yarinacocha lagoon and ucayali river — pucallpa
Former arm of the Ucayali next to Pucallpa, with sport fishing, rental boats and Shipibo communities. Big catfish in the river and paiche under rules.
Yarinacocha is a former meander of the Ucayali, cut off by the river itself, 8 km from the Pucallpa plaza. The lagoon is shaped like an inverted J, about 20 km long, up to 19 m deep and 1,340 ha of water surface in high water, when it reconnects to the river through caños and creeks. In low water, fish are trapped in the surrounding caños and cochas. On the banks live Shipibo-Conibo communities and riverside settlements, and Puerto Callao has landings and rental boats. IIAP studies of the lagoon list among its carnivores the corvina, chambira and machete. In the Ucayali, Pucallpa's fishing brings dorado, doncella (surubí), tigre zúngaro, gamitana, paco and paiche.
best season
Falling water and dry season, June to October, when the Ucayali drops and fish concentrate in the caños and cochas. Paiche may only be fished March to September.
Local rules: Paiche: closed season October 1 to February 28, when it is banned to fish, transport, sell and eat paiche from lakes and rivers, and minimum size of 160 cm; release is preferred. DIREPRO Ucayali enforces minimum sizes for dorado 115 cm, tigre zúngaro 100 cm, doncella 86 cm, gamitana 45 cm, paco 40 cm and boquichico 25 cm. Individual sport anglers need no permit in the Peruvian Amazon; on a sport-fishing boat an access fee is paid (DS 015-2009-PRODUCE). Fishing with barbasco or other toxins is banned. Check local rules.
- getting there
- Flights from Lima to Pucallpa and the Federico Basadre highway from the sierra. From Pucallpa's Plaza de Armas to the lagoon is 8 km, about 25 minutes by taxi on paved road.
- facilities
- 11 de Agosto and San Francisco landings, boat rental, restaurants and floating bars, a tourist malecón and hotels in Yarinacocha and Pucallpa.
- country
- Ucayali, Peru
tip
Leave early with a local boatman and ask for the caño mouths in low water. The lagoon receives sewage from Puerto Callao: fish away from town and release whatever you won't eat.
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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
before you fish in Peru
In the Amazon, the Fisheries Management Regulation (DS 015-2009-PRODUCE) says individual sport fishing does not require a fishing permit; anyone fishing from a sport fishing vessel pays an access fee of 0.005 UIT per person per day, for total catch of up to 10 kg. At sea, individual sport fishing is treated as non-commercial and there is no specific license. In a natural protected area, enter with an operator authorized by SERNANP and pay the entry fee.
- Blue marlin, black marlin, striped marlin and sailfish: commercial fishing and sale prohibited; in sport fishing, catch and release only (DS 009-2008-PRODUCE).
- Paiche (arapaima): season from March to September; fishing, holding, transporting and selling prohibited from October 1 to February 28 in public waters, except in the Putumayo basin (RM 215-2001-PE, amended by RM 320-2020-PRODUCE).
- Paiche: minimum catch size of 160 cm total length (RM 147-2001-PE, section 4.3, kept by DS 015-2009-PRODUCE).
- In natural protected areas of the Amazon, fishing follows the area's master plan and the fisheries management programs approved with SERNANP.
The rules and closed seasons in the rest of the app are Brazilian. Outside Brazil, the regulations of the country and province apply: confirm with the official agency.
sources and references
Access, facilities and season information changes: check with the lodge, a local guide or the city hall before you travel.
- official MINCETUR — Inventario de recursos turísticos: Laguna YarinacochaOrigin, dimensions, Shipibo-Conibo communities, sport fishing among the activities, landings, boat rental and signs of pollution and barbasco fishing
- official IIAP — Cuatro de cada diez peces del río Ucayali tenían plástico en el estómago (19/09/2026)Samples from the Ucayali and Yarinacocha: corvina, machete and chambira (carnivores) and sardine
- official Gobierno Regional de Ucayali — DIREPRO decomisó paiche y doncella que incumplían normatividad (13/02/2023)Paiche closed season Oct 1 to Feb 28 and minimum sizes for 7 Amazonian species enforced in Pucallpa
- official PRODUCE — Decreto Supremo 015-2009-PRODUCE (Reglamento de Ordenamiento Pesquero de la Amazonía Peruana)Text on FAOLEX (FAO); sport fishing in art. 8; toxin ban in art. 6.2