Rio Casiquiare System..Giant Peacock Bass

 

Rumors are abound that the Rio Casiquiare system in Venezuela which includes the Rio Pasiba and Rio Pasimoni, will soon open for sport fishing.  This system was popular in the 1990s and was known to produce giant peacocks surpassing the magical 20 lbs.  The Casiquiare is a tributary of the Orinoco flowing southward to the Rio Negro.  It forms a canal between the Orinoco and Amazon river systems.  Unfortunately, I was not able to go with a bunch of friends who were some of lucky anglers to wet a line there.  These rivers have not seen a lure for decades!  So, hopefully the rumors are true.  Contact columbiapesca@gmail.com for more information on this amazing peacock bass destination.  

PANAFISHING LODGE, PEDASI PANAMA JUNE 2023

 On June 16 I set out from Milwaukee to Panama City on American Airlines for a 7-day fishing trip with Panafishing Lodge.  After flight cancellations and delays, I finally flew on United Airlines out of Houston to Panama City on June 17.  Once I arrived, I found out that my rodcase holding all my fishing equipment was lost.  Luckily, Dereck Platt, new owner of Panafishing, had equipment for rent.  This was my second trip with Panafishing.  My previous trip was fantastic with many giant roosterfish exceeding 50 lbs with 1 enormous rooster pushing toward the 90lbs mark per guide Javier.  

The reports on Panama fishing in general were poor as El Nino was having a great influence on water temperatures. My three friends who came with were first timers to Panama and never caught a roosterfish previously.

Guide Javier motored us inshore near wave breaking rocks.  Friend, Etan had the first hook-up and landed a decent cubera snapper estimated at 30 lbs.  Cubera snappers are exceptionally strong and dive straight to the bottom to rocks.  

Roostefish simply would not attack.  We saw numerous roosters follow our poppers to the boat and turn around.  Etan landed a few small roosterfish.  We both were constantly getting attacked by nuisance needlefish which caused some line issues.  We all landed numerous mackerel,   bigeye jacks, rainbow runners, and small yellowfin tuna throughout the trip.  All of us hooked into big cuberas which were too much to handle.  The day before leaving my rodcase finally showed up.  Amazing that the airlines could misplace a 6ft long black rodcase!  I decided to give slow pitch jigging a try.  I bought the equipment for Papua New Guinea but could not understand how this light equipment could handle large fish.  We used a small 80 gram jig in about 50 foot of water when a rod pulling strike took place.  The slow pitch jigging rod was bent to the water and the drag on the reel was screaming.  After about 10 minutes we saw a black and white stripped figure coming to the surface, finally a decent rooster weighing about 35lbs.  

3 anglers from France were having good success trolling and jigging offshore.  The last day after lunch we decided to give it a try.  Etan spotted tuna breaking the surface, so it was a strike cast after cast for about forty five minutes.  About 10 minutes into the bite, Etan saw a huge mahi mahi streak toward my small Yo-Zuri popper.  It struck so hard that the rod nearly jerked out of my arms.  After a few jumps my largest mahi mahi to date was landed about 45 lbs.  Javier tossed it into the cooler which was already full of yellowfin tuna.

About 45 minutes into the frenzy, the bite slowed somewhat.  However, I noticed a few tuna breaking the water behind the boat.  I made a long cast with the popper and had a huge strike.  This fish was much stronger than the others.  After many drag pulling runs, we saw a decent yellowfin coming to the surface.  Javier gaffed the brute and somehow tossed him into the cooler.  The yellowfin was estimated at 55 lbs.  

For the afternoon, Etan and I landed about 35 yellowfin.  Our friends landed a few yellowfin and wahoo trolling while the French anglers hooked into a few marlin and sailfish which broke off.  

The best lure of the trip was without a doubt the     4 3/4 inch Yo-Zuri magnum popper in silver and black.  

The trip was a success especially given the difficult fishing conditions we were handed.  The giant roosters evade us but the yellowfin and mahi mahi were fun to land on light tackle. 

Panafishing Lodge is a small lodge run by Dereck Platt and his family.  There are 4 bedrooms and 4 boats of which 3 are used and the other is kept as a backup.  We did not see other fishermen other than a few locals.  Pedasi is about a 5-hour drive from Panama City where Dereck arranges the transportation.  We stayed at The Executive Hotel in Panama City.  The meals at the lodge were great.  Mostly freshly caught fish is on the menu along with sushi from tuna or wahoo!  Delicious!  

