Peacock Bass Trip Schedule

     Next, we reach the wide Rio Preto, offering a varied range of fishable water.  It's many points, islands and lagoons hold peacocks of all sizes, while its rocky outcroppings offer the fly-fisherman wonderful action just an easy cast away.  Small Mura Indian  villages overlook some of the river's strategic travel points.  A northern tributary, the Rio Tupana offers us fine fishing, with great numbers when water levels draw us here.  As we proceed westward, the Rio Preto meets a major tributary, the Rio Matupiri.         At the mouth of the Matupiri, the Rio Preto widens into the strange, fish-laden Lago Tacuia.  A vast 40 mile long flooded forest, Tacuia is a lake without real shorelines.  It's convoluted flooded forest structure provides cover not only for peacock bass, but for a wide range of Amazonian aquatic species.  "Tucuxi" and "boto" dolphins patrol its open waters, while the quiet flats hold manatee and the giant, prehistoric, air-breathing piraruccu (arapaima).  Peacock bass of all sizes can be found in its shallow standing timber, along its deep points and in its serpentine feeder streams.  Even when water levels elsewhere in the system are running high, this strange and mysterious place provides excellent access to great numbers of peacock bass.  At its western end, the winding Rio Igapo Acu feeds its fish-laden waters into the lake.
     The Rio Matupiri is another target destination in this great fishery.  Totally uninhabited, this gorgeous waterway offers anglers 100 miles of lagoon studded fishery.  There's more structure and fish habitat here than you can cover in a lifetime.  Closed to commercial fishing and the Brazilian public, the Blackwater Explorer has been given exclusive permission to fish this river's pristine waters by the Mura tribe.  Giant, open water lagoas, narrow, creek-like igarapes, small sloughs, oxbows and flooded igapos offer an amazing variety of fishable water off of the main river, while on the river, lagoon mouths, steep barrancas and plentiful standing timber provide even more fish-holding structure.

     Winding from the west, a big, wide feeder stream, "Igarape Acu", meanders right through pristine rainforest.  This waterway has yielded many big peacocks during very low water.  At the southern end of the region of lagoons, the Matupiri narrows, becoming a riverbank fishery.  Parana Coari, (a cut caused by seasonal flooding) provides a rare bit of fast water and defines a long structure-laden island. 
     New sights, new experiences and new fishing water to explore, greet the peacock bass angler every day in this amazing place.  At any given time, there are areas with perfect water levels here.  The Explorer's great mobility, combined with the region's huge range of water types, allows us to probe this entire vast system, find the best conditions and concentrate our efforts where the fish are.  Our anglers are assured of the greatest possible opportunity for success and fulfillment on their trip of a lifetime. 

Luxurious and Comfortable  - The Explorer is a fishing mothership of the highest caliber.  The list of her luxurious features is long.  Here are just a few.

1. Private bathrooms w/sink, toilet and shower in each cabin.
2. Roomy cabins with plenty of storage space. 
3. Two meter high ceilings.  Gone are the days when six-footers have to duck.
4. Huge (6 and 1/2 x 7 meter) common area.  Spacious dining room and lots of walk-around space.
5. Big, wide, non-slip stairwells.
6. Cabin doors open directly to outside spaces.
7. Shallow draft for improved access - almost 1/2 meter less than typical Amazon yachts.  The Explorer can fish areas we've never accessed before.
8. Wider beam - Perfect stability. 
9.  Smoke-free cabins and indoor areas. 
10. Open-air bar and lounge area on upper deck.