Everything but Roosters

Third Day – Multi-Species Day

A big plan developed last night. We decided to be explorers today. Yesterday at the roosterfish beach we met a commercial fisherman that offered to take us to an island that he suggested had better than your average Baja beach roosterfish fishing. Naturally there was a fee for this friendly gesture, however with the thought of a monster rooster, Sammy signed us up.

We hit the road to meet the fisherman, Roberto, at 5 am. We arrived to him by about 6:30. His island was huge and appeared to be about four miles away from his beached panga. Although the Sea of Cortez has been calm all week, naturally because we needed a boat ride it was windy as hell.

Once to the island we went around to the windward side and drove along shopping beaches trying to decide which might be best for roosterfish. After what seemed like hours, we found mass schools of sardines. In we went. Roberto dropped us off and said he would be back around 2 pm to take us back to land.

It was beautifully remote and would you believe on Grants first cast with the teaser in came a school of baby roosters. In the first ten minutes Sammy and I landed seven small roosters, several green jacks and a flag cabrilla. The cabrilla, a member of the grouper family, caught me by surprise. I’ve caught them on past trips to Baja but seeing this one rekindled a flame. I have a liking to the challenge of catching groupers and snappers on fly.

Grant walked and cast the teaser while Sammy and I followed and dropped our flies in the teaser’s wake. We caught numerous more baby roosters but it seemed like the big boys were out to sea. We came along some fantastic looking rocks and Grant opted to head back to where we started because the roosters prefer the beach. However, rocks like these typically hold snapper and grouper and I decided to stay and make a few casts.

Just as Grant and Sammy left my sight, a massive shape appeared from a trough and hammered my fly. I set the hook and the fish absolutely manhandled me and my 10-weight and broke me off in the rocks. Most anglers would be pissed off but I was psyched. I was in a place that offered the rare opportunity to cast a fly from shore to some quality snappers and grouper.

I was literally shaking as I retied my rig. I went with a straight chunk of 30lb Rio Saltwater Tippet directly to my fly line and loop knotted on a fly Grant gave me for roosters. Back I went prowling with casts to every sunken rock I saw. Within minutes I was popping pics of a gorgeous flag cabrilla. I was definitely taking a roosterfish break for a few hours.

I went on to catch another flag cabrilla, a mystery cabrilla that was one of the prettiest creatures in nature and had a boil behind my fly that was so big it scared me. I kept thinking I was ready to rejoin Sammy and Grant but the tide was dropping and I could wader further out and cast to new appearing rocks. Then it happened. The howling wind grabbed a cast of mine and took it way out there. I made two strips and I got ripped. I knew immediately that it was what I was after, a big snapper or a grouper because in five seconds, even with the drag of my Ross reel cranked the fish screamed off all fly line, about thirty feet of backing and stuck me in the rocks. Dang! I casted my butt off for the two hours just to jammed up in the rocks in five seconds.

Barely visible from the deep blue water nearly 150 feet from shore was a submerged group of rocks. There was no doubt my fish was in there because my fly line and backing led right to it. I was screwed. I pulled hard from every angle and it wouldn’t budge. I thought about swimming but with the huge waves I’d probably drown. Plus, it was deep out there and on the edge of open Ocean, God only knows what could eat me. I pulled at every angle again but it still wouldn’t budge. I considered trying to break off the fly, but by pulling and stretching a whole fly line and a considerable amount of backing, who knows where it would break being I was fishing a straight 30lb leader. What to do what to do? Screw it. I was swimming.

Grant and Sammy were long gone by now. I was totally alone. I loosened the drag on my reel and wedged my outfit in some rocks up beyond the beach and left it pointed directly to the fish. Then I swam out to where my fly line was cutting the water. There I grabbed it and held on to it all the way out. It was really creepy when I got out where I couldn’t see bottom. Then the rocks where I was stuck came in to view. Ugh, my heart just sank. I was on the playing field of the fish, helplessly bobbing above him and his friends. It only took one pull for me to feel my line pop free of a few rocks. I gained a few feet of line but then it was stuck again. I was so spooked at this point I just wanted to break it off and swim in. As I tried to do this, now directly above where my line disappeared into the depths there was a pump – my fish was still on!

Imagine now, I was treading water 100 feet from shore bobbing up and down in huge waves and fighting a fish with my hands and had no idea how big it was. I was taking on water fast because I was using my hands for fighting the fish rather than swimming. All I could do was kick and gasp for air when I could get it. Then, luckily the fish gave up. When a big snapper gives up they literally come right in. With the line in my left hand, I did a one arm swim towards the beach dragging my mystery fish. The waves were still drowning me and I wasn’t exactly making ground fast. This was a stupid move but it would certainly be worth it if I survived and got the fish to shore.

Finally I could see bottom again. I was exhausted like the fish but eventually I could stand. I had line tangled around my feet and every rock. Waves were crashing and knocking me around but it was time for the moment of truth. I hand of handed my remaining line as I stood waist deep in the crashing waves and in came a tired snapper. It was a striped pargo about 8lbs! It may not sound like much but trust me, catching a snapper of this size in the rocks on a fly is a feat. And it is the stripped pargo that holds the reputation as being the toughest of all - and was he ever! This was a fish I’ve dreamt of catching on previous trips to Baja but was beginning to feel it was impossible. I picked up the toothy fish and ran to the beach. I grabbed my camera and shot numerous pictures. Then, I dislodged the fly from his strong jaws and released him.

