Tambaqui...
...the largest of the Characins have tremendous physical
power and...
remarkably human-like dentition
Unfortunately for sportfisherman they are a highly
sought food fish.
Pirapitinga...
... Almost as big as their unfortunately delicious
cousins...
... they are accessible to anglers
and are awesome fighters.
Anglers successfully take pirapitinga on small conventional
lures and a variety of flies.
They average between 10 and 25lbs
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Which is Which?
Amazon fish often seem mysteriously difficult for anglers to identify because
of seemingly indecipherable confusion about their names. Local names
for the same fish often vary by region, while completely different fish
may be called the same name in different areas. Sometimes fish species
may be very similar in appearance, complicating even scientific classification,
while at other times, the amazing diversity of species alone may be enough
to confound simple field identification.
This is certainly the case with the largest
members of the of the Characin family, tambaqui and pirapitinga.
Not only are they commonly confused with each other and a whole range of
other smaller characins (called pacu as a group), but they have even undergone
changes in their scientific names and classification in recent years.
These two giants (formerly classified as Colossoma and currently
split into the genera Colossoma and Piaractus) are unique
not only in being (after the arapaima) the two largest scaled fishes in
the region but in occupying an ecological niche that has no parallel anywhere
else in the world.
Tambaqui - Members of
the sub-family Colossoma of the Characidae, tambaqui (Colossoma
macroponum) are oval-shaped, physically built like a stocky permit
or jack. They have a golden to olive green back and an inky
purple to black ventral area. An omnivorous characid relative of
the piranha, tambaqui have dazzling teeth that look eerily like a set of
human dentures. These fish have amazing jaw strength as they often
feed on rock hard jungle seeds. They can crush a 4/0 saltwater hook
as if it were made of baling wire. These fish are so strong that
the locals fish for them with stout green saplings secured to 120-pound
monofilament, heavy cable and 6/0 tuna hooks!
Tambaqui can get huge. Specimens
of 3 feet in length and weighing in at over 70 pounds are not exceptional.
Unfortunately for the sportfisherman, these highly prized (and pricey)
food fish are heavily harvested by commercial fishermen, especially during
their spawning migrations when they are at their most vulnerable.
This doesn't leave too many options for a successful sport fishery, although
pockets of these big characins are sometimes encountered by peacock anglers
in small tributaries of some peacock bass rivers.
Pirapitinga - Thankfully pirapitinga
(Piaractus brachypomus) are not as highly desireable a food fish
and they are not heavily harvested in any organized manner in the Amazon
basin. This fortuity enables sportfishermen to readily access them
in their low water habitat. Also a migratory species, these broad
shouldered and brawny fish often reside near fast current and are perfectly
fit for such an environment. They have huge anal fins and extremely
wide, thick tails. When hooked they use their powerful oval body
against the current and make incredible heart stopping runs.
With the force of fast water added to their own weight and power, they
can be almost unstoppable.
Typical tackle for these fish is similar to
that used for big peacock bass, dorado and payara. Thirty to fifty
pound-braid and an equally-stout wire leader are essential. When
water levels are extremely low, thereby denying them access to fruit from
overhanging branches, they will opportunistically take a variety of lures.
Some of the best include; Blue Fox Vibrax spinners (#5), Yo Zuri Surface
Squirt, and 5-inch jerk baits. When the waters rise just a bit, pirapitinga
will quickly apprehend a sweet piece of jungle fruit dead drifted on a
big circle hook!
Pirapitinga can be taken on fly with a fast
action 9 or 10-weight fly rod. They will take some of the same flies
listed in the dorado section, including heavily-dressed 3/0 Cloussers and
Muddlers (they seem to prefer blue for some strange reason). They
also take "fruit flies," which are nothing more than brightly-colored deer
hair (yellow or bright orange are good) spun and clipped to look like a
chestnut-sized jungle fruit.
Pirapitinga are one of the best fighting fish
in freshwater. Recently explored fisheries in Brazil have given easier
access to sportfishermen. It won't take long for the word to spread
and for these big bruisers to be recognized and valued for their extraordinary
sportfishing prowess. |
The Fish, the Forest and the Fruit
Tambaqui, the largest of all the characins, are creatures
of the Amazon's flooded forest. The pulsative nature of Amazonia's
lowland rivers creates vast flooded forests during the region's long rainy
seasons. Rivers flood their banks and inundate adjacent varzea (flooded) forests. As though a dinner bell were rung, the area's
wildlife flocks to the new border between land and water to feast on a
banquet of flowers, seeds and fruits
Tambaqui are an integral part
of the varzea's life cycle. Feeding on the bounty of fruits
and nuts that drop into the water, they become an important mechanism for
seed dispersal. Many jungle fruits contain an outer pulp and a hard
inner seed(s). When small seeds are ingested they are not always
crushed by the tambaqui's powerful jaws. Passing through the fish's
digestive system, the seeds are scarified by the process and then excreted,
often far from the parent tree. Later, when the waters recede, the
prepared seed is able to sprout in the newly exposed dry land, far from
where it was dropped.
When the varzea drains,
well-fed tambaqui leave the small tributaries and form large migrating
schools in the main rivers. Their large fat reserves, built up during
the rainy season are used during their upriver journeys and ensuing spawning.
It's believed that their eggs are dispersed in the grassy levees along
the river. The dry season provides slim pickings for the small
fraction of tambaqui who do not migrate. Those remaining in small
tributaries will often turn to small fishes and insects to help fill their
empty stomachs, providing an opportunity for lucky anglers.
Tambaqui are an important
food fish. They have recently begun to be raised in fish farms to
meet the market demand. This bodes well for the future of natural
populations.
Telling them apart
Pirapitinga are more deeply rhomboidal than their evenly
oval cousins. Their coloring is more muted, typically a light blue-gray
to steely gray above and a darker gray to brownish gray below. The
pirapitinga's dentiton is different as well, sporting a second row of molars
in the upper jaw as opposed to the tambaqui's single row.
What do they eat?
Although known primarily as fruit, nut and flower eaters,
pirapitinga, when the waters recede will give up their vegetarian ways
for a more opportunistic diet. With their main food source gone,
they will eat small fish, invertebrates, leaves or grass. Perhaps
the oddest thing is their penchant to eat Yo-Zuri surface squirts.
These day-glo plastic baits are designed to resemble saltwater squid.
What makes them eat these lures? Surely they've never seen squid
in their native waters!
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