The golden dorado (Salminus brasiliensis) is the fish that brings anglers from other countries to Paraguay. It fights on the surface, it jumps, and once hooked it runs. None of that makes it easy to find: the rivers are big, the season is split by the closed season, and where you step onto the boat matters more than the gear you bring.
This is the basic information to plan the trip, with the data we can back up. What we do not know, we say.
When you can fish
The golden dorado season in Paraguay: year round outside the closed season; best from March to May and from August to October. But there is one thing worth understanding before you buy a ticket: the closed season splits the season 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 every year, so confirm them at mades.gov.py before booking.
This is what confuses people most: November sounds like the height of the dorado season, and in Paraguay it falls inside the closed season. Fishing during the closed season carries a penalty. Fine of 3,001 to 20,000 minimum daily wages, today Gs. 351 to 2,342 million.
In practice that leaves two strong windows: August, September and October, before the closed season starts, and March to May, with the water already dropping. In between, dorado can still be fished once the closed season ends, between late December and January depending on the river, but with the summer heat on top. We built a page for each month with what is allowed and what is not: the month-by-month calendar.
Where
Golden dorado shows up in 11 of the guide's 12 fishing areas, across three river systems: the Paraná, the Paraguay river and the Tebicuary.
- On the Paraná, the corridor from Ayolas to Encarnación, and further south Cerrito and Paso de Patria, where the Paraná meets the Paraguay.
- On the Paraguay river, from Pilar and Villeta up to Concepción, Vallemí and the Pantanal at Bahía Negra, in the far north.
- On the Tebicuary, Villa Florida, the classic stop on Route 1 and the closest to Asunción.
Which one suits you depends on how many days you have and where you enter the country. Each area has its own page with who operates there: the fishing areas.
What to fish with
The three techniques used for golden dorado are spinning with lures, fly and trolling. A local guide sorts out the gear, and that is the main reason to hire one the first time: not for the gear, but because a guide knows how to read the river on the day.
We are not going to recommend a lure or a line weight from here. That changes with the river, the water level and the time of year, and whoever takes you out knows it better than we do.
The licence and the rules
Fishing in Paraguayan waters requires a current MADES licence. Foreign anglers get the special licence for foreign visitors and register in the National Fishers Registry: see the licence step by step. MADES does not publish the cost of that licence. If you are going with a lodge or a guide, ask when booking whether they arrange it. Fishing without a licence carries a penalty. Fine of 30 to 500 minimum daily wages (Law 3556/08, art. 50), today Gs. 3.5 to 58.5 million.
The other rule that always applies is the minimum size. For golden dorado it is 70 cm nationwide (Law 3556/08); on the stretches of the Paraná and the Paraguay river shared with Argentina, the binational regulation asks for 75 cm, and the larger one applies. Anything below goes back in the water.
Above the size limit, Law 3556/08 leaves the choice to you: release the dorado or keep it for personal consumption, never sell it (art. 19). Foreign anglers have a written limit: Res. SEAM 650/13 lets them take home as trophies a single dorado or surubí, plus up to two other fish. Releasing it even above the size limit is each angler's decision, and it is the one that looks after the species.
How to choose where to go
The guide lists 119 verified places, among lodges, guesthouses, guides and boats, each with its direct contact. We charge no commission and do not handle bookings: the deal is between you and whoever takes you out.
If it is your first time, the simplest approach is to look at the area, see who operates there and write to two or three of them to compare what the trip includes. The differences are usually in whether the boat and the guide are included, how many days it is and which meals are covered.