The staff of Worldwide Angling were among the first to fish the new Rio Urariquera Lodge. After an all night flight, quickly followed by a two-hour flight in a U.S. made Piper Navajo, we had breakfast followed by a four-hour bus ride to the camp. While this was by far the hardest part of the journey, plans are already in the works to have the Navajo fly directly to the camp and thus arrive 5 hours earlier!

Most went fishing on the first day despite the long night and morning before. For most of us it was the first time we had been in a boat going up the rapids. The guides of course did it every day but the group was at first abit startled and thus were more than wide-awake that first day.

The fishing for Payara was up to everybody’s expectation. For most it was their first Payara and for one person with a 90210 zip code it was his first trip south of Miami! We came prepared with a lure list that included everything and I do mean everything. One unscrupulous tackle supplier sold everybody on the trip, self included, a 12-inch lure called “The Parrot”! We could not figure out what this thing was good for other than the seller having a good laugh on us and as such a new elite society was born called the “I bought the F#&king Parrot society.”

The, I Bought The F#&king Parrot Society, will meet once a year and the highlight of the next meeting will be the stringing up of a fishing tackle salesman (you know who you are) over a fire ant mound. A strong turn out is expected. Get your reservations in early.

At first glance it looked as if the accommodations were going to be abit, how do you say, Spartan? In fact they were not. Sitting on a white sand beech nestled amongst the ficas were five very well appointed tents with internal frames. Superbly ventilated and vacuumed each morning for sand these were among some of the nicer accommodations I have found in the Amazon region. The only thing missing was an extra blanket as it was quite cool at night.

The weather could not have been better. Most of my experiences in the jungle has been very hot and humid. The Rio Urariquera was in fact extremely pleasant. A cool breeze seemed to be present at all times and made the day go by almost to fast. Several fellow anglers found themselves fishing for fish other than Payara. Pacu quickly gained fame after one angler had his reel striped out. In all 6 rods were broken including one salt-water rod that a catfish bent almost 45 degrees at the reel seat. The catfish was estimated to weigh over 200 pounds!

Dinner was as punctual as it was good. We found the owners stash of wine and liberated a few of the better years, (he is related to the Parrot salesman), so we were without guilt.

All in all the acid test of whether the group would go back again is an undeniable: yes, especially if an airstrip can be found close by. The Parrot salesman’s brother tells me there is one close by that he is working on it. WWA has signed up for next year with some of the original cast plus some new faces. Boats in by 4pm, dinner is at 7, bring your own F#&king Parrot.

Dave Caywood, Feb. 2004