2016 Peru (Day 11)

We start the morning early and were on the way after breakfast. An hour downstream later, we pulled the boat onto the fork of two small rivers and deployed the smaller boats. Michael decided to join me on this day.

We fished a small lake which we could access through one of the river. But the water was murky and the advertised Cichlid species appeared to be absent. Michael and I switched to bait and fished the shallows, including log piles and flooded brush areas but found no new species. There were a lot of Piranha though.

We saw George parked in a log pile and chatted as we passed them. Apparently, George and Anthony caught a number of "Purple Cichlids" from this pile. We were invited over to try our luck.

Fish were very tight in the tangled woods and you had to drop the line vertically in exact spots to get bit.

Piranha were abundant, but if you fish through them, you will eventually catch something else. My first non-Piranha species was an interesting catfish. It reminded us of Bullheads and Stonecat from back home.

Rhamdia quelen - Species #604

George caught 3 "Purple Cichlids" while Michael and I struggled. Finally I caught one of my own.

Hypselecara temporalis - Species #605

It's a nasty world in the water. Many piranha species feed by nipping at fins, scales and muscles. Most smaller fish do not have intact fins in the Amazon unless they stay shallow or they are fast swimmers.

After lunch, we decided to spend more time looking for Catfish species. We headed back downstream to a location where two rivers met and fished on a sand bar.

The area looked perfect but it was surrounded by local fishing nets. I caught couple of catfish but both were not new species. No one else had a bite so we decided to relocate further downstream toward the Amazon.

We dispersed in the small boats again. My new spot proved pretty good as I quickly found a new species!

Ageneiosus inermis - Species #606

And not long later, I finally caught a fish that was very high on my target list!

Spotted sorubim (Pseudoplatystoma corruscans) - Species #607

After fishing for Catfish on the Amazon for a few days, I noticed a pattern. If the area has fish, you would get hit very quickly. A few fish would be caught within a short span of time before the bites stopped. It repeated over and over again.

Others had less luck and it was time to return to the lodge. A distant thunderstorm was threatening.

We got back just before dark and Anthony, very much wanting us to catch more Catfish, suggested that we fish for another hour on the main stem Amazon River near the lodge before going back for dinner.

I caught a couple more of these Amoured Catfish but no new species. But overall, it was a pretty good day.