Acute Angling's
Amazon Fishing News
The Quarterly Exotic Species Newsletter Spring, 2019
zon’s most remote peacock bass destinations and can only be readily accessed by floatplane. We will use super -safe, high -tech Cessna Caravan floatplanes to bring our anglers to the river in comfort and style. The Caravan’s capacity of 8 anglers has defined the design of our new floating hotel. We’ll have 8 spa- cious private cabins, each fully appointed with pri- vate bathrooms, hot showers and individual air - conditioners. What about couples? Each cabin will It took nearly a decade to put this together. Our first conversations about have it’s mirror image adjacent to it. With the sim- the Rio Curicuriari, running through the middle of the Tucano Indian reserva- ple expedient of removing an insulated divider, ... tion, began in 2009, but it took until 2012 for us to get invited in to take a Voila … we create a couples suite with a king -sized quick look around and test the waters. Six bed, plenty of storage and two of everything. .... Spring Notes .... long years later we finally put together an As in all of our operations, we’ll provide gour- Show Season Finishes - We’ve just agreement with the tribe allowing us to op- met dining, fine wines and a fully -stocked, open finished our annual pilgrimage to the erate a 3 week exploratory trip, Now, we’re bar. There’ll be no roughing it here! country’s top fishing shows. We’re coming back in 2019 … and in grand style ! Why build a hotel on a barge? The Curicuriari already planning next year’s circuit. With a long term exclusive agreement is not your typical peacock bass river. There are 90 We thank all of you who visited with us in hand, Acute Angling has decided to make miles of navigational hazards, complete with rocks and hope to see you all again next time. it’s accommodations for this brand new, and rapids, defining the lower reaches of the river. untouched and exclusive fishery, just as This must be traversed before we even reach the Seminars Available - Every year broad a stroke as the incredible size of the river’s fishable floodplain waters. No easy access from April thru August, we offer fishing peacock bass found here. here, so a robust, maneuverable mechanism must be clubs and other outdoor sporting or- The accommodations will be first - used. Once past this region, a big winding flood- ganizations the opportunity to reserve plain system takes over - … Cont’d top of page 2 ... one of our great seminars, presented class. The Curicuriari is one of the Ama- by Paul Reiss, PhD. Make your next big meeting memorable with an exciting presentation about the incredible Ama- zon and its fierce fishes.
Inside this issue:
The New Blackwater Adventurer …1 Curicuriari - New World Record …2
2020 Curicuriari Schedule Open …3 Client Photos - Multi-Species …4 Client Photos - Peacock bass …5 We Take Care of Our Partners …6 We Take Care of Our Clients …6 Entry Visa - It’s Gone Away! …7 We Go Completely All-Inclusive! …7 2019 - 2021 Availability …8
VOLUME 21 ISSUE 1 PAGE 2
… Cont’d from page 1 ….. this region is our giant peacock bass We’re going to be fully 20+ lb. fishery. It’s big, over 200 miles of water, and it too poses naviga- equipped to study this system in giants tional challenges, but of a different type. In this unusual system, great detail this time around. Alt- are the where waters can rise or hough we found plenty of fishable targets fall as much as a meter in structure here during our first ex- here. a week, shallow sandbars ploratory, it was not always what and narrow passages can we expected. To our surprise, suddenly appear. We much of it was in the river chan- need the shallowest possi- nel itself, less than expected in ble draft to ensure we can lagoons and all of it changed keep moving at all times, amazingly quickly. Although it allowing us to keep our made for a more difficult chal- waters unpressured and to reach all corners of the system. You’ll lenge, perhaps that was a good simply bypass all of the difficulties arriving by floatplane. thing, making it clear that we Our plan is use our support vessel to move the entire opera- needed to investigate the system's tion from one end of the system to the other and back again. Our particular quirks and hydrological previous exploratory was operated from a ground -based camp with characteristics more closely. We small fishing boats. It worked fine (we caught ridiculous percent- will be equipped with GPS track- ages of monster peacocks), but distances effectively restricted us to ing, water parameter measuring