I'm looking to take a 8-10 day fishing trip.

Has anyone here ever ventured out and fished in Brazil or other countries? Where did you fish, what did you catch, and how would you rate it?

I was looking at a couple of Amazon trips that looked good. But I guess they can tell you whatever they want.

i have a buddy that went for peacock bass. he said it was unbelievable. said you never get used to the strike. it scares the H out of you every time. i think you can put together a trip like that for less than 3500.

Whats up bigcat2? Hey man if you are going to go to brazil....dont go fishing! Go at the end of feb....CARNIVALE!!!!!! I went in 2000, it was AWESOME....well what I remember.....

As you can tell by my picture below I have been fishing in Brazil. Specifically the Rio Negro which is the largest tributary of the Amazon. Right when I first started fishing a Peacock Bass swated my big ole woodchopper lure. That lure flew from one side of the boat, overhead, and landed on the other side of the boat. At that moment I realized how small and insignificant I was. I felt that if a fish can do that what else around here can kill me?! Just after that a fresh water Porpous blew it's snout right behind the boat and almost gave me a heart attack. In short I caught Camen Crocs by hand, got to see a huge Anaconda, caught Piranah, and I had a blast. It was a life changing experience and I intend to do it again soon. This trip is expensive. You will wind up spending almost 7.5k once you are done with all of yur expenses.

Another cool thing about that part of Brazil is the black water hence the name Rio Negro. The water is so acidic that no mosquito larva can grow in it. Thats right, no mosquitos!

As far as fun factor goes I think NW Ontarion Canada is the place. The Walleye, Pike, & Smallmouth fishing up around Kenora is so much fun. Its also a fraction of the cost of Brazil. I go to NW Ontario every year and I will never miss a trip. I am only willing to do Brazil once every 5 years or so. It is a very involved trip.

The thing that I thought was the most unusual about NW Ontario was the fact that there is no dirt. Its ALL granite. What you think might be dirt is nothing but compost that you can brush away with your fingertips to reveal the red granite below. The trees roots grow in the cracks in the rocks or just on the rocks surface. About 1 out of every 100 trees is turned over. There are so many trees in the lakes that you can get hung up on almost every cast if you are using crank baits. I use primarily weedless spoons, jigs, and spinners. I get excited just thinking about Canada.

This year my dad and I will be doing our usual Canada trip in June. In July we are going to be on the USA side of the border in the Nations Icebox of International Falls Minnesota. We are taking my mother and my wife to Woody's Fairly Reliable Guide Service. Its even cheaper than Canada and the fishing is supposed to be just as good. I'll know better in July.

This was in the news this morning...
Brazil Gangs

Thanks guys.... Questions for all of you..

Mizar5 - What outfit did your buddy go with? Can you PM me or give me his phone #? I'd like to chat with him about several things.

Skyshark - What are you talking about? Is that like a huge party?

Jason - Who do you usually go with? Why $7500 or is that for 2 people? Have you tried different outfitters? I was looking at the big boats that move every night so every day will be a different experience. I will PM you soon.


I have no interest in Canada for some reason. I'm sure its a blast but I want hot humid dirty water fishing. I'm a river rat.

Any other places I should know about?

When I went to Brazil it was with a bunch of my customers. I stayed at a lodge for several days and a river boat, The Amazon Queen, for several days so I got to experience both. I have been told that they no longer let you do both in the same trip. Here is the website;
http://www.amazontours.com/

And here is the pricing page;
http://www.amazontours.com/content/view/28/32/

It's not hard to rack up 7.5k.

Have you ever thought of A guided Gator Gar trip for 100 - 200lb Gator Gar right here in Texas? Or 1,000lb Sturgeon in the Pacific NW? IF your a dirty river rat they might be something to look into. I know they are on my list.

Texas Alien,

I would certainly be afraid to travel to Rio because of those gangs. The Brazilain state of Amazonas is virtually a world away from Rio. Brazil is a huge country and they are at opposite ends.

