Rumble in the Jungle, Amazon 2022 Day 4 Rising water levels are changing things!

Our guide today is Preto, who is just about everything you want in peacock guide.  He's been guiding at Agua Boa for 14 years, he's fun, cares about his clients, works hard, and has one of the prettiest beats on the river.  Some of my most action packed days have been fishing with Preto, and my wife still remembers him spotting a freshly dug turtle nest on a sandbar, flipping the boat around, and jumping out and uncovering the eggs so we could see them, before covering them back up.  Even better, one of Pretos lagoons has given up a 19 pound fish earlier in the week, the largest fish of the week!  And his client was also broken off a couple of times by large fish the same day.  So, our expectations were high as we climbed in the boat and headed upriver.

Unfortunately, last weeks heavy rains have significantly changed the river over the past couple of days.  Our first two stops were two favorites that I have fished before.  This time, however, the water was dirty, and when we did hear bigger peacocks exploding on bait, they were far back in the jungle and out of reach.  We managed a few fish in each lagoon, but it was slow going.  We did have some excitement when a large school of several dozen arawana started cruising back and forth on the bank in front of us.  I love these fish.  They are topwater oriented, great leapers once hooked, and a little mysterious in that you can't really target them, they just show up.  This was the largest school I had ever seen.  My streamer was a little large for them, but Scott had on a smaller fly, and was instantly into one.  I grabbed a six weight that I had rigged for this occasion with a large Chernoybl ant pattern, threw it out and discovered something.   The topwater quickly got their attention, but as they rose up and examined it, if you twitched it, they would spook off the fly.  If you didn't move it at all, they would hesitate, and then gently suck it in.  The takes were spectacular.  I would lose two, before managing to get the third one to the boat, Scott hooked several and landed two.

We then tried a different lagoon, which the high water had made accessible.  It took about 30 minutes to work our way up the channell and around and through the brush and trees,  including the time it took to actually cut a large limb that was blocking passage with the machete, and couple of times jumping out of the boat and pushing.  At the end, we found a beautiful lagoon, and had some action.  In an hour or so we landed 15-20 fish, Scott landed a speckled peacock pushing ten pounds and I landed a male with a huge knot on it's head that was 8 lbs or so.  

We then navigated our way back out and started working the main channel of the river.  The thought was the fish were now back in the brush, but Scott started throwing a large popper and making as much commotion as possible to see if we could draw them out.  It was a lot of casting for not much reward.  I drew a blank, Scott had two very large fish flash on the popper, but neither actually took it.  We finally  heard a huge commotion along the bank, and when I looked, I actually saw a large baitfish get tossed several feet in the air.  We hustled down there, and Scott, from the bow, tossed his popper in, I waited for a respectful millisecond, and threw my streamer in.  There were half a dozen large fish, Scott got a swing and a miss, and I was immediately tight to a nice specked or paca, which pushed the double figure mark.  That was pretty much the end of our notable action for the day.   Perhaps not what I had hoped for, but still spectacular!

Rumble The Jungle 2022 Day Three, The Lagoon of Ridiculousness

Inauspicious start today.  Our guy today was Booyah, a new guide, that I haven't fished with yet.  After a quick run down river, we stopped and worked a bank.  A few casts, a couple of nice fish, and Booyah, said, "Go back to lodge"  When I looked at him quizzically, he said, "No problem", and pointed at his side.  We went back to the lodge, and switched out guides, and headed back out.  (It turned out later that Booyah was having a stomach issue.)  Our new guide was Daniel.

The first lagoon we fished was a little non-descript, but the fishing was not.  I was on the bow, and Daniel spotted a large fish moving rapidly along the bank.  I was able to get the fly about fifteen feet in front of it, one strip, and the fish was on it.  This would be the second fish of the trip to run straight into the middle of a lagoon, and into the backing.  It turned out to be a striking male, with deep greens and oranges, that I couldn't quite capture on film, and went 15 pounds.  The fish this year are tanks!  Working our way around the lagoon, we took about 20 more fish, including a couple more that went over ten pounds.  Then we headed to the arapaima lagoon.

In Brazil, there are really two seasons, a wet season and a dry season.  During wet season, the river levels rise by over twenty feet and the fish head into the jungle to forage.  As the water levels drop, the fish head back into the main river channel, and also, many fish end up trapped in lagoons that become disconnected from the river.  The lagoon in question always seems to hold a fairly significant population of arapaima.  

We parked on the beach, and hiked back to the lagoon where another boat was stored.  I stood up in the boat and couldn't believe my eyes.  As far as you could see, butterfly peacocks in the 2 to 5 pound range, some a bit larger were laying near the surface in the sun.  Any fly that hit the water was instantly attacked.  Scott tied on a popper, picked up a six weight, and watched them fight over it.  After landing ten or so, I stopped casting to look for bigger fish.  And found some!  I hooked a large fish near the shoreline, and despite doing the best I could to put the brakes on, even grabbing the fly line with both hands, it pushed away into the jungle and tangled in the branches.  As we poled the boat over, Scott took a quick cast, and hooked a small payara, the only one we would see the entire week.  The guide jumped over the side of the boat to try to untangle the fish, the fish untangled itself and ran back into the center of the lagoon, and Scott and I ended up with a 12 pound peacock, payara double.  

