Wolffish (Hoplias aimara)

When:         September 2023

Where:        Iriri River, Kendjam Lodge, Kayapo Territory, Amazonas, Brazil

I went down to Brazil and on the Iriri River during the dry (dryer) season, so the water levels were much lower than normal and sight casting was possible. I was lucky to catch 5 Wolfs during the week and every catch was a hoot. They are strong fish, hit hard and they are a really unique species.  

The You Tube video below is from the smallest one I caught.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rfZhvcytJYA

This was probably the largest:

Larger Wolf

Another decent sized one:

They are a muscled fish with a strong jaw and dog like teeth:

On the Bottom

And on Top

The structure of their teeth and jaw allows them to not only bite quite hard, but also because of their interior teeth, and structure of their lower and middle of their mouth, really hold on and not let go – hence why they are “dog like”. Their teeth simply will not let prey get away. You don’t want one latched onto your arm or wrist after you have netted it and are looking for that perfect picture. Go slow.

It’s an angry looking fish with a mean spirit to it. You can see why it’s both a great predator of other fish as well as an opportunistic fish that will eat whatever falls into the water (frogs, small turtles, baby caiman, etc.). It won’t attack a human (despite rumors), but it will give you a nasty bite if not handled correctly or you foolishly step right in front of it.

We saw ones which ranged from a lighter brown to almost black/dark/dark brown color. They can be very hard to see because they can lay very still. When they don’t move, it’s like seeing a shadowy rock.

They have a unique aspect to them in that they can breathe air. Sometimes, when it was quiet in the jungle and on the water, you might hear a “gulp” sound and it was one of them coming up for air. Because of this ability to breathe air, they are very well adapted to the area we were fishing in the dry season as they can live in smaller pools of water when the water levels fall on the main river.

Found throughout Central and Latin America, they are a major bucket fish for a lot of fly fisherman.

Fishing for them requires strong wire leaders and pliers for removal. They are a fish that will seem really calm when netted and in your hands; but then they will react in a way you don’t want - so be careful handling them! Pliers are a must and go slow.

In normal conditions, they will hang out in the underbrush near shore waiting to ambush other prey. But as I mentioned above, during the dry season, they can be found in smaller lakes or pools off the river. On one day, we spent probably 2 hours walking through the jungle following a small stream to get to a lake where we had heard there were a few but when we got there, we couldn’t find them. It’s a beautiful thing walking along a small stream in the jungle, listening to the sounds, really watching where you step and what you touch and looking and hunting at the same time for a very specific fish. The sounds were incredible from the trees to the bees, to the water. Beautiful.