dirvin21

The bite will normally be a tick in the line on the drop Occasionally you will physically feel a tap My advice stay mobile, if you're not getting hit move on

They can be a bit hard to hook on metals try to keep your rod down and keep winding hard when they hit rather than strike

One of the issues with trusting a sign rather than trusting your own observations Feel for the family of tte lost boater

Latest upload, part 1 of our Guyana adventure, hope you enjoy

It's probably a gt based on the head shape and colour

Understand I don't knowingly target spawning bass in brackish water but ooccasionally they are by catch I have eaten bass in the past but now I appreciate them to much as sportfish to eat I definitely agree on redfin though great on the frypan

Some of my biggest bass have been during winter in terrible weather There is no official "closed" season for bass just between may - august all bass and estuary perch must be released unharmed

86cm payara caught on a halco roosta popper

another one for @aami peacock bass on lure going 57cm

Love these old photos

I've had a proper look Mountain galaxid I'm going with

If you don't mind I'll send the pic to my mate at fisheries and try and get you an actual species ID

Some grest fish there, that small one is interesting, I'm pretty sure a native galaxid

80cm on a zerek skittish dog

Just thought I'd do a quick run-down on the gear we took We didn't use any particularly special gear although travel rods are pretty much a must I used baircast gear my medium light setup was a samaki zing gen III travel 3 piece 8-17lb matched with a shimano curado 200 baitcast reel and 39lb braid Medium heavy daiwa td hyper 8-12kg 3 piece travel matched with a penn squall 300 bc reel and 50lb braid Amy: Samaki zing gen 3 travel 6ft spin 8-17lb with a shimano stradic 3000 and 30lb braid MH, abu garcia veritas 3 piece travel 8-12kg ATC virtious spin 5000 reel and 40lb braid Our big rod Shimano revolution travel 3 piece 15-24kg ATC vigour 8000 spin reel and 80lb braid Stand out lures were reidys b52 junior, zerek skittish dog 85mm topwater, halco roosta popper 85mm and halco laser pro 120mm The pirahnas are next level destructive and will eventually trash pretty much everything 60lb wire for diving hardbodies worked well but is never a guarantee I definitely didn't come prepared for how bad they can be All terminals including hooks and split rings must be upgraded on everything even the halcos There will be a youtube video coming soon in which I'll do a full tackle talk and rundown of the trip

After five days of hard fishing really takes it's toll, so for a change in pace we decided to do some catfishing. Our tireless guide cast net us some bait during the night Another stunning amazon morning we started out working baits down on the bottom in some fairly strong current, it didn't take long for Amy to hook-up as per usual, it was a solid fight Our first redtail cat, we wanted one of these so bad Amy was very impressed with herself... understandably We hopped spots a bit, the small cats were being a bit of a pest but eventually I drove the hooks in one My first amazon cat not the monster I invisioned, but excellent bait and was sent out live We moved to a much deeper area, working pur small bait on medium tackle and the big whole cat out on the heavy gear, we both managed a leopard catfish eat but the pirahnas chewed them up halfway in. Whilst having a good curse about this the big rod goes off and I'm into a solid fish My first redtail, I wanted one of these fish so bad, after a quick release the heavy rod was reset and i no time Amy is loaded up Another beautiful redtail, not to be outdone my medium setup goes off A beautifully marked jundia or leopard cat, Amy answered this with one of her own I've just misplaced the photo. We also managed a red belly pirahna for good measure. After lunch we moved onto some payara fishing, we didn't land any payara but had some spectacular surface hits and I managed a couple of nice peacocks We headed in early and then back out night fishing looking for cats, the sunset was beautiful as ever Unfortunately the cats didn't play except for me being blown away by a submarine, but that didn't matter. Our final day started with trying to get Amy an arowana, unfortunately they turned out to be her nemesis fish for the trip I did manage one just to test her love for me From arowana casting we moved onto jighing baits, essentially vertical fishing them just on the bottom looking for pescada or silver drum as per usual Amy landed a cracker and a stunning fish, hard as I tried they just evaded me, But I did manage some very nice jundia These things absolutely pull like a train After lunch for our final bit of fishingwe targeted peacocks the bite was quite tough as the fish were starting to get pressured but we managed a couple Then were treated to some red howler monkeys sitting in the trees only 20m away Amy pulled a beautiful lukanani And shortly after so did I And with that we called it and finished our fishing in this amazing place. It was an early start on our travel day but not before some pictures Our camp staff and fellow anglers were an amazing bunch of people. We got to spend a coupke of hours at Apoteri village on the way back Which was incredible then it was off to apoteri airport terminal Where we fairwelled the most incredible place I've ever visited We landed approx 140 fish for the week with 19 species (the whole group total was 29) I'll do a bit of tackle information as well as suggestions in the tackle talk section If anyone suddenly can't survive wothput visiting the amazon please shoot me a message for details and any questions Thankyou for sharing our adventure I hope you've enjoyed reading it as much as I've enjoyed writing it Cheers Dave

