Be prepared for a lightning strike and a strong fight once you have set the hook on a peacock.

Angling for Speckled Peacock Bass is little different from other techniques like river fishing, summer fishing and fall fishing. In the Amazon river catchment, many lakes are actually lagoons that have been cut off from the river as water levels drop with the receding water in the dry season.

Casting is the preferred method of catching Speckled Peacock Bass and you are a little less likely to get your line snagged on some debris, though trolling is also effective but should be saved for the large lakes, or lagoons.

lures are preferred over bait as live bait. Live bait requires a certain temperature and the quality levels vary. Lures offer a consistent quality and always provide the same effects, such as causing vibrations similar to those of a wounded fish.

However, arguing over which method is better, trolling or casting, is a waste of time unless one knows the right time of day to catch them. Speckled Peacock Bass along with all other peacocks are active when the sun is out (between the hours of 11h00 and 17h00), sleeping in the shallows at night and lethargic when the sun is low or it is cloudy.

Tackle – Rod & Reel

Be prepared for a lightning strike and a strong fight once you have set the hook on a peacock. Heavy duty tackle is required. Your rod must be capable of sustain sustained casting and retrieval of heavy lures and long battles reeling in a lunker Speckled Peacock Bass. Your reel should have strong gears and provide a smooth drag.

Tackle – Line

A line test of 40 is the bare minimum with 50 pound test being highly recommended as these fish can reach into the upper 20 pounds with the record Speckled Peacock Bass being caught at 28 pounds. While the average Speckled Peacock Bass is between six and ten pounds, base your tackle and gear around catching a lunker as lighter gear could result in failure. Bring a second rod and reel just incase yours happens to break while trying to land a fish. These are big fish and ferocious fighters. It is not uncommon to lose a rod or reel on a trip.

Tackle – Lures

They strike a variety of flashy diving, shallow running and surface plugs. They also strike at jigs and large streamer flies and fly-rod poppers. When they strike, they strike hard. When they strike on surface plugs, it is aggressive and savage.

There are not as many lakes as there are lagoons when fishing the Amazon basin. Lagoons are created by receding water as the flood water from the rainy season drains out as can be seen by the top picture where the lagoon is dying out.