A Bucket List Adventure: Fly Fishing for Trophy Peacock Bass on Remote Amazon Waters
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One question I get asked all the time is, “What’s been your favorite fly fishing destination?” And my answer? I can’t pick just one. I could name a top five, I could suggest some trips that should be on a bucket list, but to narrow it down to one? That’s tough.
Experience a Real Life Fly Fishing Adventure
High on my list is fishing the tributaries of the Amazon River in Brazil with Midcurrent and TC Fishing outfitters. A fly fishing trip to the Amazon rainforest feels like stepping into the pages of Outdoor Life—the kind of thrilling adventure stories I used to read about and daydream over as a kid.
Travel With a Friend
If this is a trip that sounds appealing, I suggest going with a good friend. Fishing is just a small part of the experience. Getting there is an adventure, and if you are traveling with a friend the fun is multiplied.
Next Stop-the Jungle
Each stop along the way feels like shedding another layer of civilization, building anticipation until you’re thinking, "What did I get myself into?" If you travel light—and travel with a friend—there will be plenty of laughs along the way.
Where the Wild Things Are
The final leg of the journey is surreal—flying in a small plane over endless jungle canopy. Besides the plane itself and any electronics you’ve brought, you have stepped away from modern life. You are entering a wild, untamed world that’s remained largely unchanged for centuries. Looking down at the jungle below a small voice in my head get repeating,“If this plane goes down, no one’s finding us.”
A Smooth and Soft Arrival Into the Jungle
The pilot brings the plane down and a boat is waiting to take you to your home for a week. Your room is a floating "cabin" connected to five other cabins and a few support facilities. This set-up forms a train that a larger boat will move up the river to a different location each day, allowing you to fish new water on every outing.
You are now smack dab in the middle of the remote Amazonian Rainforest, surrounded by raw wilderness, yet staying in first-class accommodations.
Eat-Fly Fish-Eat-Sleep-Repeat
Fresh brewed Brazilian coffee awaits you the next morning at 5 am, followed by breakfast at 6 am. Then, you hop into a 21-foot bass boat to explore the jungle’s creeks and tributaries. After a full morning of fishing, guides set up camp on the shore, stringing hammocks for a midday rest while they prepare lunch.
Your Guides Are Indigenous People From the Rainforest Villages
Watching the guides cook is fascinating. Their methods, their knife skills—everything feels deeply rooted in tradition. You can tell they come from the local indigenous tribes that still inhabit the rainforest, and they’ve been cooking this way for generations.
Get Ready for a Fight
It's difficult to describe the hook and fight of a peacock bass over 10 lbs. You’re casting poppers made from champagne corks, trimmed with six-inch feathers. The air is thick with humidity while exotic birds scream and cackle from somewhere in the jungle. You work up a sweat stripping your popper to cause as much commotion as possible.
The Take
A peacock bass slams the popper at top speed, slashing in from the sides—Sometimes it's not trying to eat the fly as much as kill it with that big knot of a forehead. I’ve seen poppers knocked six feet in the air, only for the fish to come back and crush it on the landing. It is all at once heart stopping and exhilarating.
Fly Fishing for Mike Tyson
Now the fight is on. The fish won't run far, but good luck moving it. This is a puncher, not a sprinter—Mike Tyson-style body shots, heavy and brutal. Even the small ones fight big.
The Gear and the Grind
Brandon Powers, the exclusive booking agent for Midcurrent, describes the peacock bass as "A Rottweiler that hasn’t eaten in a week, not much is going to scare him away from a meal."
Brandon is seasoned in fishing these waters and has definite opinions about gear. "I would recommend a 9 weight rod for anglers that are used to throwing a 5 or 6-weight for trout. Suddenly jumping up to a 10-weight can wear you out." He adds, "For fly anglers accustomed to throwing a heavy rod I would recommend the use of a 10-weight. When fishing for peacock bass you will often bring your rods home in more pieces then you left with, so be sure to bring several fly rods with you so that you will have at least one to use the last day of your trip!"
Comfort in the Middle of the Amazonian Wild
The floating cabins, the food, the riverside camps—they’re nothing short of four-star comfort. But once you go out on the bass boats to chase the peacock bass, you're in a wild jungle.
The quarry you’re after is a pure product of that wildness. And when you hook into one, it will test you with a savage intensity.
It Doesn’t Have To Be a Daydream Anymore
If stories from Outdoor Life made you daydream as a kid, a trip to the Amazon Rainforest will let you live them out. The adventure lives up to the stories. KB
"The gods do not deduct from man’s allotted span the hours spent in fishing.” - Herbert Hoover