Armando Giraldo tied us a set of flies for the trip that my colleague, Mike O’Keefe, and I made to the Rio Tomo in Colombia in February 2018. It is rare to find a set of flies so appropriately designed for the target species (in this case, peacock bass). And even rarer to find flies tied with such professional care and detail. They were superbly productive, and survived totally intact the continuous hammering given them by the appreciative peacock bass.
They really held up remarkably well. I tied a few and they were destroyed the first day. Yours lasted for many, many fish. Keep up the good work! your flies made a lot of these fish pics happen! I’ll definitely recommend you to any clients we send down there.
Traveling to Colombia to go after species that I have never fished for before, I was intimidated when searching for the right flies that I could be confident in. Orinoco flies were a no brained when I found them. Armando fishes the waters and species first hand and he went above just equipping me with the best flies to catch the fish but also gave me incredible tips on each species I was going to be fishing for. Next time I’m in the jungle he will always be my go to for flies, can’t thank him enough
I have to say.. your flies are the best there are! I am very impressed with the flies you design, and even more with how they produce.. you are obviously a gifted and passionate fly tier!
Armando is an experienced fisherman who has used his knowledge of jungle fishing when designing his flies. These flies work and catch a lot of fish, they are light weight, durable and just look great in the water. I would not try to fish the jungle without them.
Armando is Colombian, bi-lingual, a strong fly fisher and fly tyer, with years of experience in working with guest services and high end clientele. Armando joined us for the final dinner at the hotel, interacting professionally with myself and the guests.
Armando is a terrific fly tyer, his billingual and an expert when it comes to finding and catching payaras as well as peacock bass in the Orinoco bassin. He is also an authority, by the way, on fly fishing for rainbow trout in lakes near Bogota.
We met Armando in Bogota for dinner and all agree he is the right man for the job. I fished his excellent flies all week. Hopefully, the detail we saw in the baskets will translate to tying Armandos flies and the tribe can have another source of income
