Fishing in Parque Nacional do Juruena

Parque Nacional do Juruena sits across the northern tip of Mato Grosso and the southern edge of Amazonas, covering nearly two million hectares of Amazon rainforest drained by 39 river sub-basins.

The rivers here run clear — green to olive-green in the dry season, muddied when the rains come — and their navigability is generally poor, broken by rapids and falls that define both the landscape and the fishing. The Rio Juruena is the park's backbone.

It draws anglers primarily for giant trahira (trairão), along with speckled peacock bass, piraíba, and other large catfish species.

The gear lists circulating among regulars reflect the range: light setups for corvinas and pacus, medium rigs for cachara, barbado, and cachorra, and heavy outfits — 50 to 120-pound rods with 0. 80–0.

90 mm line — for the jaú, pirarara, and piraíba that hold in the deeper runs. The Salto Augusto Falls, inside the park's limits, marks one of the most significant features on the river.

WWF researchers working the waters immediately above and below the falls documented matrinxã (Brycon amazonicus) — a migratory species that reaches 70 cm and 4 kilos, valued both by sport anglers and local communities.

Whether the populations above and below the falls are genetically distinct remains a subject of ongoing study. The Rio Sucunduri drains roughly 10% of the park's total area in the north, feeding into the broader system.

Lakes and oxbows associated with the river network hold tucunaré and traíra, where surface lures and mid-column artificials — including local favorites like the "papa black" and "João Pepino" — produce well.

Pirarucu are present in these lakes too, though they are considerably harder to target. Access into the park is genuinely difficult.

The terrain is remote, navigability is limited, and the park is administered by ICMBio — the Chico Mendes Institute for Biodiversity Conservation.

Anyone planning a trip should contact ICMBio directly for current entry requirements, permitted activities, and any fishing-specific rules that apply inside the park boundaries.

The park also has active enforcement challenges, including illegal mining incursions, which affect conditions on the ground. This is not water you show up to without preparation. The rivers reward anglers who do the work before they go.