Columbia Trip 2024
Columbia 2024
My journey to Columbia was finally set to happen January 2024, a few years in the making. I was supposed to go with my good buddy Dave in 2023, and he ended up having a minor heart attack last year in Mexico when we were fishing down there, so we had to postpone this trip indefinitely. After thousands of dollars spent on deposits to the lodge, airline tickets, and tons of gear specialized for fishing in Columbia, the trip was not looking like it was going to happen. With Dave’s health in question, it was not looking good to complete this trip to the Columbian jungle, and the quest for the jungle was put on the back burner.
Then, my new buddy Mike A stepped up. He messaged me one day on Facebook, as we had many mutual friends, and we chatted about different trips, as we have many hobbies and experiences in common. He said he was looking for someone else to go on the same trip with his dad and another buddy, Mike M (yes, another Mike). I jumped at the chance to finally complete this dream trip to fish Payara and Peacock Bass in the Orinoco and Tomo rivers. I was able to use the deposits from last year, and I bought airline tickets to go, and the trip was back on!
After buying thousands of dollars in more gear, new airline tickets to fly to Bogata, and even more gear I was getting ready to go. When the trip was about 3 weeks away, the lodge, Fish Columbia, sent me a WhatsApp message asking me if I could come the week after instead, as the flight from Bogata to Puerto Carreño was overbooked and there was no room for me to go on the flight. I could not go a different week as I had already bought airline tickets months before, so my only option was to stay in Bogota an extra day, but I will miss a day of fishing for the same price. So I was torn on what to do, the hothead in me wanted to just say gimme my money and find somewhere else. But I REALLY wanted to do this trip, and was very lucky to have been included by such a great group of dudes. So I opted to stay another night in Bogata and head to Puerto Carreño myself, as they will pick me up at the small airport there.
So, it’s finally getting close to the day we are about to head out. I was just returning from an epic road trip and a couple days in La Ribera, Mexico, as my two daughters and I drove from Wenatchee to the southern tip of the Baja Peninsula. That was whole other adventure in itself! But as winter travel is, the snow put a small hitch in our plans, so I changed it up and flew out of Wenatchee a day early to beat the closed passes and stayed the night in Seattle, to get ready to fly to Columbia. So I board the afternoon flight in Wenatchee on January 10 and arrive in SeaTac, and my buddy Mike M picked me up and we have some amazing sushi, and head to the hotel for the flight in the morning, where we woke up at 4am and were off to SeaTac to catch our flight. We were met there by Mike A and would be meeting his dad at our layover in Atlanta. We fly to Atlanta for a short layover, then head on the flight to Bogata. After landing that evening, we were greeted by Martha from Fish Columbia at the airport, and she took us to our hotel. The Marriott by the airport is a nice, basic hotel, but safe and centrally located. At dinner in our hotel, we were all just buzzing with anticipation and wonder of what the next few days will bring. We all have a few rods, crates of gear, and loads of clothes for the 10 day trip. While I had done lots of research and preparation, the anticipation of the unknown is what drives you on trips like this. So we chat, have dinner and a cocktail and hit the bed. We all get up around 5am Bogata time, which is 3 hours later than Seattle time. I watch as the three of them get to go off and fish without me, while I was stuck with an extra day in Bogota due to the scheduling upset. I am not happy about this scenario, but the six upcoming days of fishing were keeping me sane. I spent the day walking for hours around the bustling city of Bogata, which is a huge city sitting at 8,660 feet above sea level. Just a super cool, sprawling South American city. I had some good food and people watched as I walked around, then made my way back to the hotel, anticipating the next day’s adventures.
At 6 am the next morning, Martha picks me up at the hotel and takes me to the smaller airport for the short flight to Puerto Carreño, on a smaller jet than the planes from before. The plane was nice and modern, and pretty comfortable. Martha helped me get all checked in, cause my Spanish sucks, and then I was through security and finally on my way. After a short delay - security pulled me off the plane to search my checked bag full of fishing gear and take my bug spray - I was allowed back on the plane just in time to take off. After the short hour and a half flight, we land in a small airport in the middle of nowhere, right on the Columbia, Venezuelan border. Renee from Fish Columbia was waiting in a Toyota Landcruiser, all set up for the long and very rough 4x4 road to the river, where we will head to the first camp. After about 4 hours on a rough 4x4 road, and 2 very cool river crossings (on 2 car max barges while the operators navigate the strong currents with 40hp old 2 stroke motors), we are finally at the river. The Orrioco is a very large river, I would say about the size of Columbia river at home. I would describe it as the Columbia river before dams, it’s very impressive with strong currents and rocky terrain. We boarded small, John style boats, and it’s a short scenic half hour ride up to the camp. The camp was nice, with electricity and Starlink internet. They are palapa style huts with 2 comfy beds with mosquito netting around the beds. And yes you need the added protection, the bugs were brutal there! I drop my stuff off and meet the guys on the river for my first taste of fishing, beyond excited to be out there in search of the very toothy Payara.
