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We were so close to the equator on this trip that we actually took pictures and caught fish at 00°00'00" directly on the equator! There are limited places in the world you can do that! We would go from summer (south side) to winter (north side) and back again a couple of times. Very unique for a fishing day! The same day we experienced that we saw a pair of huge (5 feet tall) Wood Storks. Very impressive birds.
Our final day we again had excellent fishing with a few big fish between Nancy and I including the highlight popper-eating butterfly.
We arrived back at the camp a full “final day” wrap up setting was in place for a BBQ on the beach. We had an excellent meal and the pleasure of listening to one of the other guests, Evan, play his guitar and sing for us. He is a talented individual and a great fishing partner who I got to spend a day in the boat with. He has fished the Amazon countless times and knows what he is doing.
Throughout the week, we fished and explored about 50km of the Xeriuini which is over 200 km long. That area doesn’t include the tributary of the Rio Novo which is a whole other fishery! Slightly more “normal” water conditions would open up access to countless more lagoons.
There are years worth of exploration in this area. Especially, when the season is limited to only 5 weeks!
A few of the evenings we enjoyed information sessions hosted by Karim (one of the Bucket List partners). During those sessions we learned a lot about various aspects of the fish, birds, and the overall Amazon ecosystem.
The flight home had a much better view of the wilderness between where we were at the equator and Manaus. I am sure there are places down there no human has ever been!
Seeing the massive sand bars on both the Rio Branco and the Rio Negro was amazing. To understand what it takes to get the floating camp from Manaus to where we were is humbling. And the hard thing to believe is the Xeriuini was in the opposite condition the previous two years in January when the water was too high to fish!! This is the excellent aspect of Bucket List's fishing strategy in that the “back up” plan if the Xerinui is unfishable is also an excellent fishery.
Some of the other guests were repeat clients who had “only” fished the other location (Labirinto Da Tartaruga.)
Experiencing this completely unspoiled area of the Amazon and fishing to Peacocks that had barely (if ever) seen a fly before was a spectacular experience. Nancy and I are very fortunate to be able to travel multiple places to fish. This Bucket List trip was one of the best overall fishing trips we have ever been on. We are going back for 2025!
Quote from Adrian P from Australia: “Yes I got home all safe and sound"👍"I’m almost back to reality it was a most amazing trip and a very eye opening experience many thanks to you both for the opportunity of being able to join and share it with you , the fishing was exceptional and the sheer magnificence of the environment was mind blowing .