Meredith McCord and photographer, Matt Jones, of Tailwaters recently returned from jungle angling in Kendjam in the Amazon Basin of Brazil with Untamed Angling. We will be featuring Meredith’s daily record of her angling ventures in a nine-part travel journal. This is part one.

Beyond the Roads

Kayapo’s Legacy is one of Untamed Angling’s newest lodges. The uniqueness of this Brazilian Amazon fishery on the Iriri River is the emerald clear waters and variety of species available on the fly. I’m heading down with Tailwaters Travel’s staff photographer Matt Jones on an expedition to document and explore this “far off the beaten path” fishery, located deep in the Mekragnoti Indigenous Indian Territory.

This territory and Kendjam’s project encompass more than 800 km of rivers, including three main tributaries. Twenty years ago, a small group of Kayapo Indians broke away from their main village to leave behind the alcoholism and corruption that their tribe was experiencing further up river. This new tribe settled at the base of a huge mountainous rock they call Kendjam.

For the last two years, the Kayapo Indians have worked with the Brazilian government to protect their region and their people. And in 2015, Untamed Angling was invited to set up camp and be among the first outsiders to fish the clear waters of Kendjam.

There are about 200 indigenous Indians now living in the village, and each family occupies a single mud and thatch fortified hut. The tribe is run by three chiefs, one of whom will be with us for the week.

Trip Essentials:

Luggage:

• Fishpond Thunderhead Submersible Large Duffle Bag (waterproof) – COMING SOON!
• Fishpond Castaway Roll Top Waterproof Gear Bag (cameras, snacks, scales, tippet material) – COMING SOON!
• Fishpond Dakota Rod Carry-on Case (Holds eight reels and rods.)
• YETI Hopper Flip (Doubles as a perfect as a boat bag for all my fly boxes – easy to access.)
• Overboard’s Pro-Sport 20-liter Waterproof Backpack
• Overboard’s Pro-Lite 3-liter Waterproof Waist Pack
• Overboard’s SLR Waterproof Camera 6-liter Bag

Rods: (recommended 5-8wt with two 7s or 8s)

What I brought:

• 5wt Thomas and Thomas Solar with RIO Grand floating line on an Abel Super 5N (dry fly rod – pacu)
• 6wt Thomas and Thomas Solar with RIO Redfish floating line on an Abel Super 5 (dry fly rod – matrincha)
• 7wt Thomas and Thomas Solar with RIO Redfish floating line on an Abel Super 7-8 (poppers/streamers)
• 8wt Sage ONE with RIO Outbound Short intermediate tip on an Abel Super 7-8 (peacock bass/trahire with streamers)
• 8wt Hardy Proaxis with Cortland 350gr sinking line on a Ross reel (payara/piranha with streamers)

Flies/Tippet:

• Dry fly assortment – Umpqua’s hoppers and chubby Chernobyl in hook sizes 2-6 and in colors black, red, pink, and yellow. If you have a fly that looks like a berry or fruit, these are great for the pacu as well.
• Streamers – These fish have wicked teeth and strong jaws so strong (2/0 – 4/0) hooks are a must. See Umpqua’s new Jungle Love, Big Fish Deceiver, Flashtail Whistler, Super Mushy, Major Bunker, Red/Whire Tarpon Snake and Clouser assortments. The colors: white, white and chartreuse, black/red and red and white. (Note: Peacocks love rattles)
• Poppers – Again, strong (2/0-4/0) hooks are needed. Umpqua’s Saltwater Red/White Popper, Peacock Crease Fly, Pole Dancer and any large foam head popper that can create a lot of noise and action are good choices.
• Rio Fluorocarbon leader: 16lb, 20lb, 30lb
• Rio PowerFlex Wire Tippet: 30lb and 40lb. (Everything seems to be toothy.)

Personal Travel Essentials: (aside from my clothes and good wading boots)

• YETI 20oz Rambler for my morning travel coffee (long boat rides)
• YETI 18oz Bottle for my cold water
• YETI Neoprene Drink Jacket – easy to pack and brought as guide gifts
• Nexcare Waterproof Tape or Stripping Finger Sleeves – Humidity and peacock mouths can tear up your fingers.)
• 15lb Boga Grip or similar scale – These are very toothy critters and need to be handled carefully.
• Long nose pliers to remove hooks from toothy species
• Abel Size #2 Pliers – Make certain to bring pliers with good cutters as wire cutting is essential
• Abel Nippers on a lanyard (Always easy to find.)
• BassPro Beef Jerky (Bring to share.)
• Granola Bars (It is hot, so ones that won’t melt.)
• Welch’s Fruit Chews (Might melt.)
• Nuts (Though the Brazilians have bags of Brazil nuts if you ask.)
• Crystal Light individual drink mix packets. (The guides always love these … bring plenty.)

Day 1 – Traveling to Manaus, Brazil

It took two flights to get to Brazil: Houston to Miami (2.5 hours), where I met up with Matt, and then Miami to Manaus (5.5 hours). Getting through customs was quick and easy, and Matt and I joined my old friend Jackson, whom I met last year at Rio Marié, and the English-speaking tour guide, Marco. Marco is very informative and full of fun local facts — and he can take you to the “must see” fish market and bird sanctuary.

Manaus is the second largest city, with a population of two million, in the Amazon Basin. It’s located three degrees south of Equator on the Rio Negro, and we stayed here for the night at the Caesar Business Hotel, a 10-minute drive from the international airport.

