January

Man what a month! January has been a busy one. Four Fly Fishing Shows have come and gone. Granny and I are presently flying home from NH after a ten day east coast trip. We worked the Marlboro, MA and Somerset, NJ Fly Fishing Shows. Although the Marlboro show was spoiled by weather and New England football, the Somerset Fly Fishing Show was superb.

The Somerset Fly Fishing Show is the biggest fly fishing show in the world. I won’t guess how many folks came through this weekend but it was a ton. On Friday attendance records were broken big time and there were times on Saturday where I had to leave a half hour early just to get to my seminars because the aisles were so lined with people. It was really amazing.

Granny and I land in Jackson Hole tonight around 10 PM. We’re dreading the thought of digging out the Explorer then driving Teton Pass. Then there’s our driveway – we don’t even know if we can drive in. Our driveway is short but since we left home it’s done nothing but snow. Supposedly Victor got 5 feet of the white stuff in one storm! It’s all part of the adventure. No matter how tonight goes we’ll be home soon.

I’ll be home for about ten days. In the next couple days I’ll get some good snow pics from around Victor and the house and let you know how tonight went. After resting up around home a couple days I’m off ice fishing to Pinedale, WY with friends Doug McKnight and Derek DeYoung. We’re going to dunk jigs down deep in hopes of a giant lake trout. We’ll see.

My next gig is local. I’m hosting a showing of the movie “Connect” out at Teton Village, Wyoming on Wed night February 8. If you’re in range and haven’t seen this movie yet than this is the time. On February 15th it’s on the road again with a one night gig in Kalamazoo, Michigan where I’ll be presenting “Fly Fishing Through Midlife Heaven”.

Jeff Currier Global Fly Fishing

Marlborough Fly Fishing Show

The Marlborough, MA Fly Fishing Show is in the books. This was my third consecutive year speaking here. It’s been a solid show for me and a fun one because I know a lot of folks from the area because not only did I grow up in the northeast but I’ve also spoke at clubs around here several times over the years. The one drawback however is that if you keep coming, eventually you’re going to get beat up by bad weather. And although we didn’t experience a big nor’easter, we had enough snow on Saturday, the normally “busiest show day”, to drop attendance significantly. Further more, the New England Patriots played their championship game on Sunday. And although Sunday was a good show day, it certainly would have been even better if New England’s beloved football team wasn’t playing.


The next show is this weekend, the Somerset Fly Fishing Show January 27, 28 and 29, held at the Garden State Convention Center in New Jersey. Here you can catch up with me and Granny in the fly tiers area. I won’t be tying flies but I’ll be drawing up some Cliff Fly Boxes and hopefully mixing that with a little watercolor painting. I’ll also be giving a couple presentations. On Friday at 1:30 I’ll be giving my “Warmwater Fly Fishing – Bass, Carp, Pike and Many More” and on Saturday at 10 AM I’ll be doing “Saltwater Fly Fishing – Bonefish to Billfish”. If you aren’t casting in the salt yet or chasing bass or carp with the fly these presentations are a must. I promise you they will get you psyched to start!

I’m spending a few days with my family up here on Wolfeboro Bay on Lake Winnipesaukee New Hampshire. This is the place where I grew up fly fishing for smallmouth bass, yellow perch, various sunfish and the list goes on. It’s a little frozen right now but the fish are still here and the smallie fishing continues to be fantastic. I was hoping to hit the ice a few hours while here this week but amazingly the ice is not ready despite being late January.

Jeff Currier Global Fly Fishing

Western Idaho Fly Fishing Expo

Two fly fishing shows have already come and gone. This past weekend I was a speaker for the Western Idaho Fly Fishing Expo held in Boise. I’ve given presentations in Boise many times over the years but this was the first time working the show. All I can say is that the show was superbly run by Erik Moncada and the rest of the many Boise Valley Fly Fishing Coordinators.

