guaporé river — vila bela da santíssima trindade
Upper Guaporé in the former capital of Mato Grosso, near Bolivia. Waterfront, dry-season beaches and a fishing festival in September.
Vila Bela da Santíssima Trindade, founded in the 18th century as the capital of the Mato Grosso captaincy, sits on the upper Guaporé, near the Bolivian border. The river, part of the Amazon basin, is navigable in several stretches and in the dry season drops and opens beaches and sandbars. On the waterfront, the city government runs Bela Pesca, a boat fishing festival that returned in 2025 after almost 15 years and held its 16th edition in September 2026. The fishing here is on a lowland Amazonian river: caparari, surubim, pirarara and jaú in the holes and banks with natural bait, cachorra in the current, piranhas everywhere. Downstream, the Guaporé becomes the border with Bolivia.
best season
Dry season, June to September, with beaches and sandbars; the town's festival is in September. 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 caparari, surubim, pirarara and jaú. 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. Downstream, where the Guaporé forms the border with Bolivia, fish only in Brazilian waters. Check local rules.
- getting there
- About 540 km from Cuiabá by road.
- facilities
- Tourist complex on the riverfront, hotels and inns in town, guides and trip leaders, boatmen.
- basin
- Amazon
tip
In the dry season, look for the deep bends below the beaches: scaleless catfish gather there at night and before dawn. Use fresh natural bait and a sinker that holds in the current.
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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 Vila Bela da Santíssima Trindade — Rio GuaporéNavigable stretches, dry-season beaches and sport fishing
- official Prefeitura de Vila Bela da Santíssima Trindade — 16ª edição do Festival de Pesca Bela Pesca 2026Festival on the Guaporé River waterfront, Sep 4 to 6, 2026
- 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