Then we headed into the middle, drifting slowly, and hoping to intercept rolling arapaimas.  The drill is to look for a roller, drop the fly on the roll, let it sink, and then strip it back very slowly.  The problem on this day, was that even though flies are generally stripped back at high speeds for peacocks, there were so many peacocks in this lagoon that anything that hit the water was game on.  When I finally had an arapaima roll in range, I was able to drop the fly right in the rings, but on the very first slow pull, I came tight to a peacock, I was able to shake it off, and second one grabbed it, and than a third, and as I was lifting

 the fly out of the water, another peacock, this one a 12 to 13 pound  bomber smoked the fly right on top of the water as I was preparing to cast again.  It was just ridiculous.  Scott somehow did manage to snake a small arapaima away from the peacocks.  Even a small arapaima is a huge accomplishment in this fishery, which is not particularly known for them.  

So, almost an indescribable day.  It was the only day that I decided to count fish, and I stopped midway through the day at 65 fish.  The payara/peacock double, landing another six or so double figure fish between us, the arapaima, the large peacock that ate the fly as it was being lifted out of the water, the biggest (and most) butterfly peacocks I had ever seen in my life.  The Agua Boa.  It doesn't disappoint.

Rumble In the Jungle Amazon 2022 Day Two - Big Fish Caboclo

 

The alarm went off at 5:45 a.m., and just for a moment, I considered getting just a little more sleep.  But then I remembered where I was.  And what was about to happen.  It gets light about 6:00 a.m., and just as the sun begins to come up, the pacus, and several other species will begin to rise by the thousands in front of the lodge.  And I will be there with my three weight to greet them.  

It's not the only thing happening.  There's a hearty breakfast served at 6:00 a.m. every morning, and all the other guests typically rise to that.  But I've found out I can enjoy some pretty good fishing, roll in to breakfast late and gulp it down, and still be on the dock ready to leave by 7:15 a.m.  Today was worth it!  Landed several pacus, including this gorgeous fish.  And got cut off a couple times after spirited battled.   And no, the marking isn't blood, but looks so much like it that I tried to wipe it off when I caught my first one.  I haven't been able to determine the species, but the locals call this fish a Marie Antoinette pacu, which always makes me smile.

          Marie Antoinette pacu

I was pleased to find out that our guide today would be Caboclo. Caboclo has been guiding here for approximately 14 years.  He's a very accomplished fly caster and tyer.  And there is a reason those of us that have fished here multiple times call him, Big Fish Caboclo.  I knew that there was a very good chance I would catch my biggest fish of the week today, for two reasons.  One, Caboclo is extremely big fish focused.  It's the way he is wired and he's good at finding them.  To such an extent that I've hooked many very respectable fish that Caboclo barely glances at, in fact he doesn't acknowledge them in any way.  Also, the way Agua Boa is set up, each guide has a beat, and Cabaclo has one particular lagoon, that year in and year out, just stacks big fish.  It's almost uncanny.  So, the fact that Caboclo loves to search for big fish, and guides on the beat that typically has the largest fish is a very happy circumstance.

We spent the morning fishing a couple of lagoons (not THE lagoon), and honestly, fishing by Agua Boa standards was quite slow.  We hit a couple dozen butterfly peacocks, and few  spotted peacocks in the five to seven pound range, and then took a lunch break.  The guides here typically pull the boat up in the shade, and take a 30 minute break for lunch, some even catch a power nap.  Today, we pulled up on the edge of a deep, slow pool, and it looked a good place to catch some piranha, so I tied on a Clouser minnow and waded out.  I waded slowly, and slid my feet, so if I came into contact with a freshwater stingray, I would kick it, but not actually pin it against the bottom.  Good things, because I did blow up two stingrays as I waded.  A couple casts in my fly got hammered, and it was very apparent this was no piranha.  Mystery was solved when the biggest peacock of the morning flung itself into the air, and as it streaked by, and even larger one was keeping pace with it.  When I landed it, turned out to be around eight pounds.  I ended up catching a few more peacocks, and lost two flies to piranhas.  Was honestly a bit sad when Caboclos siesta was over and it was time to move, I was having a ball wading and fishing.  

