 I call him the “fish eagle” because he uses Google Earth to fly over the Loreto landscape looking for oxbow lakes tucked away in out of the way, then coordinates with local maps and finally hikes through the jungle with an old spinning rod and some well used lures to find a pond loaded with fighting fish. “I look for places that nobody else fishes,” says Ciro. “Places where the commercial fishermen don’t set their nets and natives protect the fish. It took the Fish Eagle a long time, but he finally convinced some native communities that they are better off conserving their valuable game species, rather than harvesting them for sale in local markets. I traveled with the Fish Eagle to one of his favorite spots, which was ironically, a ten sole motorcar ride from Mad Mick’s Bunkhouse. We arrived at the secret spot, a private lake, and Ciro, quietly made arrangements with the owner for us to fish for the fierce Pacu, which Ciro pointed out is a “first cousin” of the Piranha. On the second cast, I hooked into one using a mini-rapala and ultra-light tackle. It felt like a tarpon. The next day, Ciro took me to the Nanay River, where we rented a boat and headed up to a deep hole on the cutting edge of the river. Dropping a piece of chicken straight down, I soon felt a strong tug and a good frying size strangely looking catfish finally struggled to the surface.   “They didn’t catch anything,” said a smiling old man sitting in his house near the lake.” The he said, “maybe they should have brought the “Fish Eagle” along.” |