Our Swedish tourguide and so to say Amazon veteran Fredrik Stjärnkvist came back from his annual trip to the Rio Negro and this is his short report.
I was really looking forward to this year’s trip to Rio Negro. On January 16th we finally checked in at Kastrup airport with great anticipation and enthusiasm. And we were not disappointed. Now we are back in chilly Europe and can look back on a fantastic week in the Amazon. Apart from cancelled flights and an involuntary overnight stay in Sao Paulo, the arrangements were top class – from the delicious food on the boat to the exciting fishing in the jungle and sunsets with a refreshing drink on the sun deck.
Since the water level was a bit too high at Barcelos, we quickly moved 200 km further upstream. Apart from the first day, which is always difficult, we experienced brilliant fishing for hard-fighting peacock bass, large catfish, enormous arapaima and other exotic fish. We also got to see colourful parrots, toucans, butterflies, dolphins, large caimans and lizards every day. Two fishing boats also had the pleasure of seeing jaguars in their true element.
We caught over 1000 peacock bass distributed among 14 men, the largest was caught by Henrik Elm at 16.5 pounds. Fish of 15.5 and a couple of 14 lb were also caught during the week. If we had caught a couple more top fish, this year’s trip would have been epic. What was epic, however, was the happy atmosphere and the conversation in the evening after 12 hours fishing out in the sun and heat. The absolutely fantastic drinks did their part too…
The next trip for me will be the upper parts of the Rio Negro January 9-20, 2026, even further upstream than I have ever been before. It will be an exciting and super interesting adventure!
Thanks Fredrik for the report and if you want to be part of one trip please check our “UPCOMING TRIPS” section for available dates for our group trips to Brazil.
If you want to learn more about our trips to Brazil just check our website for more information.
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Thanks and talk to you soon!