the jungle environ over eons of time. A flexible neck and lack of a dorsal fin allows them to slither through the dense jungle forest and feed when the high water season arrives. It was certainly a special moment to see such a beautiful animal up close. After a few minutes of engaging the dolphin, Caju motored toward the shore and released the fish in shallow water and away from the reach of the dolphin.

On this trip, Jim and I would learn a great deal from our guide Caju. His instruction would help confirm many of the fishing facts that were shared with us on past trips. In general, his English was quite limited but effective enough to communicate many fishing strategies. One of his guiding comments was “big tree, big Peacock…” Often, Caju would have Jim and I direct our casts around the base of large trees that were submerged in 3 – 6 feet of water. Caju would also say “big Peacocks on the point.” He would get especially excited if there was a large tree on the point of a lagoon entrance. On many occasions, we would hook large Peacock Bass in these areas. This confirmed that Peacock Bass are ambush predators and can be structure oriented when there is water depth as the base of trees. On another instance, we pulled up to a point and on the first cast I land a mini Azul Peacock of about 3 pounds. I didn’t think much of this small Azul, but Caju’s face lit up and his eyes got wide. He said “big Peacocks on the point!” Jim and I were certainly not going to doubt him or question what he “saw”, so we launched our streamers toward the point. Immediately, Jim hooked up on a ‘grande’. I kept stripping while I watched the commotion as Jim laid the heat on his fish. Then, I came tight on a trophy Peacock too. We had an epic double battle ensuing. Thankfully, we were able to coordinate the landing of both jumbo Peacocks. After Jim and I released our fish, we just glanced over at Caju in awe of his instinct. We began to discuss what just happened here and we came to a realization. Caju said, “small Azul, big Peacocks on the point.” He then gestured with his arms and said, “familia”. This confirmed a fact that was shared with us on a previous trip. Peacock bass will sometimes congregate by family structure with small Azuls mixing with larger ones. The Peacock Bass are an extremely adaptive species and some generation classes will evolve to reach maturity at a relatively smaller size class. This adaptation occurs when conditions in the Amazon change and affect spawning cycles. It is nature’s way of ensuring that the Peacock Bass will survive during drought years. And these various sizes of mature Azuls will congregate and feed as a family unit. It is with this knowledge that Caju knew that there were larger Azuls in the area. Simply amazing…

Another highly effective strategy was to arrive at a new spot and begin with topwater. Often, one might question why a guide would encourage us to fish topwater in the middle of the day with the sun high above. Any experienced angler knows that bright conditions are the worst for topwater fishing. Well, we would learn soon enough that it was all a part of Caju’s master plan to get us into a hot bite. We would not always raise fish to our topwater flies. However, the poppers would call the fish out of the structure and Caju would then have us switch over to fishing streamers deep. On most occasions, this strategy paid off with good numbers of fish being hooked subsurface.

Due to the deeper characteristics of the Matupiri River, we needed to sometimes fish fast sinking lines of 300 – 400 grains (RIO Deep Sea or Leviathan). Tropical rated lines were essential because of the intensity of the sun. We fished a variety of streamers this week with great success. My most productive flies were Bisharat’s Airhead (3/0 red/yellow), Thalken’s Cruiser (3/0 Peacock), Anderson’s Reducer (3/0 Night Rider), and UFM H20 Cut Bait (3/0). Throughout its length, the Matupiri has a series of shallow lagoons that would branch off the main river. It was in these areas where an intermediate line was highly effective too.

Another interesting encounter on this trip was the Popoca Peacock Bass. This smaller species of Peacock Bass is common in this part of the southern Amazon. Its behavior was somewhat akin to the Butterfly Peacock that is so prevalent in the northern basin. Here, these crazed Popoca Peacocks would run around like packs of wolves corralling their prey. In some lagoons, these feisty fish would bust bait with a fury. Albeit relatively small (1 – 3 pounds), these fish would still slam a fly with a vengeance and put up a great fight. It was yet another reminder that we were in a different realm of the Amazon.

Without a doubt, Jim and I concurred that this trip yielded the most incredible topwater fishing we have ever experienced in our fishing careers. We had countless episodes of pure mayhem. The heart-pounding event of having your 3/0 popper flushed as if a 16 pound bowling ball was dropped on your fly was epic. It is simply amazing to see the amount of water a double-digit sized Peacock Bass will move. Often, the water would explode around the popper, only to have the fish miss or slap the fly on the first pass. Then, if your nerves allowed you to not lift the rod and keep stripping, the behemoth Peacock Bass would come back around and absolutely kill the fly. It was amazing to see how committed these trophy fish were to our topwater offerings. Often, the fish would not be lip-hooked, but rather deep in its mouth. This was confirmation that these fish intended to fully consume our flies.

Jim and I worked a coordinated tag-team effort on topwater hot spots. As soon as one of us would hook up on a grande, the other would quickly deliver a cast adjacent to the hooked fished. On many occasions, this strategy would yield what we coined as a double-double (double fish-on of double digit size),… or in reality “double trouble”. Nothing is more exciting than trying to simultaneously battle dual trophy Peacocks on one boat. Needless to say there was a lot of clearing lines, yelling, and, of course, laughing going on.

