Bucket List
Amazon Fishing Trips
Featured Amazon Fishing Trips
Explore our selection of bucket list fishing trips across the Amazon jungle.
Fishing the Amazon
Destination Overview
The Amazon is the largest freshwater river system on Earth, beginning high in the Peruvian Andes and running east across South America before reaching the Atlantic in Brazil. More than 3,000 fish species inhabit the wider basin, ranging from small tetras and piranhas to arapaima and catfish weighing hundreds of pounds. For anglers, that diversity is matched by an equally varied range of water.
Brazil contains the largest part of the Amazon and has the most developed fishing infrastructure for travelling anglers. Manaus is the main gateway to the northern Brazilian fisheries, particularly the Rio Negro and its tributaries. Farther south and east, rivers such as the Xingu and Iriri flow across ancient Brazilian Shield rock and run clear through much of the fishing season. Mamirauá, west of Manaus, adds a completely different floodplain fishery built around arapaima.
Understanding the water is important. The Rio Negro and many of its tributaries are blackwater systems stained dark by dissolved organic material. Peacock bass dominate much of this fishing, and most anglers traveling to this region will be after a giant Cichla temensis. Clearwater rivers such as the Xingu and Iriri have extensive rock, sand, rapids, pools and shallow flats, producing payara, wolffish, peacock bass, pacu, bicuda, matrinxã and catfish. Floodplain lakes and interconnected channels around Mamirauá are arapaima water.
Brazil is only part of the picture. The Amazon begins in Peru, while Bolivia’s Amazonian headwaters support a different fishery for golden dorado, pacu, yatorana and catfish. Colombia contains both Amazon and Orinoco drainages, something anglers need to understand when researching trips. Several well-known Colombian peacock bass and payara operations lie on the Vichada, Tomo and Guaviare systems, which drain into the Orinoco rather than the Amazon.
Guyana belongs to the wider Guiana Shield jungle-fishing region rather than the main Amazon River system, but its fisheries share many of the species anglers travel to the Amazon to catch. Rewa has become an established arapaima fishery and also holds peacock bass, payara, pacu, arowana, piranha and wolffish.
This geographical spread is why an “Amazon fishing trip” can mean very different things. One week might involve casting surface lures for peacock bass in tannin-stained lagoons. Another might be spent wading clear river margins for wolffish and pacu, fishing deep rapids for payara, waiting for an arapaima to roll in an oxbow lake, or setting heavy tackle for one of the enormous catfish that live in the main river channels.
Target Species & Fishing Style
Peacock Bass
Peacock’s are the fish most anglers connect with the Brazilian Amazon, and the upper Rio Negro is one of the key regions for trophy Cichla temensis. These are cichlids rather than true bass, with the largest temensis capable of exceeding 20 pounds. Fish approaching and exceeding that mark are a realistic trophy target on waters such as the Rio Negro, Marié, and Rio Curicuriari. Peacock bass fishing is active. Spinning anglers cast large poppers, walk-the-dog lures, stickbaits, jerkbaits and subsurface lures around lagoon mouths, submerged timber, beaches, points and current breaks. Fly anglers use large baitfish patterns, poppers and floating or intermediate tropical lines. Much of the appeal comes from the way peacock bass attack artificial lures and then immediately try to reach structure. The fishing changes with water level. When rivers fall, fish become concentrated in lagoons, channels, beaches and river margins rather than having access to kilometres of flooded forest. That relationship between falling water and fish concentration drives much of the Amazon’s fishing calendar.
Arapaima
Arapaima are the largest scaled freshwater fish in the world, with adult fish exceeding 200 pounds. Brazil’s Mamirauá Reserve protects a major population, while Guyana’s Rewa region has also developed a specialist catch-and-release fishery for them. Ecuador and Bolivia are also home to some incredible arapaima fisheries. They inhabit lakes, channels, lagoons and floodplain water rather than the fast main-river habitat used by species such as payara. Arapaima breathe atmospheric air and have to surface regularly, which allows anglers to locate individual fish when they roll. Much of the fishing resembles sight fishing even when the water itself is too coloured to see the entire fish. Fly tackle has opened arapaima fishing to travelling anglers, with heavy rods, large baitfish patterns and strong tackle required for mature fish. They can also be caught on conventional tackle where regulations permit. The take is only part of the challenge. Their size, heavy scales, hard mouth and ability to jump make landing a large arapaima a completely different experience from fighting a peacock bass.
Payara (Vampire Fish)
Payara, or vampire fish, occupy the faster side of the Amazon fishery. The Xingu is known for large fish, particularly where the river narrows into rapids, deep pools and current funnels. Fish over 20 pounds are serious specimens. Payara feed on other fish and use strong current exceptionally well. Fly anglers fish large streamers through deeper water, while spinning anglers can use jigs, soft plastics and hardbody lures depending on depth and flow. Their acceleration, jumps and long canine teeth make them one of the Amazon’s most recognisable predators. The Xingu fishery is particularly interesting because payara are only part of the day. The same river also holds peacock bass, wolffish, pacu, matrinxã, bicuda and several catfish species, allowing anglers to change species and technique as they move between rapids, flats, tributaries and backwaters.
Wolffish
Wolffish or trahira, are ambush predators that occupy shallow rocky water, tributaries and quiet margins in parts of the Amazon. The Xingu and Iriri offer some of the most visual fishing, with fish lying almost motionless against rock before attacking a lure or fly at close range. Fish from 10 to 25 pounds occur in these clearwater systems. They can be targeted on fly or spinning tackle, and the fishing can involve wading rather than spending the entire day in a boat. This makes clearwater Amazon fishing very different from the better-known lagoon fishing of the Rio Negro.