less than half of the fishery. Now, we’ll be able to cycle back and devices and, detailed satellite im- forth and use our bigger, faster boats to ensure total access with agery and 18 years of hydrologic distributed angling pressure. records. Two scientist will be along to analyze the data we col- Several were lect (myself —an ichthyologist, caught here and Paulo Petry —an ichthyologist during our stay. . and hydrological expert). So, it’s still an exploratory trip, even though it will provide customer comfort levels second to none. We’ll work together to build our knowledge of the system and define the best ways to exploit its world -record fishing potential while protecting its extraordinary fish. Join us … Our 2020 calendar is now available . (see pg. 4)
Art fishes like no one else does. The man is fishing -focused. Forget about buying lures —Art makes them all, with his own patentable hook release system and colors nature never conceived of. No knots, no clips, no plain old braid; Art uses hollow fishing line. We tend to shake our heads and roll our eyes whenever he shows off a new, complicated fishing invention, but, one look to the right shows that his ideas work and his perseverance pays off. Not only a regular on our exploratory trips, Art typically jumps on the first group scheduled as soon as we announce it. This time, however, he ar- rived to a river a meter over its banks; he probably wished he’d waited a week. It didn’t look good, but we already knew better, having landed 3 over 20, including a 24 ½ pounder, just before Art arrived. So when he came back to camp on his first day, figuring we didn’t expect much, he smugly asked us all what we thought was a big peacock. We shouldn’t have bothered answer- ing, because a moment later he said “How about 26 pounds? How about a tie for the world length record? So, on its first official day in operation with Acute Anglers, our new, exclusive, giant peacock bass fishery sets a record! Not a bad beginning and clearly a fantastic portent for the future. We have no doubt that the next all - tackle record is swimming somewhere in this river … and only Acute Anglers will have a chance to catch it. We’ve just opened our Fall 2020 schedule for the Curicuriari (see pg. 4). Make sure you reserve your space soon. VOLUME 21 ISSUE 1 PAGE 3
Except for making it very clear that there are ex- traordinary numbers of huge fish here, our initial ex- ploration in the Rio Curicuriari fishery left us with more questions than answers. So we’re returning here in the fall of 2019 with a full schedule… to probe further and learn to understand the fishery better. We’ll be here during six weeks in September and Oc- tober of 2019. As quickly as we announced the trip, all the spaces were fully spoken for. Since we realize that there is a large contingent of peacock bass anglers whose primary goal is giant fish … perhaps even a shot at the record … (and we know it’s quite possible here) ... we’ve opened up our 2020 schedule early, to make it possible for an- glers to join us the next time we return.
Leaves Manaus Returns Price Availability This is an unusual fishery and it’s not for every- 2020 Fall 2020 - Giant Peacock Bass Hunt one. Here are some important facts to consider;
EC2 Sept. 1, 2020 Sept. 8 $7950 Full Group Only Fall 2020 1. Numbers are low here - averaging about 7/day EC3 Sept. 8, 2020 Sept. 15 $7950 - 7 openings - (unless anglers choose to target the smaller EC4 Sept.15, 2020 Sept. 22 $7950 - 6 openings - Butterfly Peacocks - Cichla orinocensis ). 2. You must be prepared to cast tenaciously in EC5 Sept. 22 2020 Sept. 29 $7950 - open - pursuit of a few monstrous top -water explo-
EC6 Sept. 29 2020 Oct. 6 $7950 - open - sions or subsurface strikes and then be capa- EC7 Oct. 6 2020 Oct. 13 $7950 - open - ble enough to capitalize on the opportunity. 3. Most of our success has come fishing in the EC8 Oct. 6 2020 Oct. 13 $7950 Full Group Only river itself or at the interface of the river and some of its varied flood -plain structures. 4. We have caught very few large fish inside the beautiful and plentiful lagoons this system fea- tures, although lagoon mouths have produced. 5. We have had greater success with higher wa- ter (actually over the banks) than with the low- er water (beaches showing) we normally seek. 6. Conditions change quickly, so what worked one week may no longer be effective the next. 7. The river is intensely tannin -stained, so there are no mosquitos at all, but a full contingent of annoying horseflies and bees can be present at certain times.