As always I was busy with presentations from PowerPoint to casting demos as well as promoting my artwork, books and the latest DVD’s. Between talks I based myself out of the Anglers Fly Shop of Boise. The owners John and Maja ordered my books and Simms T-shirts with my latest artwork on them and I helped them sell a bunch. When not selling I doctored up some Cliff Fly Boxes for people and visited with them about all aspects of fly fishing. It was really fun weekend.

I could use some rest today but instead I find myself unpacking and repacking. I head for New Hampshire tomorrow for a quick visit to the folks then to Massachusetts for the Marlborough Fly Fishing Show. If you’re in the area be sure and stop by the show to say hi. Even better, catch one of my presentations. On Saturday at 3:30 I’ll be doing my PowerPoint presentation “Four Seasons of the Yellowstone Trout Bum” and on Sunday at 11:30 I’ll be presenting “Improve Your Fishing Photography”.

That’s about it for now. Busy busy this winter - Good stuff!

Jeff Currier Global Fly Fishing Website

Denver Fly Fishing Show

The Denver Fly Fishing Show was a great success. Masses of fly fishers and new to be fly fishers from all over attended. I was there to give fly casting demonstrations and present PowerPoint seminars. Between my shows I answered questions about every aspect of fly fishing, visited with friends and dabbled with my art.

Usually I paint up a green back cutthroat when in Denver. Greenbacks are the famous native cutthroat trout of Colorado. This year however, I never got around to breaking out the paints. Instead I “sharpied” up about six Cliff Fly Boxes and even better I drew on two pairs of shoes! Sandy Roberts, a well known casting champ and longtime pal of mine, called me last week to ask if I would draw a bass on a pair of her shoes. I told her only if they didn’t stink. Luckily, they were bran new white boat shoes. All I can say is it wasn’t easy. Stitched seams and rubber adhesives made my new canvas difficult to deal with but the end result was success. Not only did I sketch her up a pair of largemouth bass sneakers but also a pair of common carp.

My next show is the Western Idaho Fly Fishing Show that runs Friday and Saturday – January 13th and 14th. I’ll be doing a ton of presentations starting with a kickoff of “Four Seasons of the Yellowstone Trout Bum” at 12:30 on Friday. Then at 2:30 I’ll demonstrate the Double Haul on the casting pond. At 5:30 yet another favorite presentation of mine, “Fly Fishing through Midlife Heaven”. And wait, I’m working hard Friday, if I have a voice left at 7:30 you can see “Improve Your Fishing Photography”. You don’t want to miss any of these programs! I haven’t looked at my schedule for Saturday but it’s on the show website and none will be the same as Friday.

Hope to see you there!

Jeff Currier Global Fly Fishing Website

Even "Currier" Puts Down the Fly Rod

Is it really already the 4th? Time flies when you’re having fun. I’ve been preparing for a winter of hitting the speaking circuit. Check my schedule and see if I’ll be in your neighborhood.

This Friday, Saturday and Sunday I’ll be working the Denver Fly Fishing Show. You can catch me throughout the weekend at my booth. Even better, Friday at 11:30 you can catch my “Improve Your Fishing Photography” presentation. Saturday at 4 I’ll be doing a show on “Fly Fishing for Carp” and Sunday at 2 I’ll be giving a casting demo at the main pond. I hope to see many of you there!

I have one other note of interest. My South African friend Leonard Flemming recently launched his dream – an internet magazine. It’s called Wade Magazine. I can tell you Leonard’s first issue was gorgeous and a unique read. Many of the articles are about fishing destinations far from the US. Expect to see fish you haven’t heard of from places even Google Earth has trouble finding. Best of all, issue number 2 is out. Please have a look as I have an article about fly fishing in Madagascar.

That’s it. Off to Denver very early tomorrow. Stay tuned and hope to see some of you there!

Jeff Currier Global Fly Fishing Website

Happy New Year!

Yesterday ended a great year of fishing and today starts another. I hope everyone enjoyed the blogs and are ready for more.

I'll be on the road much of the next three months speaking at the Fly Fishing Show and fly fishing clubs throughout the US and Canada.  Take a look at my schedule and try to catch up with me somewhere!

