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Pescamazon - Destinations
Flyfishing
Amazonia
generates a true excitement in the world of sport fishing. More an
more n orth-american
flyfishermen and more recently europeans come to Brazil, Colombia,
Venezuela, and andean countries. If flyfishing in subtropical America
is still in its infancy, it appears that this modality knows a growing
interest, and probably will become a great technique of the future.
But for the time being, for lack of local mentors, the some flyfishing
addicts are forced to draw largely their inspiration from the north
american school. We dont't doubt that an independent amazonian school
will soon emerge from these influences.
In Amazonia, when we speak about flyfishing, we are obliged to omit
any mention of entomlogy, as opportunities to operate traditional dry
fly fall within the exception, and are so rare that they cannot serve
as basis directed by immuable and constant rules.
In the jungle, the nature is generous in all kinds of manifestations
whether floral or animals. The insect kingdom is not forgotten, and
these far countries of south America are a true paradise for the
entomologist, and disciples of Frederic Halford. There are myriads of
caddis, dipters, sialis, ephemeropters, and even at dusk, carpets of
spents at the surface of rivers and lakes. Then, terrestrials, like
grasshoppers, locusts, crickets, and to close this inventory, beetles,
including the largest in the world. In a word, there is, in tropical
America anything that, according to the norms of temperate countries,
would do rise at the surface a whole aquatic world, which for obscure
reasons that find answer in ethology compared, seams to have an
extremely limited propensity for insects. Only a few bait-fish whose
size does not exceed that of a minnow, seems to rise really with
regularity on hatches of littles ephemeras at nightfall.
 We 'll
never pretend of course, that a big beetle accidently fallen into the
water will not be caught by a predator, but the size o these insects
is such that it's difficult to imagine an other lure than a sea popper
to constitute an imitation or at least a possible figuration. So,
except ignorance or lack of informations from our part, due to the
wastness of a world where everything have to be discovered, It's
obvious that the temperate countries flyfisherman freshly landed in
Amazonia, should have the humility to leave aside almost its passed
experience, and only keep a few basic elements as the cast, althought
it is subject to circumstancial adjustments, or its few attemps with
lure-flies, either on black-bass, pike or trouts in running and still
water.
This site is consecrated, as its name suggest to original flyfishing
in Amazonia. But under this generic, we mean rain-forest flyfishing in
general, with extensions to mangroves that are also jungles in the
same areas of the planet, that offer great possibilities of flyfishing
too, against other interesting species of game fish of salt and
brackish water.
Fishing Spots:
 When
one thinks about fishing in Amazonia, one immediately imagines a
turbid water river slowly going through an impenetrable jungle. But,
it should be known that at the opposite of this sempiternal stereotype,
also exist clear and transparent waters, currents, large pools flowing
on sandy and rocky bottoms, which without some tropical floristic
elements, would look like salmonids streams of Europe and North
America. Other rivers that cut their bed in the midst of vasts
savannahs or even in grassy meadows and marshes, have the indeniable
appearence of chalk streams or spring creeks. To all that, we'll add
the myriad of natural lakes, subsidies from the flooded forest during
the rainy season, or pharaonic proportionned hydroelectric dams. We'll
not forget the areas of mangroves which are also real jungles,
sheltering salt and brackish water species, that are also first choice
" customers" for the flyfisherman.
If there is a certain community of species in these waters, there are
of course many features that require special techniques which are not
as different as would be imagined of those that are traditionnaly used
in our temperate countries, and which are in fact nothing less than
circumstantial adjustments to the elements and our potential
adversaries.
According to the topographies encountered, we will operate sometimes
by boat on plane areas where the shoreline vegetation is dense, or
something walking or even wading, in other places where relief and
sparse flora will offer to us providential sand and rocky islands from
where we'll cast our flies.
Tackle:
 For
obvious reasons, we have to fish tough in Amazonia. The tackle has to
be robust and adapted to powerful, rapid, and often large adversaries
which will try to take refuge in vegetation once striked. So the more
suitable outfit ( rod, reel, fly-line) to those waters is indoubtedly
the saltwater tackle used for tarpon, snook and permit. Thus equiped,
you will be able to confront etherything that has fins in Amazonia.
Rods:
Tip and fast action with a powerful backbone, to propel rapidly bulky
flies and large poppers with a few false casts on posts, and sudden
activities of fish to the surface, and also to apply substantial
pressure to stop these terrific fighters from running into the
structures and other underwater obstructions. So, 8 to 10 weight rods are
the more suitable for Amazonia and its formidable game-fishes. Major
american firms currently produce the best rods in the world, but now,
some houses of Asia and Europe, begin to offer on the market excellent models at
very attractive prices.
Reels:
Salt water type, for baby-tarpon and snook, with a good and smooth disc
brake, and an important reserve of backing, to control the powerful
rushes of our adversaries toward the obstacles. The americans propose
again fantastic reels perfectly designed and conceived by authentic
flyfishermen. But, once again, Asia and Europe begin to compete with
the United States.
Fly-lines:
Once again, it will be necessary to refer to the outfit used in the
sea. Therefore, the line will be saltwater or bass bug taper profiled ,
designed to cast easely voluminous poppers and flies that sometimes
confined to gigantism. Many firms offer on the market specialty "tropicalized"
lines that will not become noodles under the effects of the hot
climate. Those lines are a good choice.
Depending of lures and water level, we'll use several types of lines:
- floating for normal waters, streamer and poppers fishing
- intermediate for normal and a little high water and streamer fishing
- sinking(S1, S2), for the early season and streamer fishing
- floating with high density sinking tip (300, 400 grains) by
 high
water, in the biggining of the season or on the contrary, by very low
and warm water, when the fish takes refuge in depht, looking for
colder water.
