Here is the first fish that I caught, a Granulosa catfish. I just left the bait out soaking for a while, and when I came back to check, he was on the line.

This is another catfish I caught later that evening. If all goes well, he will be a new addition to our aquarium at home. Once we identify the species I will update the post.

Prior to catching my first piranha I tried using this lure. It was bit clean in half, and you can see the teeth marks. However, it gave me the inspiration for the setup the finally worked.

This is the setup that finally worked for catching piranha. Originally I had the weight where the fishing line tied into the wire leader, but it kept getting snagged on debris in the river. So, I decided to put the weight right at the head of the bait fish (on the hook) so it could easily drop through the water and not get snagged. I also used a whole fish rather than chunks of bait and it worked very effectively (the shape of the lure that was bit in half was the motivation). As you can see, the wire leader got munched on, if it were only fishing line the fish certainly would have gotten away.

This is what happens when a piranha goes after your bait, and you don’t get the hook set. Not a pretty sight… notice the eyeball popped out.

FINALLY! Here is the first Red Belly Piranha I caught with the setup shown above. I wouldn’t be surprised it is was the same fish that bit the lure in half. You can’t tell from the picture, but I was experimenting with the weight right at the head of the bait fish, and had not gotten around to using a wire leader yet (so, I got lucky he didn’t cut the line). I was quite pleased with myself as the boat crew had been pulling them out of the water left and right earlier in the morning, and none of us guests had caught a single one.

A better view of the actual fish. I was surprised by how bright and rich the colors were.

Here’s another one that I caught. Not quite as big as the the others, but it’s always fun to bring one in.

Teeth!

Another catfish I caught. No idea what this is.

Another random catfish.

My first Black Belly Piranha. As I so keenly observed, they don’t actually have a black belly. Jen says they darken as they age.

Here is a close up of the Black Belly Piranha. This poor guy was large enough that he ended up on the dinner table. The rest of the piranha I caught went back to live another day.