COLOMBIA

Jungle Fishing at the Edge of the Map

Peacock Bass | Payara | Pacu | Catfish | Pure Adventure

There Are Fishing Trips. Then There Is Colombia.

Colombia is one of those places where the fishing trip starts long before the first cast. You arrive in Bogotá, meet the group, eat well, laugh too much, and the next morning you climb onto a plane and leave the normal world behind.

Below you is an ocean of jungle and rivers. Roads disappear. Cities disappear. Eventually you land far out in the interior, where the next part of the journey depends on the fishery and the season. On some expeditions you continue deep into the jungle by river. On others you travel overland by four wheel drive, cross rivers by ferry, and finish with a short boat ride to camp.

Either way, the point is the same: you are going somewhere properly wild.

“Big crazy fish, in a wild part of the world, with an adventure that is every bit as memorable as the fishing.”

Why Fish Colombia?

I have been fortunate enough to fish in remote places all over the world, and Colombia remains one of the most fun fishing experiences I have ever had. It is a combination of ridiculous fish, untouched country, local guides who know every corner of the river, and the kind of group adventure that bonds people very quickly.

One minute you are casting into a tiny lagoon hidden behind fallen timber. The next you are fishing fast water for a silver predator with vampire fangs. There are butterflies everywhere, caiman in the river, macaws overhead, piranhas chewing the tails off your flies, and the possibility of seeing wildlife that most people only ever see on television.

This is not a polished resort experience. That is exactly why it is so special.

The Fishing

Peacock Bass

Peacock bass are built for this place. They are aggressive, powerful and spectacular on both conventional and fly tackle. You can fish open rivers, backwaters, hidden lagoons and flooded jungle, often in water that feels as if nobody has touched it for a very long time.

On my own Colombia trip, four and five pound fish were common, my biggest was 13 pounds, and the biggest fish in the group was around 18 pounds. There were days when the numbers became almost silly. On one morning we caught more than 100 peacock bass before lunch.

When the topwater bite is on, it is exactly what jungle fishing should look like: violent explosions, hard runs, broken tackle and a lot of shouting from the boat.

Payara

Then there is the payara. If you have never seen one, imagine a chrome jungle predator with huge fangs, explosive speed and a habit of hitting a lure hard enough to make you question your knots. They can be targeted on big diving lures and on fly. The fly fishing is wonderfully ridiculous: oversized flies, sinking lines and stripping as fast as you can until something absolutely smokes it.

I caught my first ever payara on fly in Colombia, and we landed fish well over 30 pounds. We also snapped fly lines, broke rods, lost lures and had knots ripped through rod guides. That is part of the appeal.

And Everything Else

Depending on the fishery, the rivers can also produce pacu, matrinxã, sardinata, redtail catfish, shovelnose catfish, piranha and a long list of other jungle species. Part of the fun is that you never quite know what is going to eat next.

A Day in the Jungle

Most days begin early. Breakfast, tackle check, then onto the water. Anglers normally fish two to a boat with a local guide, and the day can run from first light until sunset.

The guides are local people who grew up in this country. English may be limited with some of them, but their knowledge of the water is extraordinary. They know which lagoons are holding fish, where the current changes, where the payara sit, and how to get a small aluminum boat through places that barely look navigable.

Lunch is often simple local food eaten on the river. Sometimes you stop under a tree. Sometimes you sit on a sandbar with a beer. Sometimes the fishing is too good and nobody wants to stop. Then you fish until the light goes, head back to camp, eat, tell stories, fix tackle and get ready to do it again.

Camp Life

The accommodations vary between the different Colombian fisheries, but the spirit is similar: remote, functional, clean and comfortable enough to recover properly for the next day. Some camps are extremely rustic, with quality tents, cots, fans, simple bathrooms and cold showers.

Others use more permanent lodge accommodation. Daily laundry, good basic meals, cold drinks and satellite internet may be available depending on the operation.

What Colombia is not is a marble bathroom and room service trip. You come here for the river, the jungle, the fish and the people.

“You are looked after, but you are still on a real expedition.”

Two Ways Into the Wild

Fishing the Planet works with more than one Colombian jungle fishery, which allows us to choose the experience that makes the most sense for the season, water conditions and the species you want to target.

Both styles can deliver exceptional peacock bass fishing. Depending on the selected fishery, payara and other jungle species can also form a major part of the program.

Why Do Colombia Hosted?

This is exactly the kind of destination where going with someone you trust makes a huge difference. Remote fishing is incredible, but there are more moving parts than a normal lodge vacation. Flights, baggage, tackle, transfers, local boats, communication, bugs, heat, river conditions and the simple question of what on earth you should bring all matter.

That is where I come in.

I meet the group in Bogotá. We start together with a group dinner. I help with the tackle planning, packing lists, fly and conventional setups, and I can help source equipment for guests who do not want to arrive with the wrong gear.

Once we are in the jungle, we go through the fishing plan, tackle and strategy each day. If you have travelled to remote places before, you know how valuable that is. If you have not, it makes the entire experience far less intimidating.

You still get the adventure. You just get to explore it with somebody who has spent a big part of his life doing this kind of thing.

Who Is This Trip For?

Colombia is for the angler who wants more than simply catching another fish.

It is for people who love the outdoors, want to see somewhere genuinely different and are happy to trade a little luxury for a lot of adventure.

You should be comfortable with heat, insects, long days on the water, simple meals, remote travel and the possibility of losing lures or breaking tackle.

If that sounds miserable, this probably is not your trip.

If that sounds like the best week you have had in years, you are exactly who we want with us.

Coming Back to Bogotá

The funny part is how good a hotel room feels after the jungle. By the time you get back to Bogotá, you are dead tired. You have fished your heart out, laughed for days, drunk beers on sandbars, watched fish destroy tackle and seen a side of South America that very few visitors ever experience.

A hot shower feels like the greatest invention in human history.

Then we go out for a proper meal, pass phones around the table, swap photos, retell the stories and say goodbye.

The whole thing already feels a little bit like a dream.

Come Fish Colombia With Us

Colombia is wild, remote and completely different from a normal fishing vacation.

There are giant peacock bass, vampire fish, catfish, piranhas, jungle rivers and places that still feel genuinely untouched.

You are going to get hot. You are going to get tired. You are probably going to lose some tackle. And you are going to have one hell of an adventure.

ANY SPECIES. ANYWHERE.

Contact Fishing the Planet for current Colombia expeditions, availability and the best fishery for your travelwindow.