Space is limited to 8 anglers per week
Call Now! VOLUME 21 ISSUE 1
Click here to see our anglers’ Photo Galleries Click here to request a Gallery of your own
Sandra & Terry Hartsburg, Phoenix, AZ
Olga Schrock, Liberty George Schutz, Hill, TX Lawton, OK Zachary Burns, Houston, TX.
Brian Schrock, Liberty Hill, TX
Paul Richard Taylor, Reiss, Robert Kruse, Ramsey, MN Califon, Salina, KS Pete Otis, NJ Jamul, CA
Norm Yenke, Juan Contreras, Talib Murray, Salina, KS Redway, CA Redway, CA
Brenda Nelson, Linda Poole, Orlando, Hazelton, BC FL Canada
Grant Dunbar, Anaheim, CA VOLUME 21 ISSUE 1
Charles Krippendorf, Eric Thomas, Janet Johnson, Spring Lake, NJ Houston, TX Kodiak, AK
Paul Brad Lingbeck, Almand Broomfield, CO Pelam, AL
Breen Smith, La Grange, NC with a nice pair of Amazon cats
Joseph G., Folsom, CA Willie Underwood, Woodstock, VT
Stewart Wilson Elk River, MN
Brad Swingdorf, Craig Carlson, Paul Reiss, Inver Grove Minneapolis, MN Califon, NJ Heights, MN VOLUME 21 ISSUE 1 PAGE 6
structure; shortwave radios for intervillage communication; alumi- num boats and outboards; and two large diesel powered boats in a downriver location so that the communities can bring their crops to market in distant towns. This past February, Acute Angling associate Brent Mo- We meet with tribal leaders each season to ask what’s needed, reland brought a fully functioning dental lab to the heart of the what’s broken, and what needs to be addressed. So, we were sur- Amazon and spent two weeks building dental prostheses for prised to hear “teeth” as the answer! With a bit of discussion we members of two indigenous communities. The smiles he created realized that dentures were the need. In the communities’ remote were due to more than just the number of new teeth. location, access to dental care and dentures is simply not available. Our Extraordinary Multi -species trip operates in Brazil’s Brent promptly volunteered to bring his equipment to the jun- Guyana shield highlands in a region with a unique array of varied gle and do the work himself. As owner of a dental prosthetic manu- aquatic habitat and amazing fish facturing company he understood variety. This unusual combina- Before After the importance of what the tribe tion is rare and these environ- was asking for. Improved oral and ments are super sensitive. Thus, dental health offers benefits beyond we’ve built our Multi -Species the obvious value of improved ap- lodge in the protected Ishkarya- pearance and the ability to enjoy a na Indian lands on the Rio Trav- wide variety of foods. Poor oral essao. The Ishkaryana are an health is linked to several chronic intelligent, resourceful people diseases. Bacterial overgrowth and possessing an almost uncanny the inflammatory processes respon- sensitivity to the vast river and sible for dental caries and perio- forest region that is their home. dontal disease also may contribute They are amazing hunters and to an increased risk of cardiovascu- brilliant fish finders. lar disease and even some cancers. During two weeks, he measured, We are privileged to be able to share their incredible home- built and fit dentures for community members. (We know he also land and their expertise as our guides. But partnering with the got in his share of fishing between fittings and village runs.) tribe means more than just training young indigenous men as Sure, we also pay cash for the privilege of fishing here, but guides and negotiating with tribal leadership. It means building a there’s more to it than just money. We’re working with real people collaborative relationship and proactively working to improve the whose lives become connected to ours. We realize that their health, quality of life of every member of the community. Thus, we’ve well -being and quality of life is just as important to them as ours to provided artesian wells for high quality water; generators and us. So it becomes incumbent on us to do whatever we can to help community wiring; pumps and pipes to deliver water to each our partners be as satisfied with their lives as we are with ours.