Throughout the week, Caju imparted his fishing knowledge with us. After a few days of epic topwater fishing, I began to see a pattern regarding the type of water we were fishing. I noticed that our best topwater sessions happened to always be around a particular cluster of shrub. We would cast in and around the openings in this structure and jumbo Peacocks would surge out of these opening and crush our topwater offerings. Caju communicated that this shrub was called Karasu. He said, “Big Peacocks sleep in Karasu. Popper wake up big Peacocks!” In many areas where there was about 3 foot of water depth at the base of Karasu there was excellent topwater action to be had. Here was yet another lesson in successful fishing for trophy Peacock Bass.

My most memorable fishing moment from the trip was being an observer to Jim’s battle with a massive Azul. We had just accomplished another double-double on topwater and celebrated with a high five and a few photos. We quickly got back to fishing, as we knew there were more trophy Peacocks in this spot because we saw these other fish following our hooked fish during the battle. Jim laid out a cast next to the Karasu and, half way back to the boat, a huge explosion of water erupted from beneath the fly. Jim gave a hard strip set, but did not connect. Then, as if time had been turned to slow motion, I saw the explosive wakes behind Jim’s fly clear and saw a massive Azul with its fins flared and colors lit up. Next,… a scene that I will never forget. Jim gave his popper another hard strip. The Azul surged forward with all its might, opened its bucket sized mouth, and completely annihilated Jim’s fly with fury. Jim came tight on the fish and this fish arched its body across the surface. Caju screamed, “GRANDE! 19 POUNDS!” Then, I heard Jim yell “OUCH!” as the massive fish ripped off line and burned his finger as it ran for cover. Suddenly, the line went limp and we were left speechless and in awe. What just happened? When Jim retrieved his fly line, we stood staring at a cleanly cut fly line. UGH! The chance for the fish-of-the-trip was trumped by some toothy critter that probably joined in on the feeding frenzy during the excitement of the battle. Whatever it was, it cleanly severed Jim’s fly line 10 feet up from the tip. This entire event was one of the most incredible sights I have ever seen.

Our go-to topwater fly was the Umpqua H20 Master Jack Popper in blue or yellow. We would affix this fly with a loop knot to 6 feet of level 50# RIO Max PLUS mono. The most ideal line for hurling this setup was with RIO Tropical Outbound Short floating lines. Jim used his Sage TCX #10, while I fished my Sage ONE and TCX #9.

Trophy Peacock Bass command respect from an angling perspective. It is incredible to hear the fury that a large Peacock will unleash on its prey. The jungle is a relatively serene environ, with the soft sounds of birds chirping, insects buzzing, and breeze blowing through trees. Then, this calmness will be shattered with the explosion of water and baitfish as a behemoth Peacock Bass kills its prey. It is this strength and fury that make this species command respect when hooked. My group and I each had our own encounters with the power of this species. Line burned fingers, broken fly lines and leaders, and long distance releases. I had one incident in particular that was a reminder that the Peacock Bass in the king of its piscatorial domain. Jim had just hooked up on a trophy Peacock Bass and he said to cast near his fish because there were other grande Peacocks swimming with it. I presented my fly and immediately came tight. Jim’s fish was pulling away from the bow, while my fish thrashed. Caju yelled, “GRANDE!” Then, my fish made a powerful run past the back of the boat. It was headed for the partly submerged grove of trees 100 feet away. My trophy fish ran between two trees and just stopped as I leaned into this fish. My rod was bent to the cork as I tried to move this fish back out between these two trees. It was a momentary standoff as I wondered if my rod was going to blow up from the pressure. I could not move this fish as it just held there in the shallows near the trees. Then, this behemoth fish, in an explosion of water, surged with all its might and broke my freshly tied 52 pound test leader. I stood there in awe… and just looked at Caju with a look of shock. The immense power of trophy Peacocks is amazing. Jim and I recounted once again, that before we ever made our first trip to the Amazon, we did not think it was possible for a fish of this size to break 50 pound leader. Well, this event was, yet again, another reminder that Peacock Bass are an amazing game fish that command respect.

At the end of the week, everyone in our group landed trophy teener-sized Peacock Bass. We finished the week with an impressive fish-count of almost 1,400 Peacock Bass landed between 7 anglers. On one day, Jim and I landed more than 100 Peacocks. Even more impressive was the number of trophies landed on this trip. Our group finished the week with 53 trophy Peacock Bass of 10 pounds or more, with more than half being landed on topwater.

In final, this trip was such an amazing experience in many ways. Certainly, the fishing was incredible with the epic topwater bite. But also, the entire experience was a different adventure in terms of the jungle landscape and the wildlife we encountered. It was just a reminder of how vast and diverse the Amazon environ is. Without a doubt, I will soon return to this region again to experience this different personality of the Amazon. Fish On!