WOW -- 2 large aquarium species, and some real bruisers at that. That piranha looks like S. rhombeus, or what the aquarium hobbyists call "black" piranha. They're less social than P. nattereri and typically grow somewhat larger. They're also a little more interesting when kept in big tanks IMO.
-- Peacocks are a massive, powerful, beautiful cichlid.
This is my favorite report I've ever read on here Trent -- I would rather have a shot at those two fish than any other tropical "destination" fishing out there. If you could go after a few managuense (jaguar cichlid) closer to central America and post that, you'll have nothing left to do with life ;).
Gene
On Wednesday, February 24, 2016 at 11:39:15 PM UTC-5, Trent Jones wrote:
On Wednesday, February 24, 2016 at 11:39:15 PM UTC-5, Trent Jones wrote:
I just got back from a 10 day trip to Colombia where I split my time between Bogota and the Rio Bita, a minor tributary to the Rio Orinoco which lies on the Colombia/Venezuela border in the heart of Los Llanos. Bogota was great. Great museums, colonial architecture, descent food, good beer, very friendly people and just a very unique Latin culture.
The Rio Bita...was unbelievable. It lies in the very center of Los Llanos, a tropical grassland that sits just above the equator and is dominated by a wet and dry season. During the Rainy season rivers swell and burst banks while the grasslands and woods are temporarily turned into a giant wetlands. During the dry season (now) the river levels subside and become prime to target the game fish that inhabit the region. The Watershed hosts the three major Peacock species; Speckled, Butterfly, and Royal. In addition to the Peacocks the rivers hold Arowana, Piranha, Payara and numerous other exotic fish species. I came for the Peacocks which are know locally as Pavon. And the Rio Bita did not disappoint. After three days of casting 9 and 10 weights at these brute fish I was totally beat. Not just from 100 degree temperatures and casting heavy fly tackle but because these fish hit and fight so hard it is truly unbelievable.
I took down several dozen monster flies in the most obnoxious colors you could think of, Orange, Yellow, Red, Pink, and Blue. I had Tommy Mattioli tie me up some patterns that were just amazing. If you buy shad flies from any of the local Orvis stores, Tommy is the one who tied them. I also spent every night the week before I left at the vise. On my third cast of the trip I retrieved a fly to the boat that Tommy had tied and teased it along to see how it looked in the water. As I commented out loud to my Spanish speaking guide how good it looked, a 5 pound Peacock came out of no where and crushed it. It set the tone for the next three days of fishing. Savage strikes, insanely hard pulling fish, and fast an furious action.
I fished leaders terminating in 40lbs flouro pretty much the entire time and it still didn't keep piranha from biting through the tippet and destroying flies. A few peacocks landed would often necessitate the repairing of tippet sections and the sharpening of hooks. The wildlife was equally impressive, I saw freshwater Dolphin and Stingrays, Parrots, Eagles, Cayman, Monkeys, and more tropical birds species than I could count.
The owner of the plantation I was staying on was the only person I spoke English with for almost 5 days. My guide "Jason", a local 20 year old spoke no English. I speak almost no Spanish. And yet we found ourselves laughing together at hung up flies and celebrating the larger fish we caught. At lunch I would pull out my camera and show him the Stripers of the Potomac and Brook Trout from SNP or Brown Trout. His face would light up with the wonderment of an "exotic" fish from a far away place that was so beautiful, much as my face must have looked with each fish from the Rio Bita.
I am not going to pretend that Colombia is without its problems and that Guerilla activity and security risks aren't a very real part of traveling to this part of the world. But things seem to be calmer than at any point in the last several decades and we can only hope they continue to improve. As the sun set the last night before I headed back to Bogota, I snapped a picture of the river and was thankful that I was able to be there and to fish such an amazing part of the world.-Trent
http://www.tpfr.org
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