GEOBASS Season 2: Peacock Bass in Guyana by Costa Sunglasses

Debilitating illness, ticks in unsavory places and the interminable quest for elusive world record-sized peacock bass can just about summarize Costa’s GEOBASS exploration to Guyana.

In Guyana, the GEOBASS anglers – Thad Robison, Jay Johnson, Chris Owens and Brian Jill – find themselves up against the demanding elements only a remote rainforest can bring. Their quest for monster-sized peacock bass takes them 150 miles upriver in extremely low water, which requires them to drag their boats most of the way.
 
Robison almost has to be extracted out of the trip after suffering from an extreme stomach illness early in the adventure. “Trust me when I tell you being deep in the jungle when a stomach flu strikes is definitely not the place you want to be,” said Robison.
 
Along the way, the anglers encounter the incredible range of fish Guyana has to offer, including arawana, payara, butterfly peacock bass, and the prehistoric arapaima.
 
“This trip was probably one of the most physically demanding journeys we’ve had so far,” said Johnson. “Insect infestations, illness, low water, lost luggage, we weren’t sure if we were going to make it through. But the allure of fishing for those huge peacock bass kept pushing us forward.”
 
The team continues its around-the-world bass fishing exploration, next traveling to the most primitive and isolated Devils River section of Texas, one of the few ecologically intact rivers left in the United States.