Piranhas are often portrayed as the protagonists in modern works of fiction. And the opportunity to not only see a piranha in the wild, but to catch one, peaks the interest of most visitors to the Peruvian Amazon.
So, it’s worth discussing here the different species of piranha and where to find the best piranha fishing opportunities in Peru. Not all piranha fishing tours are the same. And not all of the tours will enable you to catch the same species.
Piranha fishing in Puerto Maldonado
Where to try fishing for Piranha in Puerto Maldonado?
You have 2 main types of tours when it comes to fishing for piranha in Puerto Maldonado. There’s combined tours that are primarily a visit to one of the oxbow lakes. Where piranha fishing is secondary.
Then there’s the dedicated fishing tours. On a dedicated fishing tour you will still see the oxbow lakes and the wildlife like caiman, monkeys and macaws. But the fishing is taken more seriously and the fishing is the primary focus.
Dedicated fishing tours can also be multi-day tours and they can involve camping out in the Amazon rainforest. These are the type of tours that I myself opt for when I’m in Puerto Maldonado because I’m a keen angler. And sport fishing in Tambopata is one of the reasons I chose to live in Peru as an expat.
What to combine a Piranha fishing tour with!
The most popular piranha fishing tours taken by tourists visiting the amazon in Puerto Maldonado are combination tours. They combine a visit to Lago Yacumama with piranha fishing. For the average non-fishing enthusiast, 3 hours of fishing for piranha is often enough to satiate their curiosity.
Now, there are literally dozens of combination tours claiming basically everything under the sun and showing images of huge red bellied Piranha. But in reality, on a combination tour you’ll be using traditional cane rods and fishing for yellow bellied or silver dollar piranha. And you’ll be limited to Lago Yacumama.
Tours claiming to fish for piranha in Lake Sandoval or showing images of large red bellied piranha should be ignored. Fishing is prohibited in Lake Sandoval.
And in Lago Yacumama, you’ll find that basically everything you catch are yellow bellied or silver dollar piranha. Not the very big red-bellied piranha. The big red-bellied piranha you’ll only see on a dedicated fishing tour.
A 3 hour sunrise or sunset (not midday) fishing tour in Lago Yacumama will allow you to see not only piranha, but caiman and hundreds of chestnut-fronted macaws. Plus, it has one of the nicest sunrise and sunset vistas in Puerto Maldonado.
Travel tip: If you’re visiting during the rainy summer season, do carry a rain poncho with you on the tour. And on any other tour that you take in the Amazon.
The best piranha fishing tour in Puerto Maldonado
Now, with a dedicated fishing tour you’ll not only catch large red-bellied piranha, but many other species too. You could catch anything from a piranha to a prehistoric ripsaw catfish or even, a 6 foot arapaima in the oxbow lakes.
Dedicated fishing tours will allow you to target any species you choose. But for Piranha, you need still blackwater. And this is found in the many oxbow lakes in Tambopata.
An oxbow lake is a former main section of the river that has been cut off as the river diverted. In Tambopata, there are many oxbow lakes along the full length of the Madre de Dios river. But not all of them contain the same species.
Both Lake Sandoval and Lago Yacumama are oxbow lakes. Fishing is prohibited in Lake Sandoval. And in Yacumama there are no large piranha. Yet, even if there was large piranha in Yacumama, you would not land one with the traditional cane rods.
Proper sport fishing tours of between 1 to 5 full days, will supply all the fishing gear and necessary equipment. Plus, they will give you access to areas of the rainforest that other tourists never experience. And you can tailor them to your own preferences!
If you want to visit ‘monkey island‘ and feed a monkey along the way, you can. If you want to go night spotting for caiman, and watch as Marco tries to crash tackle one, you can!
My prefered tour guides for sport fishing in the Peruvian amazon are Marco from Bloody Bueno Peru and Percy from Tambopata Pesca y Aventura. Marco speaks fluent english and Percy speaks spanish but is the better fisherman!
Fishing tip: If you’re taking a sport fishing tour the fishing gear is supplied. And you need to specify whether you prefer your reel to have left or right handed operation in advance. All reels are left-handed in Peru, unless you specify otherwise in advance.
How big do the Piranha get in Puerto Maldonado?
On a combination fishing tour in Lago Yacumama, you won’t see anything bigger than about 6 inches (15cm). With an average size of 4 inches (10cm-12cm) But even then, that’s enough to liberate a finger or toe.
So do be careful if you’re going to be handling them. Or, better yet, let the guide handle the fish and bait. And don’t travel anywhere in the Peruvian amazon without travel insurance. Everything is hostile in the amazon.
On a dedicated sport fishing tour, you can expect to see piranha up to about 20 inches (50cm). And you will see the larger black species of caiman that can grow up to 5 meters. You could even catch an arapaima that tops 80 inches (2 meters).
Basically, if you’re going on a dedicated sport fishing tour in Tambopata, everything is bigger. And not a just a little bigger, everything is much bigger.
Is Piranha fishing in Puerto Maldonado fun?
Heck yes! Even on a sport fishing tour targeting other species, the piranha are often the bait. So you go and catch them first. And it’s heaps of fun flicking for all manner of species with the cane rods.
It’s particularly fun if it’s your first encounter with piranha. And you get to see just how easily they can bite through all manner of twigs and other objects.
But like I said above, if you’re not into sport fishing, 3 hours is enough. And if you are a keen angler, then you won’t be satiated just flicking cane rods for piranha. You will want to catch something that can actually put up a real fight and that can make the drag on your reel absolutely scream!
Safe travels!
