Tackle and Flies

Rods 5 to 9 Wt. are recommended for fishing Tambaqui, Arowana and Peacock Bass.
10 t 14 Wt. rods are recommended for Arapaima since their weight can vary from 60 to 200 pounds. With a 7 Wt, 10 Wt and 12 Wt on the boat is enough for the fish range.

Reels
Reels: As with rods, reels that have been designed for saltwater fly-fishing are the best choice. These jungle fish will test your stripping fingers more than your reel, but in the event you can get them on the reel before they get into the wood, reels with strong smooth drags are recommended. Bring a trusted reel that you feel comfortable with. Weight of the reel is important also since you will be casting a lot. 30-pound backing is required. We recommend the Silver King reels from Nautilus.

Lines
Most of the fishing is done close to the surface of the water. Weight forward lines designed specifically for the tropics and saltwater are what you want. Rio Outbound Tropical Short or comparable, ultra-aggressive, warm water fly lines hands-down work the best. Another amazing line is the Rio Tropical Outbound Short clear intermediate tip line, the 30ft INT/15ft Clear. Full floating Tropical Outbound Shorts are excellent for effortlessly throwing giant wind resistant poppers and streamers. Do not bring cold water floating lines, as the hot weather makes these lines soft and gummy. You will also want to bring a fast sinking sink-tip for some specific spots. For this we recommend a 24-foot 300 to 400 grain sink-tip fly line. We strongly suggest you bring at least one back up fly line. Important Note. Bring 50-80lbs core resistant fly flines. The Rio Leviathan, Outbound and the Scientific Anglers Titan are good choices.

Leaders
Most fish are not really leader shy but the very clear water situation can make some big fish spooky, so fluorcarbon leaders make line invisible under water. Leaders should be strong and heavy enough to turn over big wind resistant flies, so heavy/strong butt leaders are important. Spools of fluorocarbon should include 40, 30 and 20 pounds. Mono in 20-pound breaking strengths can also be used in certain situations. Maxima, Mason or fluorocarbon are all good choices. Some fish require longer, 9-foot leaders, while others just require a single straight piece of fluorocarbon tippet. For arapaima, 80 to 100# test or larger is required.

Flies
Fishing is done using baitfish, large insect, fruit, and even algae imitations. There is a new world here to discover. For baitfish imitations, streamers in white, yellow, chartreuse and combinations of these colors are very effective.
For Arapaima, we need heavily dressed flies in lengths from 4 to 12 inches, with good action in the water, in barbless 4/0 to 7/0 (high quality hooks as Tiemco 600SP or the Onwer Aki) are required. As for patterns, the most typical flies used are synthetic material streamers such as the Glimmer Minnow and the Sardina Cruiser. However many baitfish imitations have proved to be very successful, among them Puglisi Streamers in medium to very big sizes. Whistlers or Umpqua’s Tarpon’s Snake and Decievers and Half and Half’s.
Imagine that arapaima can eat a baitfish from 4inches up to 10 inches!! So plan to have big streamers in clear colors mixing with yellow/red/orange and also darker colors as black&red and combinations.

Big foam poppers and divers as well as very big rubber leg dry flies like Chernobyl Ants are fun to fish for Arowana and Peacock Bass and should be included. Flies are available for sale at the camp for $10 each, but be sure to show up with a good selection as well.