In early December of 2003 I took seven people down to the Unini River lodge lower camp. Right off the bat things went as planned and the twin-engine turbine powered Bonderoni was waiting for us and not the other way around. A one-hour flight ended with a dirt strip and a short walk to the camp.
The Unini Explorer is actually a barge with 5 rooms, each with a set of bunk beds and it's own shower. The entire barge was air-conditioned the whole time while we were on it. The lounge/dinning room in the front was adequate. The one thing that got annoying was the sound and spell of the generator just up the hill from the floating barge. Oh what a difference moving it a few hundred feet away would have been. The owner says it is in the works.
The upper camp locateed about one hour up river, is the next generation camp with all of the errors of the lower camp corrected. The rooms are just about perfect, no bunk beds, not to small, not to big but the generator is still close by. The upper camp is highly mobile while the lower camp is there to stay.
Without a doubt the fishing on the Unini is about as good as it gets, if not the best, WHEN WATER CONDITIONS ARE OPTIMAL !!!!!!! No one knows just exactly why, but the fish on the Unini run consistently larger than just about anywhere else. Part of the reason may be that other locations, that once used to have a large number of fish 10 pounds or larger, have been hammered to death and their best days are behind them. (Most fixed base lodges on the Rio Negro River are a classic example of this.) The Unini only has space for 8 to a camp so the chance of it being ruined is greatly lessoned if proper management continues.
In all we had over 200 fish caught, in the boat, that weighed 10 pounds or more with quite a few over 20 pounds. We gave up counting the overall quantity as more and more anglers went big fish hunting in leui of catching numbers. Everybody on the trip caught a new personal record for Peacock Bass! A first for any trip.
The food was more than adequate and the laundry service and other amenities were as good as we have seen in the Amazon Jungle. The only two major draw backs were the close proximity of the generator and the configuration of the fishing boats. The fishing boats were adequate for the person up front but the second angler was tightly confined in the middle. With all of that said, both of these have been, or are going to be, corrected in the very near future for the 2003/2004 season.
One thing in all fairness to this camp and some others is the issue of air condition. In order to attract American clientele, most operators bend over back wards to provide air condition. I have yet to see an operation where the air condition was worth the effort to turn it on. On the barge it is good for freezing the guy on the bottom bunk while the guy on the top is just about perfect. Truth is, just turn the thing off after the sun goes down and open the door. Most camps are like this, they have AC, but it is in name only for the most part, as long as adequate ventilation is provided.
Worldwide Angling is planning on going back in November 2004 when the water levels should be just about perfect. If we thought that the Unini was not worth the effort we would not bother but we do feel that it is worth the effort and will return.
Dave Caywood 2004
