Lagoons - The rivers of Amazonia are lined with lagoons of all
shapes, sizes, depths and configurations. In most rivers and under
most conditions, the great majority of peacocks are caught in lagoons.
The interiors of lagoons provide sheltered grazing and breeding areas for
forage fish that make up the majority of the peacock's diet while offering
a wide range of structure and cover for hunting, spawning and fry guarding
peacocks. The mouths of lagoons are often particularly attractive
to fish because of their transitional nature, interfacing the flowing water
of the river with the still waters of the lagoon.
Note the heavy cover in the background that yielded
this big peacock
|
Heavy Structure - As a result of the constant
cycle of rising and falling waters, large stretches of lagoon banks are
lined with fallen, dead trees, forming dense heavy structure along the
shorelines. Except for extreme low water conditions, much of this
may be under water or just visible. Because of its ubiquitousness,
most of an angler's time in lagoons will be spent fishing this type of
structure. Peacocks populate these areas heavily, and will readily
attack a lure landing close to their hiding place. Both propeller
type surface lures and walking sticks are very effective when cast tightly
in toward shore between extending deadfall. When placed close enough
against logs and branches they often elicit immediate strikes. Fish
will also follow these lures out from cover and strike them in open water.
In clear waters, jigs and spoons are very effective when cast into the
base of fallen trees and retrieved parallel to trunks and branches.
Peacocks will often trail these lures right up to the boat, sometimes striking
as the angler begins to lift the lure out of the water.
Dense cover means that hooked fish have quick access
to fairly impenetrable hiding places. Peacocks are so strong that
if they can hang a lure on a branch, they can exert enough power to straighten
the hooks right out. The angler's best strategy is to try to lead
a hooked fish perpendicular to structure, then arc it into open water by
holding the rod parallel to the water and moving the wrists in the direction
you want the fish to go. The pressure on the fish caused by the bend
in the rod is then most easily relieved by the fish when it moves toward
your wrists, hopefully away from the cover. Sometimes you just can't
stop them. If you're still hooked up, the best course of action is
to let the line go slack and then to move the boat directly over the cover.
You will often spook the fish out from underneath and into open water.
If none of this works and its a real monster, look imploringly at
your guide and maybe he'll go in and get it for you. Heavy structure
holds large numbers of fish but can often be reluctant to give them up.
Shallow Water - Fish don't always hold in
the shallows and when there, they can be somewhat skittish. But when
they're cruising for a meal individually or in groups of two or three,
it can be very exciting. Its almost like fishing for bonefish on
the salt flats. A spoon or jig cast beyond the fish and perpendicular
to their line of travel can be retrieved in front of them, quickly enough
to keep it off the bottom. When it's spotted, the hair raising sight
of several big, hungry peacocks racing for your lure will thrill even the
most jaded angler. Hang on and wait for the winner to get there.
Often the take will be violent enough to set the hook. If it's not,
wait until you feel the line go tight and then lean back and set it yourself.
Usually, shallows are not laden with structure, so a properly adjusted
drag and a patient fisherman will most often harvest a scrappy peacock.
Points - I love points. Every time
I find myself approaching a point of land that extends into the water,
I can sense my own level of anticipation rising, because peacocks seem
to love points also. Usually a point will create an underwater ridge
visible to the angler, with deeper water on either side. Have a rod
with a surface lure and another loaded with a subsurface bait ready as
you approach the point. Wait until you are close enough to cast ten
feet or so past and perpendicular to the ridge, into the deeper water,
and then work the surface lure over the top of the ridge. Be ready.
Most points of this type will hold fish. If the surface lure doesn't
produce, use a subsurface bait and probe the deeper water on both sides,
casting toward shore and parallel to the ridge.
Feeding peacocks - During the course of a
fishing day, anglers will often see signs of feeding peacocks. These
are great opportunities, especially for big fish. Baitfish fleeing,
skipping across the surface, or large disturbances in open water are good
indicators. It isn't always due to feeding peacocks, but don't pass
up the opportunity to cast a big surface lure into the fray. Drop
it right in behind the baitfish, in the peacock's path. If you place
it well, it will usually be taken immediately. Set the hook and hang
on.
Lagoon banks and beaches are often used by peacocks
to drive baitfish onto the shore and then pick them off as they flop back
into the water. If you see this kind of activity, throw anything
onto the bank, and drag it into the water. Peacock's will usually
grab the closest object in the melee.
Spawning peacocks - Peacocks become very
difficult to catch during the spawn. Luckily they don't all begin
at the same time, so a river that is still fishing very well, may also
begin to simultaneously have fish on spawning beds. Anglers can often
see large fish on beds in shallow, open sections of lagoons. It's
work taking a cast at them. Sometimes a reaction can be elicited
from fish in the early stages of spawning by slowly swimming a Johnson's
spoon or a jig tied with fluorescent yellow rabbit skin (instead of the
bucktail), through the bed. Later in the spawn, even this technique
stops working and outfitters will then move downriver ahead of the spawn,
upriver to an area where the spawn is finished, or on to the next river
system.
Open Water - Typically, casting and probing
for peacocks in lagoons consists of working one's way along the banks and
any other visible structure in a lagoon. In very large lagoons, this
leaves a huge amount of untested open water in the middle. Granted,
peacocks are usually in much greater concentrations near structure and
banks, but oftentimes feeding peacocks are working the deep open water
in the middle of large lagoons. In a large lagoon, there may 10 times
to 100 times as much open water as there is structure and shoreline, so
the task of effectively fishing such a huge but thinly populated area can
seem daunting and potentially unproductive. Anglers, however, have
an effective tool at their disposal; use the boat and go trolling.
