Description
This fishing trip is designed for anglers who appreciate both a fantastic adventure and comfort. You’ll fly in a seaplane deep into the Amazon jungle and stay on a luxurious and comfortable houseboat. You’ll fish on the Rio Negro and its northern tributaries for Giant Peacock Bass, Arowana, Traira/Wolfish, Bicuda, Piranha, Jacundá, Matrinxá, Surubim Cats, Redtail, and Piraiba. All in all, there’s plenty of variety and top-notch fishing in an incredibly impressive setting. Amazon-Angler’s ‘Cabeçeiras’ Live Aboard trip in the Brazilian Amazon Rainforest is an exciting and adventurous fishing trip with ample opportunities to fish for Giant Peacock Bass. <Here’s how John Smit experienced his pilot session:
This ‘all inclusive’ adventurous jungle trip departs from Manaus by seaplane to a large houseboat on the southern fishing grounds and on the Rio Negro and its tributaries. In addition to large Peacock Bass, you can also catch other species on lures and flies.
This trip takes place from January 23 to February 1, 2025. This is one of the best periods to fish for large Peacock Bass and other species, as the water levels have dropped, concentrating the fish and making them easier to catch. Depending on the water levels, catfish species can also be found here.
Trip & Plan
- January 23: Flight from Amsterdam to Manaus and overnight stay
- January 24: Transfer to the houseboat by private charter, lunch, and fishing from 2 PM
- January 25 to 30: Six full days of fishing from the houseboat
- January 31: Return flight to Manaus, transfer to hotel, and overnight stay
- February 1: Flight home, arriving on February 2
Price is €4,450 per person includes:
- Personal guidance from Visreis.nl
- Transfer on arrival day and hotel overnight stay in Manaus
- Round trip seaplane flight to the houseboat and back
- Transfer to hotel on the return day to Manaus
- Hotel overnight stay and transfer to the airport on the last day for the return trip
- All meals and soft drinks on the houseboat and during fishing
- Wi-Fi satellite internet on board the houseboat
- All taxes and fishing permits
- Daily laundry service
- 6+ days guided fishing with 2 anglers and 1 guide per boat
- Private bedroom on the houseboat
- Photo book after the trip
- Meeting to discuss all trip details
- Unique Visreis.nl fishing shirt
Excludes:
- International and domestic flights to and from Manaus (other than mentioned above)
- Meals and drinks in Manaus
- Tips ($300 USD)
- Imported spirits and wine
- Fishing gear, rods, reels, lures, jigs, etc.
- Local ‘fishing tax’ of about $50 (payable upon arrival to the host)
- Visa (note: citizens of the European Union, the USA, Canada, Australia, and Japan do NOT need a visa to enter Brazil)
This trip requires a minimum and maximum of 7 anglers! Please note that due to the local charter used, luggage allowance is limited. The maximum weight is 20 kilos per person, with no option to book extra luggage space. A complete and detailed list of gear, clothing, and equipment will be provided once the reservation and deposit are made. The cost of this trip is €4,450 per person for 10 days, 9 nights, and 6+ fishing days. These costs are based on each angler having their own cabin and bathroom, and fishing with a partner or another solo-booked angler. International guests may also book this trip, so the primary language is likely to be English.
The tributaries in the southern area and the northern area of the Rio Negro have lagoon after lagoon filled with hard-fighting Peacock Bass (Cichla pinima in the south and Cichla temensis in the north), which can reach up to 24 pounds and 30 pounds, respectively. The fish are found under fallen trees and stumps, drop-offs, sandy beaches, and in the structures of the vast lagoons and river bends.
Peacock Bass anglers will tell you that once you’ve hooked a big Peacock Bass on surface lures, you’re hooked for life! There’s nothing more thrilling and exciting than seeing that big fish explode on your propbait, spook, or other surface lure. The strike is nothing short of awe-inspiring, loud, aggressive, fast, fierce, and shocking all at once.
Peacock Bass love structure, though spawning fish often seek the shallow surface of a quiet lagoon with their young. If they don’t want to eat a lure, they want to kill it with explosive strikes, and that’s no exaggeration. Lures must be fished quickly here in the Amazon. Nothing swims slowly in the Amazon and stays alive for long.
In the rainy season, the water rises incredibly fast. A river that is only 100 meters wide within its banks during the dry season can be over 20 kilometers wide in the rainy season, extending far into the flooded jungle. Fishing during this period is like finding a needle in a haystack because predators have followed the baitfish deep into the jungle. Once the rains stop and the levels recede from the jungle back to the riverbanks, this is the best time to catch these magnificent adversaries.