We then headed to THE lagoon.  The water was still rising and off color from the rains.  The normal procedure here is to pole slowly, and the person on the bow casts to targets that Caboclo spots from his polling platform, but today he asked us both to blindcast into the  middle of the lagoon.  I selected a fairly large fly, an eight inch long, chartreuse over white EP pattern that I felt might stand out in the stained water.  Had a great take near the boat, unseen, and the fish, though powerful, mostly fought straight up and down, leading to some speculation about it's identity.  It turned out to a large, three barred peacock of 16.5 pounds, my best of the trip, and only slightly smaller than my best ever, a 17lb fish taken with Joseph two years ago.  Released the fish, and not ten minutes later was treated to maybe the best strike of the trip.  We were poling slowly, and I made a long cast to the middle of the lagoon.  On the retrieve, the fly swung up and behind the poling platform, and I was watching the fly intently so I could see how it was swimming.  With the fly shimmering about a foot beneath the water, a large peacock flashed past the fly, turned on it's tail and came back and absolutely garbaged it.  I couldn't give you exact dimensions, but it was obviously a special fish.  This was confirmed when it actually ran into the backing, which doesn't happen often with peacocks.  Eventually, had the fish at the boat, and it weighed in at 17 pounds.  We continued to fish the lagoon, and I landed three more fish between 10 and 13 pounds, and my fishing partner Scott, also landed several double figure fish.  

                             16.5 lbs!

                                   17 lbs!

                                                                                               

Once again, Big Fish Caboclo and his special lagoon did not disappoint.  From the lagoon, it was short run back to the dock and the tray of caipirinhas that awaited.  Another wonderful day on the Agua Boa.

Rumble In The Jungle Amazon Day One Everything Old is New Again!

                                                                 New species of pacu!

It's Saturday, the first of seven fishing days.  Despite having approximately two hours of sleep in the previous forty, when the small plane passed over the lodge for the first time, and I saw the twists and turns of the Agua Boa River, I felt a surge of adrenaline.  Within an hour, I would be casting flies into the familiar waters that I love so much.

With me on this trip is my friend, Captain Scott Hamilton.  Scott was, I believe, the first fly fishing only, blue water fishing guide, on the east coast of Florida.  He is innovative, curious, and one of the best fly casters I've met.  He also was a mentor when I was cutting my teeth in saltwater fly fishing many years ago.  This would be Scotts first trip here, and actually, his first trip as a client anywhere.  I felt a little nervous, as you typically do when you show something special to you to someone else.  Not under my control, but I really wanted the river to show out and show off!

We landed, got the customary flute of champagne, ate some breakfast, and hurried to the rooms to rig up.  I had actually pre rigged leaders when I was home, so I was down at the docks a bit before Scott.  This meant I got to do a little pacu fishing.  They rise all around the lodge dock early every morning, and there were a few still active.  I pulled out the three weight, took a couple of casts, and was instantly into a strong fish that almost ran to the backing.  Pacu on a three are no joke!  It was touch and go, and often with protracted battles, pacu, with their dentation will often cut through the leaders, but soon enough had a beautiful fish at the dock.  A new species of pacu, and a new species on fly, which makes 203!

Our guide for the day is Zenzino, also known as Joseph.  He has been guiding for 24 years, and is rumored to be Brazils first fly fishing guide.  I've caught many big fish with him, respect his knowledge, and even though he is by far the most, should we say, excitable of the guides, I was thrilled to start our day with him.  The way it works in the Agua Boa, is that you have six different guides, each with their own beat, except Joseph is kind of a rover, and can fish anywhere.  This being a shorter day, we wouldn't be traveling far, but I was a little disappointed when we literally went two minutes in the boat, cut the motor, and Joseph started poling the far bank.  In the past, I've found this stretch not to be super productive, and I was hoping maybe we were fishing it just so Joseph could see if the new guy could cast or not.  In the next few minutes, I was to learn that I really don't know anything.

The water is pretty high.  Wet season has kicked off early, the river has risen, and the classic Agua Boa sight fishing is going to be mostly reserved for the lagoons, where the water still has some clarity.  Basically, we were chucking streamers tight to the bank, and ripping them back as quickly as we could.  Just a few casts in, I had a wrenching strike, and it quickly became apparent that my first fish of the trip was going to be a good one!  Soon, I had a ten pound fish at the boat, and Scott on the bow was also hooked up.  From there, chaos ensued.  Almost every cast was a strike or a hook-up.  Small fish, medium sized fish,....big fish.  Scott lost a very large fish, that at the end of the fight, the fly simply fell out.  I had a good look at it, and was sure it was 14 pounds so.  Scott, surprisingly (he's an intense guy) took it philosophically, remarking that losing some of the big fish is part of the experience.  So grown up of him!  Sometimes losing big fish makes me a bit sulky.

We eventually came to an area where the river opened up into a lagoon.  We reeled up, and Joseph motored slowly around and through the trees and logjams, until it opened up.  Again, we're not five minutes from the lodge, and with all the authority of experience, I remarked that this lagoon was a numbers lagoon, but I had never taken a fish over six pounds here.  Yep, you know what happened.  We landed many fish over that number.

                                    Butterfly                                                                13 lbs!

