Characin Pike

The local names for this fish are traira, trahira, guabino and in Peru fuasaco. Other English names for the creature are, mud characin, wolf fish, wolf tetra and tiger tetra.  The scientific name is Hoplias malabricus. Like the Cichlids and the Osteoglossidae, members of the Characin family are remnants of the original continental shift event.  The family includes the voracious predatory piranha the seed eating pacu and the more benign aquarium favorites, the tetras. In Africa the famous game fish, the tiger fish, with its mouth full of formidable teeth, is also a Characin.

 
The wolf fish has a passing resemblance to the North American Bowfin also perhaps to the Snake Head fish of the Far East and at a quick glance it may resemble that most ancient of sea fish the Coelacanth. This fish is a predator in the extreme, just a look at the powerful jaws and awesome razor sharp teeth will tell you this; it is more than possible that this fish has bitten more humans than the piranha. There are many tales of local river people who have lost fingers to this Characin whilst cleaning fish or their dinner plates at the riverside. When taken out of the water the jaws come together with an audible “clunk”, and as I do with piranha I always retrieve my fly from these vicious jaws with forceps or long nosed pliers.

 
It is not a question of once bitten twice shy, I had rather not be bitten at all thank you very much. The fish is an overall brown mottled colour and is excellently camouflaged in its habitat, for the fish lie in the shallows midst the detritus and mud waiting to pounce on anything that may resemble food as it passes it by and this can include the bare feet of a person wading through the shallows, as well as the more usual prey, such as fish, frogs, lizards and even small wading birds; all are fair game for this extreme of predators. The fins are also mottled and barred including the tail fin which is short and powerful.

 
Like other Amazonian fish, this Characin, has the ability to breathe air when the oxygen levels of the water becomes too low. The wolf fish can attain weights of up to 10 lbs; the best we have taken on fly have been around the 4 or 5lb mark. They come readily to a small streamer and a short length of wire trace is more or less essential if you don't want to lose your flies.

 
There is another species of wolf fish found in other parts of the Amazon drainage system especially parts of Venezuela, but not found on the Agua Boa waters, which is very much larger this is the trairoa also called in some areas aimara or aymara, in aquarist circles it is known as the black trahira .It's scientific name is Hoplias lacerdae and can attain weights of fifty pounds.

 
Having caught many of the smaller species I dread to think what a fifty pound trairoa would do to fly tackle, for even the traira gives a good account of itself on the fly, often leaping out of the water in an attempt to shake out the offending feathered hook.