Brazil Peacock Bass Fishing Trip: Rio Marie 2022

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Peacock Bass Fly Fishing : 2022 Rio Marie

My oldest son, Alex, and I took advantage of a few last minute, COVID-related openings at one of my all-time favorite fly fishing destinations – Rio Marie. This mothership operation is part of the Untamed Angling collection of worldclass freshwater destinations in South America. Rio Marie is a legendary Brazil peacock bass fishing destination, known for big fish in a remote, wilderness setting with modern amenities.

The Extended Season

Untamed Angling now has a much longer season than they had in the early years, so we opted to join them after the new year, during their “extended season.” These rates are a little less expensive than the prime season, but the fishing always comes down to the conditions, anyway.

The main cost-saver is that they don’t operate the float plane from Manuas this time of year, so the first and last day are longer travel days with skiff rides ferrying anglers from the mothership to Sao Gabriel. These boat rides can be anywhere from 4-6 hours each way, so be prepared for a long day during this time of the season.

Big Numbers, Great Fish

As always, the fishery lived up to the hype for my son and me. Although we didn’t break the 20-pound mark during the week, we had several big number days that exceeded 50 fish with several in the 10–15-pound range, most of those days.

The butterfly peacock bass were very concentrated around creek and lagoon mouths, resulting in several arm wrenching sessions during which we were constantly doubled up with fully bent rods for periods of half an hour to an hour long.

The big fish were just quite that week, a couple of other guests found 2 of the 20+ pounders, but they were throwing “woodchoppers” on conventional tackle. The fly anglers in the group all had similar weeks to ours.

Top Notch Brazil Peacock Bass Fishing Destination

The Rio Marie operation has really matured since the early days when I first visited this unique destination. The guides, native staff, and the mothership crew are all experienced an able to keep things moving much smoother than back in 2015 and 2016. The food is “as good as it gets” and the rooms are simply fantastic.

We happened to depart to the jungle. on this trip, as the COVID Omicron variant began to takeoff around the world. When we left Manuas, there was very little concern regarding COVDI and tests were plentiful (a negative test was required at that time to get back into the USA), Cases started to pop-up daily among the staff and crew of the boat throughout our week. The guests stayed COVID-free as the crew did an exceptional job of keeping everyone separated once they began to show symptoms. Things were crazy when we returned to Manaus with cases exploding throughout the world once again, but we were able to get our tests and return home. Untamed handled that week amazingly well and we were profoundly grateful to be able to fully enjoy this much-needed escape during those crazy, COVID years!

Another Trip Approaches

We head back to Rio Marie in September 2025 on a newly expanded itinerary that is focused on exploring the headwaters of the Rio Marie. We will be one of two groups of 4 anglers to have the opportunity at this untouched peacock bass fly fishing destination in the ’25-’26 season. I can’t wait!

We may have availabliity for 1 spot on the September 14-20, 2025 Headwaters Camp, reach out if you are interested in learning more, and we can add you to the list if an opening does develop.

Peacock bass fishing is one of my favorites! I love their aggressive strikes, amazing colors, and parts of the Amazon (this part, in particular) are among the few, untouched places left on Earth. E-mail me with any questions or gear recommendations regarding Brazil peacock bass fishing, I’m happy to share my experiences and passion with other anglers.