I landed a 13 pound fish and an eleven pound fish.  Scott landed a 14 lb fish.  And honestly, one of the highlights were the butterfly peacocks.  The butterflies are the most beautiful of the peacocks.  Typically, they weigh 2 to 3 pounds, and anything over that is notable.  They are present in high numbers, and if you just wanted to focus on them, most days you could catch them all day.  This year...they're just bigger.  The first one I caught in the lagoon was probably pushing six pounds, and we caught many that were in the four to five pound range.  Honestly, rods were bent on hard fighting fish the majority of the time, and my fishing partner was giggling like a junior higher.  You may have heard someone say before, the fishing was so good it was ridiculous?  We had definitely climbed into the ridiculous category. 

We also landed a few of the fun by catch species, in this case most of them fairly typical.  I landed a jacunda, a kind of pike cichlid, and a piranha.  Scott landed a fish the Brazilians refer to as a dogfish, a fish with a mouthful of nasty teeth, that I've learned to avoid setting the hook on, when I see them flash on my fly.  If a person brought along a six weight and a Clouser minnow in the boat, you could be in to "other" fish all day, for sure. 

White Piranha

Jacunda

Dogfish

Butterfly

A quick note if you fish here.  It wasn't long before Scotts hands were torn and bleeding.  These fish are called peacock bass.  They're not actually bass.  Their mouths are much harder, more abrasive, and if  you keep sticking your hand in there, and the fish thrashes, your hands are going to be a mess by the end of the first day.  With the smaller fish, (under five pounds) lift them out of the water using that 40lb floro, grab them behind the head, and turn them upside down.  They will relax, making hook removal easier.  The larger fish, get a boga grip on them, you don't have to hang them from it, just use it instead of your fingers, and you can pop the hook out with the fish still in the water.  Trust me on this, or learn the hard way!

As we made our back to the lodge, we speculated on how many fish we had caught. Neither of us are really counters, but we felt conservatively, we had probably landed between seventy and eighty fish, on our "half day".  Scott remarked that he wasn't quite sure how it could get better.  But I have a feeling...

Snook: The perfect saltwater starter fish

I just want to get this out of the way.  I'm totally addicted  to salt water fishing.  I made the transition twenty years ago, and love it for so many reasons.  I'm not saying it's superior to other forms of fly fishing, because that would be making an ironclad statement about something that is completely subjective.  In the end, it's all about fun.  But here are three things saltwater fishing has going for it.

One of the best battles I've ever had from a snook...

First, the fish, as a rule, just pull harder, and battle more spectacularly than freshwater fish.  There are exceptions.  A hot chrome steelhead is a more exciting battler than a speckled trout, for example.  But just watch a tarpon video.  Or talk to someone that has watched a false albacore sizzle off a couple hundred yards of backing. 

Second, the places saltwater fish are found speak to me.  Some people love the mountains, I understand it.  But when I step on to the beach early in the morning, and watch the sunrise over the ocean, and smell the salt, and hear the pounding of the surf.....I just can never get enough of it. 

Third, the ocean is such a mysterious place, you never know exactly what is going to happen.  For the most part, on my local lakes, ponds, and trout streams, I know how  things are going to play out.  But on the ocean...it's another story.  You may see a shark the size of a small car, in fact,  said shark may relieve you of the fish you are battling.  Sea turtles, dolphins, whales may pay a visit.  Like variety?  So far, I've landed over sixty species of saltwater fish on fly...with so many more to go!

I hear a lot of fly fishers talk about venturing to the salt...someday.  Some of them have been talking about it for decades.  For my friends that talk about it and don't make it, I see a few barriers.  One is expense.  Saltwater fishing can be expensive.  The gear can be expensive, and the trips can be expensive, especially if you are staying at a lodge, or booking a guide for a week.   Second,  many people don't where to start, and often make mistakes about where to begin.  Hint....a Keys permit trip is probably not the ideal way to wet a line in the ocean for the first time.  Third, some people are concerned if their skills meet the demands of the salt. 

So, the ideal target for saltwater fishing would be a fish that encompasses all that is intriguing about the saltwater game, but also, could be pursued on the cheap, maybe fished for with equipment that many freshwater anglers already possess,  and maybe, might even be caught by the angler that can't put a fly on a paper plate at eighty feet.  (And yes, I totally understand that the more competant you are, the more fish you will catch and the better your experience will be).

Introducing the snook!  I have to remember, this is a blog post, not a book   But, I must say it, they are pretty much the perfect gamefish.  They're gorgeous.  Silver, with that jet black line down the side, and yellow fins, not gaudy, like a brook trout, or a dolphin, but beautiful,  in kind of an understated, classical way.  They get BIG!  My best on fly is 42 inches, probably between 25-27 pounds, and they get considerably bigger than that.   The way they fight is everything you could want from a gamefish.  Most of the time, you get a jump or two, they pull hard, and make you battle for every inch of line.  Some fish run further, some fish jump higher, some fish pull harder, but the snook does a little bit of everything.  They are also very inclined, unlike some species, to take flies.  I've had days when I've fished a long, hard day without a hookup, but I've had plenty of days when I've hooked double digit numbers of fish, and years ago, a friend and I had day when we landed over fifty in a morning between the two of us.

