Into the Amazon for Giant Peacock Bass with Rodrigo Salles
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.
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RSS Feed 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.
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 fisheriesb (and getting married there!)
- · 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.
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Connect with Rodrigo Salles: https://www.uangling.com/page/brazil
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Comments & Suggestions: host, Steve Haigh, email shaigh@DestinationAnglerPodcast.com
Available on Apple, Spotify, or wherever you get your podcasts.
Recorded Sep 3, 2026
More on what's in this episode:
- Journey deep into the Brazilian Amazon and the remote waters of the Rio Marié, one of the world’s premier destinations for trophy peacock bass.
- Hear how Rodrigo Salles built a life around exploring the Amazon and why, after more than 25 years, these rivers still fascinate him.
- Discover what makes the giant peacock bass such an extraordinary fly-rod quarry—from their intelligence and territorial nature to their crushing strikes, blistering runs, and raw power.
- Learn what separates a true trophy peacock bass from an average fish and why landing a fish over 20 pounds is such a remarkable achievement.
- Find out how anglers actually locate these fish in an enormous jungle environment of rivers, lagoons, channels, flooded forests, and seemingly endless water.
- Explore the techniques used to trigger these aggressive fish, including the flies, retrieves, tackle, and presentations that consistently produce.
- Hear what happens when a big peacock bass eats—the violent strikes, exploding fly lines, bent hooks, broken rods, and chaos that can unfold in a matter of seconds.
- Rodrigo recounts an unforgettable day when the fishing erupted and the group encountered four fish over 20 pounds almost simultaneously.
- Venture into a remote lagoon that had never been fished before and hear what it feels like to explore water where anglers may never have cast a fly.
- Learn about the other remarkable fish and wildlife encountered in the Amazon and why this experience is about far more than simply catching peacock bass.
- Discover how the Rio Marié fishery was developed in partnership with Indigenous communities, creating a model that combines world-class sport fishing with conservation and economic opportunity.
- Hear how carefully managing fishing pressure, rotating waters, and protecting habitat helps preserve the extraordinary quality of this wild fishery.
- Get a glimpse into daily life on a Rio Marié expedition—from traveling through the jungle and fishing incredibly remote water to the mothership experience that serves as base camp.
- Hear Rodrigo’s perspective on the future of the Amazon and his sobering belief that our generation may be among the last to experience truly wild places like these in their current form.
- And throughout the conversation, experience a side of the Amazon few people ever see—a vast, beautiful, unforgiving wilderness where enormous fish still roam waters that feel almost completely untouched.
