Get a FREE month of TroutRoutes Pro Free Month of TroutRoutes Pro
Get FREE shipping with Cordina Eyewear Use code: RYS_FLIESCLT Free Shipping with Cordina Eyewear
On today's episode of the Trout Wrangler Podcast, I sit down with Diego Salas of ChiliGuides and Noctiluca Patagonia to talk about growing up in Chilean Patagonia and building a life around fly fishing, guiding, and the outdoors.
Fly fishing runs deep in Diego's family. His father, Pancho Salas, was part of the early fly-fishing movement in Chile, and Diego grew up surrounded by the rivers, backcountry, fishing culture, and people that make Patagonia such a special place.
We get into what it was like learning to fly fish in Patagonia, how Diego developed as an angler and guide, and how spending a lifetime on these waters has shaped the way he approaches fishing today.
We also talk about ChiliGuides and Noctiluca Patagonia, the experiences Diego is helping create for visiting anglers, and what separates an authentic Patagonian fishing trip from simply showing up and trying to catch as many fish as possible.
Of course, we dive into the fishing itself — big brown trout, reading unfamiliar water, adapting to the famous Patagonian wind, changing weather, and why being prepared for just about anything is part of fishing this region. Diego has previously described the wind as something anglers shouldn't fear and can actually learn to use to their advantage.
Beyond the fishing, we talk about the culture, people, landscapes, and lifestyle of Chilean Patagonia and why understanding the place itself is such an important part of experiencing it. Diego's family has spent decades sharing not only the fishing but also the history, local customs, weather, and backcountry of the region with visiting anglers.
We finish things off with five songs for the Trout Tunes Spotify playlist, followed by final thanks and plugs.
If Patagonia is sitting anywhere on your fly-fishing bucket list, you're going to want to tune into this one.
🎣 Let's get into it.
