Fishing Seasons in Colombia
- December, January, February, March in the Vichada,
- September, October, and November in the Amazon
Top Game Fish Species in Colombia
Colombia’s waters host an impressive variety of game fish: Peacock Bass (Pavón) — The king of Colombian freshwater fishing. Found in Orinoco basin rivers (Vichada, Bita, Meta), they are aggressive, acrobatic fighters that strike topwater lures explosively. Average: 3–6 kg, trophies exceed 8 kg. Best on fly tackle or spinning with topwater plugs. Payara (Vampire Fish) — Named for its prominent fangs, payara are powerful fighters in fast-moving Orinoco rapids. Average: 3–8 kg, up to 15 kg. Best on heavy spinning with metal spoons. Blue Marlin — World-class marlin fishing off Bahía Solano. Average 100–200 kg, can exceed 400 kg. Season: September–November. Strictly catch-and-release. Sailfish — Pacific and Caribbean coasts. Spectacular aerial displays. Average 30–50 kg. Season: September–November (Pacific), year-round (Caribbean). Dorado (Mahi-Mahi) — Abundant off the Pacific coast. Fast, colorful fighters. Average 5–15 kg. Peak: September–November. Roosterfish — Prized Pacific inshore species with distinctive dorsal comb. Near Bahía Solano and Nuquí. Average 5–20 kg. Tarpon (Sábalo) — Caribbean estuaries and mangroves. Legendary aerial acrobatics. Average 10–40 kg. Best: February–May.Catch-and-Release Regulations
Colombia has strengthened fishing regulations. Key rules:- AUNAP permit required: All sport fishing needs AUNAP authorization. Valid up to 6 months for foreigners.
- Catch-and-release: Mandatory for billfish. Many lodges enforce 100% release for peacock bass.
- Size and bag limits: Vary by species and region.
- Protected areas: Fishing prohibited in national parks without special permits.
Best Sport Fishing Destinations in Colombia
Here are the best fishing destinations in Colombia.Orinoquia Region
Vichada
The Department of Vichada has the Orinoco, Meta, Bita, Vichada and El Tomo rivers as well as the Juriepe and Terecay streams making it one of the most appreciated destinations for sport fishing lovers. The Bita River in Puerto Carreño is one of the main sceneries hosting endemic species of the region, which is why it is expected to be the first protected river in the world, in a study under development, led by the Von Humboldt Institute and the Government of Vichada. The Pavón, the Payara, the Sardinata, the Cachama and the different species of Bagres, are some of the specimens you can find.Puerto Carreño
This is an off the beaten track fishing destination that has its productive season from January to March. Here you can fish giant Peacock Bass, Payara, Catfish, Matrinxa, Tambaqui, Bicuda, among others.
Bita River
The Bita River is the first river in Colombia to be protected with civil rights. Apart from that, you will have an unforgettable encounter with nature, now that the Orinoco region boasts diverse wildlife including capybaras, peccaries, tapirs, ocelots, monkeys, deer, jaguars, exotic birds and reptiles! RECOMMENDED EQUIPMENT: Fishing equipment (Fly, Spinning or Casting and lures artificial), light clothing (fishing shirt and trousers), hat or cap, sunscreen, glasses, pants, all terrain shoes or sandals and ecological insecticide.Pacific region
Large predatory fish inhabit the Pacific Ocean of Colombia. The Colombian Pacific is particularly flexible to allow year-round fishing. The main ecosystem is mangrove and tropical rainforest, with an average temperature of 25°C. The Pacific Region is in the Biogeographic Choco, a world biodiversity hotspot with unspoiled landscapes, so all of this makes it a great fishing destination. Picture by Sportfishing ColombiaBahía Solano
The municipality of Bahia Solano boasts pristine jungles and beautiful beaches bathed in rich waters that host the best saltwater fish for sport fishing. During your sportfishing trip to Bahía Solano you will be able to observe the attack of yellowfin and blackfin tuna, the Mahi Mahi of good size and eccentric color, the jumps of a sailfish, the shape of a rooster, among other fish. The fish offer depends on the technique used. The most common species are Amberjack, Tuna, Cubera, Sea bass, Tarpon, Roosterfish, Blue and Black Marlins, Sailfish, Dolphin and Wahoo. You can try techniques such as spinning or casting, jigging, trawling, fishing with live bait and flyfishing. The boat offer is varied and guides are experienced captains and skilled anglers, specialized in all types of fishing. The lodges where you can stay also offers the possibility to do diving, bird watching and humpback whale watching!
- Trolling: Large catches are fished by dragging lures or baits around large spaces so predatory fish are tempted to bite them.
- Jigging: Named after the lure called ‘jig’, which is made of lead and has the shape of a fish. Anglers use jigs to recreate the vertical movement of a fish heading to the surface, this is why this technique is also known as ‘vertical fishing’.
- Popper: The popper fly on the surface attracts predatory fish who mistake it for prey fish. This is a dynamic and physically demanding fishing technique.
