Your Go-To Fly Selection for Anywhere Peacock Bass Swim

This fly is a standout in my peacock bass box. It checks all the boxes I look for in a streamer and comes in excellent colorways and two sizes (4/0 and 6/0). Made entirely from synthetic materials, it sheds water efficiently and doesn’t feel burdensome to cast. Its design pushes water effectively, making it easy for fish to locate via their lateral lines—a major advantage when targeting peacocks.

This fly is another top contender that gets a lot of love from the peacocks. This fly has a great profile and colorways that tend to get noticed. The use of flash with the lateral line is my favorite part of the two colorways in this fly. As Hogan points out in his design, the lateral line is a key attribute that I too feel is very important for predators to key in on. I always enjoy contrasting colors and hues in my flies, so this fly does that well.

This pattern from Jonny has been in my quiver for many years now and has been put in front of many species both in the saltwater and jungle fisheries. It’s a great baitfish imitation that simply fishes. A great addition was the popper version as well called RIO's King Kinky Muddler Popper which is perfect for those big fish topwater eats. Consider having all the styles and sizes in your box to cover any situation that presents itself.

This fly has been quite fun to fish for not only for the smaller butterfly peacock bass, but other species like matrinxa, pacu, arowana, oscars, etc., have all been enticed to eat it. The pattern floats extremely well and can double as a popper/gurgler depending on the species you’re targeting. Most jungle fisheries have large terrestrial insects, so having this pattern is a must for me.

Another solid pattern for the jungle from Gunnar Brammer. They have a stout hook and a fishy profile that the peacock bass (and wolf fish) love to eat. The lead eyes provide great movement as they jig and flee through the water column, as you twitch it back towards your rod tip. All colorways are effective, but my top two are the fire and lemonhead. Most of the time, bright colors in the Amazon are your friend!

Although this pattern was designed for many of the North American warmwater species, it always travels with me to South America. The olive and bluegill colorways are my go-to and in full transparency, the bluegill gets more play. Being that the fly and hook are on the smaller side, it excels in areas that have peacock bass on the smaller side. Jungle fish species are very colorful as most of us well know, so the bright colors of that pattern do a great job at getting some attention.

This fly works well for one species in the waters they inhabit, and that’s the wolf fish. As an ambush predator that likes to call slower or non-moving water home, the Flair Jig with its lead eyes to help get it towards the bottom, does a great job at getting those fish to attack your fly. I tend to fish dark colors and it’s especially exciting when you have sight fishing opportunities and see the eat!

RIO's Elite Warmwater Predator perfectly answers the call for targeting peacock bass and is our go-to choice for anywhere they swim. This line comes in three unique densities which include a Float, Float/Hover/Intermediate, and a Float/Sink5/Sink7. The F/H/I will be your go-to and most utilized as it covers the top 2-3' of the water column, where most of the baitfish tend to reside and are preyed upon. However, having the Float and F/S5/S7 will allow you opportunities for a topwater blow up or discover what might be lingering in the depths of that deeper lagoon. The multiple densities offered allow anglers to respond to any of the wide-ranging conditional factors that are commonly experienced when targeting peacock bass.