Rodrigo Salles (@rod_salles) is a jungle fly fishing explorer and co-owner of the Untamed Angling operations in South America. Originating from Brazil, he considers his home waters in the Amazon. Deep into Indigenous reserves, working in the Amazon allows Rodrigo to access virgin waters every season. Having fished his entire career in the jungle for golden dorado, peacock bass, and other jungle species, he contributes to shaping him as an angler. The jungle is still his favorite place even after exploring waters in other remote fresh and saltwater destinations. Through Untamed Angling, these expeditions and operations in an equitable partnership with Amazon natives are on the cutting edge of jungle fly fishing. His favorite aspects of his work are exploring wild and remote waters in the Amazon with the natives, discovering new species, and catching exotic gamefish on the fly.Â
What type of fly fishing experiences do you recommend to other anglers?
“I highly recommend jungle fly fishing combo trips. We now have four separate lodges in the Brazilian Amazon and the Tsimane Lodges in Bolivia. Anglers now have the chance to expand their next trip to South America to experience more than one lodge and fishery in the same trip. We have made the logistics easy. Imagine, on the same trip, doing dorado in Bolivia and peacock bass in Rio Marie or the multi-variety species in the gin-clear waters of Kendjam. Or you can even do arapaima and payara on the same trip! ”
What are Your Favorite Fly Fishing Destinations?
What are trips that are on your bucket list?
Why Fly Fishing Destination Travel?
“What else do we have on this planet that is really undiscovered? For centuries and centuries, explorers from the Old Continent have been navigating oceans in search of the unknown. I love reading and researching what these brave people did 500 years ago with their limited resources. A real sense of exploration drove them, and with all their past knowledge, they have done what, even for us now, with all technologies and resources, would be an epic achievement.”
What's New in Rodrigo's World?
“We just had a new IGFA world record approved for the All-Tackle length peacock species in Rio Marie. We also had a terrific opening season at Xingu lodge with many payara landed, which proved we have an incredibly consistent payara fishery. More than that, we discovered the perfect season to catch them on topwater flies, which is from late October until December. “
