Payara

The payara is yet another predatory Characin fish that can be found in many Amazon Rivers. This is the most fearsome looking fish you are likely to encounter with two large fangs protruding upwards from its bottom jaws, teeth that slot into the upper jaw when it closes its mouth.

The scientific name for this awesome fish is   Hydrolycus scomberoides   this is the species generally quoted in all the fishing references, however there appears to be five other closely allied species namely   H. tatauaia H. aramatus, H. wallacei and one with the scientific name Raphiodon vulpinus they all look very much alike with  fang like teeth, what taxonomic differences there are between the species I do not know but H. scomberoides is the largest of all. It has a number of local and English names, the first is peixe cachorro (also used for the species Acestrorhynchus sp).

The fish is also known as payara in Venezuela/Brazil, chambira or chambra in Peru, another name given is pirandira, and in Colombia it is called machete. English names include wolf fish, saber toothed tiger fish, saber toothed dog fish, vampire fish and just plain dog fish. The fish can grow to about 36 inches or more and attain weights of around 25- 30lbs. It is a small scaled fish with a body reminiscent of the African tiger fish; it has an upright dorsal fin fringed with a black bar this barring also occurs on the anal and caudal fin, this tail fin also has a further light edge to it. The fish has a preference for fast flowing boulder strewn water with plenty of obstructions. The fish lie in wait behind such structures to ambush small fish.

We do not have many payara on the Agua Boa waters but they do turn up from time to time. One of the best rivers for the payara appears to be at Uriama Falls on the Rio Paragua in Venezuela, judging from the catch reports that I have read. As far as tackle is concerned I would use the same equipment as used for peacock bass with the addition of a small length of wire tippet and personally I would not use any rod lighter than a 10 weight, and using floating and sink tip lines as the occasion arises. As for flies, 4-6 inch streamers would be the order of the day especially those with plenty of flash and glitter in the wing.