fessionals combined with the very best rescue, evacuation, and trav- el insurance coverage. If you are ill or injured while traveling, Global Rescue, the world's leading provider of medical evacuation, repatriation and security extraction services will assist you. If you In cooperation with Global Rescue and IMG Travel Insur- are prevented from travelling by an unavoidable health, family, ance, Acute Angling has implementedAn aerial a uniquely overview desi showsgned our com- utility areaweather (generato or jobrs, issue, supplies, their etc. IMG insurance product will reimburse bination of medical evacuation andon tripthe right (downriver side). The central section contains ouryour an- fishing trip investment in full. Our cancellation insurance to providegler total facilities trip (tents, bathrooms, showers) while the palm -thatchedadventure travelers now have total protec- security … and it is included free structure for our on the left houses our kitchen and dining facilities. tion before and during their remote Amazon anglers. When you sign up for any of our fishing adventures. No one else does this! extraordinary Amazon trips, you are fully Book your trip with Acute Angling covered (up to age 75) at no charge. We and you not only get the most incredible recognized that we could buy this coverage fishing trip on the planet, you also get: far less expensively than you can, so we • PEACE OF MIND: You’re protected from did ... and we’re passing it along to you as medical or security events, from point of part of your all -inclusive trip package. Ob- injury or illness, all the way home. taining similar protection from other sources or under other con- • FINANCIAL PROTECTION : Your fishing trip investment with ditions could cost $400 to $500 or even over $600 over and above Acute Angling is protected by IMG Signature Travel Insurance, a the cost of your trip, depending on your age and health status. worldwide medical and travel risk security company.
Acute Angling, Global Rescue and IMG will take the worry Please note that evacuation and insurance services are subject to the terms and out your Amazon travel by providing 24/7 access to medical pro- conditions of the policies and are subject to eligibility limits of up to 75 years of age.
VOLUME 21 ISSUE 1 PAGE 7
According to the Foreign Ministry, in 2017, 169,910 visas (for business, tourism or transit) were issued to citizens of the four coun- tries. With the advent of e -visa, the number rose to 229,767 in 2018. “This is one of the most important achievements of the Brazilian WASHINGTON, D.C. – Brazil is open for you! The Brazilian Govern- tourism industry in the last 15 years and we are confident that it will ment announced on Monday, March 18 th , that Brazil would allow visa - be extremely beneficial to the country," said Marcelo Alvaro Antônio, free entry for citizens of The United States, Cana- Minister of Tourism. "This decision of the Brazilian da, Australia, and Japan, effective in 90 days (June government proves that we are living a new moment 17 th ). Until then, the current e -visa will be required. and that tourism is being seen as a vector of economic Citizens of those countries wishing to visit Bra- and social growth of the entire nation. This is the first zil will no longer need to apply or pay for a visa. step; we still have much to celebrate,” explained Min- They will be able to stay in Brazil for 90 days from ister Antônio. the date of first entry in the country, extendable for "The United States was very receptive to the issu- an equal period, provided that it does not exceed ance of electronic visas. The World Tourism Organi- one hundred and eighty days, every twelve months, zation says that when adopting an electronic visa, visa counted from the date of the first entry into the issuance increases by 25%, so we have exceeded that Country. mark," said Teté Bezerra, president of Embratur These developments come as part of a series of measures that Brazil (Brazil’s Tourism Board, a federal agency, part of the Ministry of has taken to facilitate visitor access to the country. Last year, the gov- Tourism). ernment launched an e -visa platform through which travelers could Now, with a strong Dollar and dozens of daily flights, experiencing apply for visas with more efficiency and ease. Brazil is just a matter of desire and grabbing a plane. From the Ama- Brazil has already seen extremely positive results with an increase zon in the North to the wines in the South; from the exotic Pantanal in of about 35% in the visa application in less than a year since imple- the Midwest to the lush beaches of the Northeast; amazing cities like menting e -visa. These countries are considered strategic for the devel- Rio de Janeiro, São Paulo, Salvador and hundreds of hidden gems are opment of tourism in Brazil. just a few hours away.
