The Amazon and some of its tributaries are home to the Giant Piraiba Catfish, a species known to reach weights in excess of 400lb, well above the existing world record for the species.
Steve Townson, known in the region as ‘The Fish Finder’ and a double Amazon Peacock Bass World Champion, has launched www.amazon-angler.com which can arrange for British anglers to travel to South America on tailored fishing adventure holidays to tackle this incredible species and many, many more.
Steve, who has fished in the region over 60 times in the last 14 years explained:
“Not many British anglers know much about this hugely diverse habitat and fishery and if they were honest, it probably scares them a bit! But I know that if I were to take any of them out to the Amazon each and every one of them would come back with memories and experiences that would stay with them for the rest of their lives!”
Steve has set up a variety of Amazon fishing holiday packages, from real luxury in camps and on ‘motherboats’, to sleeping rough on a hammock and going deep into the jungle, where few men have fished before.
As far as the fishing is concerned whether you enjoy fishing with lures, flies or bait the Amazon offers plenty of opportunities. You can enjoy the most unusual and exciting fishing for literally thousands of different tropical fish species. There’s spectacular lure and fly fishing for some of the most ferocious freshwater predators or you can bait fish for the biggest, meanest, strongest and most diverse species of catfish on the planet!
There are many tackle-busting catfish to target in Amazon waters including the Giant Piraiba, also known as ‘the freshwater shark, which can reach weights in excess of 400lb and strip 250m of 100lb line off your reel on the first run. There is also the so called ‘Rottweiler of catfish’, the Jau, which grows to over 200lb; the ‘bulldozer’ which is the stocky and powerful Redtail catfish and the ‘chicken of the river’, the colourful Jundira catfish.
Of course the Amazon is by no means all about cats. Other species to target include the magnificent Peacock Bass – the main sport fish of the region; the fearsome Payara or Vampire fish; huge Black Piranha that grow to 9lb; acrobatic pike-like Bicuda; prehistoric Traiarao; the Arapaima – which grows to over 600lb; the fruit and nut-eating Tambaqui and so the list goes on…
In all Amazon-Angler provides organised adventure fishing holidays to 16 amazing destinations and holiday packages with Steve Townson as your guide and packages are available from under £2,000.
For more information and to see footage of some of the amazing species you might encounter on that fishing trip of a lifetime visit www.amazon-angler.com
