Where to fish in Asunción: the bay, Chaco'i, Itá Enramada and patí at night

In Asunción you can catch surubí catfish, patí catfish and tararira (wolf fish), and you can do it from the city: the Paraguay river skirts the centre, the bay and the southern neighbourhoods, and the Chaco lies on the far bank. There is no need to travel to Pilar or Ayolas and the Paraná Corridor for a day with a rod. What you have is a boatmen's association with more than four decades at the port, two fishing clubs based on the water, rental yachts with night trips and tackle shops where to buy live bait before heading down to the river. They are all in the guide, at Asunción and Chaco'i.

What you catch and when

The capital's fish is the patí catfish, a carnivorous catfish of deep, turbid water with moderate current that reaches a metre in length and feeds on the bottom. It is fished year round (outside the closed season), with bottom bait, dusk and night. The minimum size to keep one is 70 cm; anything shorter goes back. The surubí catfish also comes into the deep pools in front of the city, on live bait, and in the lagoons and marshes of the Chaco shore there is the tararira (wolf fish), a fish that hunts other fish and is caught september to April outside the closed season, in lagoons and marshes, with topwater: walkers and frogs, also fly. If you want golden dorado, the nearest place with dorado listed in the guide is Villeta and Ypeka'e, 65 kilometres downstream.

A calendar warning: the closed season starts in the first days of November and in Asunción, as on inland waters and on those shared with Argentina, it runs until December 20. Each species' months and closure are at the month-by-month calendar. And for any outing, with a boatman or from the shore, you need the MADES licence: the licence step by step.

Montevideo beach: the Chaco'i boatmen

The oldest and simplest way to go fishing from the capital. Lancheros Unidos de Chaco'i is the association that has crossed the bay for more than forty years (they celebrated 44 in 2022), with some twenty boats leaving from the port of Asunción, at Montevideo beach, next to Customs and the old port. They take up to 15 people and do fishing, trips through creeks and water hyacinths and birdwatching. Open from 6 to 18; the price is agreed on the spot. The phone is in the listing: they have no WhatsApp, you have to call.

Itá Enramada and the bay: the two clubs

The Asociación Paraguaya de Caza y Pesca is the historic institution of Paraguayan sport fishing and has its base on the river at Itá Enramada, the southernmost neighbourhood of Asunción (Av. Perón 4280). At the end of August it runs the 8 Horas de Santa Rosa: a boat contest from 8:30 to 16:30 with a course between the Itá Enramada port and the Yacht island up to the Hovy bank, five species with total release and camping for those who stay over. It is a good map of where the locals fish.

On the bay, in the Banco San Miguel neighbourhood, is the Club Nacional de Regatas El Mbiguá, founded in 1902 and licensed by Senatur. It runs two tournaments a year and hosted the Amigos de Pesca anniversary contest, which in August 2026 was fished in teams of three with five fish per species, all released. The boatmen also leave from its pontoon at Montevideo beach.

Across the river: Rancho Sajonia, in the Chaco

On the far bank, at Nanawa, Club Deportivo Sajonia has the Rancho Sajonia: 300 hectares on the Paraguay with two pontoons for mooring, a sheltered bay, a casting field, barbecue shelters and a canteen. It is the base of the Campeonato Metropolitano de Pesca, the metropolitan clubs' championship, and of its July anniversary contest, which in 2026 ran from the 9th to the 11th with three anglers per boat and a beach category for Gs. 50,000. The year's tournaments, month by month, at the tournaments.

At night, by yacht

The patí feeds from dusk onwards, and in Asunción there are boats that go out at that hour. Renta Tu Yate rents yachts for fishing or cruising for up to 15 people, with captain and crew, by day, afternoon and night, all year round; on board there is air conditioning, two cabins, a kitchen, a grill and coolers, and food is arranged separately. Rio Rental rents boats from Lambaré and is open 24 hours. One rule for the night: Law 3556/08 forbids using artificial light as a fishing aid (art. 36, j); the lights on board are for seeing, not for attracting fish.

Upstream: Remanso, Limpio and the Danubio

North of the city the river opens up. From Náutica Remanso, at Mariano Roque Alonso, the Travesía Asunción-Concepción sails aboard the Danubio, a 13 metre river boat built in Concepción with a stern deck for fishing: they do the five-day trip to Concepción in both directions, but also day and weekend trips and cruises around the bay, with a tender and limited fishing gear on board. Further up, from Limpio, Lobo Pe Ecoturismo Fluvial does river ecotourism with birdwatching and camping on the bank, from Gs. 350.000 per person for a half day.

Downstream: Villeta and Ypeka'e

65 kilometres from Asunción, on the river at Ypeka'e, Cabañas del Litoral has five houses, a fishing pier, a boat storage, boat rental and guides, from Gs. 400.000 for the weekend. It is the Villeta and Ypeka'e area, where besides surubí and patí there is dorado, and the shortest weekend trip from the capital with a bed at the water's edge.

Live bait and gear: the tackle shops

For patí and surubí the bait is bought live the same day. Chany Pesca sells it on San Estanislao near Artigas, in the Jara neighbourhood, along with fishing tackle. El Mohicano Camping y Pesca, at Avda. Fernando de la Mora 3274, has rods, reels, terminal tackle and life jackets plus everything for camping, Monday to Saturday. Chaco Outdoors, on Palo Santo in the north of the city, is a hunting, fishing and camping store with its head office in Loma Plata. The guide's tackle shops are listed with address and hours. One thing for those who rig lures: each lure carries a single treble hook (art. 36, k); the rest of the rules, at licence, closed season and sizes.

Frequently asked questions