We provide two high -end carbon fiber rods equipped with Shimano Stradic spinning reels and Shima- no Curado baitcasters … all strung with PowerPro braided line, to accommodate the Catching fish requires lures and different lures work differ- range of lures need to catch trophy peacock bass in our Floating ently at different times. It’s called a “pattern” and it means an- Bungalows, Rio Curicuriari and Blackwater Explorer yacht glers need an armamentarium of varied lures and techniques. But operations. Four different rigs are provided in our Multi - patterns change over weeks and months, species operation to accommodate the wide rarely in a few days. So, anglers visit- range of fish pursued and lures used. Free! ing for a single week generally end up Open bar? Of course, no charge for any using only one or two lures in a pack- beverages or cocktails. Free beer, wine, age. This raises the issue of having to liquor and soft drinks at our now fully purchase a package of lures most of stocked (we’ve added bourbon), always which are never used. No more! We’re open, bars. Great meals, excellent wines, now providing all of the lures you need snacks and goodies, boats, guides, fishing at no charge! No more issue! tools, fuel, hotel stays, transfers, charter Many lures are consumable . Our flights, even fishing licenses … with the peacock bass jigs are super -productive exception of International airfare and tip- peacock bass catchers, but they are also ping, absolutely everything related to your super -sensitive to the mouthful of razors fishing trip is included, from the moment that piranhas possess. So they don’t last forever. In the past, you arrive at the airport in Manaus until it’s time to leave. anglers found that they were replacing jigs throughout their stay Acute Angling fishing trips stand head and shoulders above and generating a bill they had to pay at the end. No more! We’re any one else’s. We catch more fish, provide better service, visit now providing jigs at no charge! No bill, no pay, no more issue. more unique fisheries, and listen to your comments and sugges- Rods, Reels, Lines? Yup, free! We provide a suite of high tions. Now, we’ve made them totally all -inclusive. You pay quality rigs, appropriate for each of our fisheries, at no charge. one price, no extras, no surprises, just one awesome fishing trip.
2019—2021 Trip availability *Note - Available spaces are Acute angling’s shown as of April 14, 2019 Dates NOT listed are full. Brazilian Amaz0n
Blackwater Explorer $4250 - Double Occupancy Amazon peacock$4750 bass - Single Occupancy $4750 - Double Occupancy - $5250 - Private Cabin # Departs Manaus Returns Price Availability
