LURES and FLIES
 Most fish caught
at Manaka, of all types, are taken on lures attached to
bait casting reels and rods. Spin casting rods are used
by some, but customers who have visited Manaka before
come loaded for bear. They say the bait casting rigs gave
them better accuracy, which is important in brushy
situations or when casting to visible fish.
The experienced Manaka Lodge
fisherman bring three to six bait casting rods and reels.
Obviously, the test of the monofilament varies with each
set up, but most fishermen use lines between 8 and 20
pound test. Some rig one reel with some 30 pound test for
payara.
With three rods or more in the
boat, a fisherman puts different types of lures on each
one, so that he can pick up a rod in a hurry if he
decides he wants to change tactics. The lures are either
surface lures or diving lures. Some fishermen feel that
if they are working a Rat'l Trap deep in a cove, and see
peacock bass chasing minnows back in the shallows, they
want to be able to pick up a rod with a surface lure
immediately. I have to admit, it works. Those experienced
fishermen who go to all this trouble routinely outfish a
first timer who brings a single spinning rod with him.
Another thing experienced Manaka
fishermen do is bring lots of big lures. We're talking
salt water Rapalas and the like, with three sets of
treble hooks. Some broken backs and walk the dogs are
used, but most of the productive surface lures have
propellers, and most sub surface lures have rattles or
other noise makers. In short, you can't fish a lure too
big, obnoxious or loud for a peacock bass or a payara.
I remember the first time I saw
fishermen changing the O-rings and trebles on store
bought lures. They'd take off the manufacturer's
hardware, and replace it with big, heavy duty salt water
replacements. Some of the lures looked sort of silly with
over-sized O-rings and trebles. But the fishermen using
these make-shift rigs netted a lot more fish.
On the fly side, I had most luck
with Lefty's Deceivers, but a foam pencil popper from
Edgewater worked really well if you could rip it through
the water fast enough. Some "experts" say 10
and 12 weight fly rods are necessary. I got by with an 8
wt. In fairness, I never took a fish over 10 pounds, but
with equal time fairness for myself, I never tried for
them. I was content with six to eight pound peacocks on
Lefty's Deceivers on an eight weight Sage with an Abel
reel. My idea of heaven.
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