Caught this one blinding casting over a big bait pod.

They can also be fished for at minimal expense.  Have an eight weight, and a reel with a decent disk drag?  You are off to great start.  Don't have one?  A reasonable outfit can be purchased for $300 or so.  And you don't need a ticket to the Seychelles.  The best place in the world to catch snook on fly is Florida.  If you are an international reader, this may not be the case, but I can often find round trip tickets to Florida for under $200.  If I fish totally DIY, splitting a hotel with a friend,and rental car, I can fish for a week, lodging, plane ticket, rental car, meals, for under $1000, and I spend a chunk of my summer each year doing just that.

The best part?  If you have even rudimentary skills, you can catch snook on fly.  The summer, in Florida, is snook spawning season.  They spawn in the inlets, in heavy flowing water, but they don't spawn all at once, and for months, a significant number of fish are cruising the beach, hunting.  And when I say cruising the beach, they are literally a few feet off the sand, in fact, they are often right in the surge of the waves, chasing baitfish in the skinny water, moving forward and retreating with the waves.  Imagine, walking the beach, in a swimsuit, carrying your fly rod, standing about ten feet back from the water, watching intensley.  About a hundred feet away, you spot them, several large, silvery fish, casting shadows on the bottom, right in the trough, literally just a few feet off the beach.  When they are about fifty feet away, you drop a small baitfish pattern just ahead of then and beyond them, so that as you retrieve, the baitfish will pass

Sanibel Island:  The place I really learned to snook fish, and still amazing.

The view the snook fisherman gets every morning.  

a couple feet in front of them, directly in their line of sight.  As you strip, one surges forward and follows slowly, until it's almost at your feet, and then with a rush, it flares it's gills and sucks in your fly.  You strip set and the fish immediatly runs twenty feet, and then flies from the water, and your fly comes out....but it's OK, because just down the beach, you can already see your next target.  That scenario will be replayed thousands of times by fly fishers this summer.

You can have the mountains...give me this!

There are many other ways to catch snook.  In the mangroves, on the dock lights, even in the inlets with a full sinking line.  There is way more that could be said about this, and many have.  But this is just a blog.  I want you to know that saltwater fly fishing is amazing.  I want you to believe that you can be successful at it.  And I think snook are a perfect starter fish for so many reasons.  If your interest is piqued, I'd suggest  you reserach further.  There are many excellant books, Norm Zeiglers book, "Snook on the fly" is a good one to start with.  The Facebook group, Snook on the Fly, is also a great place to learn, as is the Facebook group, Snook Club, even though that group is mostly conventional guys.   Do your research, grab an eight weight, and your stripping basket, and once travel is safe again, head to Florida and give it a try.  If you do, feel free to contact me with any questions, and definitely let me know how you do!

The fish you see when you close your eyes, my top ten list, part two.

Note, the first two paragraphs of this blog, are basically the same preamble as yesterday, so if you read yesterdays, scroll down.

It's no secret I like to fish.  I picked up a fly rod for the first time at the age of twelve, I'm now fifty three, and I'm not even close to tired of it.  And thinking about fishing, while not as fun as actually fishing, often brings a smile to my face.  In fact, I have even discovered that thinking about fishing can be highly useful!   As I've gotten older, I don't sleep as well.   I never have problems going to sleep, but I sometimes have problems staying asleep.  So, when I wake up (usually between 3:00 and 4:00 a.m.), I've learned a technique that helps.  I choose some of my favorite fishing moments, and think about them, and soon enough, I'm drifting.  Sometimes, I try to make a list of the most memorable fish I've ever caught.  I usually only get a few fish down the list, and I'm sound asleep.

Today, I'm fully awake, but mostly homebound, trying to do my part and stay home.  I'm a little restless, I've got some time on my hands since the real estate market isn't booming, and if there were ever a time to make a list, this is it!  Although there are other things that make fishing trips memorable, the company, locales, food, etc., the fish are still the stars of the show.  These are ranked in no particular order.  I'll start each by giving the species, the size, the day they were caught, and if they were a quest, a target, or a surprise.  A quest is a fish you have pursued somewhat obsessively, a target is a fish that happened to be what you are actually fishing for, but the particular fish caught that day stood out, and a surprise is one of the wonderful fish that come like a bolt from the blue, that you could never have planned for.  And yes, as you scroll through, you'll notice this turns out to be a top twelve list. (Note, as this blog was written, it turned out to be a two parter, today, I'll share the second six.