Record submission for @aami arapaima 215cm

We will One more report to come

Day 4 didn't start well, despite being a very happy day... our first wedding anniversary, the turtle curry had some unwanted GI effects on everyone poor Amy got the worst, at the advice of our host we decided to push back our start to let Amy rest and recover, I spent the morning wandering around taking pictures of the ever present black vultures the camp staff went about their daily duties these people just never stop working, I spent a bit of time harassing the local pirahnas By 10am Amy decided to take the day off so I left woth our guide for a late start. We headed off to the lake where we had intended to spend the day arapaima fishing that would wait for Amy but we needed an arowana for bait. Getting into the lake is half the adventure And there were loads of big black caiman present They were a real pest, trying to attack my surface lures and attempting to eat hooked fish, it was hilarious when the guide threatened them eith his oar and they all took off. The wall of incredibly spiky palms seemed to fit the place well I got to casting for arowana, these fish are tricky to tempt and even harder to hook and keep connected. I fluked the first one I missed loads but with persistence I managed to crack a pattern The trick being after the take give them a few seconds before striking and keeping the rod down They really go hard, I ended up landing 7 arowanas to 8ocm and a couti fir the session Tried for cats but the pirahnas were on steroids But the spectacled caimen were out which was cool so I decided to head in early and check on Amy who was all better. As a special anniversary treat the staff made chocolate cake for all of us and we even had a special visitor appear It was terrifying and huge... only in the amazon. Day 5 with Amy better and bait caught we returned to the lagoon target arapaima. We started with aiming to get Amy an arowana Amy jumped one off beside the boat but otherwise they were quiet so we switched to casting big cutbaits where the arapaima were rising to breath (they're airbreathers). I managed to drop 2 big fish early on andcAmy scored a turtle, there was wildlife everywhere but the fish weren't complying. The amazon sun is brutal and as lunchtime approached and we were cooking Amy's rod goes off, it was BIG, Amy was on for a battle we both freaked when we first sighted the beast, it was quite a battle bit Amy really showed her skills as an angler About 2.1m and well over 110kg of arapaima an absolute river monster It was amazing how carefully the guide treated the fish, he said they die very easily we actually spent the next hour or so protecting him from caimen as he recovered. My arapaima quest was quite frustrating, the fish activity died off so I gave up and we fished for arowana, unfortunately they wre also shut down after awhile we were heading back towards leaving the lagoon something changed and it seemed to liven up, I went for one last shot... Nowhere near as big but I couldn't care less still a big fish by any means and put up a hell of a fight. These fish were a,dream for me no come true. We finished off the session with me getting an arowana And Amy a nice peacock The colours were spectacular There was lots of celebrations back at the lodge with most of our fellow anglers joining the arapaima club... what a day To be continued

