Episode Details

Episode 180 of the Destination Angler Fly Fishing Podcast – September 24, 2026.

Our destination is the last great wilderness in the world--the Amazon jungle in Brazil and the Rio Marié, THE top destination for trophy peacock bass. Joining me today is Rodrigo Salles, co-owner of Untamed Angling.

Peacock bass are the strongest, smartest, and hardest fighting fish on the fly in the Amazon. Rodrigo has spent more than 25 years exploring this incredible place, working alongside Indigenous communities to protect these wild rivers. Today, Rodrigo takes us deep inside the Amazon in search of these and other gamefish of the jungle.

In this episode:

• · Fly fishing the remote Brazilian Amazon for giant peacock bass
• · Why these fish are among the most explosive and powerful freshwater gamefish on the planet
• · Rod-breaking strikes, shredded fly lines, bent hooks, and the gear needed to survive them
• · The incredible story of four 20+ pound peacock bass landed almost simultaneously
• · Exploring untouched lagoons and waters that may have never been fished before
• · How Rodrigo and his team locate giant peacock bass in an enormous and constantly changing fishery
• · The flies, retrieves, tackle, and techniques that consistently produce big fish
• · What makes the Amazon experience about far more than just catching peacock bass
• · Conservation, local communities, and the importance of protecting these wild fisheries
• · Rodrigo's concern that we may be among the last generations to experience truly wild places in the Amazon

With host Steve Haigh | Destination Angler Podcast — THE podcast for anglers who travel.

Connect with Rodrigo Salles: https://www.uangling.com/page/brazil

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