I grab my gear and head up river, and as they drive me up the scenic river I am just taking it all in. We met up with rest of the guys on a big sand bar and hop in the boat with Mike M and were off to fish. He had not had any fish yet, but had some good strikes. Payara are notoriously hard to land, with their super toothy, hard mouths. They jump and go crazy on hookset, making them beautiful, amazing creatures, but a challenge to land. As the day goes by, we have very little luck, each having a couple of strikes but that was about it.
Fishing for them is very cool and unique. The weather is very hot and really wears you down. The temperature hovers around 100 F with moderate humidity, but fishing hard in it all day long is borderline miserable somedays. But the things we tolerate for the chance at catching these amazing fish is part of the fun and challenge! Our guide Silvio is an elder in the local village. and a great guy and very knowledgeable about the river systems we are fishing. Navigating the big rapids and sandbars is no joke! Payara hang out at the base of large rapids and in very fast water, so that’s where you fish, and it’s very cool stuff. They drop you off at huge boulders in the middle of white water rapids, where you cast large plugs and wait for the slamming hits of the Payara. It’s a very cool way to fish them.
On most days, we stop by an island where a local village of indigenous people live, to pick up another local guide. It helps spur the local economy, and also helps the lodge as PR work. At first, the local tribes were not excited about people coming to fish their fishing grounds. But as this fishery grows, and they see the positive economic impact, they are growing more supportive of it. We would bring the children of the village candy, and they would all run down to greet us and get little bits of candy. It was a very cool part of the trip and really makes you think about our western lifestyles.
The next day we wake up at 6 am and meet at the long table for breakfast. There was 7 of us guests and Nick, the camp host, lead guide, and all around head dude there. Martha (a different Martha than earlier), is the camp chef. She brings out 2 delicious meals a day, mostly made with traditional Columbian foods. All the meals were very good and carefully prepared. After eating our breakfast and grabbing our gear, we hopped in the boats with our guides awaiting and head up river. After about 30-40 minutes up river, we are on the Payara grounds. We fished about 8 or 9 spots a day I would guess, casting big plugs around in the very fast water. Mike and I both had a few fish on, but nothing landed yet. After a long day of fishing in the heat, we headed back to camp hoping, the next day of fishing is a little more productive.
The next morning after breakfast, we head out with a new attitude, all refreshed and as optimistic as ever . Mike M gets a nice one right away and a couple more, but while we seem to be getting plenty of hits, we can’t close the deal. We all meet for lunch on a sandbar, which usually consisted of rice, beans, and protein. We did have fresh Payara one day, smoked over an open flame the traditional way of cooking it, and it was a very tasty, flaky, white meat fish. But as we talked to the other anglers, it seemed like most were doing better than we were. So, with the success of our buddies in our heads, we headed out more optimistic, but really with mostly the same results. Finally, I did land a smaller one at the end of the day. With the day done, we head back down river to camp, where we ate and relaxed for the evening before heading to bed in front of the fan, trying to cool down.
The next day the fishing seemed a bit better, but I was still having a rough time landing them, losing 4 right at my feet that morning. But then, as fishing does, after lunch my luck turned and I landed 4 Payara in a row, all between 5 and 10 pounds. Nothing big, but finally catching a few! All of our buddies were catching them as we struggled a bit, so it was nice to finally get some landed and join the fun. They are a great fish to fish for, and fight strong. They have very sharp, strong, long front teeth that really tear up some lures, but are very, very impressive. They jump and carry on, and use the strong currents to their advantage, making for a great fight. All in all, very fun to catch! Mike M finally landed the biggest fish of the trip so far at over 17 pounds, so we all thought maybe our luck was about to change as we prepared to head up to the Peacock Bass fishing grounds the next day.
