Ron Speed’s Adventures offers you the best rivers in South America for giant trophy peacock bass. The rivers we fish produce more peacock bass in excess of 20 lbs. than any other rivers in South America. Natives of this region frequently report catching monster peacocks in excess of 14 kilos (30 lbs.) on hand lines, and we certainly believe them. One of the rivers we fish, the mighty Rio Negro, is home to the IGFA all tackle record (27.5 lbs.) caught in 1994. The rivers we fish are all “black water”, which is the color of dark tea, caused by tannic acids. Due to the acid content, mosquitos are unable to breed, thus eliminating these feisty pests.

Since we were the pioneers of houseboat Peacock bass fishing in the Amazon our guides have years of experience. Most have been with us since the first trip. Guides like Amarol, Harold, Leno, Samuel, Adalberto, Joe and Aligator have become famous guides over the years.

We used a great fishing boat for 14 years called the Amazon Clipper. It was not large or fancy but it would sail in to shallow water.

Gilberto Castro served as the fishing manager of the Clipper for years. Gil made notes of things that needed improvements, then he started building his own boat.

In 2005 the wonderful Otter, a luxury floating hotel was completed and put in service. The Otter, with four decks, is the largest houseboat in the Amazon. The Otter has 8 huge staterooms with the only side-by-side beds and large private bathrooms.

This floating hotel has a huge air conditioned dining room that can seat 20 people, plus an air-conditioned recreation room with satellite TV, DVD and VCR plus a satellite telephone. The third deck has an outdoor bar, tackle room and 2 Jacuzzis. The thing that is most important is the Otter’s ability to go into very shallow water. In the winter season one of the fancy yachts tried to follow the Otter up a remote shallow river. The yacht had to turn around as it bottomed out after about 8 miles. Our group went on up the river and caught over 800 Peacocks plus 150 other exotics.

The fancy yachts of Brazil were not built for fishing trips. When you put guides, clients, and all staff on a yacht it becomes very crowded. RSA runs a second, smaller houseboat along with the Otter that provides a home for our guides and carries all the extra fuel, batteries, and boat parts. This allows for greater comfort and safety for our clients. The Otter is never crowded and its experienced staff is fantastic.

Peacock bass inhabit the warm waters of South America, Central America and Southern Florida. However, for some reason yet to be explained, they grow to world record size in the Amazon rain forest of Brazil. These particular Peacocks are the strangest, most acrobatic, and the most fierce fighters of all Peacocks anywhere else in the Peacock world. These fantastic fighters are simply unbelievable and require special tough tackle to successfully boat these incredible fish.

In an effort to save our clients hundreds of dollars and hours of shopping time we provide all your rods, reels, and lures for your trip totally free! This insures that you have all the right lures, correct rods and reels to do battle with these “terrors of the jungle.’” Our equipment is top of the line equipment especially designed for this one tough fish.

Rods - our rods are all medium/heavy to heavy action with some spinning rods for the light tackle enthusiast. All rods are 6’9” to 7’ in length with long handles to put lots of pressure on the Peacocks.

Reels - Our reels are mostly level wind reels with “special built up gears” to take the extreme pressure exerted by these monster fish. We also have a few left-handed reels and some spinning reels.

Line - All our reels are spooled with 80 lb. and 100 lb. Spectra by Izorline. Over the past 15 years of outfitting Peacock trips we find Izorline to be the best of the best for Peacocks.

Lures - The Otter has one of the largest collections of Peacock fishing lures you could find anywhere. We have over 40 tackle boxes full of every kind of lure, in any color imaginable. In prop baits our favorite is the Kaempfer “Peacock Special” which is a custom bait, designed by RSA, made for our clients. However, we do have hundreds of Big Game Woodchoppers in all colors, Amazon Rippers, and the small Peacock specials.

Other Baits - During times of stress for the fish which include low water conditions and high water conditions the Peacock simply don’t want to bite the big topwaters. However, experienced guides know the fish will still bite but on different lures. So, we have a wide variety of jerk baits such as red-fins, Magnum Rattletraps, and our favorite which is the Kaempfer Speed Minnow.

During the winter season of 2006 the Amazon basin suffered the worst flooding in 30 years. All of the Peacock fishing outfitters canceled their entire season. All but one outfitter and that was RSA and the Otter. We never missed a week or a trip and averaged 600 to 1,000 fish per week. Our secret was our guides and their fantastic knowledge of the Rio Negro and the many tributaries. Our guides also changed tactics and lures to fit the flooding conditions. Experience pays off!

Most fishing camps and fishing operators around the world rent fishing equipment by the week. It usually costs you $150-$200 for the week. However, our equipment is first class and is totally free for our clients.

Beginning with the Fall season of 2006 and the Winter season of 2007 the price will be $4,250.00 per person excluding round trip air from Miami to Manaus.

Price includes:
1. One night stay in the Tropical Hotel in Manaus.
2. Round trip twin engine charter 300 miles into remote fishing areas.
3. 5 1/2 days of fantastic fishing.
4. 3 full, sit-down meals per day while on the Otter - no cold sandwiches.
5. Open bar.
6. All drinks in the fishing boat.
7. All fishing tackle including rods, reels and lures.
8. Cat fishing or alligator hunts at night.
9. All transfers from airport to hotel and back to airport.
10. Fishing license.
11. Departure tax.

Not included in Package:
1. Round trip air from Miami to Manaus. We will purchase your ticket for
you and we believe we can get it for you for about $700.
2. Extra day in Manaus at end of trip.
3. Tipping - For the week it usually runs about $150.
4. Items of a personal nature.
5. Satellite phone use: calls are charged at $1.50 per minute.