Jeff Currier Global Fly Fishing 

Last Fish of 2011. . . Probably

December 26, 2011

I couldn’t pass up the opportunity to spend one more day on the water this year. I considered letting the big catfish be the last fish of 2011, but why cheat myself. Friends Rob Parkins and Zack Dalton were floating the South Fork today therefore so was I.

Warm for this time of year is to put it bluntly. While I was in Brazil everyone around here suffered through below zero temperatures. There was a lot of ice formed on the rivers edges. And normally that’s what we get over the Holidays. But today the temps rose to a toasty 33º. Just perfect to keep the guides from freezing.

We kept our fishing simple. We met in Swan Valley at a casual 10 AM then drove up to the Palisades Dam and decided we’d float the short mile or so down to the Husky Station. What the heck, we had beer and moose steaks. There was no sense in working too hard. It’s the holidays.

I took the oars first because Rob and Zack wanted to nymph directly below the dam. Often times this can be fantastic for huge rainbows. I rowed them across to the far side of the South Fork and they hopped out and waded. I hovered above them with my camera around my neck hoping to get some good big fish photos but it didn’t happen.

Next we fished our way downstream to one of the favorite pools near the dam. Fish truly weren’t on the nymphs today. It wasn’t till we got to the hot spot that Rob stuck a nice rainbow for the first fish of the day. Zack and I switched and I tossed my usual streamer rig minus the top fly. Three flies can be a hassle in the dead of winter. I had a cool chartreuse-eyeballed-creation fly my friend Ace man gave me for Christmas. It turns out that fly worked great and in a short time I landed two respectable browns.

That was about it. We were content with our fishing for 2011. However, in order not to be off the river too soon we pulled over on a snow covered gravel bar and had a feast. Back in October Rob killed a respectable bull moose with his bow; not too far downstream from where we were in fact. And every time we hang out we chow on some form of moose. Rob busted out his grill and cooked us up some tasty steaks. The grill and charcoal took a long time to heat up so while we waited we indulged on delicious moose jerky and sausage while sipping tasty Red Hooks.

I think that last paragraph says it all. What a day. What a month. And what another great year. I expect to post one more time this year but it’s a busy week. We’ll see.


Have a safe, fun and happy holiday week!

Jeff Currier Global Fly Fishing

A Monster from the Deep

December 9, 2011

I miss my Granny. I wish she was on her way down to the Amazon and that we were together here for another month. But instead, today was the last fishing day and the journey home begins tomorrow. With that in mind, everyone got up early and headed fishing sooner than any day this week.

Becky and I went with Moe. Dale and Ken went with Matu. This worked out good because in my experience with Moe, he’s the best for big peacocks. And Becky would really like to catch a peacock of over 10lbs as she’s one of the few who hasn’t. She’s worked her little butt off all week but somehow the big guys have eluded her.

We rolled out as usual. And as usual, about ten minutes into the drive I was lost as hell. Moe zigzags through lagoons, rainforest, unheard of rivers etc so fast I don’t know how we ever get back to camp. It’s really cool. This morning we didn’t go as far as normal because at 2 PM we were returning to camp so Becky could join Linda and tour a village and I could meet up with Mark and go catfishing for the final two hours of the trip. Even though we made a short run with Moe, we were still in the boonies!

Our lagoon was long and narrow. For awhile I could hit both sides of the fishy looking water body with a long cast on the right. Becky and I started out hot by catching several gray bar peacocks like there was nothing to it. Their sizes were nice for this species but we fought them fast in order to get the fly right back out there in search of a beast.

There was a lot of activity splashing around mid lagoon. There’s lots of baitfish species that don’t take flies. The guides have various names for them. I often launch a cast at their splashes in hopes something weird takes my fly. Today I landed a picúa, often known as the freshwater barracuda or dogfish. They put up a good little fight but if you don’t have on wire or heavy mono shock tippet you’re likely to lose them because of their teeth. When I caught this one Moe kind of gave me a look of disgust as he really wants some big peacocks in his boat rather than what he considers garbage fish.