Yes had to take everything

Day 2 we were eager and back into it Another early start we hit some areas again looking for peacocks and ot didn't take Amy long A solid yellow to get her day going, And of course didn't settke for 1 these bigger peacocks had seroiys attitude and stamina thet even jump the bicudas pestered me I landed around 10 although I shouldn't complain they were great sport The aim of the day was to catch a payara despite my best efforts I couldn't turn a trick the pirahnas were willing though to rescue us Amy managed to boat a small payara They are incredibly difficult fish to keep hooked with soft mouths, love to jump and just nasty attitude. After lunch sensing our (my) frustration our guidectook us to chase some more peacocks again we had a hot bite Catching plenty of lukanani Amy got greedy and caught 2 at once Day 2 was definetly Amy's day We even got a pirahna that had recently eaten a porcupine Thats a quill in it's face We went back to payara, I landed a coupke of peacocks amonst the pirahnas But couldn't boat a payara for the life of me, I even jumped off a beast beside the boat, frustration really set in, the pirahnas wre destroying indestructible lures feeling low the amazon did something incredible A harpy eagke appeared and sat for photos it wasn't until our guide explained how rare they are and how rarely he even sees them that I unserstood the significance of the sighting. Of course when a pirahna cut my braid vosting me another big payara frustration returned but then I realise how could I be angry in such an incredible place. Day 3 we headed down river and mixed it up by starting out fishing with fruit for pacu I started out with a red pacu Followed by a silver pacu And to complete the trifecta a red hook pacu Amy also managed a red pacu The change of pace was exactly what we needed the fishing involved drifting a flicking very sour fruit and hanging on for dear life. The pace soon changed with back to lure casting surface lures looking for arowana, it was a little slow but we had quite a few miss hits but a bit peaceful Working my 85mm walk the dog it suddenly gets erupted by a payara somehow the hooks stuck and to my disbelief it was boated not long after A pink tailed payara apparently smaller and rarer than the regular silver payara they still have nasty teeth though Not long after a mega pirahna took a liking to my stick bait and massacred it, anything shiny = pirahna Changing to a halco roosta popper I kept the surface action happening Amy was having a tough arvo feeling unwell (thankyou turtle curry) and took a rsst break on the floor of the boat but felt better when a spider monkey put on quite a display in the trees I then got slammed by a much bigger payara this thing really went hard on my lightest set up but again unexpectedly I managed to boat it These things are a real beast, Then shortly after I finally hooked into an arowana one of my absolute dream fish from the amazon it ran me into timber but we managed to get it out Absolutely chuffed, luck was definetly on my side for day 3, we finished with some peacocks to finish off day 3 We were definetly racking up the species To be continued......

There will be a few parts to this report simply because there is loads of content, I will do a bit of tackle info and share random photos in the last one. To start at the beginning for as long as I remember I've always wanted to see the amazon, and six months ago the opportunity to book in a trip came up for Amy and I to fish the Essequibo river in Guyana. After a couple of days in Miami Amy and I had a late arrival in Georgetown Guyana after about 3 hours sleep we were up and off to the airport for our charter flight to nowhere. Georgetown is an interesting place, it was only just over an hour flight and we got our first good site of the river And landed at our "airport" We were on the river in no time and had a 4 hour boat ride up river to our lodge we saw loads of macaws on the way The evening was a whirlwind and before we knew it was early morning stuffing in breakfast and getting out to fish We were part of a group of 8 anglers paired in 2's with a guide who are local amerindians and incredible blokes We got into the fishing in no time casting hardbodies out into a channel, despite popular belief it started a little slow the pirahnas were willing to hit but very tough to pin, it didn't take too long before Amy landed the first fish A bicuda, first fish contest to Amy and to prove it wasn't a fluke Amy also landed fish number 2 A black pirahna (the first of many), these things fight hard but destroy tackle and the novelty wore off fast. Getting impatient I started casting a small surface lure into a near by creek mouth it took a few casts but I stirred up some peacocks and after some miss hits my first fish was on the board A beautifully coloured lukanani peacock bass we then moved to some rocks to landbased fish, chasing peacocks working my surface lure again ot was slammed at my feet after an incredible fight I had my first yellow peacock for the trip Shortly after I managed a small bicuda And of course pirahna. We moved around a bit catching bicudas and pirahnas we had a bit of a hot bite at one point Amy having a surface lure annihalated by a xos payara We did manage some better size bicudas Among other fish After lunch we had bit of a hot bite on the small peacocks which were great fun, then I was nailed by a big fish it was a nervecracking fight around the submerged timber but I managed to boat a solid peacock A solid brute probably my biggest for the trip Amy managed our first couti Which was turned into catfish bait We fished hard for payara (you'll see them in the next part) Amy jumped a couple off. We stopped on a beach for a break and our guide showed us some turtle eggs And Tapir tracks As a last stop we fished for catfish near the lodge Amy's rod went off in no time and she was soon battling a serious fish, Amy finished the day with a big surubim catfish, I was busted off minutes later with aching muscles and exhausted we headed back to the lodge.. so many fish and that was day 1 To be continued.....

It's funny how easy it is to associate gross freshwater with infection when in fact tropical sea water can be far worse, sine of the worst bacteria are associated with coral

Coming to the Hastings?

It has quite good defined boundaries with national parks, state forests and public land, you can also easily flick between topographical and sat maps