The only big city one has to travel to to get to the Rio Negro is Manaus. Manaus is a large city, some 2,000,000 people, but it is a wonderful place with very beautiful women. Manaus is also the place where the black waters and the blue waters of the Amazon tributaries converge. At times you can see the two waters swirling together like some kind of Margarita swirl.

Thanks, Jason. I am sure that is true. Obviously Rio is a world away from the beauty you have found. Thank you for sharing.

I will be on the northwest beaches of Costa Rica in about three weeks. Will take pics and let you know how it goes.

Big party? Yeah, it has to be 10 times the size of mardi gras....same concept just their spin on mardi gras....Im a little to old to do that now. It was a blast in my 20's!

"Have you ever thought of A guided Gator Gar trip for 100 - 200lb Gator Gar right here in Texas? Or 1,000lb Sturgeon in the Pacific NW?"

I fish for the gar in the Nueces river about 3-4 times a year. Thats where I learned to be a river rat. They have many guides around there now. The gar are getting real scarce compared to 10 years ago.

Sturgeon may be fun. I just want to do one BIG trip to one of the best fishing places in the world and see some sites I may not be able to ever see again.
It amazes me how fast the world is growing. Never know what will happen in the near future.

That site is one of two I was looking at. Price varies a bunch. Was wondering if anyone has taken other trips to compare?

I have fished several times at the Guri dam site in Venezuela. I have had very good luck and the accomodations are great. The main target is Peacock Bass, but many other species are available. This is run by the government but it is a first class operation. You generally find package deals in outdoors magazines like Salt Water Fisherman( yes, the lake is freshwater).

Can you give a few more details divingcat?
How much did you spend on average each trip?(money really is not that important but I'm curious)
Did you stay in one spot and did it come with a guide?
Did you also catch other species?

Bigcat, I was living in Venezuela at the time so I did not have transportation charges.
The hotel is at the dam site along with a variety of other things such as resturants, a movie theater, grocery store, bar, etc. You are required to have a guide. We fished up the river from the dam( Caroni River)some 25 miles or so. The boats are modern and the guides are excellent. The wildlife is amazing also. There are several Indian tribes and you will see the dugouts and Indian fishermen. We caught peacock bass, piranha, pallada(or payada) a fish with two fangs, and others I cannot remember. At lunch time, we would meet up with other boats and the guides would cook fish on an open grill for lunch.
I was told that below the dam enormous catfish were caught. However, that is a restricted area and unless you know someone that works for the Guri dam, I do not think you can fish there. I am sure that there are large catfish in the river also. However, the people I went with were really fishing for Peacock bass so we did not have the bait for catfish.
At the times I was there, it was very cheap. I would say around $100 a day per person including hotel, food, guide, etc. That has been over ten years ago so I would think it would be at least double that amount. You can find the all-inclusive trips in the travel section of many fishing magazines.

Bigcat, I was way off on the prices they now charge. Below is what I found on the internet.






Lake Guri Peacock Bass Fishing Packages
All-Inclusive resort and our rates include

- Accommodation
- Breakfast
- Lunch
- Dinner
- Snacks
- Local Alcoholic Beverages
- Non-Alcoholic Beverages
- Use of Entire Resort Facilities
- Daily Fishing including Guide
Rates do not include
- International Airfare
- Domestic Airfare
- Gratuities
- Additional Tours
- Taxes (16% Venezuela)
3 Day Packages
(2 1/2 days fishing)
3 Days Peacock Bass Fishing Deluxe $ 1050.00

3 Days Peacock Bass Fishing Executive $ 1500.00

3 Days Peacock Bass Fsihing Presidential $ 2250.00

5 Day Packages
(4 1/2 days fishing)
5 Days Peacock Bass Fishing Deluxe $ 1750.00

5 Days Peacock Bass Fishing Executive $ 2500.00

5 Days Peacock Bass Fsihing Presidential $ 3750.00