Do you have a passion for freshwater fishing like I do and moreover an adoration for the mighty peacock bass? If you said yes then you owe it to yourself to come experience the Amazon one day soon and LIVE this once in a lifetime fishing adventure first hand! I have fallen in love with this fish by both catching them as well as guiding for them here in South Florida. The butterfly peacock bass that the FWC stocked 25 years ago have provided myself and my kids hours of backyard enjoyment and hundreds of our clients have left the South Florida area with awesome “fish stories” to tell their buddies back home. Lots of bent poles and tight lines are generally the result of a day of peacock bass fishing here in Florida. If you have ever seen one bust a top water plug then you have likely been “hooked” as well by this fish’s ferocity and their reputed fighting ability which I believe is second to none! Well, the Amazon regions of South America are home to the worlds largest peacock bass. The largest of the bruisers is the Tucunare Acu or 3 barred peacock bass which grow to some 40 inches and 30 pounds! In the rivers we fish there also resides other species of peacocks such as the tucunare paca or “speckled” peacock and the tucunare borboleta or “butterfly” peacock which we have right here in Southeast Florida.

If you have never experienced this awesome species then come along with us right now as we venture deep into the Amazon jungles of Brazil in search of Monster Peacock Bass!

It’s 3:30 a.m and I’m just waking up to that annoying sound of the alarm clock…however this morning is a bit different for me…no rush hour traffic to deal with…no lines at the gas pump…there is no snooze button in my world today! I’m off to Miami International airport to board a non-stop TAM flight to Manaus, Amazonas – Brazil. Yep – I am wide awake with no sleep in my eyes this a.m. The wheels in my head are turning and my mind dreams of watching that double digit beast annihilate my top water lure! About noon I hear the 767′s landing gear go down so I crack my window. What my eyes fixate on is one of the most beautiful, special and wildest places on the planet. The sheer size of this jungle and its rivers with stun you with awe and its beauty will lull you into a sense of comfort almost immediately. Brazil truly loves showing off its prized possession – AMAZON!

After clearing customs its a 3 hour bus ride to Ita Coatiara and our 75 foot hotel boat the Amazon Prince. This is where we will call home for the rest of the week. When we get to the boat we are greeted by the crew and given a cast away party that is fit for most royalty. After an awesome dinner and some drinks its time to get your tackle ready for the next days battle! Heavy action All-Star rods – high speed Pflueger reels and spools of 80 pound Spiderwire braid litter the top deck of the yacht. The smell of epoxy is in the air and good pair of split ring pliers quickly become a Wall Street style commodity. In the words of a simple man who loves to fish…”life is good” . If you can sleep this first night then you are better off than me…I end up staring at the ceiling of my state room for most of the evening in anticipation of launching that first cast into the hallowed waters of this Amazon river.

At 5:00 a.m. I get a wake up knock on my door from my guide Sula telling me that it is time to chunk and wind! I scarf down a quick ham, egg and cheese sandwich, some fresh fruit and a glass of juice for breakfast and we are off. While Sula navigates the fishing boat away from the yacht and through the rivers and lagoons in search of prime water I begin to double and triple check everything in the system. Finally he shuts the Mercury off and lowers the trolling motor down into the black water. Knowing it is go time… I un-clip the bone colored super spook from my casting outfit, make sure my Owner 4x blood red treble hooks are hung correctly in the 100# BassProShops saltwater split rings that we swapped out last night and that the pegs are properly epoxied back into the body of the bait. Last but certainly not least…I ratchet the drag on my Pflueger reel down so tight that you can barely pull any line off of the spool … Now we are ready to go peacock bass fishing!