Punta Brava
Another destination in the Pacific region is Punta Brava, in Nuquí. There you can fish all year round, but the month of May is recommended. Here you can fish for Tuna, Sailfish, Roosterfish, Dorado, Snapper, Bravo and Horse Mackerel. Picture by Santiago Isaza – FishIn Colombia RECOMMENDED EQUIPMENT: Fishing equipment (Fly, Spinning or Casting and artificial lures), light clothing (fishing shirt and trousers), cap or hat, sunscreen, glasses, trousers, off-road shoes or sandals and ecological insecticide.Caribbean Region
Marine sport fishing as an alternative for tourism development in the Colombian Caribbean is a proposal to promote the economic development of local communities and a conservation strategy. In a study carried out by the Tropical Fisheries Science and Technology Research Group (CITEPT), from the Magdalena University, it was found that there is a great deal of seasonality in the catches of pelagic fish that are important for sport fishing, confirming their migratory behaviour, with the highest catches being made between the months of March – April and August – October. This study concluded that the recommended seasons for sport fishing tournaments and tours coincide with the decrease of trade winds and better navigability, and would be one between March and April and another between August and October each year.Cartagena de Indias
Islas del Rosario – Cartagena, Colombia In the waters of Cartagena, this gorgeous Caribbean city, you can go fishing inshore or offshore. What can you get close to the shore? Barracuda, Snapper, Grouper, Jack Crevalle, and King Mackerel. Also, Permit, Tarpon and Bonefish, although its numbers have decreased due to overfishing. These trips are apt for beginners and families, since they will be safe within 10 miles of shore. However, if you go beyond 10 miles, you can fish Blue and White Marlin, Sailfish, Yellowfin Tuna, Mahi Mahi and Wahoo, especially from March to May. Offshore fishing is preferred by experienced anglers. Among the services you can find in a fishing tour there are offshore trolling trips to catch migratory fish such as Mackerel, Crevalle Jacks, Tuna and Marlin. These can last from 4 hours to a complete day or multiple days, when it is required to go to deep seas. If you go wreck bottom fishing, you may catch game fish species such as Mangrove Snapper, Yellowtail Snapper, Mutton Snapper, Gag Grouper, Black Grouper, Cobia, Permit, and Jewfish. Deep drop and jigging trips allow you to catch predatory fish that roam deep down beyond 1000 feet! Huge Snappers and Groupers are the trophy. With bots with a capacity for up to 10 anglers, as s Yate Fortuna, you can leave the bay of Cartagena to sail into the deep waters of the Caribbean. In a trip, you will be able to catch Marlin, Tuna, Mahi Mahi, Wahoo, Amberjack and even sharks.Santa Marta
Andean Region
There are many places in the Andean region where you can practice sport fishing. These places are not very well known internationally, but they are well known in the country. Here we will tell you about the most recognized ones.Antioquia
El Peñol reservoir in Guatapé, Antioquia is the world’s paradise for fishing “largemouth bass”, a natural predator, only carnivorous and very enjoyable to fish. Its first bite is exciting and you have to pick it up in jumps, as if giving the fight. Tilapia and mojarra are also fished in the reservoir. El Peñol, Guatapé, Antioquia From October to December, you can target Roosterfish and Tarpon. Water bodies such as Guatape, San Rafael or Nare River are perfect to go on an angling expedition. Local guides will help you catch Golden Dorado, Peacock Bass, Payara, Tilapia, Crappie, Largemouth Bass, among other species, using jigging, floating baits, fly fishing, trolling, deep fishing or popping techniques. In boats arranged for up to 3 anglers. RECOMMENDED EQUIPMENT: Fishing equipment (Fly, Spinning or Casting and lures artificial), light clothing (fishing shirt and trousers), hat or cap, sunscreen, glasses, pants, all terrain shoes or sandals and ecological insecticide.Cundinamarca
Siecha lagoons
Cundinamarca has several places for sport fishing without affecting the environment. The first obligatory stop is in Lagos del Siecha (Siecha lagoons), located in Guasca, Cundinamarca. The Siecha lagoons are a group of three lagoons located in the jurisdiction of the Colombian municipality of Guasca, in the department of Cundinamarca. Currently the three lagoons are called: Fausto, America, and Siecha (the largest of the three). In the ancient language of the Muiscas, Siecha means “Man of Water”.National Natural Park Chingaza
Chingaza National Park In the 40’s the brown trout (Salmo trutta) was introduced and in the 70’s the rainbow trout (S. gairdneri) was introduced in the Tota lagoon. Today the two species cohabit in the Chingaza lagoon, in the Chuza reservoir and in the upper part of the Guatiquía and Blanco rivers, where fishing seasons with minimum catch size have been determined. The fishing plan includes fishing in Laguna Seca and Chuza Lagoon in Monterredondo, with the option of camping near the fishing site. RECOMMENDED EQUIPMENT: cold weather clothing, hat or cap, sunscreen, glasses, all-terrain shoes or waterproof boots.Amazon Region
