Right....one of the chaps, Carlos, is a keen fisherman and his father has a boat. They fish for Peacock bass mainly, but with lures. Small, 6 foot baitcasting rods, braid line and minnow stick baits of "woodchoppers". These are large surface lures that have blades that chop up the water on retrieve.
He thinks the fly could work, especially baitfish and poppers (I showed him some Pike flies and he says they look about right). He warned that although the average fish is about 2-3 kg, they fight very hard and the waters are snaggy.
They also fish with "cut bait" (fish chunks) for Catfish and various Piahrana/Pacu. The Cats go to 20kg
but he does not think they would take a fly as they are located in deep, fast flowing water.
The last fish they fish for is the Big Head Carp, an Asian species stocked into some lakes and rivers. Grows to 40kg and takes a bait made of crushed cornflakes mixed with water fished on a size 4/0 hook!!!
He says there are loads of small species of Chicilids and BArbs that grow to a couple of pounds and feed on insects and fry so maybe a fly rod would be useful for them, but most rivers are heavily stained or silted so fish tend to feed by smell/vibration.
Who knows, sounds like an interesting place to experiment! Jealous as hell!