Fish #7   Brown Trout, Sheboygan River Wisconsin
Date:  November, 1996
Size, 36.5 inches long, 21.5 inch girth,  aprox. 22.4 pounds
Category:  Target

To tell the truth, brown trout, in the fall in Wisconsin are a bycatch of swinging for steelhead, but they are an expected bycatch, some days you catch far more browns than you do steelhead, as was also the case this day.  Before I had left the house, I had my daughter show me how to use the timer on my point and shoot camera, (remember this was 1996), in case, in my words I would happen to catch the "biggest trout of my life".  It was a bitterly cold day, so much so, that I had the river almost entirely to myself.  When you steelhead fish, you are casting, allowing the fly to swing down and across, and then taking a step and doing it all over again, until you finish the run you are working.  On this particular day, about once an hour, I"d get a strong pull, and land a brown trout from five to twelve pounds or so, it wasn't surprising when near the middle of a hundred yard long run, in one of the sweet spots, I felt a fish nip at the fly a couple of times.  I just let it continue to swing and the fish almost took the rod out of my hand.  Lots of slow head shakes, and powerful runs back and forth near the middle of the pool, like most lake run browns,  it was not inclined to run far.  When I got my first glimpse of it, I realized it definitely was not like most lake run browns.  It was a beautiful male brown, long, but also thick, one of those fish that carry weight from their shoulders all the way through the tail.  In my mind, the mark for these browns is twenty pounds, and although I had already landed a couple of twenty pound fish in past years, I knew this was the largest.  Some quick measurements, that put it between 22 and 23 pounds, and a quick picture with the point and shoot camera, and back in he went. And it remains, 24 years later, the largest trout of my life.

Fish #8  Dusky Shark, Jupiter, Florida
Date:  July, 2019
Size:  300 pounds
Category:  Quest

I love sharks.  I've been fascinated by them since I was kid.  And since I've been fishing offshore in Forida for false albacore, I've been trying to figure out how to get the large sharks that are a constant presence around the boat, to both eat a fly, and once they eat, to land them.  The second part is more challenging than the first, most of sharks around the boat are in the 200-500 pound range, we're fishing in over 100 feet of water, and the first thing they do when you hook them is dive.  But, with lots of trial and error, I ended up with the right tackle, the right flies, and the right rigging, and began to have success slapping fish alongside the boat.  (not in the boat!)  Had a wonderful take from a giant right at the surface, got to watch it  slide past the fly, turn on it's tail and engulf it, and then with some good boatwork from the captain, and some hard pulling on the 16 weight, actually had the fish tired, and at the surface in about thirty minutes.  My guide called it at 300 pounds, obviously no measurements were taken.  Interestingly enough, in the picture you can see a hook in the corner of the mouth, but that's not mine, the fly is on the other side, and also a green tag. 

Fish #9  Snook, Jupiter Florida
Date  July, 2016
Size  41 inches and change
Category:  Target

Walking along a beach, in the sun, wearing only a pair of swim trunks, and casting to snook is about as good it gets.  Every summer, the snook, during their spawning time, swim parallel to the beach, often only a few feet off the sand.  It's stunning, visual fishing, at the best of it, you pick your fish, make the cast, watch the fish react to the fly, and sometimes, they will track and eat with the leader literally in the guides.  Not so on this day.  The water was murky, the surf was big, but there was a gigantic bait pod between the beach and the Jupiter jetty, and the snook were taking full advantage.  I made a long cast down the jetty, came tight, and the guy at the end of jetty, who with the advantage of elevation had seen the fish eat, called out, and said, "dude, that's a BIG fish!"  Nothing spectacular, the snook headed south, running parallel to the beach, not out.  Not in a hurry, but not letting itself get any closer than about 50 feet from the beach either.  The longer I walked, the bigger the crowd following me down the beach got, soon I had a group of about 30 people following me, plus a teenage boy in the water that was shooing swimmers out of the way.  To this point, I had never landed a really big snook, and when I finally was able to muscle it in on an inbound wave I about passed out.  40 inches is kind of a benchmark for snook even for the bait guys, a 40 incher on fly is a big deal.  This one stretched out the tape between 41 and 42.  The next couple of days, I even got to hear discussion about "the guy from Iowa" who had landed a big snook the other day. 

Fish #`10  Sawfish, Everglades
Date  July 2016
Size  Not really sure
Category:  Biggest surprise of all time

Walking the shoreline in Flamingo, after a good day of fishing the Glades.  Saw a fish that looked to be about three feet long approaching, looked exactly like a small shark.  As it approached, I dropped the fly to the side of it's head, twitched it, and when I did, it swung it's SAW at the fly.  I let the fly fall to the bottom like a wounded baitfish, and the craziest fish of my life, just sucked it up.  It was a little hard to release, because I just wanted to hold it and stare at it, even then, was pretty convinced that I would never have the opportunity to hold one of these again.

