by dahlberg » Fri Feb 18, 2011 3:34 am
Hi B
I don't have time to give you the whole low down. THey are a very interesting critter and even though I've only scratched the surface with them I could write a book about what I've observed thus far in the dozen years I've studied them off and on.
The p-nuts are pretty easy. The larger ones are very boat shy except when protecting fry.
After they are a foot long or so, they can attain weights of over 80 lbs in one year!
By far the best "bait" is bait, but I have caught them on both flies and lures.
By far the best fly was a white fur strip diver about 5" long.
Be super super super quiet. don't even talk. sit and watch for one to roll. they will do it about every 20 minutes when undisturbed. more after you spook them. After they are spooked you can forget it.
when they roll, they are not on the move. they just settle down, almost exactly where they came up.
Make on good long cast. Pop the fly about 3 times. wait for ever. repeat. sometimes slow waking stop and go crawl is good too.
The are the world's greatest vacuum suckers! They slide up and flush the toilet so hard sometimes you can feel it in your chest like a loud bass speaker!
I think they are protected by law in guyana, so be sure to check and see if it's ok for you to be targeting them.
You do not want to grab them by the jaw or take them out of the water. They stress easily, plus because they grow so fast the soft tissue where the back of the jaw and gills meet is very easily torn. If you tear it they die.
good luck
L
Larry Dahlberg
The Hunt For Big Fish