Rio Marie, Brazil
Fishing in Brazil for peacock bass
Rio Marié is unique in Brazil, with more than 500 miles of exclusive access to the country’s only catch-and-release, “fly fishing only” river. With more than 15 species of peacock bass, regular encounters with fish over ten pounds and a realistic change of a trophy peacock bass of 20lb, the Rio Marié is a great choice for some exciting fishing.
The largest peacock bass in the Amazon basin
Rio Marié is home to double digit, trophy, speckled peacock bass. It has a higher concentration of these chunky fish than any other river in Brazil or in the Amazon.
In addition to the giant speckled peacock bass, the river also has healthy populations of smaller butterfly peacocks, which average two to six pounds. These beautiful, brightly-coloured, aggressive strain of peacock bass hit hard and often take to the air when hooked.
This river area is huge, encompassing nearly 500 miles of virgin water which, for anglers, translates into very real opportunities to consistently hook and release much larger-than-average peacock bass on the fly.
Rio Marié is entirely located inside an extensive Indian Territory, an area of more than two million hectares. This untouched environment has more than 500 miles of rivers, 180 known creeks, 60 lakes, and three major tributaries. It is the first official sport fishing operation in Brazil inside an Indian Territory and is supported by the Brazilian Government Official Environmental and Indian Institutes, who worked together with the Indian Association to realise the project. This brings a new level of commitment inside the current peacock bass fishing scene in the Amazon region.
In this area of the Amazon, the fishing season normally runs from August to late January. This is the dry season for the upper Negro basin, the time when waters are typically at their lowest and most stable levels which allows for fishing throughout the entire river system, including its numerous tributaries and lagoons. The Negro Basin fisheries have variant conditions according to each year’s hydrological cycles, but since Rio Marié is a headwaters system, combined with its geographical location and the immensity of its drainage, it is much more stable than other regional destinations.
Relax in style and comfort
Home for the week is on board the “Untamed Amazon”, a live aboard vessel designed specifically for the Rio Marié. The boat is solar powered and spread over three floors.
The upper floor offers a spacious living and dining room and to the rear of the upper deck, there is an open lounge for snacks and sundowners, and two big Jacuzzis.
The main floor has eight guest suites each with twin single beds, all outside facing with floor to ceiling panoramic windows. The suites have en-suite facilities, air conditioning and sufficient storage for two anglers.
The lower floor houses staff, the engines, laundry and the water filtration system.
The first exclusive fly fishing project, inside Indian Territory
The Rio Marié is born in the northwest corner of the Brazilian Amazon, near the Colombian border. It is a tributary of the upper Rio Negro. The Rio Negro basin is the largest drainage of “black” water in the world, with approximately 710,000km² of land area, and is currently one of the most preserved regions in the Amazon, with less than 0.5 % of deforestation. The Rio Negro is its main river, the second largest tributary of the Amazon River, which has the headwaters in the Serra do Junai Hills in Colombia and runs approximately 1700km to its confluence with the Solimoes River near the jungle city of Manaus. The Rio Marié is entirely located inside a far-reaching Indigenous Territory and approximately 500 miles northwest of Manaus.