The first couple of days were great for our numbers of fish up to 12 pounds or so but the grandes were very elusive for me. On day 3 our captain brought the Amazon Prince way up the Rio Uatuma and into lunkerville! Sula told me that he wanted to make a long run this morning…about an hour or so up river to a lagoon that he likes a lot. You sacrifice some fishing time by doing this but last year I broke off a 22 pounder in there so I knew there were some bigger fish that reside in that lagoon. I said “lets do it”…my motto in Brazil is “go big or go home”. Upon our arrival we fished some rocky points with little success. Around 9:00 we ended up moving back into a little area that had some shallow flooded forest. We saw some fish busting bait in there earlier so it looked promising. I threw a Rebel Jumping minnow (which started the week out silver and black but is now more of a bone color and completely paint-less from the peacocks strikes) in past a large dead tree about 20 yards in front of the boat and half way back into the forest. I walked the lure quickly past the big tree and the water just flat opened up! A split second later some 18 pounds of emerald green and sunkist orange fury came leaping out of the water shaking its head violently trying to throw my plug! That moment and seeing that fish eat my lure and then jump was the culmination of hours and hours of hard work, thousands of dollars spent, thousands of casts made and months of preparation! Just as quickly as I had received my moment of jubilation it turned to despair as the monster fish proceeded to tare some 20 or 30 yards of line off from my reel and then wrapped me around a tree that was behind our boat! All I could do was pray that my 80 braid held. I dont know how it did being mangled around the trunk of that tree for so long but it did its job and I was able to stay tight on the big fish! Then just as quickly I had another issue on my hands as this beast had tangled itself all up in a laydown 30 feet behind the tree we just came around and was stuck. Sula manuvered the boat forward and around the big tree so problem number one was solved and I was still tight and could still feel the fish moving on the end of my line. I kept tension on the line as Sula untangled the fish from the laydown and ultimately after another short battle we slipped him into the net. We got a monster! I breathed a sigh of relief and took some pictures of the fish. Looking back I was lucky that he got stuck in that laydown or I would never have landed him. After we let him go it was high fives and hugs between fishing my partner, myself and our guide Sula! Then it was back to work.

Our fifth day was also a special one for me. I had already touched probably 150 peacocks during the week up to 18 pounds so I was a happy camper. We started our move back downriver to fish some new lagoons. The morning session was fun for all of us. Doug Hatchett from Oklahoma got one 17 pounds on a spook and I got one about 12 pounds off of a laydown on a blue and silver Caribe prop bait. In the afternoon Sula and a couple of other guides took us to a private lagoon that was fenced off with chain link. It was actually quite an impressive structure to see…We gave the owner of the lake some Coca-Cola and a couple cans of beer and he broke out the dikes and started cutting! I could not believe it! Well we got in there and the first hour or so was slow. We fished our way into the back of the lagoon and all of a sudden the place came alive! There were fish schooling everywhere you looked! I did not know where to cast. we were like “cast at those…they look bigger” My partner and landed about 30 peacocks up to 8 or 9 pounds in the next hour. It was awesome! After the frenzy I started keying in on larger tree trunks like my 18 pounder came off of earlier in the week. Now I am only throwing at the bigger stumps…then right before dark kablaaaaaam! This 20 pound freight train engulfs my Rebel Jumpin’ minnow! The fish went 20 yards left and jumped I would guess 6 times about eye level with me. It was incredible! Each time he went to jump I cringed a little bit knowing that sooner or later he was going to throw the lure. This time lady luck was on my side and Sula was able to slip the net under him and lugged him into the boat. I was more like Mike Iaconelli than myself when we landed the fish and I probably woke up a monkey or two in the jungle when I screamed out…YES !!!!! We weighed, measured and photographed the monster peacock bass before a few minutes of big fish revival. Once he was ready to go I released my firm grip from his lower jaw and simply watched in awe as he swam back to the tannin stained waters of the lagoon.

You may be wondering about the accommodations you will have on a trip of this nature. And what will you eat? Is it safe for Americans to travel to Brazil? I also had these same questions and concerns on my first trip down and believe me you do not need to worry about any of them. You will stay on a 75 foot yacht in a double occupancy private stateroom. Each cabin has a private bathroom, shower and a remote controlled air conditioning unit. You will eat like a king all week long. The on-board chef prepares 3 sit down meals daily as well as appetizers before lunch and before dinner. We eat stuff like chicken, fresh fish from the river, Brazilian steaks, sausages, assorted cheeses, hamburgers, deli meats, fresh fruits, fresh juices and an open bar complete with bartender. The bartender sure has a heavy hand! As far as your safety goes…Brazil is a very stable country with a stable government and economy. You never have to worry about your comfort or safety while you are visiting the Amazon. I have travelled all over the world and let me tell you that the treatment and service that you will receive from the Brazilian people on this trip is unsurpassed anywhere!