Fish #11  Northern Pike, Devils Lake, North Dakota
Date  May, 2018
Size:  40.5 inches
Category  Target

When I was growing up, northern pike carried a mystique.  They were full of teeth, known to eat baby ducks and muskrats, and could actually hurt you, if you weren't careful handling them.  They are actually named after a weapon.  My grandfather, who was both a fishermen and a storyteller, had lots of great fishing stories, and many of them involved pike.  Over the years, I had landed many pike on fly, both targeting them, and as bycatch, but Iowa isn't exactly a pike hot spot, and big ones are very uncommon here.  With that in mind, I headed somewhere with a bit more of a reputation, Devils Lake, North Dakota, which is absolutely loaded with pike.  The plan was to fish two days, and my hope was to land a forty inch fish.  On the morning of the first day, casting a large, chartreuse over white ep baitfish, it happened.  Nothing dramatic about the strike, or the fight, but somehow holding the fish, and then watching it swim away, it filled me with memories of chasing these fish as a child, my grandfathers stories, throwing the big wooden, tooth scarred plugs.  And you have to admit, although you might not call them pretty, a darn handsome fish in their own right.

Fish #12  Peacock bass, Agua Boa River
Date:  January, 2020
Size: 17 pounds plus
Category:  Target

Peacock bass are everything you want in a gamefish.  They are beautiful.  They love to eat flies.  They jump.  They pull so hard in the first thirty seconds or so of the fight that it's a little terrifying.  Joseph, our guide for the day, navigated us through a narrow creek off the main river, until it opened up in to a large lagoon.  He made eye contact, and said, "Check leader.  Big fish here."  And big fish there were.  In a short amount of time, I landed six fish over ten pounds, the biggest at fifteen.  But on the very last shoreline, just as my fly was swinging behind the boat, I saw a fish tracking it, and had just enough to think, "that's a BIG fish", when it surged forward and crushed the fly.  All peacock bass are great, this one was just a little extra.  I had never had one battle quite so hard, and wasn't particularly surprise when it also turned out to be my biggest.  And what made it a little sweeter, I took the family big peacock title (a mythical belt) back from my wife, who had landed a sixteen pound fish the year before.

And there you go.  Hopefully, some of these fish will be replaced in the coming years.  Or, I'll just have to make my list longer!  Would love to hear about some of years.  If you are interested in an Amazon peacock trip, contact me!

The fish you see when you close your eyes...my top ten fish of all time.

It's no secret I like to fish.  I picked up a fly rod for the first time at the age of twelve, I'm now fifty three, and I'm not even close to tired of it.  And thinking about fishing, while not as fun as actually fishing, often brings a smile to my face.  In fact, I have even discovered that thinking about fishing can be highly useful!   As I've gotten older, I don't sleep as well.   I never have problems going to sleep, but I sometimes have problems staying asleep.  So, when I wake up (usually between 3:00 and 4:00 a.m.), I've learned a technique that helps.  I choose some of my favorite fishing moments, and think about them, and soon enough, I'm drifting.  Sometimes, I try to make a list of the most memorable fish I've ever caught.  I usually only get a few fish down the list, and I'm sound asleep.

Today, I'm fully awake, but mostly homebound, trying to do my part and stay home.  I'm a little restless, I've got some time on my hands since the real estate market isn't booming, and if there were ever a time to make a list, this is it!  Although there are other things that make fishing trips memorable, the company, locales, food, etc., the fish are still the stars of the show.  These are ranked in no particular order.  I'll start each by giving the species, the size, the day they were caught, and if they were a quest, a target, or a surprise.  A quest is a fish you have pursued somewhat obsessively, a target is a fish that happened to be what you are actually fishing for, but the particular fish caught that day stood out, and a surprise is one of the wonderful fish that come like a bolt from the blue, that you could never have planned for.  And yes, as you scroll through, you'll notice this turns out to be a top twelve list. (Note, as this blog was written, it turned out to be a two parter, I'll share the first six today.

Fish number one:  Payara, Agua Boa River, Brazil
Date:  January, 2019
Size:  Not measured, maybe seven pounds
Category:  Surprise!

I've always been fascinated by the payara, or as some people call them, vampire fish.  It's not an original thought, but you can't help looking at that mouth, and just staring at the huge canines.  The fish actually have holes in their head that the teeth fold in to.  Last January, my wife and I were fishing on the Agua Boa River in Brazil.  It's a peacock bass destination, payara are quite uncommon there, and when they do show up, usually tiny.  But one day, my wife was retrieving her fly and there was a silver flash behind it.  The guide called out, "payara", and in her next few casts, she caught one.  It turned out there was a huge pod of them, and we hooked a couple dozen, although only four were landed.  They were amazing gamefish, each one taking to the air several times, so much like baby tarpon.  You might think the visage on these would give me nightmares, but thinking about them makes me sleep like a baby!