The Colombian Amazon is an incredible destination for fishermen since this region is crossed by majestic rivers that facilitate trade, travel to places in the middle of the jungle, remote populations, resguardos, parks and nature reserves. The Amazon is a habitat with high biodiversity like no other ecosystem in the world and also has the vast cultural diversity of its indigenous peoples, and the life that originates and is nourished by the multiple banks of the Amazon River, the largest, widest and deepest river in the world. The fishing season in the amazon is between September and November. There you can fish Pavón, Bagre, Mojarra, Pirarucu, Arawana, Piraña, Payara, Moncholo and Chachama. Sunset at the Amazon River In Leticia you can visit the Heliconia reserve, sailing for approximately three and a half hours on the majestic Amazon River and then on one of its largest and most important tributaries in the area “The Javari River”, natural border between Brazil and Peru. In the Heliconia Reserve you can do sport fishing in one of the many spectacular lakes and channels that are part of the Amazon rainforest of Brazil and Peru: Lake San Antonio Ox-Bow, Canal Furo Zacanbuzinho, Lake Cristina Ox-Bow, Lake Caoti, Lake Socó Ox-Bow, Lake Socózinho, Canal Mata Mata, Lake Pombao Ox-Bow, Tartaruga Channel and Beaches of the Javari River. RECOMMENDED EQUIPMENT: Fishing equipment (Fly, Spinning or Casting and artificial lures), light clothing (fishing shirt and trousers), cap or hat, sunscreen, glasses, trousers, off-road shoes or sandals and ecological insecticide. At this point, you may have noticed why sport fishing in Colombia is something you have to try if you like adventure in nature! Hopefully this post was useful for you to know which fishing destinations to visit in your next trip to Colombia.2026 update: AUNAP permits, Malpelo closure to sport fishing, and the Vichada peacock-bass window
The two 2026 regulatory anchors any angler needs to plan around. First, every angler (Colombian or foreign) needs a personal AUNAP sport-fishing permit — issued for up to 5 years, with fees set at 3 daily minimum wages for marine fishing and 2 for continental (inland) fishing. Sport fishing is legally “sin ánimo de lucro” (non-commercial): commercial sale of catch is prohibited, and only fish meeting AUNAP minimum-size tables may be retained — trophy operators in Vichada apply strict catch-and-release regardless. Second, the Santuario de Fauna y Flora Malpelo — UNESCO Natural Heritage since 2006 and Colombia’s flagship offshore Pacific reserve — prohibits ALL fishing activity inside the protected area (commercial, artisanal and sport). In 2017 Colombia expanded Malpelo from ~950,000 ha to ~2.67 million ha and created the adjacent Distrito Nacional de Manejo Integrado Yuruparí-Malpelo (~2.7 million ha) as a regulated fishing zone under AUNAP oversight. If you want big-game Pacific fishing, the anchor destinations are Bahía Solano and Nuquí, not Malpelo.
Practical peacock-bass planning for 2026. The Río Bita in Vichada — Colombia’s first legally recognised “río protegido” and its 11th Ramsar site (824,535 ha designated 2018) — remains open to catch-and-release sport fishing. The productive dry-season window is December through March/early April, peak January-March in the Puerto Carreño / Río Bita / Río Tomo corridor when water levels drop and fish concentrate. SATENA is the only carrier flying Bogotá → Puerto Carreño (PCR, ~4 flights/week) and Bogotá → Puerto Inírida (PDA, the Guainía gateway). Typical 2026 all-inclusive Vichada lodge packages (Tomo River Lodge, Akuani River Lodge) run roughly USD 4,400-4,500 per angler for 9 nights / 6 fishing days plus a community/native fee (charter transfers included; AUNAP permit and international air separate). Peacock bass (Cichla temensis) is the same species IGFA has been tagging since ~2020: in 2025 IGFA recorded a fish moving 117 km upstream from its 2023 tagging point — the longest documented movement to date — an unusually clear datapoint for why catch-and-release matters in these systems. On the Pacific, Bahía Solano’s two 2026 seasons are inshore peak March-June (sailfish, yellowfin tuna, roosterfish, cubera snapper, tarpon) and offshore peak October-January (blue and black marlin, wahoo, mahi-mahi).
Sara Colmenares holds a Doctor of Science (D.Sc.) in Ecology from the Federal University of Rio de Janeiro and a Master’s degree in Botany from the same institution. Her doctoral research focused on palm ecology in the Atlantic Forest, supported by the Rufford Foundation conservation grant.
A published researcher in the Brazilian Journal of Plant Physiology and a member of the Association for Tropical Biology and Conservation (ATBC), Sara has presented her work at international conferences across Latin America and beyond. She was awarded the COLCIENCIAS “Virginia Gutiérrez de Pineda” fellowship, one of Colombia’s most competitive academic distinctions for young researchers.
Sara founded the Sula nature tourism brand in 2018, applying her scientific expertise to develop birding and wildlife experiences across Colombia’s six natural regions. Her fieldwork took her from the cloud forests of the Andes to the Amazon basin, the Pacific coast, and the plains of the Orinoquía. She combined deep ecological knowledge with firsthand experience to create content that is both scientifically accurate and practically useful for nature travelers.
She holds a B.Sc. in Biology from the National University of Colombia, where she also taught plant ecophysiology. She speaks Spanish, Portuguese, and English.
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