uatumã river — são sebastião do uatumã
Lower Uatumã, downstream of Balbina, with the Uatumã RDS and community-based sport fishing. Açu and vazzoleri peacock bass.
São Sebastião do Uatumã sits at the meeting point of the Uatumã and the Amazonas, 247 km from Manaus, and has the peacock bass as its emblem. Upriver, between the town and the Balbina dam, the Uatumã RDS brings together communities that host anglers in community inns, jungle hotels and houseboats; it is the Amazonas conservation unit with the most sport fishing license requests at Ipaam, according to a survey published in 2024. The açu peacock bass is the main target, and vazzoleri, native to the Uatumã and Trombetas, completes the fishing. The Jatapu, flowing from Roraima, joins the Uatumã above the town. In the fishing season, from August to December, the town receives about 4,000 tourists.
best season
Sport fishing season from August to December, in the dry season. Amazonas law provides a closed season for peacock bass, not yet regulated.
Local rules: The Uatumã RDS is a state sustainable-use reserve, with its own sport fishing rules agreed with the communities: confirm the season's rules with the reserve's management. In Amazonas, açu, pinima and vazzoleri peacock bass are catch and release only, and live bait is banned for peacock bass (Lei AM 6.647/2023, with Lei 7.208/2024). Tambaqui: catch banned from Oct 25, 2026, as a threatened species (Portarias GM/MMA 1.666 and 1.667/2026). Check local rules.
- getting there
- From Manaus, about 80% of the route is by road, via the AM-010 and AM-363 to Itapiranga; the rest is by boat, a trip of about six hours. Jungle hotels and houseboats arrange the transfer.
- facilities
- Inn and restaurants in town, community inns and jungle hotels on the river, houseboats, guides and monitors from the reserve's communities.
- basin
- Amazon
tip
Below Balbina, the Uatumã's level also changes with the dam's operation: ask the guide about the flow and look for lake mouths with water coming in.
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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.
- press Portal Amazônia — São Sebastião do Uatumã é destino turístico que atrai apaixonados pela pesca esportiva no AmazonasArticle of Mar 21, 2024, with data from Amazonastur: season from August to December, access and visitors
- scientific Lubich, C. et al. (2024). Spatial distribution of the sport fishing in the state of Amazonas, northern Brazil. Brazilian Journal of Biology 84The Uatumã RDS (São Sebastião do Uatumã and Itapiranga) accounted for 33 of the 43 sport fishing license requests in Amazonas conservation units
- official Assembleia Legislativa do Amazonas — Lei estadual nº 7.208/2024 (altera a Lei 6.647/2023, pesca do tucunaré)Açu, pinima and vazzoleri peacock bass catch and release only in AM; live bait banned for peacock bass
- official Imprensa Nacional (DOU) — Portaria GM/MMA nº 1.666, de 27 de abril de 2026Protection of threatened species; 180-day deadline for new ones, such as tambaqui