Stories like mine are commonplace with most anglers that have been on this adventure and we all have great tales of “the big one that got away”. The Amazon is a special place for anyone and for us inshore and bass anglers… I’ll just call it paradise.

Come and LIVE this adventure!

Steve McDonald
President

Bassmaster Guide Service Inc.
Southwest Ranches, FL.
(877) 352-PKOK
booking@monsterpeacockbass.com

Although bass fishing remains a popular activity today, it is one which is thought to have origins going back as far as the mid nineteenth century, when the first artificial fly lure was developed.

Although original bass fly designs were simply variations on those already being used to fish for trout and salmon, these were eventually developed to be more successful in catching bass specifically. By around 1900, floating wooden lures made from lightweight cork or balsa were being used, along with hooks dressed with artificial fur or feathers.

It was not until the 1960s that the plastic worm lure became popular, despite the fact that would eventually transform the bass fishing process. In the same way that online sites such as OnlinePoker have come to revolutionize traditional casino games, the plastic worm had a huge impact upon this activity. This, along with the fact that bass had come to be stocked outside of their native regions during the latter part of the nineteenth century, meant that the popularity greatly increased over the years.

Farmers were advised and assisted in by the US Department of Agriculture in constructing and stocking farm ponds with largemouth bass, and various fish management strategies were put into place. By the early twentieth century, bass fishing has become even more popular, with many tournaments being set up, and even more advanced equipment being developed. Bass fish have been introduced throughout the world, meaning that keen anglers can now take part in international competitions.

Peacock Bass are, in fact, cichlids, many of the fishing practices are very similar to that of the largemouth bass species, although artificial worms tend not to be successful as a lure. Even though Peacock Bass fishing has become increasingly popular over recent years, these fish are not currently thought to be endangered.

Now hosting trips to the beautiful La Zona lodge in Argentina!

If you love the feriocity of the Amazon peacock bass then you will fall in love with the bone jarring power of one of the strongest fish in all South American waters…the Golden Dorado!

La Zona is the only place in the world of its kind…truly a unique fishery on the Uruguay river. You will be fishing an exclusive area at the Salto Grande dam on the border of Uruguay and Argentina. Only 2 permits have been issued for anglers to pry into its famed waters. Over 200 dorados in excess of 40 pounds have been landed here in the past 3 seasons! more than 10 fly fishing world records have been broken in these waters! La Zona has quickly become known worldwide by anglers to be the place to catch the biggest species of this fish in the world.

This is no accident though and only at La Zona is where this fish can get such incredible sizes and numbers due to the incredible amount of food available to them. The shallow lake generated by the dam increases the biological mass in the system. All that fito and zooplankton, concentrated in the constant flow of water, is the fund of a very complex food chain that involves many species ending with the dorado that achieves unprecedented growing rates in this environment.

Only through careful observation, conservation and preservation have these dorados been able to reach such enormous sizes. This is truly an operation where the anglers and guides work hand in hand with biologists to monitor the growth rates and of this magnificent gamefish. The combination of these factors makes us confident that your experience at La Zona will be unlike anything that you have ever experienced before while angling.

We hope that you can come along and join us on this fantastic adventure targeting the largest dorados in the world!

Tight Lines,

Steve McDonald
President

Bassmaster Guide Service Inc.
Southwest Ranches, FL.
(877) 352-PKOK
booking@monsterpeacockbass.com

Steve McDonald with a large peacock bass at the mouth of the Abacate River.

Unreal is the only word that I can think of to describe the trip to the Amazon jungles of Brazil in search of monster peacock bass! These fish are absolutely unreal! Just the experience itself of the trip is something that every person should get to share with friends and family at some time in their life. This place is truly on of our last frontiers and for a guy that loves to fish it will spoil even the best of us. You know you have got it bad when you are on the plane ride home from Manaus and are already plotting on how you can get back and when! No longer is it that “trip of a lifetime” now it has become that trip that you look forward to each and every year! This is a time to get out in the sticks with the boys….no cell phones…no e-mails….it’s a time to unwind….a time to renew….a time to listen….a time to grow…a time to remember….A TIME TO FISH!

