VAMPIRES IN THE AMAZON

We were cruising up the Río Orinoco from Inírida in a 15-seat water taxi headed toward Tucunare Lodge, 107 miles away. The landscape was familiar: coffee-colored water, high sand banks with trees toppled by the annual 40-foot rise in water levels during the rainy season, and on top—jungle. On the east bank was Venezuela, on the west, Colombia. The midday heat was impressive even for a Floridian, but we were after one of the most incredible fish on the planet—the payara—so no one cared.

Tucunare Lodge is the only permanent lodge in this part of Colombia and one of the few places anglers can count on having shots at payara, a jungle creature that looks like a monster from a horror flick and is nicknamed “Vampire Fish.” The lodge exists thanks to an agreement between its founder, Alejandro Diaz, and the Sikuani indigenous community. The natives in this area live in