Pirarucu Lodge is a haven for passionate fly fishing enthusiasts seeking the ultimate challenge: chasing the giant arapaima on a fly rod. This unparalleled journey into the heart of Brazil’s Amazon basin promises not only an angler’s dream but also an encounter with one of the world’s most remarkable and prehistoric aquatic giants. The pursuit of the arapaima at Pirarucu Lodge is a testament to the intersection of nature, sport, and adrenaline, set against the backdrop of a pristine paradise that few have the privilege to explore. This video gives a taste of what the fishing is like in this extraordinary setting.
Keep an eye on this page for the Pirarucu Lodge 2023 season fishing reports which include highlights and statistics from the season. Pirarucú is an extraordinary jungle lodge set in the largest arapaima reserve in the world. It’s the perfect spot from which to target these ancient fish which can grow to over 400lb and most closely resemble a freshwater tarpon. We will update the page with all the weekly news from the guides on the ground.
Pirarucu Lodge 2023 Season Fishing Reports – Week 11: November 12 to 17
The water level has started to rise for the first time in the season, we had a couple of storms but no time lost as far as the fishing goes. With only five guests, we landed 21 arapaima. Highlight this week was Barry from the UK catching a jungle slam and eight good arapaimas during his stay. He also fished at Kendjam with us and we’re looking forward to seeing him in the jungle again soon.
Fishing Stats:
Anglers: 5
Total number of Arapaima landed in the week – 21
Biggest fish landed in the week: 220 cm by Paulo
Pirarucu Lodge 2023 Season Fishing Reports – Week 10: November 5 to 12
Despite a couple of brief afternoon storms, the water level is very low and still dropping – in fact we can’t believe how low all the Mamirauá systems have become. In regard to the angling, the fish are concentrated and hungry so the big fish just could not resist our flies. It’s amazing to see all these monsters around us. The big highlight this week was to see a five year old boy land an arapaima by himself. We had a very proud dad in the boat watching the next generation of jungle anglers.
Fishing Stats:
Anglers: 7
Total number of Arapaima landed in the week – 23
Biggest fish landed in the week: 210cm by Diego
Pirarucu Lodge 2023 Season Fishing Reports – Week 9: 29 October to 5 November
We had just one morning of rain and the water levels are very low and still dropping. This week we hosted a group of ladies who have fished together for over 25 years. They did an amazing job and went home with more fish ticked off their bucket list. The highlight of the week was Celia, with not one but two fish over two metres. Congratulations on that! The whole group also landed hundreds of aruanas and some really nice tambaqui.
Fishing stats:
Anglers 8
Total number of arapaima landed in the week – 16
Biggest fish landed in the week – 215cm
Pirarucu Lodge 2023 Season Fishing Reports – Week 8: 22 to 27 October
It’s hard to believe how low the water is at the moment – it’s made the fish concentration unbelievable with arapaima everywhere! Among highlights of week eight were 87 year old Jerry catching a big arapaima on his jungle extravaganza trip: the triple combo Rio Marié, Pirarucu, Xingu. Michael got the jungle grand slam with an arapaima, aruana and tambaqui. In fact, Michael and Jonathan caught over 16 species this week and it was really cool to see them enjoying all the jungle has to offer.
Pirarucu Lodge 2023 Season Fishing Reports – Week 7: 15 to 22 October
The water level has dropped to its lowest point in the last 120 years, but the fish are still healthy and hungry around here.
We caught four fish over two metres this week, with one monster fish landed by our good friend Peet measuring in at 215cm. We also had two jungle slams this week with arapaima, aruana and tambaqui landed on the same day.
Fishing stats:
Anglers: 6
Total number of fish landed in the week – 26
Biggest fish landed in the week – 215cm
Pirarucu Lodge 2023 Season Fishing Reports – Week 6: 8 to 13 October
We enjoyed a week of beautiful weather, with some very hot days, and the water level dropping very slowly. Our group of anglers from Venezuela put in the work to land some really nice fish.
Highlight of the week was a 220cm fish landed by Jesus and also some nice fish landed by Jose on his first ever fly fishing trip. We hosted this group at Kendjam last year and it was just great to see them getting addicted to jungle fishing.
Fishing stats:
Anglers: 8
Total number of fish landed in the week – 32
Biggest fish landed in the week – 220cm
Pirarucu Lodge 2023 Season Fishing Reports – Week 5: 1 to 6 October
We enjoyed a week of hot weather with the water level very low and dropping slowly.
Week five saw us host a super cool group, who between them have lots of salt water and tarpon experience. It was great to guide them and also watch their angling techniques to catch arapaima. The highlights included largest arapaima of the season so far and one of the largest ever, a 235cm fish landed by our good friend Hal!
Vittorio got a jungle grand slam with an arpaima, pacu and aruana on the same day. And last but not least we had another plus two metre fish caught by Nills.
We can’t forget the highlights of our amazing DJ Carlo and the best barman in the jungle, Mister Tequila “Mitch” AKA the Tarpon Slayer. What a fun week!
Fishing stats:
Anglers: 8
Total number of fish landed in the week – 47
Biggest fish landed in the week – 235cm
Pirarucu – Week 4: 24 to 29 September
The water conditions are still low, but they haven’t dropped further. The weather has been fine with one afternoon rain shower. There are arapaima all over the place and the wildlife is just unbelievable around the water.
Highlight of the week here was the first 2.20 metre fish caught by Thomas! Not bad for his first arapaima ever.
Fishing stats:
Anglers: 8
Total number of fish landed in the week – 39
Biggest fish landed in the week – 2.20m
Pirarucu – Week 3: 17 to 23 September
The third week of the season had the lowest water levels of the last ten years which meant plenty of fish and some wonderful wildlife watching. A highlight of the week was the first plus two metre fish caught by legendary angler Reggie from the USA. We were able to catch some nice fish from the shore with guests for the first time ever so all in all week three was a great one.
Fishing stats
Group: 6 anglers
Total number offish landed in the week – 43
Biggest fish landed in the week – 205cm
Pirarucu – Week 2: 10 to 15 September
Week two of the 2023 season has seen low water with levels still dropping fast. Apart from one morning of light rain we had lots of beautiful weather.
We enjoyed hosting a super cool group of South African anglers with lots of saltwater experience. They used all their knowledge and the arapaima had no chance other than to be in our photos this week.
They’d come from a combo trip with Rio Marié and that was for sure a trip of a lifetime.
The highlight of the week was the number of fish eating on the surface and lots of big explosions everywhere, just amazing to watch.
Overall a great week, lots of fun and some crazy party time.
Fishing stats:
Group: 8 anglers
Total number of fish landed in the week – 34
Biggest fish landed in the week – 187cm
Pirarucu – Week 1: 3 to 7 September
In our inaugural week of 2023 season and the water it’s just a little high, but is dropping super fast.
Some of the anglers came from a combo trip with Rio Marié and they have also been here before so they know how to put the flies on the right spot.
The legendary jungle Angler John “Lucky” Leonard, once again landed a beast, and also our new European friend Ugi went home with monster arapaima checked on the bucket list.
Fishing stats:
Group: 8 anglers
Total number of fish landed in the week – 16
Biggest fish landed in the week by Steve: 177cm
If you have found these Pirarucu Lodge 2023 fishing reports interesting and would like more information then please do not hesitate to contact Peter by EMAIL or call our office on +44(0)1980 847 389