In the Amazon, Everything Wants to Eat You

In The New York Times, James Prosek reports on a trip to the Agua Boa river, near the border between Brazil and southern Venezuela. “The peacock bass is notorious for taking flies and lures with brutal predatory focus, and once hooked is a relentless fighter. I soon learned that these were not like largemouth bass (they are not closely related) when I attempted to land a 14-pounder by hand. The sandpapery teeth and steel-trap jaws shredded my thumb. As I watched the blood cascade down my hand and wrist, I momentarily woke from my jet lag and realized I was in the Amazon.”