Pimelodus maculatus
The yellow, spotted catfish of the Paraná, Pantanal and São Francisco cutbanks. Easy to catch, but its sting hurts.
Also called: mandi, mandi-amarelo, mandi-pintado
Small catfish, very common in rivers and reservoirs of the Center-South. Travels in schools near the bottom and eats just about anything: insects, larvae, seeds, small fish and scraps. It is one of the fish that show up most in cutbank fishing at night, with worm or dough bait. Fights well for its size. The dorsal and pectoral spines are serrated and the sting hurts a lot. It is also one of the favorite baits for pintado and jaú. In MS and in the Paraná basin the minimum is 25 cm.
Yellowish to light golden body, with 3 to 5 rows of dark round spots along the flank. Long barbels. Strong, serrated spines on the dorsal and pectoral fins. Deeply forked tail. The jundiá is grey-brown with no rows of spots. The barbado is silver, with no spots and with ribbon-like barbels.
Loading the next 7 days…
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.
Rivers and reservoirs of the upper Paraná, the Pantanal, the Uruguay River and the São Francisco.
Habitat: Sand and gravel bottoms, cutbanks, slack water and reservoirs; rapids during migration.
native to the basins
states
São Paulo, Minas Gerais, Goiás, Paraná, Mato Grosso do Sul, Mato Grosso, Rio Grande do Sul, Bahia, Pernambuco, Alagoas, Sergipe
Warm months are the best. It drops in winter.
Night and twilight. Active from dusk to dawn; in murky water it bites during the day.
Strong cold reduces the bite.
Little effect.
Little effect.
Water turning murky after rain activates the mandi.
A river rising slowly moves the school.
Not very sensitive.
Almost no effect.
Bottom, 1 to 6 m.
natural baits
accessories
Bait on the bottom, near the cutbank, right at dusk. Pick the fish up by the head, behind the spines.
For anyone who's never fished and wants a simple kit for a pay lake, lake, reservoir or calm river, with natural bait.
guideWhat to do about a hook stuck in the skin, stingray and catfish stings, piranha bites, line cuts, sunburn, heat exhaustion and drowning. It doesn't replace a first-aid course or medical care.
guideFor anyone who has never fished: license, where to go, a cheap kit that works, how to rig a bobber line, how to bait the hook and what to do when the fish bites.
guideHow to take a child fishing without scares: life jacket and supervision, hook and spine safety, gear that won't tangle, how to keep the fun going, and what the law says about licenses for minors.
Summary of the regulations we found, with the source for each. Rules change; before keeping or transporting fish, check with the state environmental agency.
Federal minimum size for yellow mandi in the Paraná basin. In MG, IEF Ordinance 111/2003 also sets 25 cm.
Source: Instrução Normativa Ibama nº 26/2009 (fishing rules for the Paraná River basin), Annex
Minimum size for yellow mandi in MS.
Source: Decreto estadual MS nº 15.375/2020 (amends Decreto nº 15.166/2019), art. 9º - Semadesc/Imasul
Source: Decreto estadual MS nº 15.166/2019, art. 9º (as amended by Decreto nº 15.375/2020)
Source: IN IBAMA nº 26/2009, Annex (Paraná River basin; stricter state rules prevail)
Source: Portaria IAT nº 650/2025, Annex I (interior basins of PR, except Iguazu and coastal)
Source: IN Semad-GO nº 17/2026, Annex I, Paranaíba basin (on-site consumption only; zero transport)
Allowed: Recreational fishing only for non-native species and hybrids (peacock bass, tilapia, black bass, carp, croaker, etc.; piauçu remains prohibited), with handline, simple pole, or rod with spinning or baitcasting reel, up to 10 kg + 1 fish. In rivers, from shore only; in reservoirs, from a boat or from shore. Prohibited: floodplain lakes, aquatic-animal bait, within 1,500 m of dams and waterfalls, and within 500 m of confluences. Tournaments only in reservoirs and only with non-native species.
Source: IN IBAMA nº 25/2009
Allowed: Only exotic or hybrid species, 3 kg + 1 fish per day, with handline, rod, simple pole, or spinning or baitcasting reel. Nets prohibited. Keep the minimum distances from dams and reservoirs.
Source: Portarias IEF nº 154/2011 (São Francisco), 155/2011 (East) and 156/2011 (Grande/Paranaíba)
Allowed: Sport and guided fishing only in reservoirs, catch and release with barbless hooks (no keeping, transporting or eating). Subsistence: up to 5 kg per day, for household consumption only.
Allowed: Subsistence fishing by riverside residents and authorized scientific fishing. Decree 15.166/2019 (art. 11, §5) allows catch and release only in February and only in the channels of the Paraguay and Paraná rivers. For the rest of the period, not even catch and release is allowed. Check the Imasul portaria for each season.
Source: Decreto estadual MS nº 15.166/2019, art. 11; IN IBAMA nº 201/2008
Allowed: All fishing modalities are prohibited in rivers, including catch and release (Law 9.096/2009, art. 19-A). Exceptions: subsistence fishing from shore (3 kg or 1 fish, no transport or sale) and scientific fishing. Law 13.159/2025 now allows licensed sport fishing in UHE/PCH hydropower reservoirs, natural lakes and border rivers, subject to a scientific study and a license from the environmental agency. We have not confirmed whether these licenses are already being issued.
Allowed: Recreational fishing from a boat or from shore with handline, rod, spinning or baitcasting reel, up to 5 kg + 1 fish. Prohibited within 1,000 m of dams, waterfalls and rapids, and within 500 m of confluences. Floodplain lakes have a longer closed season (see next item).
Source: Portaria IBAMA nº 50/2007
Allowed: No fishing in the floodplain lakes during the period.
Source: Portaria IBAMA nº 50/2007
Allowed: Recreational fishing from shore, or from a boat without motor. Only handline or rod, line and hook, one gear per angler, up to 5 kg. Prohibited in floodplain lakes, within 1,500 m of dams, within 500 m of confluences, and in stretches listed in the rule (e.g., Turvo River).
Source: IN IBAMA nº 193/2008
Damp cloth and pliers. Hold it behind the spines and release it in the water.
White, tasty meat; fried whole or in broth.
Length-weight relationship W = a·Lb (a = 0.00955, b = 3.09; FishBase). It's an average: a fat or lean fish can vary by 10% to 20%.
estimated weight
—
The season weights (months), the time of day and the sensitivities (cold, pressure, moon, wind, rain, tide, strong light, murky water and noise) are the app's editorial estimates, based on the literature below and on the field experience of anglers and guides. They are not official data nor a measurement made for this species, and they may vary by region and year. Closed seasons and legal rules appear in the rules section, with the norm and a link.
Your location is saved only on this device and feeds the forecast, the map and the "today" on the home page.