So, if a big roosterfish in a quiet family-oriented lodge is on your to do list, consider looking at Panafishing in Pedasi, Panama.  

JURASSIC LAKE LODGE/ SILVER RAINBOW HEAVEN/APRIL 29 TO MAY 6, 2023

 

Argentina has been a favorite fishing destination for numerous years.  Battling giant dorado at La Zona is always at the top of my list.  Wetting a line at Jurassic Lake (Lago Strobel) is perhaps the greatest fishery in the world for high quality and quality of rainbow trout.  This fishery reminds me so much of the great memories fishing the Alaksa Peninsula for giant silver salmon.

I have fished Jurassic many times.  The beginning of the season begins in September when the Barrancoso River is chocked full of spawning rainbows.  The season ends the beginning of May where thousands of giant chrome rainbows start to gather outside the mouth of the Barrancoso.  These silver rainbows pack on pounds and are tremendous fighters.

Friend, Roger Lee, from California, would join me on this adventure. This is Roger's first trip to Patagonia and has never fly fished before.  At the lodge were also a few fishermen from Argentina, including a former Chicago Bulls NBA basketball player.  

The weather at Jurassic in May is normally cold and windy.  The rainbows here prefer the wind.  One morning while fishing near the mouth of the Barrancoso out in Strobel, I could see hundreds of huge rainbows "surfing" in the waves.  The action was non-stop, literally a strike every cast.  My best morning was 51 rainbows.

One morning fishing near the mouth, Roger and I both hooked into giants.  Guide Brian had the first look and said the fish were enormous.  After netting both trophies, Roger and I both had rainbows pushing the scales over 21 lbs.

  The action was nonstop all week.  We fished in the first pool in the river a few times.  There were enough rainbows to make things interesting.  Roger became a good student of Brian and was mastering the fly rod within hours.

I was using a white mop fly I tied up for this trip.  It worked very well and caught numerous rainbows with the largest pushing the scale over 20 lbs.

Roger was using a dry fly and had great action.  I told Roger in September there are so many rainbows in the first pool that you literally can walk on them!  

Brian was tremendous and sure he has sore arms and shoulders from netting all the giants we landed.  For the week, I landed 4 rainbows over 20 lbs. while Roger landed 2 over 20 lbs.  This was my best trip ever for huge rainbows at Jurassic.  

Everything went well for the week.  The winds made it impossible to fish one afternoon, otherwise, the weather cooperated.  The staff, cook, and guides at Jurassic are second to none.  So, if you are looking for giant chrome rainbows, the month of May at Jurassic Lake Lodge is the best in the world!  Already looking forward to returning this coming September and May 2024.

THE GIANTS OF LA ZONA/ SHALLOW WATER POPPERS

 

La Zona which is located in Concordia, Argentina on the Rio Uruguay boasts the largest freshwater dorado on earth!  However, the giants exceeding 50lbs are not easily fooled.  I recently had the opportunity to fish in the "zone" for two weeks this April.  The water conditions were extremely low, less than 1 meter, so topwater action would be the game plan.  

Recently, the governments of Argentina and Uruguay signed an agreement allowing anglers with permits to fish again next to the Salto Grande Dam walls.  Here, thousands of dorado swim.

  However, after numerous years of fishing in La Zona, I have found the true giants are very difficult to land next to the dam, as too many smaller dorado swim here.

So, I have found the giants sit behind huge boulders away from the dam ready to ambush anything the current pushed toward them.  These giants can be caught on poppers with retrieves as fast as possible with very precise long casts next to the rocks.  

There are hundreds of poppers in different styles available on the market.  Kermett Adams of klures.com in the USA makes shallow cup dorado poppers specifically designed for La Zona.  These are wired through and have swivels on the hook harnesses so the hooks can rotate during jumps by the monsters.  The shallow cup design pushes just enough water during rapid retrieves to fool the beasts.  

