Money and I signed up with Jon Covich of Flywater Travel and 3 other anglers for a Peacock Bass experience in remote eastern Colombia. Flywater Travel managed our reserving with Afloat Tours. Our journey was great. Filled with brand-new discoveries and amazing fishing I extremely suggest this journey.
We flew through Miami to Medellin where we remained in a good hotel (Hotel Diez) in the EL Poblado area of the huge (Pop. 6.5 million) city of Medellin. The hotel lies in a terrific area with many dining establishments, coffee bar, and retail stores. It was simple to stroll to supper our opening night and last night.
The next early morning our group was carried by an Afloat agent to the local airport where a charter aircraft flew us around 1.5 hours east to the farming center of La Primavera. After a fast lunch we drove around 3.5 hours to the “Gavilon” River (suggesting Osprey in the regional Spanish Translation). The long drive over rough roadway took us through rough farmland and spread jungle along waterways. The Afloat Camp personnel welcomed us and after rapidly packing products and our equipment motored us up river about an hour to camp.
The Afloat Camp is extremely arranged and powered 24 hr a day by generators. The 3 owners of Afloat Experiences are young passionate service-oriented people wanting to broaden their tourist operations throughout Colombia. We discovered Simone and his team to be thoughtful and happy to leap at any demand. 2 anglers shared a drifting cabin total with shower, toilet, lighting, 2 power outlets, fans, standard beds, mosquito netting (we never ever utilized) and a little storage system. Each early morning you were gotten and dropped off from your drifting cabin deck.
Breakfast was served each early morning in between 6am and 6:30 am. Coffee was readily available earlier if required. The camp is well situated on an enormous beach, best for taking pleasure in sundown and dawn from your cabin or while relaxing the fire. Standard Colombian food, pork, arepas, eggs, potatoes, fruit and far more were served for breakfast throughout the week. The food was actually great, not elegant however actually great. Typically for lunch among the camp boats would turn up river to satisfy our group of anglers and prepare a fantastic shoreside lunch of chicken, pork, rice, salad and other yummy meals. It was a good touch that conserved fishing time. Supper was served around 7pm and once again was mostly Colombian fair. Red wine, beer, water and sodas were constantly readily available in camp and on your boat. Temperature levels typically went beyond 90 degrees Fahrenheit throughout the day and never ever actually got cooler than the high 60s in the evening. It was hot!
The fishing program we scheduled consisted of 6 complete days and 7 nights in camp together with 2 nights in Medellin one on each side of our stay. Fishing days started around 7am where our guide Jorge would choose us up. Rods packed we would direct or down river depending upon the beat designated. Peacock Bass fishing is a blast! I have no concept the number of countless casts we made however the strategy used mostly includes casting an 8 or 9wt rod with a drifting, intermediate idea, or quickly sinking idea line towards structure, cover or specified depth, and recovering your big baitfish pattern. Each cast brings hope that a dynamic and color Peacock Bass will quickly disrupt your recover. Leaders include a single piece of 60lbs mono or fluro tippet 3-5ft in length, extremely technical I understand … Our fishing was excellent. In general the guides, owners and Jon, who had actually done the journey the exact same week in 2015, felt that the fishing was much harder this year. However we had a good time capturing lots of fish every day. Fish varied in size from 1-20lbs. The river color differed from clear to brown relying on depth and area. The majority of the time your fly showed up early in the recover and after that would vanish in depth however vicious strikes showed up regardless of the water not being clear. We did have some actually cool sight fishing on shallow clear water beaches where we cast to spotted Peacocks. Each fishing day consisted of a stop for lunch and ended around 6pm, sundown in this part of the world. Days are long and pleasurable. You remain in the heat all the time with extremely little shade, hydrating is vital. Coolers were packed and after that packed once again at lunch with water, Gatorade, and beers.
The bird life in this location of Colombia is mind boggling. Every day we observed brand-new types and when I return it will be with a bird I.D book in hand.
Caymans, iguanas, snakes, Tapir, Capybara, Jaguar, and monkeys occupy the jungle edge of the river. We saw all however snakes and Jaguars throughout our stay. The majority of early mornings the guttural calls of the Howler Monkeys remained in complete impact, it was remarkable. There are certainly more types here than I am pointing out. Similar to the residents of the water I was impressed at the number of types lived in the location. Besides Peacock Bass we captured Bicuda, Arawana, Pirana, Catfish and Plako (last 2 by gathering sunken logs ).
There are countless pests and some do bite, so covering yourself both from the sun and the bugs is crucial. After the sun decreased the bugs went away however throughout the day we were covered from head to toe in light-weight fishing clothing. We even used socks while in the boat regarding safeguard feet from bites and burns however still have the ability to inform whether you were stepping on the line or not.
Equipment:
Quick action 8 and 9wts
RIO or SA Jungle Lines, need to have drifting, intermediate and quick sinking variations with you.
Flies ought to be 1/0 -4/ 0– our finest flies were Rainy’s CF Baitfish, CF Whistler and variations of “Bulkhead” ties on thenew Ahrex PR378 hook EP Jungle banner and baitfish in 2/0 to 4/0 are likewise terrific. Secret colors appeared to be white and chartreuse, white and olive, white and sand, white and chartreuse, orange and chartreuse, black was not liked by the guides at all.
Sun gloves and stripping finger protection vital.
Notes:
The Afloat season is brief, just 12 weeks Jan-March. It’s the dry season in this area so the later on in the season the lower the water. How this equated to fishing I actually can’t state.
Having a number of additional days in Medellin would be a great concept and Jon Covich can aid with arranged trips.
Guides spoke nearly no English so having Spanish language or an app on your phone would be actually practical. Even simply brushing up on “fishing Spanish” would be a great call.
Accepting the outdoor camping feel was actually enjoyable, showers were river pipes into your space, water temperatures are in between 80-90 degrees. Evening campfires prior to and after supper were terrific. Regional artists came and played conventional music one night.
Regardless of the heat we did have 2 impressive night time storms and the drifting cabins handed the rain and wind with ease.
We enjoyed this journey and are intending on doing it once again in 2022. If you have interest in joining us in early March of 2022 please do not be reluctant to connect to me. caddisflyshop@gmail.com
Chris