We board the boats in the morning for the long journey up the Orinoco river to the Tomo river. The total journey was about 6 or 7 hours of solid travel by boat up the large rivers. We drove for about 3 hours then started fishing a few spots on the way up. I am not much of a bass fisherman, but fishing for peacocks that get up to 20 pounds is pretty fun fishing! Throwing large subsurface minnows and top water gear such a woodchoppers with big metal ‘fans’ on the back creates splash and noise to try to attract the large bass. This was a very fun way to fish, and we caught a handful of smaller peacock bass up to 3 pounds while we made our way upriver. We arrived at the jungle camp on the Tomo river around dusk and it was an amazing place! We slept in screened in tents with mosquito nets around the bed also. A bit rougher and more remote, with no internet or steady power, but a very comfortable and easy place to fish out of. One of the very nice things is they will do your laundry for you every day, so you always have clean clothes and towels for river temperature showers, which are refreshing and wonderful after the grueling heat of the day.
The next few days were very similar fishing for peacock bass, catching lots of bass ranging up to 4 pounds, but no big fish. We fished the river itself, but also lots of large lagoons. Some of the lagoons ranged around 60-80 acres, they were huge! Getting into these lagoons sometimes is quite the adventure. We drug the boat through very small inlets over branches and through the mud, while watching out for the very feared sting rays, which love to hang out are everywhere in the brackish dirty water. We fished so many cool places on this trip! While casting a chopper bait, Mike M had a huge fish blow up on his lure, a serious eruption that lasted only a second, as it immediately broke him off, but was very exciting and gave us hope to catch larger fish. The next day, as I was tying a new leader, Mike M lost two nice fish in two back-to-back casts. The guide lost one of them right at the boat and one of them being in his hands, we were soooo close to a respectable bass! Everyone else in camp had caught a handful of respectable peacock bass, ranging from 8-14 lbs, except us. This was getting very frustrating, as we are fishing hard and seemed to be doing the right stuff. We were doing the same thing as everyone else, but not in same spots, but we go where our guide takes us and do what we are told.
As we board the boat for the last day, the pressure is on and expectations are high, and we need to get a decent bass. I hooked a nice one around 6-8 pounds that got off right at the guides hand, and watched it swim away. We casted and casted thousands of times. Tight to mangroves, in little indents in the thick bushes, to out in the wide open shallows of the large lagoons, yet caught nothing but bass under 4 pounds. As the sun set, and the temperature faded to under 100, we were forced to head back to the lodge without accomplishing our goal of a respectable peacock bass that we traveled so far to catch. But that is fishing and why we do it. Nothing is ever guaranteed, and it’s about the chase, not the catch. Striving for the desired results is what keeps us coming back and chasing wild adventures a world away, and I wouldn’t change for that anything! As we get back, we are both in the ‘disappointed and don’t want to talk it about’ mood. We spent A LOT of money and time waiting for this and were hoping for better results, but as I said that is what keeps you coming back. We gave it 100% and then some, and I think our guide did also, just for whatever reason we couldn’t make it happen. As I type this on the plane on the way home, you go over it your head over and over about what you would do differently, and I can honestly say right now I would not have done anything differently.
At about 8 am we load in the 4x4s and start the bumpy, long journey back to Puerto Carreño. About 5 hours and 1 river crossing later, with the drivers acting like they are driving the Baja 1000, we arrive and have some lunch - delicious fresh catfish, fried. We load up again, take the short drive to the small airport with very strict security, and fly back to Bogota. Once we arrive, Martha greets us and takes us to the hotel where eat and sleep. Nice to be in air conditioned, comfy bed that you don’t need a mosquito net around (that works marginally good at best)! I got chewed up pretty good by the bugs. Every day at lunch during the trip, you eat and lay and siesta, and one of the days the bugs really got me good there.
We had a day to explore Bogata, so we took full advantage of it. We took a tour at the church on Mt Monserrate, walked around the city, and checked out all the areas we could. From the very seedy red light district to the upscale University area, and all in between. We ate Persian food at an amazing restaurant downtown, and had a great last meal in Columbia before heading back to the hotel for and early flight out the next day. We let Bogata and fly 5 hours to Atlanta, then a 5 hour layover, then off 5 more hours flying to Seattle, before driving over the mountain passes back to lovely, cold Eastern Washington.
All in all it was an amazing trip, catching Payara, Sardinata, Peacock Bass, Pirañas, and seeing things I have never seen before, a whole different side of the world that I have never seen. Adventures like this are what drives the soul. The loss of two good friends in the last six months has definitely been on my mind, so the only advice I would have is to just send it! Do the trips and catch the fish, explore like there is no tomorrow cause there may not be. RIP Sam and Jesse love ya!