Fishing remained hot. Becky racked up more fish than she’d taken in a single day all trip. I too had numerous peacocks. We caught all species of them including this gorgeous little butterfly. On low water years we catch more butterflies than you can imagine but this was the only one Becky and I saw all week. I also got a cast at a pirarucú also known as arapaima. These fish are rare in the Amazon these days because they are delicious, air breathing and easy to harpoon. They reach sizes of over 10 feet long and more than 600lbs! One pirarucú can feed an entire village. The pirarucú I cast to was small, I’m guessing by his disturbance more like five feet long. I cast at him right after he rolled then several cast towards his bubble trail but then he was gone. You can only imagine how bad I want to catch one of these rare fish!

Moe told us we had to leave at 1:30 in order to be back to camp by 2. When he grunted and held is hand up with four fingers we knew we had four minutes left. We’d had a terrific morning of fishing but Becky was still shy her 10lber. There was a great looking sunken tree approaching. I reeled in and said its all yours and watched. Lo and behold, she made one strip and the three of us watched a massive peacock devour her fly. I mean 15lbs or better! It was flipping humongous! And you know what happened? It wouldn’t have mattered who was holding the rod. The rod could have been a 12-weight, a tuna stick or a marlin rig – Becky was toasted!

I heard my 10-weight she was using crackle under the pressure and when her fly line slipped through her bandaged up fingers I swear I smelled something burning. Honestly, this big fish manhandled the situation. Moe usually laughs at people that get worked over by a peacock, but he was shook up. We couldn’t tell if Becky was broke off or just tangled. I guess in a perfect world the fish could have been on. Her line basically went down out of sight under the tree trunk. It came up and back into sight some 20 feet away from us and then over another log and back into the jungle. It was mess. Moe made his usual effort. He had Becky loosen her drag and he went overboard and followed the line into the jungle. If that fish was still attached I’d of eaten my hat. He wasn’t and Becky reeled in and sat down. She was trembling with fright and excitement and said hand me a beer.


Whew! What a way to end the peacock fishing. Becky and I powered down a couple of beers in the half hour run back to camp. It was a great week. Becky didn’t get her fish but man is she ready to come back. I seriously doubt I’ll ever be in Brazil again without her.

While Moe took Becky and Linda off to some Indian village, I hopped in with Mark and his guide to go dunk piranha heads for catfish. We only had two hours to do so but what the heck; it only takes one cast to make things happen. It turns out Mark and Linda catfished all morning and never had a single bite.

The first place we stopped was a high bank in the shade. They had one really good catfish rig on board and I got the luck of using it. Mark used his own which looked like it was very capable of exploding to pieces if he got a big fish on. The guide hooked my up a piranha head and I miraculously casted the bait caster without a backlash. Two seconds after my head was on bottom I got a thump. Piranhas are a nuisance with their pecking and bait stealing, but this felt different. Sure enough I had something big and I wrenched on him.

The fight was on but it was weird. This fish moved slightly then stopped. I’d lift him off bottom a little then he’d manage to get back down. It was almost as if he was stuck – that could easily be. Our guide re-positioned the boat several times while I used everything I had to move this fish. Finally I got a break and the fish started coming up off the bottom. It still felt odd and sure enough the fish was odd. It was a freshwater stingray of about 20lbs. A very interesting, yet dangerous creature. We clicked a quick photo then released him very very carefully.

We thought the action would be good after that, but we never got another bite there or at any other places. At 4:30 we made one last attempt. It was another high bank. The sun was setting. There were some very unusual bird sounds all around us, howler monkeys growling as if in a rage and the constant breaths of the freshwater dolphins up and down the river. It was very special and Mark and I were both reminiscing about the week. It’s been a great one. Then I got that thump again. Only it thumped then nibbled. Then thumped then nibbled. I let out some line and watched it go. Something decent definitely indulged on my piranha head. I lowered the bait casting outfit and reeled till I felt pressure than set the hook like no tomorrow. Fish on!

