Manaus was founded in 1669 by the Portuguese as a small fishermen’s village. Its name is of Indian origin and its literal translation is “Mother of God”. Situated just 3 degrees below the equator and over 1000 miles inland, it is one of the busiest ports where cargo ships distribute their goods throughout the Amazon basin. With the discovery of rubber trees in the area in the 1850’s, Manaus flourished for a period of about 20 years, from 1890 – 1910, and was know as “Paris of the Jungle”. During this time, wealthy plantation owners flocked to Manaus and a “belle epoque” splendor prevailed as evidenced by their ornate Opera House, which was built in 1892 with distinct European influence, both in style and materials. Today Manaus is a duty-free zone and center for ecotourism in the Amazon.

Passport and Visa considerations

 A valid U.S. passport is required for entrance into all South American countries. Make sure your passport is valid and does not expire before or while you are out of the United States. It takes up to a month to process a new passport, so please plan accordingly.
To obtain a visa, your valid passport must be sent to the nearest Brazilian Consulate General (your passport cannot expire within three months of entrance into Brazil).

Flight Information


Plan to travel to Miami on Friday, to connect with flight to Manaus around 8:30 p.m. (We suggest you arrive in Miami by 4:00 p.m.). Flights arrive in Miami at approximately 7:20 p.m. Connecting flights home should be planned no sooner than 2 hours after arriving in Miami. Probably, your flights home will not be available until next morning, in which case you should plan to overnight in Miami.
Our US Agents carefully arrange air travel from home cities to Manaus. Working in conjunction with their travel agent partners and directly with senior sales departments of the major international carriers, they block-off plenty of seats before our fishing season starts providing efficient schedules and ticketing, and in many cases with prices significantly below published discount fares.
We strongly suggest you check your luggage from your home city to Miami, claim it there, and re-check it on international carrier to Manaus.

Weather


Mid-day temperatures in the Amazon range from 85º - 95ºF. Generally there is some wind and intense sun during the day, so please be mindful of dehydration and overexposure to the sun. At night the temperature drops to 65º - 75ºF. Although you will be fishing in the dry season, there are occasional rain showers (you are in the rain forest).

Baggage Packing

There is a strictly-enforced 44-pound weight restriction for the 8 passenger Turbo-prop Caravan float-plane flights and we request that all anglers pack in one duffel bag. Please do not bring coolers or hard luggage. The camp has daily laundry service, so lots of clothes are not necessary.

We recommend wearing loose fitting, lightweight, light-colored cottons or synthetics (Tarpon Wear, Patagonia, etc...). Some fabrics allow passage of UV rays, so don’t just bring any old shirt – we’ve seen people severely sunburned right through their clothes!. Long pants and sleeves are best to protect from sunburn.

Personal Items

Passport and xerox of photo page
Airline tickets
Personal medications
Four long-sleeved tropical shirts
Two tropical-weight pants
Swimsuit or shorts
Sneakers or deck shoes
Casual travel clothes
Fishing hat
Quality lightweight raincoat/pants
Lightweight cotton gloves
Sunscreen
Chapstick
Water resistant bug repellent s/DEET
Small flashlight
Camera and batteries
Spare film
Waterproof pack or gear bag
Cash for tipping

Equipment

We furnish, free-of-charge, quality baitcasting rods and reels with braided line.
Scale (if you are trying for a world record, you should bring a certified scale)
Tape measure
Hook sharpener
Replacement hooks and o-rings
Extra line
· Fishing pliers, pocket knife, clippers
Reel lubricant
Lure box
Rod Case
Polarized sunglasses
6” – 8” steel leaders (for piranha)
40 – 50 lb. Leader material (fly-fishermen)
Optional stripping basket (fly-fishermen)
Optional stripping finger sock (fly-fishermen) or adhesive tape

Health / Insects


 It's trully a bleasing that the rivers we fish have a high tannin concentration due to the forest’s leaf decay, and do not encourage the growth of insect eggs and larvae. Although we have never had an angler with a tropical illness, there are occasional encounters with bugs. We suggest you contact your doctor regarding his recommendations, or you can call the IAMAT (International Association for Medical Assistance to Travelers – (716) 754.4883

Itinerary for full week: (*) Subject to changes
minimum 6 full fishing days

• Thursday
  • Plan your home location flights to arrive at Miami airport no later than 6:30 p.m.
  • Depart from Miami at approximately 8:30 p.m.
  • Arrival in Manaus at approximately 11:30 p.m.
  • After you have cleared customs, our city guides, Maggie and Brahama, will take you to overnight at the Hotel Tropical which is 15 minutes away.
• Friday
  • Our 8 pax Cessna turbo prop. float or wheel plane departs approx. 8:30 a.m. to one of our six Fly-In Floating Cabin operation or the Black Water Explorer yacht. If weather conditions are normal, you should arrive at our Floating Cabins /Black Water Explorer in about 1-2 hours in time to fish for few hours.
• Saturday thru Thursday
  • Six full fishing days
  • Breakfast is seved at 7:00 a.m. and your guide will be ready to leave by 7:30 a.m.
  • If staying at Floating Cabins we suggest you return to camp for lunch and a “siesta” since you could be as near as 5-15 minutes.
• Friday
  • Time allowing fish a few hours in the morning.
  • Departure from Floating Cabins or Black Water Explorer on float-plane to Manaus.
  • Overnight at the Hotel Tropical
• Saturday
  • Transfer to International Airport in Manaus for flights to Miami departing aprox. 11:00 a.m.