# Departs Manaus Returns Price Availability 2019/2020 Season2019/2020 Winter ‘20 Remaining Fall 2019 / Winter 2020 - Trip Dates D Remaining Winter 2020 - Available Spaces DT -6 Nov. 15th, 2019 Nov. 22 $5750 - 2 openings - Xmas Dec. 23, 2019 Dec. 30 $4750 Full Group only DT -9 Dec. 6th, 2019 Dec. 13 $5750 - 4 openings - DN20 Feb. 26, 2020 March 3 $4750 - 2 openings - DT10 Dec. 13th, 2019 Dec. 20 $5750 - 6 openings - DN21 March 4, 2020 March 11 $4750 - 10 openings - DT11 Dec. 20th, 2019 Dec. 27 $5750 - 5 openings - DN21 March 11, 2020 March 18 $4750 - open - DT12 Dec. 27th, 2019 Jan. 3, 2020 $5750 - 3 openings - E Fall 2020 Season - Igapo Aҫu Reserve - Available Spaces DT13 Jan. 3rd, 2020 Jan. 10 $5750 - 2 openings -
EI -1 Aug. 24, 2020 Aug. 31 $5750 - open - DT17 Jan. 31st, 2020 Feb. 7 $5750 - 2 openings - EI -2 Aug. 31, 2020 Sept. 7 $5750 - 4 openings -
EI -5 Sept. 21, 2020 Sept. 28 $5750 - FULL - Fall 2020 / Winter 2021 Season Fall 2020 - Multi -Species Variety Trip Schedule D Fall 2020 / Winter 2021 - Rio Negro Basin - Available Spaces ET -2 Oct. 19th, 2020 Oct. 26 $5750 - 5 openings -
EN3 Oct. 28, 2020 Nov. 4 $4750 - 10 openings ET -3 Oct. 26th, 2020 Nov. 2 $5750 - 7 openings - Fall 2020 EN4 Nov. 4, 2020 Nov. 11 $4750 - 10 openings ET -4 Nov. 2nd, 2020 Nov. 9 $5750 - 4 openings - EN6 Nov. 18, 2020 Nov. 25 $4750 - open - ET -5 Nov. 9th, 2020 Nov. 16 $5750 - open - EN7 Nov. 25, 2020 Dec. 2 $4750 - open - ET -6 Nov. 16th, 2020 Nov. 23 $5750 - open -
EN9 Dec. 9, 2020 Dec. 16 $4750 - open - ET -7 Nov. 23rd, 2020 Nov. 30 $5750 - open - EN10 Dec. 16, 2020 Dec. 22 $4750 - open - ET -9 Dec. 7th, 2020 Dec. 14 $5750 - open - Xmas Dec. 22, 2020 Dec. 29 $4750 - 8 openings Xmas Dec. 21st, 2020 Dec. 28 $5750 - open - EN12 Dec. 29, 2020 Jan. 6, 2021 $4750 - 10 openings EN13 Jan. 6, 2021 Jan 13 $4750 - open -
EN15 Jan 20, 2021 Jan. 27 $4750 - open - EN17 Feb. 3, 2021 Feb. 10 $4750 - 9 openings -
Remaining Fall 2019 / Winter 2020 - Trip Dates 2019/2020 Season2019/2020
EN18 Feb. 10, 2021 Feb. 17 $4750 - open - DF -4 Oct. 30, 2019 Nov. 6 $5250 - 6 openings - EN20 Feb. 24, 2021 March 3 $4750 - open - DF -5 Nov. 6, 2019 Nov. 13 $5250 - 2 openings - EN21 March 3, 2021 March 10 $4750 - open - DF -6 Nov. 13, 2019 Nov. 20 $5250 - 4 openings - DF8A Dec. 4, 2019 Dec. 11 $5250 - 2 openings - DF13 Jan. 30, 2020 Feb. 6 $5250 - 5 openings - DF15 Feb. 13, 2020 Feb. 20 $5250 - 6 openings -
Leaves Manaus Returns Price Availability DF16 Feb. 20, 2020 Feb. 27 $5250 - open - 2020 Fall 2020 - Giant Peacock Bass Hunt Fall 2020 - Floating Bungalow Trip Schedule
EC -2 Sept. 1, 2020 Sept. 8 $7950 Full Group Only Fall 2020 EF -2 Oct. 13, 2020 Oct. 20 $5250 - open -
EC -3 Sept. 8, 2020 Sept. 15 $7950 - 7 openings - EF -3 Oct. 20, 2020 Oct. 27 $5250 - open - Fall 2020 EC -4 Sept.15, 2020 Sept. 22 $7950 - 6 openings - EF -4 Oct. 27, 2020 Nov. 3 $5250 - open - EC -5 Sept. 22 2020 Sept. 29 $7950 - open - EF -5 Nov. 3, 2020 Nov. 10 $5250 - 5 openings -
EC -6 Sept. 29 2020 Oct. 6 $7950 - open - EF -6 Nov. 10, 2020 Nov. 17 $5250 - open -
EC -7 Oct. 6 2020 Oct. 13 $7950 - open - EF -7 Nov. 17, 2020 Nov. 24 $5250 - open - EC -8 Oct. 13 2020 Oct. 20 $7950 Full Group Only EF -8 Nov. 24, 2020 Dec. 1 $5250 - open -
*Note - Dates available for group programs - open - Toll -free (866) 832 -2987 - Paul Reiss - Ext. 1 or Garry Reiss - Ext. 2 are denoted with a blue background. or email us at [email protected]