The Paraná is not an even river. Between the point where it takes in the Paraguay river and the reservoirs upstream, its width, depth and current change, and with them what is caught and how. This guide covers the Paraguayan stretch: 5 of the 12 fishing areas we list are on the Paraná.
The areas, from the confluence upstream
- Paso de Patria, at the confluence, where the Paraguay river flows into the Paraná. 7 places listed. Species: golden dorado, surubí catfish, pacú and boga.
- Cerrito, on the Paraná, across from Yahapé. 10 places. Species: golden dorado, surubí catfish, pacú and boga.
- Ayolas and the Paraná Corridor, the area with the most on offer in the guide. 24 places. Species: golden dorado, surubí catfish, pacú, boga and pirá pytá.
- Encarnación and San Cosme, already on the reservoir. 8 places. Species: golden dorado, surubí catfish, pacú and boga.
- Ciudad del Este, on the Itaipú reservoir and the triple border. 4 places. Species: golden dorado, surubí catfish, pacú and boga.
The guide's other areas are on the Paraguay river, the Tebicuary and the northern rivers. All of them together, with the map, in the fishing areas.
What is caught
Golden dorado is the fish that brings anglers from other countries. Its season: year round outside the closed season; best from March to May and from August to October. The surubí season: year round (outside the closed season); from June to September it holds in the deep pools. The guide has profiles of 8 species in total, with the season and technique for each: the species.
Which fish you find in which area is not the same along the river, which is why it is listed area by area instead of in a single general list.
The closed season splits the year in two
Every year MADES, the environment ministry, decrees a closed season for sport and commercial fishing during spawning, and it starts in the first days of November. In waters shared with Argentina it runs until December 20; in waters shared with Brazil, until January 31 of the following year. The exact dates change, so confirm them at mades.gov.py before booking.
This is what confuses visitors most: November sounds like the height of the season and it falls inside the closed season. Fishing in it carries a penalty. Fine of 3,001 to 20,000 minimum daily wages, today Gs. 351 to 2,342 million.
The detail for each month is in the month-by-month calendar.
The other bank
Much of the Paraná has Argentina on the other side, and the fish does not recognise the border, but the rules do. The Paraguayan MADES licence is not valid in Argentine waters, and the Corrientes regulations are set by the Dirección de Recursos Naturales, which changes them several times a year: check recnaturalesctes.gob.ar.
Two cases where that becomes concrete are told separately: Ayolas, Ituzaingó and the Yacyretá crossing, and why Paso de Patria and Paso de la Patria are two different towns. For the Corrientes side there is Iberá Experience, the guide to that province.
Before you go
You need the MADES licence, which for foreign anglers is a special licence for visitors (the licence step by step), and there are minimum sizes: golden dorado 70 cm nationwide and 75 cm on the stretch shared with Argentina, where the binational regulation also applies and the larger one rules; surubí 85 cm. Anything below goes back in the water. All of it in detail, with the fines, on the licence, closed season and sizes page.
The guide has 119 verified places in total, each with its source.