The fishing was great this even with the ultra low water conditions! We fished the middle Rio Uatuma and the Rio Abacate, a tributary of the Uatuma. For the group as a whole we had 1689 peacock bass with 141 over 10 pounds and 4 over 20 pounds with the largest weighing in at 22 pounds. My largest this trip was 15 pounds and my partners 14 which is off a bit but we had great action for most of the week and too many 10 pound fish to count. I had a very large fish indeed over 20 pounds come up to eat a jig 3 or 4 feet from the boat and he saw us and the game was over. Some of the Brazilian guys caught monster catfishes…they were truly “river monsters” at around 120 pounds or so! These are the priceless memories that you can’t explain to your buddies and are definitely the ones that bring me back each year to experience this Amazon adventure and to do battle with another giant peacock bass!

Click the PLAY button on the video above for a slideshow of pictures from our trip!

Hope to seeeeya on the river!

Steve McDonald
President

Bassmaster Guide Service Inc.
Southwest Ranches, FL.
(877) 352-PKOK
booking@monsterpeacockbass.com

Henry Waszczuk host of “Fishing the Flats” joins us on the Amazon King!

For those of you that have seen the show you know that Henry travels to some of the most exotic fishing and golfing destinations in the world. His shows fishing the flats and Fins & Skins Classic Adventures are both awesome! They are celebrating 25 years of television and we are very happy to be a part of bringing their audience to such a special place as the Amazon and its rivers!

Henry and I would love it if you were able to join us on this prime week to fish the upper Rio Negro in Brazil. The dates we have selected are :

• January 29th – February 6th 2011
  

There are only 14 spots available on this trip so get your reservations in early as we expect this week to fill up rather quickly. Please inquire to our offices in Miami at (877) FLA-PKOK or contact us through the website form.

• Please call for Pricing!
• Discounts for groups and early bookings!
• Agents Welcome!

Seeeeya on the river!

Steve McDonald
President

Bassmaster Guide Service Inc.
Southwest Ranches, FL.
(877) 352-PKOK
booking@monsterpeacockbass.com

Click on the map above for current water level graphs and more!

What the general part of this water level report is saying is that the levels for most of the fishing regions are low at this time or around their normal levels. Most of the Rio Negro continues to recede with the exception of the Sao Gabriel and Moura areas where the flood has begun. The waters around the port of Manaus are rising about the same time as last year. The levels in the Madeira basin South of Manaus are 3-5 feet below their flood levels. Most of the rainfall has been in the northern and central Roraima region. Some other regions in Amazonas like Tocantins, Mato Grasso and Rondonia have also received significant rainfall.

The peacock bass fishing in the upper Rio negro still remains productive at this time. A couple of my buddies just returned from a week on the Amazon Nemo where they had great action all week long. 2 fish over 20 pounds for the week and multiple teeners were caught by the group. This should continue for the remainder of the season. Check back soon for our next water level / fishing report.

Tight Lines,

Steve McDonald
President

Bassmaster Guide Service Inc.
Southwest Ranches, FL.
(877) 352-PKOK
booking@monsterpeacockbass.com

This is the first episode of our friend Maichon Bianchi’s new Brazilian T.V. show.

The narration is in Portugese but I think that you will enjoy the footage that they gathered in January this year. It is some intense action!! With record low water levels in the Amazon this season there have been a lot of big fish caught including two new all tackle world records. This is some of the finest fishing we have seen in years!

The water levels have begun to rise slowly and navigation is getting easier. We are looking forward to another great season for peacock bass fishing in the Amazon and will constantly be monitoring the water levels and fishing conditions for you and reporting them through our website. We hope that you can join us on this trip of a lifetime!

Tight Lines,

Steve McDonald
President

Bassmaster Guide Service Inc.
Southwest Ranches, FL.
(877) 352-PKOK
booking@monsterpeacockbass.com

Guide “Elvis” of the Capt. Peacock with a new world record peacock bass!

Aldeni “Elvis” Fonseca, a guide on the Captain Peacock, shows off a 28-pound speckled peacock bass caught by Bill Gassman of Des Moines, Iowa. The fish weighed a pound more than the largest peacock bass on record.

MANAUS, Brazil – The strike barely dimpled the water, but it sent waves hurtling throughout the freshwater fishing world by shattering a coveted world record that stood for 16 years.