This fish was no stingray. It absolutely took off downstream. Not only could I see line peeling off the reel, I could feel it bumping off debris along the bottom of the Amazon. The run went on and on. I told the guide it was time to follow but he didn’t understand my English. Mark then started pointing to my reel. There was very little line left. Our guide then fired up the motor and we followed after the fish. Sure enough, the fish became entangled in a snag down deep.

Mark had learned from his catfish earlier in the week that now was time to loosen up the pressure. I did so while our guide moved the boat at several different angles. Each time we moved I’d tighten up again and pull on the fish. He was really stuck, but I could still tell he was there. Nearly ready to give up, we got right over the top of him and I reeled and lifted as hard as I could. This was 80lb braid so I nearly went overboard pulling as hard as I was. Then to my delight and big time surprise I felt my fish break free of his snag.


Our guide asked me to take it easy again and he drove the boat towards mid river. Then he nodded and I started pumping the fish in with all my might. In the middle of the river there are few snags to endanger losing the fish. I had him. And after a short two minutes of reeling and pumping there was my fish. It was a fabulous monster redtail catfish! A true monster of the deep!

I let out a loud cheer. I was very excited to see such an amazing creature come up out of this black water. Now it was time to figure out how we would get it in the boat. The cat was easily 50lbs of pure muscle. It wouldn’t be easy. First we tried to net him in the massive peacock net but then decided against it. Then not using it wouldn’t work so we tried the net again. Our guide got most of the fish in and then he and I lifted the cat on board. I had my massive redtail catfish!

It’s not easy to handle such a fish in the small confines of a tin boat. If you're gonna do it you need to dive in. Don’t be bashful. I’ve waited my entire life to catch a truly giant catfish so I was by no means bashful and I dove in! I wasn’t scared I couldn’t lift him. I wasn’t scared of being spined. I just wrapped my arms around him and went for it. It worked!

Mark clicked off pictures at about every angle possible. I did some sitting down with the fish then I stood up in the bow and strained every muscle in my body to hold him. Finally we took the fish to the shallows and I got out and played with him there. The redtail catfish is a truly amazing creature.

This has been a magnificent week down here with River Plate in the Amazon. And remember, this was high water. The Amazon fishes even better in normal conditions. This place offers some of the greatest fly fishing in the world, and it is one of the greatest fishing adventures you could ever have. Unfortunately I won’t be back for awhile. I could not fill my scheduled trip for February so I canceled my reservations for 2012. However, I will try again for February 2013. If you want to go contact me ASAP. I believe after this week’s blog there could be a waiting list!

Jeff Currier Global Fly Fishing

A New Species

December 8, 2011

I got up early as usual, poured a coffee and strolled around camp. As I was doing so I noticed some shrubs shaking out a ways from shore. I watched thinking I’d see a caiman or a snake or something crazy, but it turns out it was a fish. And probably a big peacock bass. I dropped my coffee and ran for my rod. I chose my 8-weight Ross already rigged with a popper.

When I got back the fish had moved to the next clump of bushes. He was definitely hunting and by now well out of casting range. I tried to wade out, but not a chance. It got deep fast and my wade turned into treading water towards the disturbance. There’s a real art to treading water and casting at the same time, especially when your back casts have to be incredibly accurate as not to tangle in the trees. There was also some current to deal with so as my legs kicked like eggbeaters I was bouncing into trees like the peacock bass. At last I laid a good cast and on the first pop the big peacock devoured my fly. While my casting up to my neck skills are pretty good, my hook set sucked and I missed him. It was peacocks one “Currier” zero before breakfast.

After breakfast I headed out fishing with my long time friend Steve Berry. The only place Steve and I have fished together is in Arizona. We’ve chased grass carp (White Amur) in every pond and lake around the Phoenix area and largemouth bass and smallmouth bass in the outer lakes. Steve and his girlfriend Cinda even guided me into my first Apache trout. But despite how fun all those little jaunts have been, fishing today in the Amazon topped all.


