Saltwater anglers know it best: sightfishing is one of the most enjoyable and challenging ways of flyfishing. But few people know that it is also possible to sightfish for giant peacock bass in the Amazon with certain regularity, one has just got to be in the right place at the right time.






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First, and possibly the most important, is to choose the right place. The big lakes on the low areas of the rivers seldom offer opportunities for sightfishing because they are usually too deep and extensive. The best places for sightfishing are the remote areas near the headwaters of the rivers, where the lakes are smaller and shallower. Water fluctuations in these areas upriver are also smaller, making it easier to plan successful trips.

The lakes in these areas upriver usually have a somewhat large shallow area, ideal for sightfishing. These shallow areas are usually situated at the end of the lake, but sometimes it might be located at the very mouth of it or on one side of the lake. Either way be sure to approach these shallow areas with complete stealth and try to locate big fish some distance away. You may not be able to actually see them from afar, but you may see wakes or some kind of nervous water that might identify location so you can plan a better strategy to approach them. Also, do not use the trolling motor, as even the most modern one will scare the big fish in shallow water, no wonder why all saltwater guides use a push pole instead of trolling motors when fishing the flats. In the Amazon the best option is to paddle and a good guide will be of major help in this. Paddling or sculling is the most silent and effective way to approach a “freshwater flat”.

To perfectly approach a flat when on a boat the boat should preferably stay at the deep water section, because if it goes into the shallow area it will possibly scare all the myriad of small fish, which in turn might also scare the big peacocks. The sun should also be positioned your back or high in the sky, never directly in front. This will give you a better visibility.

There will also be times when you can’t use a boat, and you will have to wade. This happens more often in locked lakes, those lakes that are situated inside the jungle, too far to drag the boat. Use sneakers or and wade carefully, the bottom sometimes can be muddy, but it’s usually quite firm. Be very sure to drag the feet instead of stepping, to avoid contacting a stingray. Ask your guide to bring only the necessary equipment: a Bogagrip, longnose pliers, a couple of extra pre-tied leaders and a few flies. Perhaps a camera would also be a good idea, you wouldn’t like to miss the opportunity to get that fish of a lifetime on photo.

For this style of fishing (especially when fishing on the boat) your partner cannot fish at the same time, he can however help you in locating the fish. Stand in the bow of the boat and strip off the reel the necessary amount of fly line, usually 50 to 70 feet. Big peacocks in shallow water can be very wary and will run away if you get too close for the cast, except when they are protecting their nest, but then they might not strike the fly if they have noticed you.

The flats in the Amazon have a great variety and quantity of fish life. You will see all kinds of small cichlids, small peacocks, traíras, stingrays and all other sorts of small fish. Do not cast to small peacocks, the commotion of its capture might scare a big peacock possibly laying nearby, so focus only on big fish. Depending on the color of the water big peacock bass will usually have a very lit light green back, at first it may be hard to see and sometimes you will only see them when they are almost beneath the boat. Then that’s too late. Other times, especially with very large fish, they will have a darker back.

The best areas of the flat are those near the edge of deep water or other areas with around 3 feet in depth. While sometimes you will see big peacocks in areas so shallow that their backs stick outside the water, you will most often find peacocks in a little deeper water. The very shallow areas are usually too hot, particularly when the sun is high. Another area that you should focus a lot of attention on are deeper holes or channels cutting across the flat. These serve as passages for big fish and a good strategy there, if you are able to see the bottom, is to just stay nearby and be ready to cast when a big fish passes by. Do not false cast too much, try to present the fly to the fish with one or maybe two false casts in front of the fish. If you cast behind it you will just succeed in scaring the fish.

The bottom of these flats are usually mud or sand, or a combination of both. Mud flats are darker and are usually the ones at the end of a lake. These areas can get very warm during the midday, so they produce more early in the morning. It may be hard to actually see the fish here, so focus on signs on the water surface. Sand flats on the other hand are usually a little cooler and near or at the mouth of a lake. This means that it may also receive cooler water coming from the river, so it’s a better option to fish in the midday. Sand flats also have a lighter bottom and so are easier to locate fish, they are also the best to wade. But from our experience, peacock bass in sand flats seem to be more wary than fish in the mud flats, this means that you may need to locate and cast to the fish a long ways ahead.

You will basically find three kinds of peacock bass on the flats, when it comes to their level of activity. You may find pairs protecting their nest or their offspring, thus holding in one fixed spot; you may see small groups of peacocks actively hunting and chasing baitfish; and finally you may see fish that appear to be just cruising by, maybe going from one deep section of the lake to another or just looking for an opportunity to attack baitfish in shallow water, which is an advantage for most active predatory fish.

For pairs protecting their nest a streamer most times produces better, while in the other situations both streamers and poppers will catch fish. As always, cast in the front of the fish and strip the fly fast to trigger a strike.

For this game you can do fine with a relatively light fly rod and tippet, because there is usually not much structure around and you may let the fish run some ways. An 8 wt. rod with a 16 lb tippet and a 50 pound shock tippet is usually enough. Use floating lines for this. A good pair of quality polarized glasses is an absolute must, as well as a dark underbill hat. We prefer amber or brown lens for the glasses.

When you spot a fish cast the fly in front of it and immediately strip it fast. The peacock bass will probably follow it and then strike with fury. After this he will run away very fast, making the line cut the surface while the reel spins madly. Don’t be surprised if a peacock take some backing out. He will probably take a lot of line out on other strong runs before finally coming to the boat.

Next time in the Amazon try to do a little sightfishing and experience the ultimate in peacock bass fly fishing!

EDITOR'S NOTE: Octavio Araujo, first got into contact with fly fishing for the first time during his regular trips to South Florida. There he bought his first fly rod, in 1992, and fished for snook, tarpon, bonefish, etc. Nowadays he fishes exclusively with the fly rod, a technique he considers much more fun and more rewarding to the angler. Fly tying is also one of his passions.

Today he is dedicated in exploring virgin areas of the Amazon, and AFF Expeditions was born with the goal to take anglers that share his same passion of exploring remote, unknown regions.