Brazil January 2026

[Johnsfolly]

8 hours ago, Ham said:

But I got him in the end. All

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.

[Johnsfolly]

8 hours ago, Ham said:

I cane tight to this.

I

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

[Ham]

I still have lots of photos to come, but I got this one in. 

[Ham]

So, I won’t Sugar coat it, this trip was hella expensive. The Lodge is very nice and it’s in the middle of the jungle. Kinda expensive to get nice stuff there. A lot of staff probably more than one employee for every guest that is there at any given time. My cabin was center of frame. They are numbered and have a local fish image as well. There are hangers on the wall facing the camera for you to hang your rods on at the end of the day. So, you rig them once and forget about it. 
if you can zoom in, I was in the Redtail Cat bungalow. The river is really beautiful and so FULL of Life. There is NO garbage. None. I did not see a single piece of garbage the entire week at the lodge. Manaus is a different story. People ruin everything. 
The travel to and from has been brutal. It would be better if I had a travel buddy like @FishnDave. Going solo has been not great. Long and arduous. And not cheap. Everybody wants their pound of flesh. 
I thought originally this was a one and done deal, but …… now I am not sure. I did a lot of heavy lifting with species caught, but there are so many more that taunted me. I’ll have to see how it goes. I probably should not go back until after my wife retires. 

[Ham]

So my days at Agua Boa Lodge went like this

0525 alarm goes off. Take Morning meds. Some of the time I would apply sunscreen to my face first thing, but if we had a long boat run coming, I did that during the boat ride. Throw on long pants, long sleeve shirt, buff, fishing gloves, socks and shoes, and spray some Skin So Soft. All this was to keep the no see ema at bay. The bite didn’t hurt, but I was warned the itching could last for days. I think I avoided getting bitten. 
Ideally, I got down to the dock by 0545, but often I was a few minutes after that. There was a Good bite by the larger Pacu on foam beetles. Size 10 was best. My 12’s sank and they didn’t like that. 8’s are too large. They get hit, but their mouths are too small. 
I used up or gave away all my foam beetles. If I visit again, I’ll start with 2 dozen. The other hoppers got ignored with was surprising and aggravating. 
by 0615 that bite was winding down and I would have to run to put stuff away before getting my breakfast. Breakfast was great. I’d start with fresh fruit and finished with eggs and bacon.

You make your lunch from a buffet line. You can make sandwiches which I did a couple of times, but then I switched to hard boiled eggs, cheese, and cold cuts. I think Richard Button would have been proud of me, but sadly no Pecan Sandiea to take along. You could pack fruit as well, but I mostly didn’t. I would take a couple of Hogie rolls every day. I chummed at lunch with them to create a feeding frenzy. 
Meet the guides at the boats at 0700. The guides would grab your rods and have them in the boats. 
Fish hard. Try to remember to force fluids. Pull on Peacock freight trains all day.

The guides know their beats and know when it is time to head in. The boats would be back at the dock at 1700 usually within a minute or two either way. Like clockwork. I was impressed.

I would run to the room and shower and grab a fresh shirt and long pants again. Hustle back to the dock to fish from 1730 until 1815. Back to the room to do a little tackle prep and then to Supper at 1900.

Supper was Great. Started with a soup. Then a buffet line. Always had some version of rice and beans. Usually had chicken, fish, and with beef/pork/ lamb options. Veggies and fruit options. 
after everyone was done, they would come offer you dessert at the table. The table was a long table set for 16. Lots of after fishing action reports and opinion sharing. I usually was needing to rest by 2030 and would go back to the room. 
I would do a little tackle prep and Internet accessing IF the WiFi was functioning.

At some point, I would pass out. Now, having forced fluids all day and having a Liquid IV before bed as well as a big supper I was up and down all night getting rid of water. Unfortunately, a couple of nights I still had Leg cramps. I will bring Liquid Magnesium next time. A teaspoon of that in a pint of water relived leg cramps for me quickly. I couldn’t figure out how to bring it, But I will find a way next time 

[Flysmallie]

Amazing trip @Ham. Thanks for sharing this with us. 

[BilletHead]

46 minutes ago, Ham said:

So my days at Agua Boa Lodge went like this

0525 alarm goes off. Take Morning meds. Some of the time I would apply sunscreen to my face first thing, but if we had a long boat run coming, I did that during the boat ride. Throw on long pants, long sleeve shirt, buff, fishing gloves, socks and shoes, and spray some Skin So Soft. All this was to keep the no see ema at bay. The bite didn’t hurt, but I was warned the itching could last for days. I think I avoided getting bitten. 
Ideally, I got down to the dock by 0545, but often I was a few minutes after that. There was a Good bite by the larger Pacu on foam beetles. Size 10 was best. My 12’s sank and they didn’t like that. 8’s are too large. They get hit, but their mouths are too small. 
I used up or gave away all my foam beetles. If I visit again, I’ll start with 2 dozen. The other hoppers got ignored with was surprising and aggravating. 
by 0615 that bite was winding down and I would have to run to put stuff away before getting my breakfast. Breakfast was great. I’d start with fresh fruit and finished with eggs and bacon.

