Cinaruco River, Venezuela: To get to this exotic fishing location, you fly to Caracas. There, you overnight in a downtown hotel, where I never ventured from on the trip to and from the lodge. The second day, we journey about an hour to another airport, which is approximately 50 miles inland. From there, a twin engine plane takes us to our angling and lodging destination; a generator powered oasis approximately 2 hours and 700 miles from the airport/civilization we departed from that morning. Upon arrival at the lodge, the hospitable crew kindly greets us and gets our gear unloaded.

At this point, we're all so ready to get on the water that we rig for fishing, have a nice lunch, and head out for our first afternoon's angling adventure. I find myself having so much fun that before I know it, five and a half days have passed and I'm catching more fish per day than I would have ever imagined. The bite gets so intense that I remember laughing about the fact that I had at one time hooked up with 13 fish in 15 casts. These are all beautiful fish and the biggest of the tip was an impressive 12-pounder.

The Scott S3 91/2 ft. 7wt. I brought ended up being the perfect rod for these fish. I matched it up with a Scientific Anglers Mastery Series Striper line and found it to be the most effective rod/line combo for the task at hand after casting multiple setups that were available. My good friend, Enrico Puglisi, had picked out a selection of his flies for me that he knew would be effective. Most of the EP fly arsenal came equipped with rattles and weed guards and just as Enrico had assured me, they were deadly. I was pleased to see that his flies drive these Peacock Bass about as crazy as they do the Louisiana Redfish I'm usually throwing them to.

For anyone making a trip to this location, make sure you bring a camera. The scenery and wildlife viewing opportunities are seemingly endless. Most impressive to our group was the amazing variety of exotic bird life. I personally documented over 20 different species including parrots, raptors and three species of King Fisher, which would violently try to attack the fly. I played close attention to ensure their attempts were thwarted as that's one catch & release opportunity I don't want any part of. Other exciting and memorable wildlife encounters included sighting a troop of Howler Monkeys. Although cute little guys, they seemed a little irritated that we were in their back yard. Also something I'll never forget was the witnessing of a Black Hawk attack on a 4-foot+ iguana. I was fortunate enough to capture an image of that on film.

The awe-inspiring splendor of this destination natural beauty, at times, made it hard to stay focused on the fishing, although the fishing was certainly the draw and the highlight. Over the course of our adventure, we managed to catch a beautiful mix of fish including Piara, the often-feared Piranha and all three species of our main target, the Peacock Bass. And beware as you fight to bring your fish to the boat because predatory freshwater Dolphin will rocket past your line with lightning speed, taking your catch with total disregard for the "photo opp." and bragging rights you were already thinking about with that trophy you HAD on the other end of your line. If you're lucky, you'll at least get its head and your fly back...maybe.

Every aspect of our experience was great. When we weren't fishing or taking in amazing scenery, we were enjoying the comradery of our fishing partners, old and new. Our daily shore lunches consisted of everything from tasty burgers and hotdogs to freshly cooked Bass. We drank a lot of water every day and a little rum every evening. There was plenty of ice, lots of soft drinks and the freshly prepared food we enjoyed daily kept everyone healthy and happy. We all had our own rooms and I spent a little quiet time every night taking a few notes from memories made earlier that day and dreaming about the memories to be made tomorrow. Venezuela and its Peacock Bass have not seen the last of me. Until I venture there again, I'll spend many a night reading those notes from the trip, looking at the photos captured and continuing to dream about the memories to be made on my next trip.

Labels: bass, fishing Cinaruco River, lodge Laguna Larga, Peacock bass fishing