Johnsfolly

As kids we had a neighbor with a squirrel monkey as a pet. Also a nasty little animal.

We saw well over a hundred deer in just a couple of fields before dark last evening. I used to try and plan to hunt the evenings before a storm.

I have loved being out in snow storms to hunt and fish. Have had many successful trips. The fish don't mind and most of those trips I had the water to myself. Tracking and seeing deer with snow on the ground, especially that first snow of the hunting season, makes for a fun hunt. Squirrels do tend to hunker down in their nests and are usually not out during the snow fall. What was not fun was if there was icy conditions to the roads for the travel.

Sounds like a lot of former cable repair guys have now become meterologists😉😂

South America Swamp Musky! 😉 Don't lip that guy!

Sounds like a great time Les! Glad that you got out and caught a bunch!

😆😁

@Smithvillesteve it depends on what lures/bait you intend to fish and the water flow conditions as @Travis Swift pointed out. If I am fishing microjigs in the trout parks I will use full 2# line (P-line Fluoroclear is my choice) on the reel. That helps me cast those tiny jigs effectively and I don't feel that the fish will shy away from the bait (I have seen them come in hot for a microjig then turn away with 4# line in the trout parks where they have seen a large number of baits). I will usually go to 4# or even 6# for jigs and 6# for other lures, spinners, spoons, small jerkbaits, etc. The 3# option that Pete (aka @snagged in outlet 3) suggested is a solid intermediate choice.

Pete - I use that one a lot. I especially like the id by the call feature. I can actually use that to find the birds as well as id them for me. My wife uses the Seek app that ties into INAT and can upload her observations into her INAT account. Works great for plants and stationary animals. Not so good it the animal is flitting back and forth or moving along since it takes some time to id the target. Also phone photos are not the best for targets in the distance.

I think that this may be an Uaru. Very cool catch! https://www.inaturalist.org/taxa/567461 https://www.inaturalist.org/observations/198142805 https://www.inaturalist.org/observations/254760345 https://www.inaturalist.org/observations/189231208

This one may be a challenge to id to species. There is the Leporinis altipinnis (most likely species - no common name) and the Banded Leporinus - Leporinus faciatus. Both are likely in the area that you have been fishing. The images that I have seen for many of the banded Leporinus all have orange/red coloration of the chin and throat and many have that coloration on the fins as well which your fish does not. That could just be a breeding coloration deal and they may look like your fish outside of breeding season.

I don't know about the California sea lions on whether they are very agressive towards people. We treated stellars sea lions we met while fishing in Alaska as cautiously as if we encountered bears on the river. They also were much larger than the sea lions that I saw in Newport OR. Both species can eat a lot of salmon.

What a great trip @Ham! I would say for most a trip of a lifetime! So many cool fish. The struggles make the success so much sweeter. Thanks for taking us along on your jungle journey!

Besides the sexual references there is a cormorant species in the UK that is called a shag🤔

@Ham was that a red-bellied or red ruby piranha?

When we lived in Ireland, I would say that we were separated by a common language😂. Rubbish bin, nappies instead of diapers, biscuits instead of cookies, digestives instead of crackers......

If the MDC has not changed the dates, the fishing licenses used to run from Mar 1 to Feb28/29th the following year. They still offer daily licenses for $9 if you just want to get out for a day and can't get a annual license until the 3/1.

This looks like it is one of the flag cichlids possibly the Festive cichlid - Mesonauta festivus

I would love the whole experience😉😁. Just living vicariously thru your reports.

I personally would have dropped the "u" for any words where it does not change the pronunciation. Your examples of color and honor would fall into that thought process. I wouldn't remove it from gouge since that word change it's pronunciation. I've used both gage and gauge. I'm not a fan of oesophagus either😉. @tjm thoughts on aluminum vs aluminium 🤔😅

Another great day Ham. Congrats on your cool catches! Glad that you got a photo of that wolf fish today.

Looks like the big-eyed cachorro on INAT - Acestrorhynchus falcirostris May be a challenge to get a true species. Likely the blacktail brycon - Brycon falcatus. There seem to be two or three brycon species that looks similar to this photo.

On INAT I believe that this is the red-tailed Hemiodus - Hemiodus gracilis

Hey Ham did a little digging. Doesn't look like INAT has a lot of confirmation for fish like this one. It does appear to to be in the Iguanodectidae family of characins (aka tetras) possibly Bryconops giacopinii Bryconops giacopinii from ATM MAMIRAUÁ on October 27, 2025 at 11:33 AM by Pedro Henrique Saba Silva. Igarapé durante o dia · iNaturalist Iguanodectid Characins (Family Iguanodectidae) from Caranazal on October 21, 2025 at 08:19 AM by IPBio - Reserva Jutuarana. 4 - P108 · iNaturalist Bryconops giacopinii from ATM MAMIRAUÁ on October 27, 2025 at 11:28 AM by Pedro Henrique Saba Silva. Igarapé durante o dia · iNaturalist