Rodrigo Salles
Born in Brazil, Rodrigo Salles grew up fishing jungle rivers with his grandfather—long before most fly anglers had even heard of golden dorado. He discovered fly fishing years later, on a backpacking trip in Chile. After he came home, Rodrigo tracked down the first dorado guide in Brazil, Nelson Borges, and bought a 6-weight from him.
Rodrigo trained as a civil and environmental engineer but abandoned the office life to help found Untamed Angling more than twenty years ago. As he says, “You cannot protect the Amazon from an office.”
Rodrigo is one of those rare people who successfully balances being an ambassador and an advocate. He’s spent much of the past two decades in the jungle, exploring and developing new fisheries, partnering with indigenous communities, and introducing the fly fishing world to the Amazonian ecosystem—golden dorado, pacu, payara, wolf fish, arapaima, and many other amazing, endemic species. Through it all, he has remained committed, not just to building a successful business, but leveraging that business to protect watersheds and empower local communities. In short, he’s a really good dude.
“You need to give the people here a reason to be guardians. We are not a fishing company. We are a conservation project funded by the most incredible fish in the world.”
Things About Rodrigo
Worst fishing snack: I won’t say bananas because that's too obvious; I really don’t like peanut butter sandwiches. I don’t get it. I’d prefer just a plain piece of bread.
Guilty pleasure fly: Anything with a tungsten head makes me feel a little dirty. When we have to start adding weight to the leader, I get a sense of guilt.
Most overrated fish: Largemouth bass. I realize that all the bass fishermen may hate me forever, but that’s my truth. I don't see largemouth as a sporting fish. In the jungle, we have so many strong fish that explode on topwater and run into your backing; bass can’t compare. In less than ten seconds you have the fish in your hands. They don’t fight. Compare a largemouth bass with a peacock bass of the same weight; it’s no comparison.
Most underrated fish: The most underrated fish in the jungle is the matrinchā. I call it the jungle trout. They're omnivorous fish that eat everything: fruits, insects, nymphs. Best of all, they like to eat on the surface in shallow water. Perfect on dry flies and the strongest fish pound for pound in the jungle.
More Things About Rodrigo
Favorite knot: In the jungle, if you’re not able to tie a really good Albright knot, you’re done. It’s the best knot for building connections—fly line to leader, leader to wire—and your gear is only as strong as your Albright knot. If that knot isn’t properly tied, you’re screwed.
Strangest thing you have ever caught on a fly rod: An electric eel. I caught an electric eel in the Xingu River several years ago. I didn't want to cut the leader, because I didn’t want to lose my fly. But it’s an electric eel. It can kill you. We messed with it for a full minute, shaking the leader trying to make it fall off. Then one of the native guides appeared and finished the conversation with a machete and through my fly line. I should have just cut the leader.
One person, living or dead, you wish you could fish with: Stu Apte. When I was young, I would subscribe to American fly fishing magazines and buy VHS videos, because that was all the fly fishing media out there. Coming from a jungle perspective, I couldn’t really relate to the coldwater trout fishing. Instead, I gravitated toward the saltwater articles and videos and Stu Apte was a hero of mine.
The best part about fly fishing: OBeing in places that nobody has been before. Or, at least, places that feel like nobody has been there, even though you’re probably deceiving yourself. I crave that sense of solitude. The sensation of being alone and not needing anything but yourself, the river, and a fly rod.
"By far the best pants ever made for wet wading. I’ve been using them since the first time I saw them, and they have become my number one piece of gear. Very close second, Carbon Jacket. I’ve used a lot of different rain jackets, and the Carbon is by far the best I’ve worn. It’s the only lightweight jacket that can handle jungle downpours. I would say it’s the gold standard of warm weather rain jackets. "
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