arinos river — porto dos gaúchos
Amazonian river in northern Mato Grosso, a tributary of the Juruena, with a catch-and-release sport fishing festival in August.
The Arinos runs down from the Mato Grosso plateau northwest to the Juruena, through the Vale do Arinos region of Porto dos Gaúchos and Juara. Porto dos Gaúchos sits on the riverbank and hosts the Vale do Arinos Sport Fishing Festival, which reached its 21st edition in 2026, with up to 200 boat teams fishing catch and release. This is Amazonian river fishing in moving water: cachorra and bicuda in the rapids and rocky points, trairão and matrinxã in the submerged timber and eddies, pirarara and jaú in the holes with natural bait.
best season
Dry season, June to September; the town's fishing festival is in early August. Spawning closure in Mato Grosso Oct 1 to Jan 31.
Local rules: Mato Grosso has the Zero Transport rule through Dec 31, 2028 (Lei MT 9.096/2009, as amended by Lei 12.434/2024): recreational fishing is catch and release, with on-site consumption of up to 2 kg or 1 specimen, and taking fish home is banned. Twelve species may not even be eaten, including trairão, matrinxã, pirarara, jaú, caparari and peacock bass. The state spawning closure from Oct 1, 2026 to Jan 31, 2027 (Resolução Cepesca 1/2026) is already under way: no fishing in rivers, not even catch and release. License: Sema-MT fishing card or federal license. Check local rules.
- getting there
- About 660 km from Cuiabá by road.
- facilities
- Hotels and inns in town, a floating restaurant on the waterfront, local boatmen and fishing guides.
- basin
- Amazon
tip
Cachorra has a hard mouth and shakes the hook on the jump: sharp treble hooks, a firm hookset and a line kept taut at all times.
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Each card shows the day's index (0 to 100) and, below it, a strip with the index for each hour, from 0h to 23h. from poor to excellent.
what you can catch here
sources and references
Access, facilities and season information changes: check with the lodge, a local guide or the city hall before you travel.
- official Prefeitura de Porto dos Gaúchos — Porto dos Gaúchos abre inscrições para o 21º FESPEVAVale do Arinos Sport Fishing Festival, Aug 1 and 2, 2026, catch and release, with up to 200 teams
- official Assembleia Legislativa de Mato Grosso — Lei estadual nº 12.434/2024 (Transporte Zero)Amends Lei 9.096/2009 (arts. 19-A to 19-C): catch and release and 12 species banned until Dec 31, 2028
- official LegisWeb — Resolução Cepesca nº 1, de 24/04/2026 (piracema 2026/27 em Mato Grosso)Spawning closure from Oct 1, 2026 to Jan 31, 2027 in Mato Grosso's rivers
- official Sema-MT — Carteira de PescadorMato Grosso recreational fishing card