Congrats Mike!

Mike Christian, our sales rep in the US and one of my oldest friends, went fishing with his brother last week while in Florida. He snagged this 30lb. cobia. I know he had a great time and we are all happy for you Mike.

An Apology

I want to apologize for not keeping this blog up to date over the last few weeks. Things have been very busy around here as we are getting ready for the new fishing season.

Rógerio and I will be in several meetings this week concerning a new fishing package that we will be offering in the near future. It is very exciting and I am sure that within a few days we will be able to share more details about this fantastic opportunity.

We are also planning a quick scouting trip up to the Pantanal to see how spawning went this year and what population of Dorado we can look forward to. Early estimates have been high but we want to see for ourselves. We plan to travel in the next two weeks.

Thanks for being a part of this blog. I promise a lot more info and photos in just a few days.

Mark

Pintado - Speckled Catfish of the Pantanal

At least once a week I'm going to talk a little about some of the fish we go after on our excursions into the Pantanal. One of my favorites is the Pintado or Speckled Catfish.

This is not your ordinary river cat. The Pintado, or pseudoplatystoma corruscans, is a real fighter and is known for putting up hour or more long fights. It is only found in the Prata and São Francisco Basins and is a favorite of Brazilian sport fishermen.

It is also one of the tastiest fish I've ever eaten. And the people of Mato Grosso are very creative in finding different ways to fix this versatile fish. One of the most traditional is called Peixe na Telha or Fish in a Roof Tile. The fish is literally cooked in a modified ceramic roof tile, similar to the ones that adorn most Brazilian houses.

Large fillets, together with tomatoes, onions, potatoes and a lot of seasoning, are slow cooked for hours creating a culinary sensation like you've never had before.

Now these are big fish so you are going to have to get out the heavy equipment to pull one of these in. You should use a medium to heavy rod, 20 - 30 lb test line and hooks between 6/0 and 10/0.

Most pintados are caught using live bait including river and swamp eels, minnows and the snake-like worm minhocuçu. They also hit lures, especially jigs in mid to deep water levels.

Pintados get up to over 100 lbs and in the Pantanal it is normal to catch the 40-60 pounders. I've leave you with this photo. This 110 lb pintado was caught by Johnny Hoffman in February of 2003 using an artificial lure.

Singing Fish

Singing Fish
Originally uploaded by anny's pal.

Just found this photo on Flickr. Never seen anything like it before. I can't figure out how in the world they got this picture but I still think it's pretty cool.

Independent British Conservation Group Buys Portion Of The Pantanal To Create Reserve

The World Land Trust has recently purchased 3,600 hectacres of land in the Paraguayan region of the Pantanal. The Sid Templer Reserve is designed to preserve this area as a wildlife refuge. The Paraguayan side of the Pantanal has largely been encroached on my farmers and cattlemen, destroying much of the vegetation and habitat for the region's wildlife.

Paraguay has been much more lax than Brazil in it's protection of wetlands and nature reserves. Hence private non-profit groups have had to step in.

In 1981 a federal decree was made for the establishment of the Pantanal Matogrossense National Park, preserving over 180,000 hectacres of wilderness here in Brazil. I have been to PMNP and it is absolutely gorgeous. We will accommodate any group traveling with us who desires to visit the park and you should definitely choose to do so.

Our hats are off to World Land Trust for moving forward when governments won't or can't. After visiting the Pantanal for yourself, you'll understand why this wetland must be protected for the future.

http://www.worldlandtrust.org/projects/paraguay.htm

What a Beauty!

This 17 lb Dorado was caught by Adriano Costa in March of 2006 on the Paraguay River in the Pantantal. One more example that the place to fish for this fighter is in the Brazilian wetlands.

I found this photo on the Pesca & Compania website. They are our version of Field & Stream. It's a great magazine and their website is top notch. Even though it is in Portuguese, you should check it out if for nothing more than to see what type and size of fish can be found in Brazil.

http://pesca-cia.uol.com.br/index.shtml

A Man After My Own Heart

I generally comment on what's going on around Brazil, especially in the Pantanal but I had to blog about Kenny Schneider of Illinois. Here is a man who set a goal and conquered.

Kenny decided he would try to catch at least one fish every day for the entire year 2006. And he did it.

In the article linked below, he talks about the difficulties he went through and his perseverance.

Please read this article from the Centre Daily. You won't be disappointed.

Kenny, my hat is off to you. Parabens!!

http://www.centredaily.com/mld/centredaily/sports/16451345.htm