To begin your peacock bass adventure, you will fly from the U.S. to Manaus, 900 miles inside Brazil. Manaus, a modern megalopolis, is where the Rio Negro and the mighty Amazon River join forces. Home of the rubber plantation barons more than a century ago, Manaus boasts ornate mansions, the famous Teatro Amazonas opera house, an ironwork fish market and much more. But you're here for serious peacock bass fishing - on the Amazon Queen. Once on board this floating hotel, your adventure on the 4,000-mile long Amazon, its tributaries, lakes and lagoons truly begins.

The week ahead will take you both physically and mentally out of the world you have come from. We believe at the end of this trip you will have discovered and enjoyed much about this natural wonderland and perhaps rediscovered parts of yourself that may have been submerged in the workaday world.

We also think you will leave at week's end with a sense of exhilaration mixed with a feeling of regret at having to leave. Most of all, we hope you'll be drawn back here again and again.

Called "tucunare" in Portuguese, the peacock bass is a born ambusher and one of the most ferocious freshwater fish you'll find anywhere. Interestingly enough, the "bass" portion of the fish's name is a bit incorrect. Peacocks are actually members of the cichlid family.

Peacock bass come in several varieties, including speckled, black-barred, butterfly and royal. In our area of the Amazon, we see all of them except royal. The world record peacock (a 27-pounder caught by one our anglers) is speckled. These varieties range in color and size, but the behavior is pretty much the same - Mean! Aggressive! Territorial!

Acrobatic brawlers on a line, they snap 30-lb. monofilament like thread, straighten saltwater hooks, mangle lures and send rods home in more pieces than you came with. They are almost exclusively diurnal and aren't the least bit sun-shy, hitting most lures at the surface with explosive force. They're not too choosey about baits, but landing them is guaranteed to be one of the toughest freshwater fights you'll ever get in. You'll love every second of it.