After a long day of travel, we were excited and enjoyed sipping beers and wine. (This is the only alcohol we’d have for the week, as the lodge is “dry” in an effort to keep temptation away from the hospitable Kayapo Indians). We were also joined by Brazilian movie producer Roberto Mauro, my fishing partner from last year’s trip to Rio Marié. After catching up with the animated Roberto (all “Rs” are pronounced as “Hs” in Brazil) over delicious pizza and Chilean wine, the three of us retired for the night as we knew adventure awaited us the next day and week ahead.

– Meredith McCord

Meredith McCord and photographer, Matt Jones, of Tailwaters recently returned from jungle angling in Kendjam in the Amazon Basin of Brazil with Untamed Angling. We will be featuring Meredith’s daily record of her angling ventures in a nine-part travel journal. This is part four.

Day Four – Jungle Camping

Camping day. Our plan was to run the 4-5 hours downriver to camp, fishing along the way.

We started paddling with six in our boat, and fishing here and there. We each caught a small peacock and about a half dozen fat piranhas that destroyed our flies. All fish were caught on baitfish patterns with a Sage ONE 8wt paired with RIO Outbound Short line with an Intermediate Tip. White heads and green or chartreuse seemed to be the winners. Then I switched to Dan Blanton’s Flashtail Whistler in white, yellow and blue. This held up a little better to the piranhas. We found that they hit the best when you strip it 3/4 of the way to the boat and just let it free drop to the bottom. It’s usually on this drop that a school will attack.

Next we decided to try our hand at some pacu and matrinxã on my Pool Toy dry fly. Roberto chose a little Umpqua red and white Salt Popper. Lots of hits by little guys and a good solid follow by a matrinxã for Roberto, when I finally made contact with one and brought it in. I did my typical release right before the net. I’m often jinxed when there’s a camera around.

Sandwiches and salad for lunch, which was perfect for another hot day in the Amazon. Then we jumped back into the boats and traveled another hour downriver before taking a beautiful detour. We managed a few peacocks and had the most fun sight casting (aka dropping my fly on the head of a big wolf fish!). Dangling my blue, white and yellow Blanton’s Flashtail, it lunged at it in a split second. A great fighter even at just 5 pounds. Then Roberto and I picked up our 7wt rods (Thomas and Thomas Solar) to a rip small white heavy-headed streamer size 4 on RIO 7wt Redfish floating line across the rapids. I got three eats from matrinxã but failed to go tight on any.

After some gorgeous casting off the boulders, I finally landed my first bicuda of the trip. Then the piranhas came out – and now I understand why the guides roll their eyes when these are caught. They end up being a bit of a nuisance and fly destroyers while you try to catch peacock bass and matrinxã, so we left.

Another hour downriver with promises to fish another great spot. But when we arrived, Ken and Brian were already there, and the water had dropped several feet since the last time the guides were there. This meant very few fish in the runs. Roberto managed to get a brightly colored peacock, which Matt was able to get some great macros of. But for me, it was a bit frustrating to have a huge river and be fishing right on top of another boat. But the guides knew what I did not: the next hour or two would just be foggy waters, almost like a lake. Honestly this four-hour “constant fishing” adventure downstream had proven to be a few 30-45 minute sessions amidst 5-6 hours of driving downriver. I worried about the return trip. If water is low, do NOT go downstream. Jeff Currier had warned me. Totally my fault for not listening to others (including the two guys that we passed on our way in). Hate it when I am stubborn. Ha.

Lesson learned. I just hope the others will forgive me for convincing them to head north.

The Camp

The camp is perfect. Two double-bunker tents (with a divider, so everyone has a private area) and a single for Matt. Turns out that although we each had an air mattress, I was the only one with a full sheet set. Aaahhh … the comforts of home. Plus I always bring my Egyptian cotton down pillow with me everywhere I travel!

I decided to make my bed before trying a popper (Umpqua’s peacock painted crease fly) among the rocks for a peacock or two. The guys informed me about two resident caimans, so I tread carefully, mindful of the pair of eyes nonchalantly cruising across the river. On my second cast with my 7wt Thomas and Thomas Solar/Abel/RIO Redfish, I hooked up to a nice 3 pound tucanare peacock. But then I heard the guys back at camp yelling that a second caiman was heading straight towards me and my fish. “Get it off, let it go,” Rafi and the boys hollered at me.

Honestly, I didn’t know caimans could swim so fast. It was like a 10HP motor boat. Luckily, I was barbless, so I released the tension and the fish got safely away. But Mr. Three Legs (this 7-foot gator was literally missing his back left leg) was lingering just a few feet offshore, knowing dinner was coming soon. The Indians knew exactly how to entice the caimans to perform, and we got some great videos and photos with them, barely 15-feet from our feet.

Okay. So how does one attempt to shower or bathe in the river with caimans around?! Very carefully! Thanks to the guides, who kept the gators’ interest with fish remains, and Brian keeping an eye on the water around me, I was able to rinse off the day quickly.

Finally we sat down to a very civilized dinner at a table with five chairs. During the caiman excitement Rafi was working over the fire, prepping our dinner quickly, knowing that the insects would descend in full force at sunset. Our dinner consisted of beef steaks marinated in soy sauce, fire grilled onions, and pesto spaghetti pasta. Perfect camp dinner.

True to his word, the moment the sun set, it was an insect’s world. Gnats, mosquitoes, ants, you name it, but the food and company was so good we barely noticed, except to occasionally step away from the table to douse ourselves in Off.

– Meredith McCord