Piraiba, Jau and Redtail Catfish
The Amazon’s catfish are a fishery in their own right. Piraiba are the largest of the Amazon’s major predatory catfish. The IGFA all-tackle record is 341 pounds, while documented evidence places the species comfortably into the 400-pound class. They are long, powerful fish built for large rivers and strong current, and they have both the speed and endurance to make full use of that environment. Unlike peacock bass or payara, piraiba fishing revolves around heavy conventional tackle and natural bait. These fish inhabit major river channels where current, depth, submerged timber and sheer river size become part of the fight. This is big-river fishing rather than casting along a lagoon bank.
Jau are built differently. They favour deep rocky pools, rapids and broken riverbed where they can use boulders and cavities as cover. Fish in the 100 to 150-pound range have enough power to hold position in severe current or wedge themselves into rock. Redtail catfish are more widely distributed across northern South America. They have heavy heads, deep bodies and immense pulling strength, with top-end fish approaching 200 pounds. Redtails use moving water but hold around current breaks and structure rather than occupying the fastest rapids. Surubim and several other large catfish add further variety. Some will take artificial lures, but bait fishing remains the main way to deliberately target the larger Amazon catfish.
Pacu, Arowana, Bicuda and the Wider Species Mix
One of the best parts of fishing the Amazon is not knowing exactly what will eat next. Pacu inhabit rivers, floodplains and flooded forest and feed heavily on fruit, seeds and vegetation. In clearwater fisheries they can be sight fished with flies representing fruit, nuts and terrestrial food. Their deep body and powerful tail make even modest fish tough opponents on fly tackle. Arowana patrol quieter water and lagoon margins and readily take artificial flies. Bicuda occupy faster water and behave more like a freshwater barracuda, while matrinxã use current and take both baitfish and terrestrial imitations. Piranha, freshwater drum, surubim and several smaller peacock bass species fill out a species list that changes from river to river.
Amazon Fishing Regions
Brazil carries the greatest range of established travelling-anglers’ options. The upper Rio Negro is the trophy peacock bass fishery. Agua Boa adds clear-water sight fishing for peacock bass, arowana, pacu, payara and occasional arapaima. Xingu and Iriri are clearwater multi-species rivers for payara, wolffish, peacock bass, pacu and bicuda. Mamirauá is built around arapaima.
In the Bolivian Amazon, the fishing shifts toward freestone jungle rivers where the Andes meet the rainforest. Golden dorado become the major predator, supported by pacu, yatorana and catfish. The core Bolivian season runs from June through October. Peru forms the western headwaters of the Amazon itself. The main river begins in the Peruvian Andes before entering the lowlands and continuing towards Brazil. International fishing development is far smaller than in the Brazilian Amazon, but Peru remains an important part of the geography and freshwater ecosystem.
Colombia requires a little more geographical care. It contains Amazonian drainage, but many of the country’s best-known peacock bass, payara and catfish trips are actually in the Orinoco system. Rivers such as the Vichada and Guaviare should not be described as Amazon fisheries simply because they run through tropical jungle. The Guiana Shield adds another branch to the wider jungle-fishing picture. Guyana’s Rewa fishery targets arapaima alongside peacock bass, payara, pacu, arowana, piranha and wolffish. It shares much of the same fish fauna and rainforest environment despite sitting outside the main Amazon River drainage.
Best Time to Fish the Amazon
There is no single best month for the Amazon. Fishing is controlled by the flood cycle, and that cycle does not occur at the same time across the entire basin. A river can be reaching its lowest fishing level while another part of the Amazon is still high or beginning to rise.
On the upper Rio Negro, the dry-season peacock bass window runs from roughly September into February, with Rio Marié operating through the falling and low-water period. Lower water restricts fish to rivers, lagoons, beaches and channels and makes more of the system accessible to anglers. The Agua Boa season runs from November through April, showing how much the fishing calendar can shift even within northern Brazil.
The Xingu and Iriri fish during the dry season from late May into November. Payara become concentrated in the deeper sections as water falls, with September through November providing the key payara period. Kendjam’s Iriri season runs through the middle part of this wider dry-season window. At Mamirauá, the arapaima season runs from September through November as floodplain water drops and fish become concentrated in lakes and channels.
The Bolivian Amazon fishes from June through October, while Rewa in Guyana operates during October and November and again during February and March.
Who Amazon Fishing is For
The Amazon suits anglers who enjoy fishing for predators and who are comfortable changing techniques rather than spending an entire trip doing the same thing. Peacock bass trips involve long periods of casting surface and subsurface lures around structure. Payara fishing adds fast current and deeper water. Clearwater rivers such as the Xingu and Iriri suit anglers who enjoy wading and sight fishing as well as fishing from a boat. Arapaima trips require patience and concentration while searching for individual rolling fish.
Catfish trips are another category entirely. Piraiba, jau and large redtails suit anglers interested in heavy conventional fishing and the possibility of a fish weighing well over 100 pounds rather than constant lure casting. Fly anglers have access to peacock bass, arapaima, payara, wolffish, pacu, arowana and several smaller species. Spinning anglers can target many of the same predators with surface lures, jerkbaits, jigs and soft plastics, while heavy conventional tackle opens the door to the Amazon’s giant catfish.
The most important decision is not simply choosing the Amazon. It is deciding which version of the Amazon you want to fish: giant peacock bass in blackwater, arapaima in floodplain lakes, payara and wolffish in clear rivers, golden dorado in Bolivian headwaters, or giant catfish in the big river systems.
Have a destination, species, or adventure in mind? Get in touch with our team and let’s put together a custom trip built around the experience you’re chasing. Start planning the fishing trip of a lifetime.