Rumble in the Jungle- Day 5, Unicorn fishing

Marie Antoinette Pacu

Certain fish have mythical qualities.  There is no doubt that arapaima are one of those fish.  They're huge, primitive, and mysterious.  They breath air like a tarpon, and have hard, interlocking scales like a gar.  I really want one!  The plan is some day to go to Pirarucu lodge, a location deep in the jungle where they specialize in these fish, and where they occur in large numbers.  But this year, we at least have a chance at good old Agua Boa!  We are headed out with Bacaba, for our last best chance at one.

I started the morning early, fishing the dock while others had coffee, looking for unusual species, and I caught one.  This pacu has a slash so deeply crimson that I actually touched it to see if it was really blood.  I showed the picture to Carlos, the lodge manager, they call it a Marie Antoinette pacu, which is certainly fitting. 

We headed out with Bacaba and beached the boat on a sandbar, and then hiked through the jungle to an isolated lagoon. On our way, we saw fresh tapir tracks, and could actually smell the tapir!  Bacaba called to it, but it never answered back and we never saw it. We poled slowly around the outer edges of the lagoon looking for rolling fish or laid up fish.  We spotted a couple of fish laid up in the shallow water really close to shore, easy 40 foot casts.  Too easy.  Somehow, I missed one of the shots by about seven feet.  Because fish don't eat with their tails.  I may have been a bit nervous.  Then Bacaba suddenly smiled and said, I see the group.  We poled a couple hundred yards down, staked out, and there were arapaima everywhere.  Very, very windy, but not windy enough to obscure the giant fish rolling.  Every few minutes, one would roll up to breathe air  Some of these looked like smaller fish in the 15-20 range, some of them were six feet long.  But in several hours of dropping flies on the rolling fish, not one grab.  Bacaba looked at me and said, "not hungry" and occasionally that is what it comes down to.  Finally, at about 12:30, Bacaba, said, "Let's go do something else.  The wind will drop later, we'll come back at 3:00.  Maybe the fish will be hungry then."  So we went off to look for peacocks.

I can make this quick.  Peacock fishing was super slow.  First we tried a large lagoon, just a few small fish.  Then we went to fish the main channel of the river.  Note that one of the cool things you see are in the Amazon, are large, freshwater dolphins.  Some are grey, some are bubble gum pink, some a combination of those colors.  They are supreme predators.  We had just located some fish, and Terri had released a nice speckled or paca peacock, when two dolphins came busting down the channel, and scooped up the just released fish.  Then a whole group started actively and rapidly swimming up and down the banks.  Bacaba looked a little forlorn.  And yep, fishing this section of the river was definitely over.  It was back to the arapaima lagoon.

Bacaba was right, the wind had laid down considerably.  And there were still fish rolling.  Almost immediately I had a 50-60 pound fish roll up close to the boat.  I dropped the fly on it, got whacked, came tight and strip set for all I was worth.  The fly just fell out.  They're tough.  My wife graciously offered to let me have all the shots, but I had a counter offer.   You fish the middle of the boat and take the close ones, I'll fish the bow and take the far ones.  No use just watching!  A fish rolled about 40 feet straight out, Terri, didn't see it, and when trying to respond to directions, missed her spot by about 25 feet.  But always fish a cast out!  She stripped the fly SLOWLY back to the boat as we have been taught, and got a grab.  She strip set hard, and the fish swam right at the boat.  She was sure it was a peacock, but I looked down deep and saw it, and yelled, Arapaima!  I don't think I've ever seen Terri so nervous, but she handled the fish perfectly, and soon we had it alongside the boat.  Lots of relief when we got the boga on it.  It was a little guy at 15 lbs or so, but still an amazing fish.  Bucket list accomplished.  And once again, I was happy for and jealous of my wife who has been killing it all week.

I fished another hour or so, and we were down to the last few minutes before it was time to head back.  A fish rolled off the back of the boat a long ways out, not sure how long, but looking at my reel later in the pics, only a few wraps of fly line left on the reel.  The fly dropped right in the middle of the boil, sank a few seconds, and the fish ate.  Set up hard, and it stayed hooked!  Nothing very dramatic after, it was a fish about the same size as Terri had earlier, but it was an arapaima, it was beautiful, (in it's own way) and I couldn't have been happier.  Bottom of the ninth and two strikes, and I got my fish!

Back to the lodge, high fives all around.  Tomorrow, we are headed out with Coboclo, who has had the big fish beat this year.  So far, everyone has caught their best peacock while fishing with him.  My goal is to catch a 14 pound fish this year, but my wife and I both have our sights set on knocking off Ron Smiths 17.5 pounder!  Can't wait.