Stan Fagerstrom
02-13-2004, 06:41 PM
Right Retrieve Is Key to taking
Jungle Bass On Woodchopper Lures
By Stan Fagerstrom
Part 2
A lure produced right here in Oregon has probably put more of the Amazon’s peacock bass in the boat than anything else you could hang on your line. In my last column I detailed how the Luhr-Jensen Woodchopper was the favorite lure of experienced jungle anglers.
http://www.ifish.net/sfwebjlure.jpg
Phil Jensen and a native guide look over one of the Luhr-Jensen Woodchoppers that are so productive for Amazon peacock bass.
One of those fishermen was the late Mike Bryant. Bryant managed the Amazon Tours Rio Araca Lodge. This lodge is located in an area noted for the big peacocks it produces.
When I interviewed him, Bryant told me that the name “Woodchopper” has became something of a generic term among jungle anglers. Many fishermen have started calling any lure with props fore and aft a “Woodchopper.”
You can bet experienced anglers like Mike Bryant knew when he was throwing the real thing at those bait-busting peacocks. I asked him for the specifics on which woodchopper lure colors he favored. “The Woodchopper in a black back with an orange belly is one of my favorites,” he told me. “The clown and the fire tiger are also good.
I use all the different sizes in these lures. When I get tired of throwing the big one, I switch to one of the smaller versions of the bait.”
Study a Luhr-Jensen lure catalog and you’ll find that Woodchoppers come in different sizes. These topwater wooden jerk baits run to a full three ounces. It takes a substantial outfit to heave them one out there and then manipulate it properly to get hits.
So just what is the best retrieve with a Woodchopper to bring jungle bass boiling up to bust the hell out of it? These big lures are called top water “jerk” baits. That’s an apt title because it’s a sharp downward snap of the rod tip that experienced peacock bass anglers employ to give them the right kind of action. If it’s done properly, that downward rod snap causes the lure to jerk along the surface. The props at the rear end produce a fish-calling glursh-glursh-glursh sound as the lure comes back on the retrieve.
Watch an angler who knows what he’s doing with these big baits and it’s a thing of beauty to behold. It figures Phil Jensen would be good at it and he is. He’s a guy who has been into the Amazon on nine different occasions testing his lures and refining the techniques to best use with them.
But Mike Bryant and some of his capable guides also knew how to handle a Woodchopper. One of the native guides we had with us had obviously done lots of fishing himself. He’d throw that big Woodchopper halfway to Venezuela and then make it do everything but sing the Brazilian national anthem on the retrieve.
“You don’t want any slack in your line as you finish your cast to handle a Woodchopper properly,” Bryant said. “Snap your rod tip as straight down as you can. Don’t go off to the side any farther than you have to. You want the props of your lure to make all the noise they can and throw water in the process. A short, powerful jerk of the rod tip is the best way to get that done.”
http://www.ifish.net/sfwebguide.jpg
The peacock bass this native guide is holding managed to get into the Amazon's jungle undergrowth, but it didn't get away. The guide dove overboard and swam down to get it untangled.
Bryant had another tip for anglers heading into the Amazon for the first time. “Throw your Woodchopper just as close to structure as you can,” he advised. “Get it right up against the shoreline cover. This is important because that’s where the fish are most likely to be.”
Heaving lures that weigh up to 3-ounces hour after hour gets to you in a hurry. It helps if you have the right rods and reels to work with. I asked Bryant for his thoughts in this regard. “I favor rods of less than 7-feet,” he said. “My favorites are from 6 to 6-feet, 10-inches. A rod has to have sufficient strength to handle large lures. It can’t be so flexible that you lose the lure action that’s so important to getting consistent hits.”
Mike Bryant was a man who had traveled over much of the world before winding up in the Amazon. He was in the oil industry for much of his adult life and that job took him all over the place. The final years of his life were spent out there about 15 miles south as the macaws fly from the equator in the tropical rainforest of the Brazilian Amazon.
Like I said before, Mike Bryant is going to be missed by those of us who had the good fortune to know him. I’ll always remember what he told me when I asked him what he thought of the Amazon. “I’m in awe of it,” he said. “It’s any amazing place. Get here one time and you’ll find yourself wanting to come back.”
Mike was right. That wondrous part of God’s creation is really something. And those beautiful lure-smashing peacock bass are the frosting on creation’s cake.
I expect Phil Jensen is plenty proud of the record his Woodchoppers have carved for themselves in that part of the world. He has a right to be. If you’re headed in that direction, be sure you invite some to go along.
If you’re interested in an Amazon jungle fishing adventure, all the details are available from Amazon Tours at www.peacockbassfishing.com. (http://www.peacockbassfishing.com.)
