*Alex with a big Brazilian peacock bass.*

As I prepared to head to the Mato Grosso state of Brazil last September to chase wolffish (aka trairão), I craved information about how to catch them. Even though we were headed to a world-class lodge where all necessary tackle would be provided, I am a maximizer, and I wanted to make sure I would be reasonably well-informed from the start.

Unfortunately, I couldn’t find any domestic fishing colleagues who’d chased them, so I took a gamble and reached out to Alex Koike, the editor of Revista Pesca & Companhia, Brazil’s leading angling magazine. I didn’t know if he’d be willing to help, or whether he spoke English, but it turned out I didn’t have to worry about either of those factors. He was both fluent and extremely anxious to offer up his expertise – and when he learned that I write for Bassmaster his largemouth addiction kicked into high gear.

Since that time, we’ve developed a long-distance friendship, and he has tirelessly answered my questions. Like many Americans, I didn’t know much about Brazil, and for some reason my thoughts about the country’s fishing focused on peacock bass. That’s natural, because I’d been to the Rio Negro basin in 2011 and 2012 and fell in love with that exotic species. In reality, though, both the fishing and the country are much more diverse than that. It is the world’s fifth-largest country by area and sixth most populous, with over 200 million people. They are ethnically diverse and the country has a fascinating history.

All of my conversations with Alex have led me to one conclusion: I need to get back, ideally multiple times. Until that happens, here’s an interview with his thoughts on the Brazilian fishing scene.

Where were you raised and how did you end up in the fishing industry?

I was born and raised in São Paulo, one of the most populous cities in the world, the most important economic center in Brazil.

I started fishing around 5 years old at my maternal grandfather's little farm. In 1990, I started fishing with lures and every day my interest in fishing increased. I read everything I could at the time, followed the Brazilian fishing programs and those that were on ESPN, such as Walker´s Cay Chronicles, The Hunt for Big Fish, Spanish Fly and the Sportsman’s Challenge with Lonnie Stanley.

In 1994, I started using fly fishing tackle. At that time, fly fishing was a novelty in Brazil. Shortly afterwards I started to help at a fly fishing school. Around 1997 I was already participating in fishing fairs, and I was tying flies, teaching about fly fishing.

At that time I got to know some professionals in the market, who influenced me to study journalism in college. The Brazilian market did not have journalists who were anglers.

And in December 2000, I started as trainee at Pesca & Companhia magazine and since then I’ve worked at the magazine.

What type of content or species is your magazine’s specialty?

Pesca & Companhia is a monthly magazine that has been on the market for over 25 years, with more than 300 editions published.

In our editorial line we try to talk about fishing tourism in several fishing destinations in Brazil (and outside the country), we write about techniques to capture the different species of fish that we have in Brazil, about the news of the fishing market. For both fresh and saltwater.

Despite the wide variety of species we have here, we usually talk more about tucunaré, traíra, dorado and snook (which are caught with lures) and a little bit of piapara, pacu and tilápia (popular fish, easy to find and which are caught with grains like corn or the boilies used for carp).

Today, we have a website and we are also on social media. Among subscribers and people who buy the magazine in stores, we have about 10,000 readers.

What is your preferred species and favorite way to fish for them?

Currently it is largemouth bass. I enjoy learning techniques and details about their behavior, which I have then used for other Brazilian species. I like to use swimbaits (glide baits) and all variety of rubber jigs.

Most Americans who go to Brazil go to Rio for tourism, Sao Paolo or Brasilia for business, or Manaus to fish. Are there other easily accessible regions that have great fishing?

There are points relatively close to those places that you mentioned that have very interesting fisheries.

On the coast of São Paulo, we have a fishery for 20 pound snook using jig heads and shrimp lures. You won’t always catch fish that big, but in the proper season they tend to appear with a certain frequency.

About 260 km from Brasília, was Serra da Mesa reservoir, which is the best place for catching the tucunaré-azul (blue peacock bass).

About two hours and thirty minutes from Manaus is the Mutuca River where you can try to catch the great tucunarés-açus.

There are other places where you just need to get to the airport closest to the fishing lodge, that they pick you up with a van or car, journey up to two hours you are at the fishing lodge.

How has the peacock bass fishing in the Rio Negro region changed in recent years? Are there other areas that have better peacock bass fishing for size or numbers?

The number of tour operators has increased significantly, especially in the Barcelos region.

With respect to places that tend to have larger fish, the Santa Isabel do Rio Negro region is considered the best.

However, some changes are taking place in Brazilian law which will enable the sustainable exploitation of some reserves, limiting the number of tour operators that can access certain areas. The trend is that fishing will improve a lot.

Besides peacock bass, what other native species should Americans focus on when they visit your country?

Yes, there are a lot!

One that I love is the trairão, a prehistoric-looking, strong, violent fish that attacks many different kinds of lures. One of the best places to fish is at Rancho Serra do Cachimbo in the state of Mato Grosso, where it is possible to catch 30 to 50 fish in a day between 6 to 16 pounds.