While Becky headed off with Steve’s partner Bill and his guide, Steve and I headed out with my guide Matu. We were anxious and therefore the first boat out. As we took off Matu could sense that Steve and I are long time friends and you could tell he was on a mission to find us some interesting fishing.

After the first speeding jungle run we eased into more of a river than a lagoon. With the water still dropping fast there was a surprisingly lot of current. So far this trip we’ve tried very few of these type places. The area was narrow and I hit the right side while Steve hit the left from the front of the boat. Unfortunately, it became quickly apparent that piranhas love current because both of us had our peacock flies trimmed in the first minutes.

As always, I have my 6-weight handy with a chunk of wire and a red and white Clouser attached to molest a few piranhas. I picked it up quick and nailed a nice one before we were out of the school. Then I saw what appeared to be a peacock place. I switched back to my peacock rod and Steve and I each launched a cast to the peacock fortress. In an instant my fly got smashed. It was a big fish and he immediately tried to pin me back in the logs. As always I began a new blister into my fingers struggling to keep the fish from his safety when snap! I broke him off. My 40lb saltwater tippet snapped on a 10lb fish! I raised my head in despair only to see a cool little monkey spying on me from above.

Steve got a good laugh at that. He was stunned how hard I held on to the fish. And it probably looked like a stupid thing to do. But usually my 40lb holds ok. Certainly if I let him into the logs I wouldn’t have had a chance anyway. No matter how you look at it that wicked peacock won the battle and by now Steve was hooked up. And by the time I re-rigged my leader and a new fly Steve landed two peacocks including one quite respectable.

We must have landed about ten peacocks in that one spot. From there Matu steered us down current with his paddle into an area where it was impossible to cast because we were buried in jungle. Steve and I began flipping our flies into tiny open areas around logs and bushes. Once the fly hit you wouldn’t even strip. We’d twitch our imitations and then swirl a figure 8 with our rod tips. This did the trick and we picked up a few more little peacocks and I also caught about a 14” payara. This payara was different than the little guys I posted two days ago. He was the specie I’m more used to – gray, a little fatter and has a very unique adipose fin as well as black and white ridge a the end of his tail – the kind I’ve caught in the Orinoco of Venezuela.


Steve and I were off to a roaring start. Fishing was looking to be the best it’s been. It was still morning and we each landed about ten. The big boys however were hiding. By 11 AM it was sweltering hot. Since the rain stopped on the second day, each day has gotten hotter. I’m talking the mid 90°s with unbelievably high humidity. It gets so hot that the metal boat deck can burn you. Personally I like fishing barefoot because I don’t have to worry about standing on the line or it tangling around a shoe which leads to disaster when you hook a beast. But the bottoms of my feet started to smolder so on went my flip flops.

We lucked out in the afternoon. The scorching sun was replaced by a thin cloud layer. This allowed me back to my barefoot fishing and the temp dropped to a comfortable low 90ºs. The fish became even more active than they were in the morning and some very unique species came out. There’s a fish down here they call a sardinata. It’s very similar to our American shad. Most the sardinata I’ve taken over the years have had a silver/blue color, but this afternoon I caught a couple that were literally gold. They were absolutely gorgeous!

At 5 PM Matu had us very close to camp. Normally we need to be in by 5 but some of the other boats passed us on their way in so they knew where we were and staying out a little later wasn’t an issue. Everything was eerily still. There were few squawking birds including huge toucan that watched our every move. And when you cast into the jungle you could only see blackness beyond the splat of your fly. We were continuing to catch lots of peacocks and I pulled in yet another cool species called a bicuda. Then Steve yanked on a beauty. It was a monster and in two seconds the brute went around a tree and snapped him off. You know how we know it was big? Because Steve got re-rigged and quickly hooked this fish and landed him. This fish was NOTHING compared to the one that got away!

What a great day. Steve and I combined for more than 40 peacocks and I multi-specied like one can only do in the Amazon. I’m sure the next time we chase the grass carp we’ll spend most the time reminiscing about today. In fact everyone did well today and as always we celebrated around camp. The only bad thing is that tomorrow is the last day. . .

Jeff Currier Global Fly Fishing