But it exists a compromise quite acceptable, which avoid to stuff your
pockets with a lot of spare spools.These are the lines known as "
multi tip" or " versi tip", wich are compound of a floating belly
with several interchangeables tips of differents densities: a floating
, an intermediate , a sinking ( S1 or S2), and a high density tips.
The only thing we could reproach to these lines, is to be less
enjoyable to cast than conventional lines. |
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leaders:
If you are attracted by the prospect to break IGFA records, you must
conform to the sacrosanct rules of this institution, and to refer to
certain standards. But if you really want to have fun, and release
your fishes in good shape and health, knowing that its chances of
survival are inversely proportional to the duration of the fight,
don't hesitate to use a solid monofilament( hard nylon or fluorocarbon),
of 35 or 40 Lbs, that sometimes is not sufficient.
And in conclusion of this chapter, if you pursuit toothy species like payaras
or piranhas, don't forget to end you leader with a wire shock-tippet.
Flies:
 Amazonian
fish is not yet very solicited with flies. That does'nt mean that it
is stupid and pulls with ferocity on anything that moves. And as each
fish in the world, it educates quickly, and reacts exactly to the same
stimuli that the game fishes of temperate countries
The fly tying is an art, and it would be a pity to leave the pleasure
to dress beautiful flies, but the attractive power of a simple pattern
is often higher than the one of any sophisticated creation of your
imagination. However enjoy: Amazonia is a giant field of
investigations for your imitations. While some models of flies very
simples operate very well in these waters, others more elaborated
imitations like the famous productions of Enrico Puglisi( www.epflies.com),
to compliment this great fly dresser, have an incredible effectiveness.
techniques:
In reality, there is not one but several techniques for each fish,
according to various factors that are seasons, water levels, fishing
places and local food. Also we recommend you to go to chapters
devoted to species where each case is considered individually, even
though there is constancy in the way to proceed. Flyfishing on this
type of waters, is pure provocation fishing. It consists to arouse the
agressivity of predators by offering suggestions or imitations of what
constitue its habitual or casual menu, and going on to solicit it into
his hiding or lurking-place.The fish is rarely marauding, with the
exception of course of major species such as tarpon or arapaima, that
beyond a certain size, dont know other predators than big Amazonia
otters or caimans.
 Of
course we'll have to consider the multiples parameters that are water
color, sunshine, temperature, factors sometimes combined with the
influence of the tides in coastal zone. But all these datas are
universal regardless of the latitudes in which we operate. A predator
stays a predator whatever the place in the world where you stretch
your fly line. Nothing looks more like a carnivorous lurking-place
than an other carnivorous lurking-place. Dead woods, shoreline
foliages, grass-beds, excavations in the bank, rocky caches, are
common to all game fishes of the globe.
In Amazonian waters, predatory fish is very aggressive, probably more
than anywhere else on the planet. Its attacks always occur in haste,
because by leaving even during a flash of lighning its cache for
so-called solitaries species, or temporarely abandonning the
collective protection of its likes for so-called gregarious species, it's
taking the risk, going to acomplish a predation, to become oneself
the prey of an other specie, or of a larger congenery, because here
as elsewhere, the canibalism is the rule. In brieve, survival stays in
absolute immobility or mimesis.
 So, each movement
must go fastly. In this environment, any exceptional or abnormal
behavior is automatically regulated by all sorts of cleaners and
eliminators of the river which the piranhas are the most famous.This
is indubitably what explains the reasons why a fast stripped fly
generates more attacks than a slower stripped one with a feint
hesitation, as in the case of flyfishing for pike or musky for
example. We'll rarely assist to the spectacle of a carnivorous slowly
following your imitation, before swallowing it, but almost always to flashy-attacks
of fishes arose from nowhere. This is particularly true in acid and
poor biogenic midst as the dark waters of the rio Negro basin, for
example, where the low abundance of bait-fish, turn every fry swimming
far away from its territory, an alimentary opportunity that must not
be let slip away.
It's a methodic prospection of fishing posts and manifestations of
fish activity at the surface. So, flyfishing becomes a real competitor
of lure casting or spinning, with streamers and poppers whose actions,
appearances, sizes and colours remain wobblers and stick-baits.
Everywhere we can cast spinning lures, we also can flyfish, and
reciprocaly.
So It's no uncommon to see a flyfisherman and a fisherman whith lures
operating together on the same boat in a perfect osmosis.
FISHING TRAVELS
 The Pescamazon crew's members participate to various fishing trips in
Amazonia. We invite you to join us. Though we are specialized in
flyfishing, we also know very well the other techniques. So all fishermen
are welcome.
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HOUSE BOAT AVENTUREIRA (jul - mar)
Peacock-bass and all amazonian species. Fishing in various rivers,
following the seasons and the level of water: Negro River and its
tributaries, Trombetas, Nhamunda and Tapajos Rivers.
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XINGU RIVER (Camp.) (jun - nov)
Fishing essentially walking and wading in alternating currents, pools
and lakes. A paradise for amazonian flyfishing: peacock-bass, payara,
trahira, bicuda, matrincha, jacunda, piranhas, pacus, etc..
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ARAPAIMA FISHING MEXIANA ISLAND (Amazon River delta)
(mai - aug)
Fishing in tributaries of the Amazon river and lakes of the largest
scaled fish of the planet.
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TARPON-SNOOK FISHING (São Caetano de Odivelas, Brazil)
Close to the Amazon delta, on Atlantic coast, tarpon and snook fishing
in mangroves during the rainy season ( January to early july) Non-stop
action.
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