You make your lunch from a buffet line. You can make sandwiches which I did a couple of times, but then I switched to hard boiled eggs, cheese, and cold cuts. I think Richard Button would have been proud of me, but sadly no Pecan Sandiea to take along. You could pack fruit as well, but I mostly didn’t. I would take a couple of Hogie rolls every day. I chummed at lunch with them to create a feeding frenzy. 
Meet the guides at the boats at 0700. The guides would grab your rods and have them in the boats. 
Fish hard. Try to remember to force fluids. Pull on Peacock freight trains all day.

The guides know their beats and know when it is time to head in. The boats would be back at the dock at 1700 usually within a minute or two either way. Like clockwork. I was impressed.

I would run to the room and shower and grab a fresh shirt and long pants again. Hustle back to the dock to fish from 1730 until 1815. Back to the room to do a little tackle prep and then to Supper at 1900.

Supper was Great. Started with a soup. Then a buffet line. Always had some version of rice and beans. Usually had chicken, fish, and with beef/pork/ lamb options. Veggies and fruit options. 
after everyone was done, they would come offer you dessert at the table. The table was a long table set for 16. Lots of after fishing action reports and opinion sharing. I usually was needing to rest by 2030 and would go back to the room. 
I would do a little tackle prep and Internet accessing IF the WiFi was functioning.

At some point, I would pass out. Now, having forced fluids all day and having a Liquid IV before bed as well as a big supper I was up and down all night getting rid of water. Unfortunately, a couple of nights I still had Leg cramps. I will bring Liquid Magnesium next time. A teaspoon of that in a pint of water relived leg cramps for me quickly. I couldn’t figure out how to bring it, But I will find a way next time 

                   AAAHHH yes Richard and his hard-boiled eggs lots of those were consumed by us. Salt on the side. Many times, a drive through MacDonalds for a senior coffee. If he was still with us, I think he would be unhappy with the price increase. Naps were a must as you know with Richard.  When we first started fishing together, he was still semi-truck driver with strange hours. When he was off, we would fish. He could stare at a bobber with a minnow beneath it. No fish biting he could take that power nap sitting straight up in the boat seat. Miss that friend as you do Ham. 

   Excuse me back to this epic trip!

[Ham]

39 minutes ago, BilletHead said:

 Miss that friend as you do Ham. 

   Excuse me back to this epic trip!

I miss him a lot and I barely got to know him. I’m Sure it was heartbreaking to lose him. He had his flaws as we all do, but I wish I had gotten to take more trips with him. 

[Ham]

As far as the wagers,

I had 26 species so I hope y’all took the over.

my biggest peacock landed was a 12 lber so that’s a push.
I lost one that I will always believe was larger to piranha chopping the fly line. I lost another really big one boatside right before he was caught. I relaxed just a little bit and he shook the hook with a late Big head shake. I wouldn’t swear he was over 12 lbs, but he was a Big Knotheaded Male that I would have wanted weighed

None of my flyrods were broken, but other people broke them. One unfortunate guy broke two. I was Super careful not to high stick fish and I was exceedingly careful about which fish I lifted with the rod.  
so, by my count, I used up or lost 45 flys. That would be well under, but I gave a couple dozen flys away so I’m out 65 or so. That’s y’all’s call on that one.

I should have picked a line on fish caught. I likely would have set the line at 225, but I just had no idea what to expect. I ended up well over 225 and honestly species hunting hurt my numbers. Thursday was our hardest day. We were BIG fish hunting and the heavy rain seemed to put them in a real funk. I cast 15 foot of a trio of plus sized Temensis Peacock Bass. I waited until they got within about 7 foot and gave my fly a pull to get their attention. They freaking Bolted away from the area. 
we caught a lot of fish the other days. 

[FishnDave]

On 1/18/2026 at 5:29 AM, Ham said:

The travel to and from has been brutal. It would be better if I had a travel buddy like @FishnDave. Going solo has been not great. Long and arduous. And not cheap. 

I do travel well.  I pack down into my own carry-on and even fit into the overhead bins if folded up correctly. Not a picky eater. I saw Terri's video from this trip, eating a leaf-cutter ant (on purpose!)... I might pass on that delicacy.

I can help carry your gear, net your fish for you, take decent pics of your fish, and get you copies of those pics pronto.