Key structures where Peacock Bass like to hang out include lagoon entrances, corners of beaches and trees, shoulders between a bank and an island, drop-offs, stumps, and entire fallen trees, drop-offs, and sandbanks. The best surface lures to use are Klures propbaits or similar propbaits, poppers, “walk-the-dog” stickbaits like Spooks, and other cigar-shaped lures. The best sub-surface lures are jigheads, minnow-style baits like Rapala X raps, Yozuri Crystal Minnows, Cotton Cordell or similar. With bucktail jigs with extended tails, you can catch over 150 fish per day, although most will be smaller than those caught with larger lures. Fly fishing is a great way to fish here under the right conditions, at sandy beaches, in lagoons, and in the many river systems. Using large, flashy streamer flies and poppers, you can catch many Peacocks per day.
We also catch other species that attack the lures intended for Peacock Bass. All are great sportfish in their own right, each having its place in our fishing agenda. Most can be caught with the usual Peacock Bass lures, but many anglers enjoy the variety these fantastic fish offer, so they often bring a few different types of lures in their tackle box to catch them.
Arowana/Monkey Fish, due to their jumping ability and eating birds, spiders, and other insects in the higher branches of underwater trees. They are great sport for medium tackle and can weigh over 12 pounds. They take stickbaits, jigs, minnow baits, and flies.
Traira/Wolf fish are usually found at the back of lagoons or in oxygen-poor water. They love spooks and other stickbaits and are fond of jigs, flies, minnows, etc. They weigh up to around 7 pounds.
Bicuda is a species in fast-flowing water that can grow up to 10 pounds here but average 2-3 pounds. These long pike-like fish are lightning-fast and acrobatic, striking most types of topwater and small sub-surface lures, jigs, and flies.
Jacunda is one of the most beautiful fish in the Amazon, and it’s a pity they don’t grow larger. Weighing 2 to 2.5 pounds, they take most small lures, flies, and jigs. Then there are the always-present Piranhas, which eat anything small or big enough! Any jig, soft plastic, or wooden lure can be ‘Piranhavized’ at any moment. They are a real nuisance. My advice to fly and jig anglers is to go for simple designs, or you’ll spend a lot of money on replacements!
Surubim/Shovelnose Cats are also great on lures, often taking jigs, small minnow baits, and flies, and are formidable opponents. In the Rio Negro Basin, they weigh over 30 pounds and can be seen on underwater sandbanks and in lagoons swimming slowly by. And of course, we have larger catfish species for those who want to chill in the shade with a cold drink and wait for an experience on the reel.
Redtails and Piraiba are found here in the deeper holes and channels. This is a fantastic trip for those who want not only great fishing with lures for the hardest-fighting freshwater fish in the world but also plenty of comfort at the end of the day and night.
Accommodation
The large houseboat has been completely renovated, with individual cabins for each angler (each room has a bunk bed if you prefer to share, with the lower bed being a small double), a dining room, an open upper deck terrace for boasting and cocktails, and a fully staffed kitchen. Each cabin has its own bathroom with hot and cold water showers.
Beers, soft drinks, some local liquors, and other beverages are always ice-cold, and delicious meals are prepared by the chefs. This is the perfect fishing trip for couples, families, partners, or even solo anglers.
All cabins and the dining room are fully air-conditioned. There can be up to 8 anglers on this trip.
Boat & Equipment
The fishing boats are 17ft skiffs with raised decks and fishing chairs if needed, 30 HP motors, and electric trolling motors. Each boat has an icebox filled with ice and drinks of your choice. Two anglers share a boat with a guide. These boats are light and can easily be carried and towed into lagoons and lakes if needed.
Overall, this is the right gear to make this fishing trip an unforgettable experience. A list of recommended gear will be provided with your travel documents, but expect sturdy jerkbait rods, strong boat rods, and matching reels and lines to withstand these fish. Also, a good selection of surface lures, jerks/stickbaits, bucktails, plugs, jigs, super-strong hooks, and leaders.
You need to bring your own gear on this fishing trip. It is not possible to rent or buy gear on site. There is also a strict luggage limit of 15 kilos on the domestic flight by seaplane.
The cost of this trip is €4,450 per person for 10 days, 9 nights, and 6+ fishing days. These costs are based on each angler having their own cabin and bathroom and fishing with a partner or another solo-booked angler.
For tips, budget USD 150 for the fishing guide and USD 150 for the boat crew per angler. Prices are indicative and subject to currency and seasonal variations. Payment terms: 50% as a deposit upon booking, 50% payable 90 days before arrival in Brazil. Contact your local doctor for any necessary medications or vaccinations.
Of course, we are happy to arrange the international flights for you. All fishing trips to the Amazon are a true fishing adventure. Despite years of experience and thorough organization of the trips, things can always happen on these expeditions that are not in the regular plan. Participants in this fishing trip should realize that the trip may not go entirely as planned in exceptional cases, and a certain level of flexibility may be required.
