Pre-Season Water Level Report

​Upper Rio Negro Watershed
7 September 2017

Early September is the time of the season when Peacock Bass fishermen scheduled to fish on the upper Rio Negro River and its tributaries between Mora, located approx. 225 Kilometers up the Rio Negro from Manaus to Sao Gabriel, located approx. 700 Kilometers upriver from Manaus, need to begin to look at water conditions.  Water levels are beginning to drop in earnest this time of year from their highs during the wet season, usually peaking in July.  A successful Peacock Bass fishing trip is predicated on advantageous water levels, as if the rivers are out of their banks, the fish spread out into the flooded rainforest and are not accessible to the fisherman.  Therefore, it is important to fish in different areas at different times during the dry season, which on the upper Rio Negro usually runs from mid-September thru maybe late February, depending where on the upper Rio Negro Watershed you are fishing.  Normally, the farther you get upriver the earlier the water levels are fishable.  During the 2015-2016 fishing season the upper Rio Negro watershed experienced some of the lowest water levels in recorded history and during the 2016-2017 fishing season it experienced some of the highest water levels in recorded history, hampering fishing success.  With neither El Nino or La Nina conditions in the Pacific Ocean this season we are anticipating good water conditions for the first time in 3 years!

The majority of Brazil’s Peacock Bass fishing river boat and lodge operations in the Rio Negro watershed operate within this 600 Kilometer (around 350 – 400 miles) stretch of the main Rio Negro River and its tributaries between Mora and Sao Gabriel.  Well of 50 river boat and yacht operators use Barcelos, located around 300 kilometers upriver from Manaus, as the origination point for their trips, as this is the only city centrally located on the upper Rio Negro that is large enough to resupply these operators with provisions and fuel.  There are a couple of outfitters operating out of Santa Isabel (“Tapuruquara” on the Amazon maps) and one or two operating out of Sao Gabriel on the extreme upper end of the Rio Negro.  Therefore, the most commonly fished areas in the upper Rio Negro watershed will be within a 150-kilometer radius of Barcelos & thus most fishermen will be concerned with water conditions between Mora and Santa Isabel.

BARCELOS

​As you can see by the water levels graph for Barcelos, the wet season did not bring water levels up as high as it normally does and the highest water levels did not reach the levels of 2016, which were lower that the historic averages for June and July.  The graph also shows the water beginning to drop around 2 weeks earlier than it did last year which would be indicative of good water levels earlier in the fall than we experienced last season.  The problem during the 2016-2017 fishing season was that due to the La Nina conditions in the Pacific it began to rain in November and continued to rain thru February which is historically the dry season, flooding most all the Rio Negro and its tributaries. Thus, by the first of January, most the black water rivers in the upper Rio Negro watershed were unfishable.  What we are ideally looking for on the water level map of Barcelos is water levels between say 425 cm and 350 cm for good fishing conditions.  It is still very early to predict water levels for mid-October when water levels can begin to present decent conditions for fishing, but it looks at this point that the prospects are good.

SANTA ISABEL (Tapuruquara)

Santa Isabel, located nearly 200 kilometers upriver from Manaus, does not offer the number of lakes and backwater oxbows nor does it have the extensive sandbars that the Barcelos area downriver does, but it does offer several black water tributaries that offer excellent Peacock Bass fishing.  Water levels stabilize at fishable levels earlier in the Santa Isabel area as it is further upriver than Barcelos and can produce good fishing in late September.  As you can see from the graph, water levels are falling quickly and have reached the same levels as 2016, two weeks earlier which is very encouraging. 

SAN GABRIEL

​San Gabriel is the western most area fished by Brazil’s Peacock Bass fishermen and experiences the least fishing pressure as it is nearly a 4-hour Caravan flight from Manaus.  Water levels in the San Gabriel area are usually fishable in mid-September and can be fishable into December.  Water levels are decending to fishable levels around 10 days earlier than last year.  Don’t be fooled by the elevation levels on the left side of the graph as San Gabriel is at higher elevation than the Barcleos and Santa Isabel areas are.

MORA/MANAUS

I have left Mora and Manaus last as they are not as indicative of water conditions in the prime Peacock Bass fishing waters of the upper Rio Negro as San Gabriel, Santa Isabel and Barcelos are since Mora and Manaus are downriver from the confluence of the Rio Negro and its major tributary, the Rio Branco.  The Rio Branco flows from the north out of Venezuela where the wet season lasts later into the year than in Columbia, which feeds the Rio Negro & thus water levels in Mora and Manaus will show much higher water levels than the areas upriver from the Rio Branco.  As you can see from the graphs for Mora and Manaus they are both reaching lower levels 7 to 10 day earlier than they did last year.  Many people look at water levels in Manaus when they are trying to ascertain water conditions for their Peacock Bass fishing trip and the water levels and trends in water levels in Manaus in no way reflect the water levels in the upper Rio Negro where the majority of Brazil’s Peacock Bass fishing takes place!

OVERVIEW

Without the effect of El Nino or La Nina on water temperature predicted for the Pacific Ocean this fall and winter we are anticipating normal historic water conditions in the upper Rio Negro watershed during the 2017-2018 Peacock Bass fishing season in Brazil’s Amazon.  This means water levels should be in good shape in mid to late September in the San Gabriel and Santa Isabel areas and in the Barcelos area by mid-October.  Historically water levels continue to fall until mid-December when the Amazon receives what is called the “Christmas Rains” for 2 or 3 weeks bringing up water levels which is advantageous and then water levels remain fairly stable or begin to slowly fall thru mid to late February when they begin to rise again.  Historically, the rainy season begins in earnest in March when water levels signal the end to the fishing.  Water conditions in Brazil’s southern fishery in the Rio Madeira watershed in July and August of this year have been at normal historic levels and Peacock Bass fishing has been outstanding as reported by River Plate Anglers fishing their exclusive Marmelos River fishery.  We are anticipating an excellent fishing season on the upper Rio Negro and Rio Branco watersheds as well this year after two years of disappointing water conditions across Brazil’s Amazon due to El Nino and La Nina.  THE 2017-2018 PEACOCK BASS FISHING SEASON HAS ALL THE MAKINGS OF A BANNER YEAR, COME JOIN US IN BRAZIL’S AMAZON!

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