Amazonia peacock country is remote jungle, where you're as much explorer as angler.

You needn’t worry about tippet strengths—most people don’t even use one. Peacocks are not leader-shy and it is acceptable to simply use five or six feet of 40- or 50-pound test right from the fly line to the fly. A tucunare’s crashing strike on a surface plug is one of the most exciting moments you can have on the water, but once hooked, they just dash deeper into whatever structure is closest.

Having a few spare lines, and everything else, is always a good idea on the Amazon. If you like poppers, bring a floating line and it is always a safe bet to have a Teeny 300 just in case the fish are holding in the deeper pools. In my opinion, the monocore is the easiest to cast, which makes it my first choice.

If you really want to fly fish and follow the rules, a 20-pound tippet of a hard mono such as Masons and a 50-pound shock is the way to go. If you are looking for records, don’t cast near structure; work the beaches, gullies and flats and keep your eye out for “bubbles.” Tucunare are very protective of their young and guard them for weeks after birth. When danger threatens, the fry will actually hide in the parent’s mouth. Every so often, the parents will take the school of babies out into open water and let them swim around at the surface, which creates raindrops or a “bubbles” effect on calm water. If you can spot one of these small patches of bubbles and get your fly into it, it will be instantly attacked by the parent. I caught my biggest fly fish, a 21-pounder, casting to bubbles. Since the fish was hooked in open water, I probably could have caught it on most any tippet. If you want a record, keep a rod rigged for bubbles, but don’t waste your time throwing a 12-pound tippet near structures unless you have lots of extra flies.

There is another twist to this fishing if your journey is to the Aqua Boa. This is a clear-water river, wide but shallow. Most of the fishing there is sight casting, which means you can get by with smaller rods and civilized-size flies. Fly fishing is so effective on the Aqua Boa that two prime months (January/February) are now fly fishing only at the Royal Amazon Lodge. This is the most fly-friendly operation that I have found and I have already booked a week there next season.

The final question you must ask yourself before boarding a plane to Brazil is how do you react to heat? By heat, I mean “August in Islamorada bake-you-to-death heat.” In the Amazon, you will be fishing right on the equator and your outfitter will give you a good checklist for clothing—pay attention to it. It is extremely hot, humid and often windless. I nearly died on my tent camp experience. Most of the guys had no complaints but I would have killed for an air-conditioned room and a hot shower. As I get older, I appreciate my creature comforts more and more. If you enjoy roughing it, then you will be fine anywhere, but many of the lodges are literally four star hotels in the middle of the jungle so you do have a choice of comfort levels.

FS

Check out the bonus photos for this story at: www.floridasportsman.com/gallery/0501_bonus/photos/