Arapaima

Deep in the Amazon rainforest of central Guyana, we came face-to-face with the arapaima on two occasions. Fishing remote lagoons, we used a native fish the Amerindian's called 'cudi' as bait, casting toward these massive fish as they surfaced for air.

Our first opportunity ended almost as quickly as it began when an arapaima spit the hook; leaving our guide, Keitus, to handline a native arowana for spare bait. Eventually we connected with our first fish, a roughly 50 lb juvenile that, despite its size, gave us our first glimpse at the explosive power the species is known for.

Our second encounter was something entirely different. This time we hooked a fully-grown arapaima weighing more than 200 lbs and stretching nearly 7 feet in length.

Arapaima fight in tremendous bursts of energy, making powerful sprints before tiring relatively quickly. Even with a fish of this size, the battle rarely carried us more than 30 yards. The challenge was stopping it from making those 30-yard sprints over and over again (and holding onto the rod!).

Although there are opportunities to catch these fish at pay lakes around the world... Standing beside a fully-grown arapaima in the middle of the rainforest is difficult to put into words. Between their immense size, prehistoric appearance and explosive power, there really isn't another fish quite like them. Finally putting my hands on one remains one of my favorite experiences as an angler. The arapaima should easily be on any serious angler’s bucket list.