Piranha Fishing in the Amazon

After arriving by canoe to the lodge in the Amazon, our group had the chance to experience “being one with nature” by piranha fishing in the river. I had never been fishing in America, let alone in the Amazon! Luckily, my canoe had Christopher who was the main tour guide of the area and was incredibly skilled at fishing, hunting, and carving spoons out of wood. My fishing team also included Dominique, Yani, Tauan, Murillo, and Jeffrey. A few members took the responsibility of rowing us across the river and into the flooded forest inhabited by the feisty piranhas. About 10 minutes into our adventure, rain poured down on us, but Dominique was wise to bring a poncho; she stated, “I came prepared, and I’m not getting my ear wet!” Christopher found a suitable spot for us to start fishing, and the rods were nothing I had seen before. They were constructed only from a long piece of wood, the fishing line, and a hook, and raw chicken was used as bait. Yani was enthused for this experience since she had never fished before. However, her excitement quickly turned into frustration and disappointment when she realized that none of the piranhas tried her bait. “Ay, none of the fish like me,” she said. Fortunately for Jeffrey, he had plenty of luck with catching piranhas; he successfully caught one and almost captured another two. Christopher, of course, was the first person to successfully catch a piranha. For the rest of us, we spent much time patiently waiting for fish only to find that they ate the chicken and avoided the hook! Murillo stated, “look, they took my chicken!” and revealed a silver, baitless hook which previously had a large chunk of meat. After an hour, we rowed back to the lodge with the three fish that Christopher and Jeffrey caught and ate the fish for dinner that evening. Although piranha fishing took a significant amount of patience and concentration, the experience was well worth it!