Kingfisher Tours
Sport Fishing Trips
Specializing in Peacock Bass and Arapaima in the rivers and lagoons of the Amazon basin of Ecuador
Community Eco-tours
A cultural immersion into the Sekoya and Cofan indigenous ways of life, deep into the remote Amazon.
KINGFISHER ON TV!
Featured on the The Animal Planet series Fish or Die, episode Amazon Giant!
About Us
Kingfisher Fishing Tours, LLC is a U.S.–Ecuadorian fishing agency offering professionally guided fishing trips in the Cuyabeno Reserve, in northeastern Ecuador, with a special focus on Peacock Bass and Arapaima.
Formed by the transition from the Andes Mountains to the Amazon lowlands, this basin is exceptionally rich in biodiversity and supports a remarkable variety of flora, fauna, and freshwater fish. The Cuyabeno Reserve is known for its network of whitewater and blackwater rivers, along with 14 beautiful lagoons created by seasonal forest flooding, making it an outstanding destination for fishing, particularly during the dry season from September to February.
Common species found in the area include Peacock Bass (Cichla monoculus), Paiche / Arapaima (Arapaima gigas), Catfish (Phractocephalus hemioliopterus, including red-tailed, gray, and white varieties), Pacu, Bacalao (Pellona castelneana), Piranhas (Serrasalmus sp.), Corvina (Plagioscion squamosissimus), Dogfish (Raphiodon vulpinus), Tararira (Hoplias malabaricus), as well as electric eels and stingrays.
At Kingfisher, responsible fishing and species conservation are central to our work. We actively support ongoing research and conservation efforts focused on the evaluation and protection of fish species within the Cuyabeno National Reserve, helping preserve this exceptional ecosystem for future generations.
The Cuyabeno Reserve of Northeast Ecuador is a biodiversity hot spot in the Amazon basin. Due to the steep drop-off from the Andes Mountains, this basin area is incredibly rich in flora, fauna and fish diversity. The Cuyabeno Reserve contains a system of white and black water rivers with 14 beautiful lagoons created by lowland forest flooding, an ideal place for fishing.
Born and raised in the jungle of Ecuador, Diego has 20 years of experience conducting both wildlife and fishing tours in the Cuyabeno Reserve. Sport fishing being his passion, he began in 2011 with a fish population and ecosystem investigation, now running Kingfisher tours as a small family operation.
Common fish species found in the park include Peacock Bass, Catfish (Red-tailed, Gray, White), Pacu, Paiche (Arapaima gigas), Bacalao, Piranhas, Corvina, Dogfish, Tarayra. As responsible fishing and conservation is extremely important to Kingfisher, we maintain small groups and continually work with local communities on topics of education and conservation.
TESTIMONIALS
Real experiences from anglers who have explored the Cuyabeno with us.
“Kingfisher Fishing Tours did a great job!“
★★★★★ Jan 2012 | Business
We just got back from a month-long trip in Ecuador which began with a fishing trip to the enchanting Cuyabeno Reserve. We chose Kingfisher Tours to help us find the fish! Diego and his staff did that and so much more! We caught a great variety of fish (and released them!), ate wonderful meals, prepared by Tomas, and were expertly chauffeured by Jamie through the waterways of the river! Although this is truly the wilds of the Amazon Basin, these men made everything look so easy, luxurious (Amazon style!), and fun. They were all very knowledgable about the area, fish, and wildlife.
We offer a few tips to help make your trip even better: We started our month-long trip here so we had more luggage than necessary for our stay in the Cuyabeno portion of our trip. We would suggest leaving warmer clothes (necessary for other areas) in a locker or hostal, if possible. Also, we would suggest adding a few more different lures, in addition to Diego's list, such as weed-free lures, spinnerbait, and whatever else you might use in the States. A headlamp, lighter, and multi-tool (w/plyers) are high on the "must-have" list.
We hope we get a chance to go back and will definately use Kingfisher again! Thank you for a wonderful, memorable adventure!