Other awesome species are the cachorra (payara) and bicuda, which inhabit the rapids regions. They are very strong fish and attack lures well. They are more in the southern part of the Amazon region. Generally, in these places it is also possible to catch peacock bass and, depending on the season, the aruanã and will trairão. One of the most beautiful places for this is the Ecolodge that is in a region bordering the states of Amazonas, Pará and Mato Grosso. The region forms beautiful freshwater flats and it is possible to practice sight fishing.

But I would not say it’s just about different species – there are also other places to explore. One of them is the Pantanal, which is a region very rich in biodiversity. It is possible to see many animals there, even more than in the Amazon, in addition to having the golden dorado, one of the most beautiful fish on the planet.

Finally, there is the Araguaia, where it is possible to capture one of the largest catfish in the world, the piraíba - fish that can exceed 100 kg.

Your country is so big – are there still fisheries that have not been discovered?

I would say that there are not many undiscovered fishing spots, but there are underutilized ways to catch the fish, that's for sure. Here most anglers started using soft baits no more than 5 years ago.

Just last year, spinnerbaits started to become a craze for peacock bass. Many traíra anglers are starting to use chatterbaits. So, we have a lot to develop.

Who are some of the fishing celebrities over there?

Unlike the USA, we don't have big idols coming from tournaments.

The celebrities came from television programs and specialized magazines. Pesca & Companhia was one of the main parties responsible for trying to change this because before being a magazine, it was a fishing program too. The pioneer was Rubens de Almeida Prado, and at fishing fairs there would be long lines for an autograph or photo.

But today, perhaps the most popular is Nelson Nakamura. In the beginning, what caught everyone’s attention were his incredible casting skills like you saw from s and different ways of shooting like Hajime “Jim” Murata in Japan or Stan Fagerstrom in the USA.

What are some Brazilian brands of tackle that are as good as (or better) that US or Japanese gear?

We have four major brands that do a little of everything, like Bass Pro Shops. Their products range from simpler and cheaper materials up to some that are more sophisticated: Albatroz, Marine Sports, Maruri and Saint.

We also have an excellent rod brand which uses high-end components called Redai.

Besides them, some manufacturers of lure that have unique projects, such as Moro/Deconto. Another manufacturer is OCL, which makes wooden baits. They have a very good finish which is quite resistant to damage. I helped the brand to create a concept as well as develop some models and colors.

It seems that largemouth bass are becoming more popular in Brazil. Are there big tournaments? What are some of the best bass fisheries over there?

Although largemouth bass have existed in Brazil since 1920, they are considered an exotic species, and therefore they face some difficulties in Brazil. It disappeared from several reservoirs and even where bass still survive in many places the population has also decreased.

Many older anglers have stopped fishing for largemouth bass. However, little by little, new fishermen are getting to know the fish.

A feature that helps this popularization is the increasing popularity of fishing with soft plastics. Many anglers end up looking for bass in order to improve those skills. They want to learn new techniques to use for Brazilian fishes such as traíra and tucunaré, but end up loving bass fishing -- and that helps because some of them release bass in private properties, popularizing bass fishing.

Another fact that helps is that the peacock bass does not adapt well to the cold climate of southern Brazil. Therefore bass end up becoming the main species for fishing with lures. It is also for this reason that the states of Santa Catarina and Rio Grande do Sul, in the southern region, have the best fishing spots, but most are farm ponds.

For all these reasons, we have very few largemouth bass tournaments

Alex Koike fishing for largemouth bass in Brazil

What are some other popular species in Brazil that aren’t available in North America?

I would say pacu, tambaqui and the hybrid of their species is tambacu. They are raised in captivity and inhabit “pesque-pague” (“pay lakes” close to cities where people can fish all day and their families can often enjoy other amenities, such as a restaurant).

Another popular fish is piapara, which inhabits several rivers and is very strong for its size. Another very popular fish is traíra, as it is present in every Brazilian lake and river and attacks a wide variety of lures.

Where else in the world have you fished and for what?

I fished for dorados, piaparas and pacus in Argentina to report about them in the magazine.

What other international trips are on your wish list?

Highest on my list would be to experience big largemouth. I’d love to go to Mexico, Florida, Texas or California. And of course I’d like to visit the Biwa and Ikehara lakes in Japan.

I also want to fish for bonefish and tarpon with fly fishing equipment. Maybe another fishery would be giant trevally.

What are your goals for the future – for yourself and for your magazine?

This COVID pandemic period has not been easy. I believe that the magazine will migrate online more and more, which means that I’ll be working more on our web site and social media, as well as increasing the frequency of videos for the YouTube.

Pesca & Companhia is the strongest name when it comes to sportfishing in Brazil and has always been at the forefront. Along with this change, we’ll work to improve our fishing fair, helping to bring news to all of Brazil and to strengthen the fishing industry.

I hope to continue the work of promoting sport fishing in the best possible way. It is my goal to inform with credibility and responsibility and I always strive to bring the newest or different in the world to Brazil.

I also enjoy working on the development of fishing tackle. I dream of seeing something made or developed by me, a Brazilian angler, being used by fishermen from all over the world. I would also like to promote the country more abroad. I also plan to travel more and fish more, learn more to be able to inform and have more time for my family.