Arapaima (pirarucu, paiche)

One of the biggest freshwater fish in the world: a long, round, torpedo-shaped body, a flat bony head, and big scales that turn bright red toward the tail. The dorsal and anal fins sit far back near the tail. It rolls at the surface every few minutes to gulp air.

50–200 lb.

About 10 ft and over 400 lb.

Fish of all kinds, plus shrimp, crabs and sometimes birds or small animals at the surface.

An air breather: it must come up to gulp air every 5–20 minutes, so you can see and hear it 'roll' in calm lagoons. Parents guard their nest and young fry.

Found from Amazon & Pantanal, The Guianas, Bolivia & Peru Lakes & Rivers, Amazon Mouth (Belém, Marajó & Amapá) and Brazil Lakes & Rivers. Quiet floodplain lakes, lagoons and slow side channels of the Amazon basin (Brazil, Peru, Colombia, Bolivia) and the Rupununi and Essequibo rivers of Guyana. It has spread outside its home range in Bolivia's lowland rivers and in Brazilian basins outside the Amazon.

Quiet floodplain lakes, lagoons and slow side channels of the Amazon basin (Brazil, Peru, Colombia, Bolivia) and the Rupununi and Essequibo rivers of Guyana. It has spread outside its home range in Bolivia's lowland rivers and in Brazilian basins outside the Amazon.

3–15 ft in lagoons and slow water.

Cast to fish you see rolling, in 3–10 ft of water.

The dry season (roughly August to December in much of the Amazon), when lagoons shrink and fish are easier to find.

Morning and late afternoon; watch for rolling fish.

No tide — in rivers, falling water after the rainy season is best.

Calm days make it easier to see rolling fish.

Live or whole dead fish (such as small tilapia or local baitfish) where bait is allowed.

Big flies, large soft swimbaits and deep-running plugs cast in front of rolling fish.

Heavy 7 ft rod (50–80 lb class) or a 12–14 weight fly rod.

Strong 8/0–10/0 circle or single hooks.

80–100 lb braid.

100–150 lb mono or fluorocarbon.

Watch the lagoon for rolling fish, then cast a bait or fly just ahead of where it went down and wait. Fight it hard, and keep the fish in the water for photos and release.

Count the time between rolls: if a fish comes up every 10 minutes, have your cast ready before it rolls again.

Catch and release: wet your hands, keep the fish in the water when you can, and release it quickly. Use circle hooks and a dehooker.

Usually released — a sport fish more than a food fish.

Firm, white and boneless, sold dried and salted as 'Amazon cod' (bacalhau da Amazônia). Buy only legal, managed fish.

A big arapaima is heavy and powerful — a tail slap or head shake can break bones, so let your guide handle it. Watch for caimans, stingrays and piranhas in the lagoons.

Wild arapaima are protected or tightly managed: in Brazil and Peru, legal harvest happens only under community management plans, with closed seasons and minimum sizes, and the species is listed by CITES. In Guyana and most sport fisheries it is catch-and-release only. Outside the Amazon (for example in parts of the Paraná and São Francisco basins), Brazil treats it as invasive. Check the rules where you fish. Every country requires a fishing license (in Brazil, the Licença de Pesca Amadora), each Argentine province and Brazilian state adds its own rules, and most rivers close during the spawning season. Indigenous lands and strict reserves are closed to outside anglers without permits.

Overfishing almost wiped it out in many areas; community-managed lakes in Brazil (like Mamirauá) brought it back.