What the.. Finessing Peacocks? Yes, with the Caribe Jig

Total Score: 9.08 - EDITOR'S CHOICE!

Forward by Zander: It's hard to believe that it has been a full year since our trip to the Amazon. For me, there hasn't been any other fishing trip that has left such a deep impression, the vision of Peacock splash hit is something I'll never forget. While the topwater strikes were nothing short of epic there were other ways to catch these fish. We caught many fish with Choppers and Rippers but we also fished a variety of subsurface swimbaits and jigs, the most productive of which was the Caribe Jig in this review. At this very moment that this review is being published Cal is waiting at the airport in Manaus to take a float plane deep into the Amazon for round two, this time he is camping on floating barges and will continue his hunt for Peacocks weighing over 20lbs. In a hour he will be out of cell range and we will have to wait a week to see just how he did, but knowing Cal he packed a few extra jigs this time around.

 
Zander and his "finesse" rig for the Amazon, a G.Loomis MBR784C GL3 paired with a Daiwa Zillion Type R and a Caribe Lure Jig tied to the end of the line.

Introduction: One year removed from our adventure to the Amazon and the memories are still fresh in our minds. Fishing for the beautiful and crazed peacock bass is an adventure each and every bass fisherman should aspire to at least once in their angling lifetime, but know and realize, it’s still fishing. Few highs in fishing can match the explosive excitement of a peacock bass annihilating a surface plug, but conditions are not always ideal for the topwater bite. No, it’s not glamorous, and yes, as with any “finesse” tactic, it can be a little mundane, but the best way to ensure you get bit on your peacock bass fishing adventure is to fish the bottom part of the water column with that universal bait, a jig.

Any time you downsize your bait when fishing for these predators of the Amazon, it's considered a finesse tactic. In that regard, jigs are probably the number one go to bait. Of course, a jig for peacock bass is not the same as that of a largemouth. In fact, what a proper jig for peacock bas does resemble are the ones used for other larger gamefish like striped bass. Namely, these are all jigs tied with animal hair. Our outfitter, Adventure Travel Alliance, recommended a couple of different brands of jigs for our trip back in November 2010. The one he recommended most strongly were those made by a company called Caribe Lures. Here now is our review of the half ounce, bucktail, Caribe Jig.

Daiwa's 6'6" Heavy Powered Zillion rod (TDZL 661HFB) is another really good stick for the Caribe Lure Jig.

Impressions: Caribe Lures makes their bucktail jigs in five different color combinations and in only one size, half an ounce. The jigheads are molded around a 5/0 hook and include holographic eyes. Each jig is hand tied with long, northern bucktail and include mylar flash, and an extended tail. It's a very easy bait to take for granted, afterall, it's just a jig.

The half ounce Caribe Jig in red and white ...

Packing: Jigs are a tough item to pack for the Amazon due to their weight and non-glamorous nature. They are one of the first items you look towards taking out of your baggage when trying to get your luggage down to that forty pound overall weight limit. Word out of the Amazon was our bite was going to be a “finesse” bite, so instead of culling my jigs, I culled many of my topwater choppers. Zander and JIP did just the opposite. They went for the glamour and who can blame them. If you’re going on that trip of a lifetime, you want to experience that explosion of a lifetime as well. But I had to be sure and hedge my bet because I wanted to be sure and catch something.  Throwing swimbaits has made me far too leery of swinging for the fences and coming up empty to take that type of risk on a trip like this. When all was said and done with regards to packing, the jigs didn’t even have that big of an impact. I had with me, twenty jigs at half ounce each meaning ten ounces worth of jigs, five eighths of a pound.

... and again in red and yellow.