Jennifer and Jason Schall are recognized for catching record-breaking fish. In August 2021, Subject & Stream reported on a visit the couple took to the Trinity River in Texas by which they caught 13 line class IGFA world report gar. Final fall, they did it once more—this time in a particularly distant location. On an epic fishing journey to the Amazon, the duo caught 9 potential world-record fish.
The Schalls had lengthy had the Amazon of their sights, however they by no means went by means of with a visit till lately. “It has been a bucket record journey for us for a very long time,” Jason tells Subject & Stream. “So far as locations you possibly can go the place you possibly can solid to some huge, iconic species in a spot that’s stunning with out being too crowded, this was it. Final summer time, we simply lastly determined to start out planning to do it.”
The Schalls used an clothing store referred to as Fish Columbia. On October 28, they flew into Bogotá. The following day concerned a further full day’s journey, together with an 8-hour drive adopted by a 9-hour boat trip to get to camp. Then, the enjoyable started.
The Schalls want fishing with synthetic lures—and didn’t use any dwell bait throughout the 2-week-long journey. They introduced their very own gear with them and say they “solely introduced garments to pad their fishing sort out.” They rapidly discovered what sort of lures would work and what wouldn’t.
“It was type of humorous as a result of if you happen to solid a gentle plastic, by the point you reel it in, you’re left with nothing,” says Jason. “All the things within the Amazon has enamel and assaults something it could actually. We discovered the laborious manner that gentle plastics weren’t the easiest way to go. We primarily used laborious, synthetic lures in your typical cast-and-retrieve model.”
Catching 9 Potential World Data
Over the following ten days, the couple managed to land quite a few actually spectacular catches, and several other of them stand to make the report books. Jennifer caught 5 pending IGFA world information, together with a 17-inch all-tackle size report matrincha and a 10-pound, 8-ounce payara for the 8-pound ladies’s line class report. Jason reeled in 4 potential IGFA line-class information, together with a whopper 15-pound, 6-ounce speckled peacock bass for the 30-pound males’s line class report.
“Essentially the most thrilling fish for me to catch was the payara or vampire fish,” Jennifer advised Subject & Stream. “That was fairly thrilling—they struggle effectively, explode in your bait, and when you see them in particular person, they’re simply stunning. The enamel had been wonderful.”
“One other enjoyable fish was the sardinata, which seems an terrible lot like a shad,” she provides. “The one I caught was by far one of many greatest that our guides had ever seen. They soar a lot, they’re like little tarpon. We misplaced a number of that manner, however this one was fairly particular.”
In the meantime, Jason mentioned his favourite species to catch was one he’d lengthy had his eye on. “One fish that wasn’t a report however that was particular for me was a piranha,” he says. “You realize, a piranha is an iconic, horror-movie fish. There usually are not many locations you possibly can catch these notorious fish—and I used to be capable of catch three completely different species of them.”
Jason can also be particularly happy with the large peacock bass he boated. “I’ve caught them in a number of completely different locations, however the greatest one I’d ever caught earlier than this journey was round 7 kilos,” he says. This time, we had been in the appropriate place to do it. I caught a number of between 15 and 20 kilos. I used to be so thrilled.”
All in all, the couple says the journey went easily. “We didn’t notice how simply issues may have gone incorrect, or how harmful it may have been,” says Jason. “We returned simply nice, however each day, we had been encountering one thing that might’ve gone unhealthy, whether or not it was a venomous scorpion crawling throughout our ft, getting sick, or one thing else. And we had been most likely not less than a day away from a hospital.”
“The rewards had been fairly distinctive,” he provides. “Day-after-day we fished, there have been monkeys swinging by means of the bushes, parrots throughout, and large bugs and amphibians that you simply’d by no means see,” says Jason. “It’s simply one thing you possibly can’t expertise anyplace else.”
A Journey to Bear in mind
For each Jason and Jennifer, who maintain dozens of IGFA information, the potential information they nabbed on the journey to the Amazon have particular significance. “These would be the first IGFA information that I used to be capable of obtain outdoors of the U.S.,” says Jennifer. “So far as species go, they’re all distinctive from what we will fish for close to residence. This could be the one time I’ll have world information for these species.”
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“This was a very tough location to get to,” provides Jason. “It’s not one thing one can do usually, and we’re unsure we’ll ever be capable of do it once more. You type of get one shot at it, and it’s important to determine the place the fish are, the right way to catch them, after which the right way to goal the most important ones. I beloved that problem.”