Fish number two:  Grass Carp, Hannen Lake, Iowa
Date:  April, 2001
Size  56 lbs, 11 oz
Category:  Definitely Quest

When I moved to Iowa, I devoted a lot of time trying to figure out how to get these guys to eat flies.  I couldn't find much information, and what I could find didn't translate well.  Once I did figure it out, I decided, for once, to get in "the book", the official record book that the International Gamefish association keeps.  The record for six pound tippet was approximately 25 lbs, I decided to wait until I got one that went over fifty and turn it in.  On a warm night in late April it happened, a giant sucked in the dry fly I was throwing, and when it went on the official scales, (three days after capture) it weighed 56lbs 11 oz and is still the record to this day.  I've caught some bigger ones since, but once through the somewhat tedious process that you have to go through to submit a record was definitely enough.  Grass carp remain the most difficult fish to entice to eat a fly that I have ever fished for.

Fish number three:  Striped bass, Lower Illinois River, Oklahoma
Date:  Summer 2018
Size  41 inches, somewhere between thirty and thirty one pounds
Category:  Target

In late spring, the striped bass move out of the main stem of the Arkansas River into the Lower Illinois, attracted by the cold water (The Lower Illinois is a tailwater), and probably, the huge stockings of catchable size rainbow trout.  Stripers are beautiful, hard pulling fish that whack flies aggressively, and I can't get enough of them.  Typical size is 3-12 pounds, but there are plenty of larger fish, and a few MUCH larger fish.  On an overcast day, I was chucking a large, eight inch, ep baitfish pattern, much like I would throw to pike, up against the far bank, letting it sink a bit, and then ripping it back fast.  A couple of strips in, I got whacked hard, the fish screamed up the river parallel to several snags, running beside them, but making no effort to get in them, reversed course and screamed downstream past several more, ulitmately choosing to slug it out downstream in a deep, snagless pool.  As big fish sometimes do, when it got close, it seemed to double in size.  Pulled my sewing tape out, and got a quick length girth measurement, before sending it on it's way.  Still gives me the chills thinking about it.

Fish number four:  Black drum, Hopedale, Louisiana
Date:  February, 2020
Size:  Bigger than 45 pounds, less than 50
Category:  Target

I had never caught a black drum, or even had the opportunity to throw for one.  Left the dock on this trip with the hopes to get a shot.  It turned out to be a brutal day of fishing,  windy, cold, cold water, and most disturbingly, muddy water,  and we poled all over, but in the first six hours of fishing had seen exactly zero fish.  The most exciting moment had been spotting a mudcloud where a fish had recently been.  But at 2:30, it happened.  In three feet water, the biggest tail I had ever seen protruding from the water in my life.  No heroic casts, but when the fly came close to the fish, it just ate.  And yes, I know it's ugly.  But...what a fish!  And what a way to salvage a day when you only see one fish!

Fish number five:  Steelhead, Kewaunee River, Wisconsin
Date, October , 1997
Size 39 inches
Category:  Quest

Steelhead are my favorite freshwater fish.  I love the way they hit a swung fly, I love what they do afterwards, and I love the way they look.  Half a lifetime ago,  I was on a quest to catch a 40 inch steelhead, something that in Wisconsin might be like looking for unicorns. ( I do know of one that has been landed)  On a cold, numbing, snowy day, I was swinging a small wet fly called a Night Dancer, through the gut of a deep pool.  Felt a pluck, another pluck, and then that wonderful, solid pull, that only those who swing flies can really appreciate.  The fish fought deep, with big headshakes, and no acrobatics, as is often the case for large bucks in deep water.  But when it finally hit the bank, it was a marvel.  Not a 40 inch fish, (an inch short), not the girth to be a twenty pound fish (probably a little over 18), but remains my best, and one of my best memories.  So long ago, that for the blog, I had to take a picture of the picture of the picture I have blown up in my den.

Fish number six:  Red tailed catfish, Agua Boa River Brazil
Date, January 2020
Size:  20ish pounds
Category:  Huge surprise (mostly)

I'm fascinated by red tail catfish, and really wanted one of thse beautiful creatures on flies.  But they are a VERY uncommon catch.  I happened to talking with my guide, and as we were floating in a lagoon, I asked how many red tail catfish had been caught on fly in his boat.  He said none.  He had guided this river for 12 years, 5.5 months a year, about 2000 days.  It didn't sound like my odds were good.  Two minutes later, he said, there's one!  And sure enough, there was one fifty feet out, two feet under the surface of the water, slowly swimming right at the boat.  Dropped the fly in front of it, gave it a couple of slowww strips, felt a pluck, and on the next strip he slammed it.  Yep, nothing amazing, pretty much just caught him.  But one of the very first fish that comes to mine, when I think about memorable ones! 

This is long....so I'm going to make this a two part blog.  Feel free to send comments or questions.  I still host a trip to the Amazon yearly and would love to chat about it with anyone that is interested.  And remember, if you have trouble sleeping tonight....think about your own top ten list!