Jungle Bass On Woodchopper Lures
By Stan Fagerstrom
Part 2
A lure produced right here in Oregon has probably put more of the Amazon’s peacock bass in the boat than anything else you could hang on your line. In my last column I detailed how the Luhr-Jensen Woodchopper was the favorite lure of experienced jungle anglers.
http://www.ifish.net/sfwebjlure.jpg
Phil Jensen and a native guide look over one of the Luhr-Jensen Woodchoppers that are so productive for Amazon peacock bass.
One of those fishermen was the late Mike Bryant. Bryant managed the Amazon Tours Rio Araca Lodge. This lodge is located in an area noted for the big peacocks it produces.
When I interviewed him, Bryant told me that the name “Woodchopper” has became something of a generic term among jungle anglers. Many fishermen have started calling any lure with props fore and aft a “Woodchopper.”
You can bet experienced anglers like Mike Bryant knew when he was throwing the real thing at those bait-busting peacocks. I asked him for the specifics on which woodchopper lure colors he favored. “The Woodchopper in a black back with an orange belly is one of my favorites,” he told me. “The clown and the fire tiger are also good.
I use all the different sizes in these lures. When I get tired of throwing the big one, I switch to one of the smaller versions of the bait.”
Study a Luhr-Jensen lure catalog and you’ll find that Woodchoppers come in different sizes. These topwater wooden jerk baits run to a full three ounces. It takes a substantial outfit to heave them one out there and then manipulate it properly to get hits.
So just what is the best retrieve with a Woodchopper to bring jungle bass boiling up to bust the hell out of it? These big lures are called top water “jerk” baits. That’s an apt title because it’s a sharp downward snap of the rod tip that experienced peacock bass anglers employ to give them the right kind of action. If it’s done properly, that downward rod snap causes the lure to jerk along the surface. The props at the rear end produce a fish-calling glursh-glursh-glursh sound as the lure comes back on the retrieve.
Watch an angler who knows what he’s doing with these big baits and it’s a thing of beauty to behold. It figures Phil Jensen would be good at it and he is. He’s a guy who has been into the Amazon on nine different occasions testing his lures and refining the techniques to best use with them.
But Mike Bryant and some of his capable guides also knew how to handle a Woodchopper. One of the native guides we had with us had obviously done lots of fishing himself. He’d throw that big Woodchopper halfway to Venezuela and then make it do everything but sing the Brazilian national anthem on the retrieve.
“You don’t want any slack in your line as you finish your cast to handle a Woodchopper properly,” Bryant said. “Snap your rod tip as straight down as you can. Don’t go off to the side any farther than you have to. You want the props of your lure to make all the noise they can and throw water in the process. A short, powerful jerk of the rod tip is the best way to get that done.”
http://www.ifish.net/sfwebguide.jpg
The peacock bass this native guide is holding managed to get into the Amazon's jungle undergrowth, but it didn't get away. The guide dove overboard and swam down to get it untangled.
Bryant had another tip for anglers heading into the Amazon for the first time. “Throw your Woodchopper just as close to structure as you can,” he advised. “Get it right up against the shoreline cover. This is important because that’s where the fish are most likely to be.”
Heaving lures that weigh up to 3-ounces hour after hour gets to you in a hurry. It helps if you have the right rods and reels to work with. I asked Bryant for his thoughts in this regard. “I favor rods of less than 7-feet,” he said. “My favorites are from 6 to 6-feet, 10-inches. A rod has to have sufficient strength to handle large lures. It can’t be so flexible that you lose the lure action that’s so important to getting consistent hits.”
Mike Bryant was a man who had traveled over much of the world before winding up in the Amazon. He was in the oil industry for much of his adult life and that job took him all over the place. The final years of his life were spent out there about 15 miles south as the macaws fly from the equator in the tropical rainforest of the Brazilian Amazon.
Like I said before, Mike Bryant is going to be missed by those of us who had the good fortune to know him. I’ll always remember what he told me when I asked him what he thought of the Amazon. “I’m in awe of it,” he said. “It’s any amazing place. Get here one time and you’ll find yourself wanting to come back.”
Mike was right. That wondrous part of God’s creation is really something. And those beautiful lure-smashing peacock bass are the frosting on creation’s cake.
I expect Phil Jensen is plenty proud of the record his Woodchoppers have carved for themselves in that part of the world. He has a right to be. If you’re headed in that direction, be sure you invite some to go along.
If you’re interested in an Amazon jungle fishing adventure, all the details are available from Amazon Tours at www.peacockbassfishing.com. (http://www.peacockbassfishing.com.)