Tucunare flies are best made of synthetic materials—the tougher the better. You need a big, wide profile but there really isn’t a need for a fly much more than five or six inches long. It has to sink quickly, so large, heavy hooks (3/0 or 4/0) are important and they have to be very sharp. If you can coat the head with epoxy, the fly will last a lot longer and big eyes are a must. When you are finished, you have something that double hauls just slightly more efficiently than a wet hamster. Casting is a major part of peacock fishing, so some compromising is in order. Try to use less rather than more materials. Combos of green-yellow-orange and blue-white-red work exceptionally well. Again, add as much flash as possible but remember, you will have to cast it over 60 feet about a thousand times a day. Don’t get carried away with the materials.

Wide-profile flies tied on 3/0 and 4/0 hooks.

Once you have found the right fly, you will need tackle that is heavy enough to cast it, yet light enough to be thrown constantly for 10 hours a day. Last February, I fished the Rio Negro Peacock Bass Fly Tournament and, by the time it was over, my casting was greatly improved but I felt like a fiddler crab with blisters. Nevertheless, I can safely say that everyone in the tournament used a stiff 10-weight rod with an 11-weight intermediate sink line—tarpon taper monocores to be specific. I carried a backup 10-weight rod with a 10-weight monocore, but it had trouble handling the bigger flies, especially as the day wore on and I got tired. The heavier line is a big help in turning over the big flies. The reel is less important. You need a good drag and about 100 yards of 30-pound or heavier backing, but try to keep the combo as light as possible.

Peacocks are not known for long runs. When they feel pressure, they simply look for the closest tree and head for it. The jungle is usually not far away if the water is high and stopping that first run is a real problem so bring a few spare rods just in case the fish wins. During my first trip, the water was very high and most of our strikes were in the middle of a forest. I had fish straighten out 3X hooks, tear hooks right off the plugs and two snapped 65-pound braid. Now you see why I stress low water for fly fishing. Watching your $65 fly line disappear into the bushes is a painful experience since it never comes out in quite the same condition that it went in. When the water is low, the trees are way up the bank, on land, where they should be—separated from the water by a sandy beach. Low water makes all the difference.

There is a calmer side to all this. In low water, the sandbars form gullies and beaches. Schools of 3- to 5-pound butterfly peacocks cruise the shallows like bonefish and are great fun on lighter rods and more civilized flies. We spent at least an hour each day walking the shoreline, occasionally kicking alligators out of the way, and casting to butterflies. These fish don’t look much like the imports that now inhabit South Florida canals. Lime green with black spots, yellow and orange trim and iridescent blue fins, they are probably the most beautiful fish I have ever seen.