After losing the majority of Kermett's poppers the first week , I was introduced to locally made CANO poppers made by friend, Juan Vaccaneo.  These poppers again have a shallow cupped mouth and are extremely lightweight.  They come in 3 sizes with the La Zona guides preferring the medium and small sizes.  These poppers are wired through with the swivels on the hook harness.  They come in a variety of colors.  Friend, Javi Koller, owner of ZonaPesca in Buenos Aires is the main distributor of CANO poppers and gliders.  For Americans heading to La Zona, Javi can hire a motorcycle driver to delivery poppers to you at the EZE airport.  

I have made a few suggestions to both Kermett and Juan for future La Zona topwater lures which both will be creating soon!  

When popping I can make further casts with a long spinning rod.  I use a 8ft 2in TFO TFD P2 2 piece spinning rod teamed with a Daiwa 5000BG reel spooled with 65lbs Diamond Braid.  I attach to the braid a 3 ft 80lbs fluorocarbon leader attached to a 12 inch 300 lbs mono leader.  The long leader really prevents cutoffs in the razor-sharp rocks!  

Topwater action is perhaps the ultimate bite!  It is extremely exciting seeing a 50lbs+ dorado jumping in an attempt to toss your popper.  So, during your next visit to La Zona, make sure to give Kermett Adams a call or let me know if I can be of any help with getting the poppers made by CANO!  

"FROM MINNOWS TO MARLIN" BY LARRY WALKER

 Had the pleasure of reading "From Minnows to Marlin" by friend, Larry Walker.  Larry recounts the numerous international fishing experiences from the jungles of the Amazon to the deep blue oceans.  He has fished in places most of us only dream about.  Larry describes in "From Minnows to Marlin" his families minnow business, getting involved with running largemouth bass trips, to operating shrimp boats.  Follow Larry into some of these remote destinations.  This book is an encyclopedia on international fishing which can be used as a reference to follow in Larry's footsteps.  The book is available on Amazon and other bookstores.  I highly recommend the book and give it 5 stars!

DAIWA MAVERICK SPINNING REEL

 

Daiwa, Australia, has recently announced the Maverick line of big game spinning reels.  The Daiwa Maverick comes in sizes 8000 to the massive 20000 which are capable of handling big saltwater brutes such as Giant Trevally and Dogtooth tuna.  The 20000H model is equipped with a G1 Duralumin drive gear which is the same that sits inside the 20 Saltiga.  This is big enough to handle the heavy drag of   20 kg.  It also is built with the famous Daiwa MAGSEAL which prevents saltwater intrusion.  It also comes with the Daiwa lightweight ZAION air rotor.  The 20000H model has a gear ratio of 5.8.  It has a large spool holding 300 meters of PE10 braid.  In my opinion the Maverick sits in the middle of the line of Daiwa Saltwater reels just a step below the Catalina series.  The 20000H will cost somewhere in the $600 to $700 USD range.  Like many reel companies this model will not be available in the USA so one will have to look to Australia or Japan to order.  Daiwa also makes top of the line saltwater reels including the Dogfight, Saltiga, and Saltiga Expedition all of which cost around $1100 USD.   They also make a few lower cost models such as the Daiwa Saltist and Daiwa BG which cost under $300 USD.  So, if you are looking to add to your arsenal of reels for Giant Trevally, consider the Daiwa Maverick.  

POPPING FOR GIANT TREVALLY

 Catching monster fish on the surface is perhaps the exciting technique of tempting bites.  There are numerous types of poppers which we used on my recent trip to Papua New Guinea.  Without a doubt my go to popper is Skipjack model in Kolohe coloration.  The skipjack is a pencil popper which can easily cast into winds.  It is extremely easy to work thus saving one's arms and shoulders throughout a long day of popping.  I buy these poppers from www.gtfightclubs.com and from Kermett Adams of www.klures.com.  I normally use the 120 gram and 150-gram models. The key is to make extremely long casts so determine which size popper works best for you.  Every popper is different coming out of the package to make sure to precast to determine any flaws. 

After each trip many of the poppers are destroyed so I use woodfill, sandpaper, paint, rubber cement, and clear coat to repair them.  Other type of poppers is the Cubera style which are an hourglass shape with large, cupped mouths.

  I also have used the Fisherman long pen where a really fast popping retrieve is used and the Hot's Keiko Ocean Chugaya popper which is more or less a stickbait with a small, cupped mouth.  This is used with long slow sweeps.  I have been using split rings made by Decoy and BKK Raptor treble hooks.  So, make sure to check out all types of poppers and determine which is best for you.  Good luck!!