Some baits can be downright hazardous, such as this piranha. Dozens of nasty, needle-sharp teeth protrude helter-skelter from its massive maw. The dogfish, or traira, looks like a nuclear walleye. When you resort to the latter method, you often find something weird at the end of your line. You must catch your own bait (chickens are not easily caught here) or barter with the Cunha Indians of the region for your enticements. Unfortunately, there is a dearth of bait shops in the great flooded jungle. I learned soon after my arrival that jungle anglers consider chicken heads cabeca do galinha the best piraiba baits. Individuals less than 150 pounds are called filhote fry. Specimens up to 661 pounds have been reported. I had come here to fish for the piraiba, one of the largest species of catfish on earth. This exchange took place last September during an expedition to the Rio Preto do Igapó Acu the Black River of the Great Flooded Jungle in southern Amazonas. I could have gotten the fish heads for one cigarette and a beer." "Next time, Senor Catfish, do not be so quick to trade. We arranged a trade three cigarettes, a beer and two fishhooks for a lard bucket full of dogfish heads.Īs we motored back upriver, my young fishing guide chastised me. Yesterday, Senor Mesquita caught a filhote weighing 46 kilos on this very bait." "Then perhaps I can interest you in some dogfish heads. "We are fishing for catfish, senor, not piranhas. Would you consider purchasing the pizzle from a very large pig? Or the testicles from a young bull, which has now become a steer?" "Alas, I do not have a whole monkey or the heads of any chickens. Perhaps if you had the whole monkey, we would consider it." "Fresh or not, a monkey's head is poor bait for the giant catfish we are seeking. However, I can sell you the head from a young squirrel monkey I had for breakfast this morning. "A jaguar has eaten all my chickens, sir. "Senor, my American friend is willing to pay 50 American dollars for 10 chicken heads. It was, to say the least, an unusual conversation.
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