If you have it on your bucket list you must go.

Everything went real good even if the fishing was a little slow. It ended up as only being 5 in our group. I don't know why there were not more but having 5 on the boat was nice. We still got the full crew and normal trip. For he 6 days we had 233 peacocks. We easily could had a bigger number if we threw the jigs but we primarily threw the chopper baits as they get the big fish. I think we had about 10 fish over 15#. Big fish was 20#. Several 18#, a couple 17#, four at 16#. Not a lot between 10 and 15#.

Air travel was ok. You arrive in Manaus from Miami at about 10 pm on Friday. They take you to the hotel. The next day it's a hour float plane to the boat at 2pm. Nice float plane.That evening you get ready for fishing to start on Sunday. Everyday it's breakfast at 5:30. Fish 6:00 to 11:30. Lunch at noon. Then a afternoon session until 5:30. Drink Caipirinha's with hors d'oeuvres. Dinner is at 7:00.

The Otter is a great base boat. 8 separate cabins with twin beds each with a separate bathroom and shower. Separate AC in each room. It was comfortable. Power is 110ac. Good sized dining room and Tackle room. Back deck was nice as the sun went down and it cooled off to where it was comfortable. The Otter is built specifically for these trips.

Throwing the chopper is a lot of work. Speed had all the baits you need and good rods. Absolutely no reason to bring rods. I liked to throw it on a 8ft Dobyns Fury rod. Next time I would go with 65# braid instead of 80#. The boats line was Izorline which is too rough and holds too much water. I used Diawa J Braid which was great. There were a few times when I could throw all the 80# off the spool. My primary reel was a 8.5:1 Shimano Mentanium which was perfect. My other two reels were 7.5:1 Chronarch CI4+. You definitely want a fast reel. It's pretty warm and you aren't far from the equator so the sun is intense.

You cast the chopper on pretty long casts and rip it back to the boat. It's pretty tiring. However when one hits it they tend to blast it. They are mean and strong. It's pretty hard to keep one out of the under water bushes but the guides will go in and get it if it gets hung up in a bush. We lost a few getting them on a bush. You can throw other baits such as jerk bait and jigs but all the big fish we caught were on the chopper.

They have 8 guides and you rotate each day. One day they offer to do a whole day out with a shore lunch. However you pretty much get enough and lunch on the Otter is a nice break.

We fished the Uatuma River NE of Manaus and the Rio Jatapu. The water was higher than optimum. That keeps fish in the trees. The best areas where were you could see the bank. If you looked inside the trees and all you could see was water those areas weren't productive. Lower water is definitely better but your at the mercy of whatever it is at the time you go. We talked to a number of groups from other outfitters and we did as good ask any. Some had more but no one had as many big fish.

Service is great. They take good care of you. Laundry is done daily. When you get back from lunch it's typically done and on your bed. All the staff go out of their way to make sure you have a good time. Food is decent. Plenty to eat. No one should go hungry.

You fish 6 days. The final Saturday they don't fish. The float plane picks you up at about 3pm. Back to a hotel for a few hours then off to catch a flight at midnight. Back in Miami at 5:00am.

It's a quality trip. Total cost including airfare and tips is ~$8,000.

Don't go through the visa service Speed recommends. It's a bunch more documentation, cost and shots. Brazil has a EVisa which took me about 45 minutes online to apply for. Its. $40 and I had it in a couple of days in my email. Absolutely no issue with it. The other guys on the boat went through the service and with shots and everything it was like $800.

Planning on going again in 2021 in January. I guy I went with has been 6 times. Twice on the September trips and 4 times onthe January trips. He likes the January trips better. Both are good.

On my bucket list. Just have to get this remodel finished on my house then save my OT. Maybe in a couple years.

Good write up and your experience is pretty much the same that I�ve heard from others

What was the suggested tipping range for the guide per person, per day?

Great write-up...on my bucket list as well

$20 bucks a day per guide and $250 boat tip. We tipped more than that but that's the base tip.

Also zero mosquitoes. Never saw one.

Sounds like a great trip!

Thanks

And the $250 boat tip takes care of housekeeping, kitchen, service, etc?

Yes. Except I think laundry was $20 for the week. But most of us tipped them additional especially since we were a small group. I think I tipped about $750 total.

Good for you. I�ve never believed in short changing the folks that work in lodges or for outfitters, it�s not easy to do that work right

$8,000.00. woo weeee

Great tell, enjoyed it, bet y'all wore long pants and shirts.. Buddy of mine said that sun is major intense...

Yep the sun feels as if it is only 3 ft above your head. Floppy hats long sleeve shirt and long pants. Lots of sunscreen too. But when one of those 10 lb + peacocks hits a woodchopper and it flies 8 ft up then the attack when it lands is unforgettable.

We went with Amazon Tours a few years ago, we fished the Rio Negro and stayed at the Rio Negro Lodge in the middle of the Amazon, it was amazing, they built a 5 star lodge out in the middle of the jungle. We went in January, caught a bunch of big fish, did not target the small fish just like OP said they did. It is a one time deal for me, my bucket list has runneth over.

great write up-thanks for sharing with us....

I'm taking 10 October 2019. I've been twice with Ron Speeds and fished those two rivers each time. Great trip and you did an excellent job of summarizing the trip. Thanks for sharing. The float plane is new this year. Two years ago it was a 4.5 bus ride. Looking forward to the plane ride.