At about 10:30 a.m. on Feb. 9, 2010, the sixth day of his first Amazon adventure, Bill Gassmann of Des Moines, Iowa, fished a clown-colored Luhr Jensen Big Game Woodchopper Slim topwater bait in a tributary of the Rio Negro in northern Brazil. The yellow, red and black spotted lure landed atop a monster speckled peacock bass, which sucked it under with hardly a ripple.

“We were fishing in a wooded area of a little backwater off a main tributary,” said the 44-year-old chief executive officer of BGS Enterprises. “When the lure hit the water, it just disappeared. The fish went straight to the bottom and started spooling my line. Immediately, the guide with more than 12 years experience began jumping up and down and started yelling ‘Grande! Grande!’ I had no idea how big it was or that it might be a record. Then, the fish stuck its head out of the water and I realized how big it was.”

In a fearsome struggle, Gassmann fought the river monster for approximately 12 minutes with his three-piece 6.9-foot G Loomis Escape model ETR81-3HC20 heavy rod attached to a Shimano Curado 300E reel. Finally bringing the beast to the boat, the Iowa bass angler grabbed its gill plates and snapped a Boga Grip on it. On the IGFA-certified Boga Grip, the fresh speckled or three-bar peacock (Cichla temensis) weighed more than 28 pounds, but Gassmann still did not realize the significance of his fish. As Gassmann handed the fish to Aldeni “Elvis” Fonseca, his guide, to release it, Elvis stopped him. Communicating in English, Elvis urged “We go boat now; we go boat now.” Prepared to fish an entire day, Gassmann didn’t want to head back to the Captain Peacock, a 95-foot luxury mothership yacht that accommodates anglers for such adventures. However, Elvis insisted adamantly.

When Elvis and Gassmann finally reached the yacht, Leonardo Leão, co-owner and operator of the Captain Peacock who stays aboard for every operation, dropped the massive fish into the bait well to keep it alive until they could weigh it officially. The colorful hump-headed fish measured 37 inches long with a girth of 25 inches, more than enough to beat the existing 27-pound International Game Fish Association all-tackle world record caught by Gerald “Doc” Lawson on Dec. 4, 1994. Since Gassmann caught the lunker on 80-pound PowerPro braid, Leo also submitted the fish for a possibleline class record and kept the fish on board the Captain Peacock to have it mounted as a reminder to future anglers that dreams can come true.

Aldeni “Elvis” Fonseca, a guide on the Captain Peacock, and Bill Gassman of Des Moines, Iowa, struggle to lift a 28-pound speckled peacock bass caught by Gassman . The fish weighed a pound more than the largest peacock bass on record.

“We are very happy with the opportunity to show the fishing world our exclusive concept combining mobility, safety and first-class service in order to create unique moments like that for every angler from the first-time peacock bass fisherman up to the most knowledgeable ones,” said Leonardo Leão and his partner Nasser Fraxe.

“This is exciting news,” exclaimed Billy Chapman, Jr., owner and founder of Anglers Inn International and a 2009 inductee into the Fresh Water Fishing Hall of Fame for pioneering peacock bass fishing in the 1980s. “I was in Brazil in 1994 when Doc Lawson caught the 27-pound peacock. If anyone wants to fish these record-breaking waters, we can make that happen together with the Captain Peacock.”

Besides catching the possible all-tackle world record speckled peacock bass and his personal best fish of any species, Gassmann caught several bass over 10 pounds plus two 18-pounders, a 19-pounder and other fish on his seven-day adventure. In all, the anglers aboard the Captain Peacock caught more than 450 fish that week with many in double digits and three in the 20- to 23.5-pound range, Leão said.

“I had a fabulous trip,” Gassmann gushed. “Two days before I caught the big one, we went into another backwater and the water was boiling with big peacocks feeding. It was unbelievable fishing back there. The food and accommodations on the Captain Peacock were way above what I expected. It was first class all the way. I’m going to bring my wife, Tammy, next time.”

The Gassmanns will return to the Amazon soon. For catching the pending all-tackle world record aboard the Captain Peacock, Leão and Fraxe granted Gassmann lifetime fishing privileges on the 95-foot luxury yacht.

Courtesy – Examiner.com

Great Job guys from all of us here at Monster Peacock Bass Outfitters!

This is a great video clip from the Brazilian T.V. show Momento de Pesca!

We wish you and your family a very safe and Happy Holiday Season!