Fishing in Villa Florida and the Tebicuary river: what you catch, the guided boat and where to stay

Villa Florida is not Ayolas or Paso de Patria: Brazilians do not come here for the dorado of a lifetime. Families from Asunción come, rod in the boot, at Easter and at weekends, to the white sand beaches of the Tebicuary. It is the traditional fishing getaway of Paraguayan families, which also makes it the easiest place to start: you arrive on tarmac, sleep at a campsite or a roadside hotel, and there is a guide with a boat who publishes his price.

What you catch in the Tebicuary

The guide lists four species for the area: golden dorado, surubí catfish, boga and tararira (wolf fish). It is the only area in the guide with tararira (wolf fish), with its season september to april, in lagoons and marshes, and the technique: topwater: walkers and frogs, also fly. The golden dorado season is year round outside the closed season; best from march to may and from august to october; the surubí catfish, year round (outside the closed season); from june to september it holds in the deep pools; the boga is fished all year outside the closed season, with corn and dough baits, light tackle.

What you will not read here is where the good hole is or what bait the Tebicuary surubí wants this week: the guide knows that, and it changes with the river. The Villa Florida gauge appears in today's river levels, but it goes long spells without reporting: check the date of the last reading before trusting the number.

The guided boat: what it costs

The only boat hire in the area with a published price is Alquiler de Embarcación Axel Benítez: an aluminium boat with a 15 HP engine, for five people including the guide. It leaves from Centú Cué or from below the bridge and goes upriver as far as the angler wants, on a 7 am to 5 pm day. The boat alone costs Gs. 350.000 per day and the guide Gs. 200.000, that is Gs. 550.000 per day with a guide; fuel and oil are on the client, though they also agree an all-inclusive flat price. Cristhian Benítez runs it, and besides fishing they do river outings.

If you bring your own boat, Hospedaje Rural Centu Cué has its own landing. And you bring your tackle ready: the guide has no tackle shop in Villa Florida; the nearest are in Asunción (tackle shops).

Where to stay: campsite, roadside hotel or a house for the group

• Hospedaje Rural Centu Cué, 8 km east of town, on the river: the classic. Running since 1960, it presents itself as the country's first rural hotel. Two thousand metres of white sand beach, cabins for five, camping with toilets, hot showers, barbecues, power hook-ups and a mini-market; no restaurant, so you cook. Camping at Gs. 30.000 per adult, 10.000 for children aged 5 to 10 and 50.000 per tent, paid once. Open Thursday to Sunday and holidays, 6 am to 10 pm, no pets. They promote sport fishing: no longlines or nets.
• Hotel Parador La Misionera, at km 160 of Route 1, 50 metres from the river and Paraíso beach: six rooms for fifteen people, and the area's fish restaurant, with surubí milanesa, romanita and chupín, plus barbecue Friday to Sunday.
• Hotel Playa, also at km 160, facing the beach.
• La Casa del Pescador VF: a whole house to rent, meant for groups of anglers.
• Parador Touring Club Tebicuary, at km 156: the Touring y Automóvil Club inn, with a dining room, camping area and tourist information. It is the place to ask.

The 6 places in the area, with direct contact and map, are in Villa Florida.

When to go, and when not to

The Tebicuary is inland water, with no border, and the MADES closed season treats it like the waters shared with Argentina: it starts in the first days of November and runs until December 20. In those weeks there is no fishing, not from the boat and not with a licence; only subsistence fishing from the bank remains, which is not the tourist's. MADES publishes the exact dates each year, and the month by month is in the month-by-month calendar. Outside the closed season the species set the calendar: tararira september to april, in lagoons and marshes, dorado in its best months and surubí concentrated in the holes from June to September.

The MADES sport fishing licence is required here too, as everywhere in the country, and you get it before travelling or at the San Juan regional office, the nearest: the licence step by step. Minimum sizes are those of Law 3556/08, dorado 70 cm, spotted surubí 85, boga 45: licence, closed season and sizes.

Frequently asked questions