Peacock bass are usually not shy fish. They
are not concerned about leaders and lines. They strike ridiculously
large lures and they'll attack within inches of a boat. The wake
of a relatively quickly cruising boat doesn't seem to faze them either.
Using the boat's primary motor, anglers can troll large surface or subsurface
lures behind their boat, using their rods to impart the same action to
the lure as if they were casting. Trolling at 4 to 5 mph is a bit
faster than most anglers may be used to but it works for peacocks.
Because of the substantial wake produced, lures should be at least 100
to 150 feet behind the boat. Among the most effective trolled lures
are "Woodchoppers" and "Amazon Rippers" on the surface and "Bombers", shallow
running "Rapalas" and Johnson's Spoons. Groups of two or three big,
hunting peacocks may get on the trail of a pair of trolled surface lures
and literally hurl themselves through the air to come crashing down on
top of the baits.
Trolling is not for everyone and definitely not
for every situation. Some folks would rather just cast for the pure
and simple enjoyment of it and most of the time that's the way I feel.
Sometimes, however, after a long day that hasn't been very productive,
my tired arms and an ungratified addiction for big fish make trolling a
very attractive alternative. Very large lagoons that are known to
hold large fish make logical targets for trolling and should be tested
in
this manner after anglers have thoroughly fished their way through the
structure. Trolling can produce inordinate proportions of large fish,
when used sparingly, at the right time, in the right way. Don't troll
your way into a lagoon. Cast your way in and then, if appropriate,
troll your way out. If a lagoon is too small or too narrow, don't
troll. The wake will cause excessive disturbance, may damage shoreline
structure and will probably put the fish down for hours. If a lagoon
is too small to troll, but you still can't reach both banks by casting
from the middle, then work the shoreline and, every ten or twenty casts,
toss a bait out into the open water. This technique has produced
surprising results for me from time to time.
Rivers - In most rivers and under most conditions, the great
majority of peacocks are caught in lagoons, with river fishing being relatively
unproductive. Sometimes, however, in certain fisheries, anglers will
have opportunities to successfully pursue peacock bass in the rivers themselves.
River fishing becomes most productive when water levels are extremely low
and lagoons become too shallow and too hot. Fishing the river for
peacocks can add another dimension to the angling experience
Rocks and Structure - Rocks are peacock bass
magnets. They are not common in Amazon rivers. When rock structure
is available, peacocks will consistently select it and congregate tight
to the structure. Starting upstream, anglers can drift their boats
along the periphery of the rocks and cast tight up against the structure.
Surface lures can be retrieved parallel to the structure or maneuvered
through openings and between rocks. Diving Rapalas and Rattletraps
can be run deep around the base of rocks and will work well here.
But for me, jigs are the bait of choice. Bounce them right off a
rock and let drop them in, then start ripping the jig back. Work
them along an edge and probe crevices and overhangs. The speed of
the retrieve is definitely a factor in this lure's effectiveness.
In the clear water where jigs are most effective, peacocks can be seen
flashing out of crevices, stopping dead behind a jig slowing down between
rips, and then slamming it as the angler rips it again. If the jig
doesn't move away quickly enough, anglers can watch the same peacock flash
back into the depths, rejecting the lure.
Other riverine structure, logs, deadfall, and cuts
will often hold peacocks also, especially if they are adjacent to rocks.
Fish this structure just as though it were in a lagoon, making compensation
for the effects of any discernible current. Concentrate your efforts
in transition areas between rocks and other types of structure.
A yellow and red jig lured this fast
water peacock out of the rapids. |
Fast Water - The first time I encountered peacocks
in open, fast water, I was truly surprised. It didn't seem like the
sort of place where I would find a fish that I strongly associated with
still water lagoons and structure. I was fishing a narrow tributary
of the Rio Marmelos, south of Manicore. The boat was tied onto a
fallen tree extending into the water just below a stretch of fast water,
that for Amazonia could almost be called rapids. The river narrowed
here and formed a deep, fast chute just upstream of my location.
After some experimenting and positioning, I settled into a groove that
allowed me to cast upstream into the chute and rapidly retrieve my lure
downstream through the fast water. The bucktail jig proved to be
the most effective tool here, although a spoon produced well also.
To my amazement, I caught a fish on almost every single cast. Over
twenty-five fish came out of this one little chute, before the action even
began to slow down. Most of the fish ranged between 2 and 4 pounds,
with several just under ten pounds. This was a blast!
Since that experience, I make it a point to probe
any fast water I encounter. Peacocks seem to behave differently in
fast water. Although they may strike less intensely and make less
violent runs, they seem to last longer and run farther in the moving water.
The effect of the current adds changes to the character of the fight.
Fast water peacocks also seem to be smaller than their slow-water brethren.
Although I have enjoyed many more fast water fishing experiences since
that first time, I have yet to encounter a fast water peacock larger than
ten pounds.
Beaches - Sandy beaches occur on the inside
shore of curves and along the edges of shallow stretches of river.
The force of the rainy season's high waters cuts scalloped forms into the
expanses of white sand. Fisherman can exploit the deep water and
the steep edges between the ribs of sand. Redfins, Rapalas, Bomber
and spoons will produce in these water-sculpted locations. You can cast
a "Woodchopper" perpendicular to the ribs and sometimes get a pleasant
surprise.
Streams and inlets - It's worthwhile to keep
an eye open for water sources entering the river, no matter how insignificant.
Casting well up into the mouths of entering streams will often produce
strikes from fish holding right at the point where inflowing water blends
with the river. In muddy rivers, this can be marked by a sharply
delineated color change, if the inflowing stream is relatively clear.
Smaller brooks and streamlets may often hold fish right at the river shoreline. |
