Spring

Painting fish and giving a presentation for the Rivers Edge Fly Shop in Bozeman, Montana Thursday night was a blast. The drive home through a winter storm however was a major grunt. Even though it was 10 PM after festivities I began my four hour drive home. Leaving so late may sound stupid but the forecast was for the start of a snowstorm after midnight. If I waited till morning I could be stuck in Bozeman. The snow started at midnight as predicted and visibility got so bad I pulled over at the Reynolds Pass Bridge on the Madison River at 1 AM and slept in the back of the Explorer. When I woke up shivering at about 6 there was 4 inches of snow and the roads were glazed ice all the way home. Once home, the remainder of the day was all about watching baseball, catching up on art and getting some rest.

The weather improved greatly for the weekend and Saturday morning Granny and I decided to go check on a couple sneaky good rivers that we like to fish before runoff. We packed up the Explorer to be ready for fishing, camping and if the fishing stunk, hiking. After a long gorgeous drive we reached the river only to find it mostly frozen over and off color – a combo we definitely did not expect. We could have broke out some nymphs and straggled out a few fish but instead we opted to hike and try to find some arrowheads.

Just about every friend I have has at least stumbled into a cool artifact at one time. Granny and I on the other hand have never found anything other than some chips that might have been from when some Indian was carving an arrowhead. I felt like Saturday was the day and we set off into the hills of the high desert.

Let’s just say it was a terrific hike. But we definitely need some lessons on where to look and what to look for when it comes to arrowheads. I know for a fact that the area we were in is rich in artifacts but all we found was this cool rock. Or is it just a rock? Could it be a hammer? A cave mans comb? Not sure what it is but its now at rest in our flower garden and it looks sweet!

This week is back on the road but it will include some fishing. On Wednesday night I speak to the Snake River Cutthroats Club of Idaho Falls about Yellowstone. Right after my show I’ll drive towards Boise, Idaho and on Thursday I’ll meet up with Erik Moncada, Pete Erickson and Phil Rowley for some sort of fishing they have planned. It will continue for half of Friday then Friday night I’m the guest speaker to kick off a fun event called “Fish Fest”. I’ll be giving a presentation about a way too close encounter with a Bengal Tiger in India back in 2008 while fishing for Mahseer. The show is called “Fly Fishing in the Presence of Man Eater”. If you live anywhere near Boise, you don’t want to miss this show.


Then it’s after the carp on Saturday on the way home. Stay tuned.

Jeff Currier Global Fly Fishing