Snappers never get released in Mexico let alone anywhere in the world. It was funny watching this magnificent fish right himself and return to his waters. He was truly surprised. As for me, I was a little shocked over the whole event. My line was strewn everywhere and it took me a good ten minutes to reel it in and untangle the mess. Once I had it all straightened out I did what every angler would do, I grabbed my digital camera and looked at my pics. Not bad for a solo event in such chaos. And what a great fish.

An hour later Roberto came to collect me and bring me back to where Grant and Sammy where fishing. I had a huge smile as I approached and so did they. Sammy landed a 25lb Pacific Crevalle! That’s a monster crevalle anywhere. After sharing the stories of our amazing catches we proceeded to pound several more small roosters, jacks, ladyfish, croakers and houndfish. What a great day!

Jeff Currier Global Fly Fishing Web Site

Hard Work, Burnt Feet and Peanut Roosters

 

Second Day

I woke up sore this morning. I easily walked and ran two miles of beach yesterday in hopes to catch a roosterfish. Two miles should be nothing, but when you do it on a sandy beach with bare feet it uses every muscle in your body. And you can't believe all the things you could step on while not watching where you're going. I knew at breakfast it would take a lot of coffee and some hot sun to get the engine running again.

The roosterfish we saw yesterday  definitely had some attitude. They’d obviously seen plenty of anglers and were as spooky as a Flat Creek cutthroat and refused flies like the rainbows of the Henry’s Fork. With only six days to catch a quality rooster, Grant decided to explore some less fished waters. He also brought along a huge spin rod and some hookless lures to try to tease some roosters into casting range.

Saltwater fly fishing takes it out of you  like no other form of fishing and because I’m exhausted I deliver the short version of today. We caught three small roosters, some hound fish (giant needlefish) and some big ladyfish. We got some great casts to larger roosters but got the usual serious look, a fierce follow and on went the breaks and away went the rooster. Man it’s exciting! The most important thing is that we did better than yesterday. If we can keep doing better, there’s no doubt that by weeks end Sammy and I will catch some great fish.

Jeff Currier Global Fly Fishing web site

Brutal

First Day

Catching roosterfish on a fly rod from the beach is one of the ultimate fishing challenges. Roosters are a fish that love to show themselves just out of fly casting range. When you can reach the rooster with your cast, they usually lift their nose at your fly as if they are insulted you would even suggest they eat such a thing. On that rare occasion when they are attracted to your fly, they simply follow it to your knee caps where you strip your entire leader and fly into the rod tip only to watch the spectacular looking fish put on his breaks, turn and disappear back to the sea. It’s torturous, but that’s why I love it.

Today was all about what I just described. Just a reminder, I’m fishing with two great friends, Sam Vigneri from Casper, Wyoming and Grant Hartman, a long time guide here in Baja. If anyone knows roosters it is Grant. Grant has been living in Mexico most of his life and has chased roosters with a fly rod for over thirty years. However, he too just shook his head in frustration today.

It wasn’t like we didn’t have chances. We saw several fish running hard up the beach. Roosters like to hunt for baitfish just along the shelf where beach drops off to deeper water. But today, these fish were very skittish. Most of them retreated to deeper water after getting a glimpse of our fly while the few that followed for a look stayed safe three feet behind the fly and refused to eat it. But this is rooster fishing and tomorrow we will try again. Hopefully weather or tides or just a different day will put these cool fish of Baja in an eating mood.

Jeff Currier Global Fly Fishing web site

So Long Snow Again

Off to Baja in the morning. Heading out with friend Sammy Vigneri. I hope to report from Mexico but if not expect a full report and photos when I get back. Anything to get out of the Rocky Mountain Horror Weather Show! Should be good!

 

Jeff Currier Global Fly Fishing web site

Pyramids, Sphinks and Headin Home

April 27, 2010 

Morning came fast after the late night on the streets of Aswan. I rarely sleep in, but it would have been nice today. Mikey, Warpath and I grabbed a quick breakfast at the Basma Hotel then took off to the Aswan airport and caught an early flight to Cairo. We were met at Cairo airport by a Pyramid Tour guide and driver and off we went.

Although my jaw drops every time I set eyes on the Pyramids, I could have easily kicked back at the Basma Hotel all day in Aswan. However, there’s no way Mikey’s film could be complete without footage of the Pyramids. We spent about an hour cruising and viewing the different angles of the Egyptian wonders then took a camel ride to get to the best view point. After that it was the Great Sphinx and then Mikey and Warpath went to the Egyptian museum.

There are two words I try not to use too often, “awesome” and “epic”. However there are times for them. Both words describe the last ten days just perfectly. Once again Egypt did not let me down. The beauty of Lake Nasser, the extreme fishing for magnificent species and spending time with great friends are what has made this such an incredible journey. At midnight I begin the long trek back to Victor, ID where I will unwind for a over a week before packing the bags again. Be ready for some exciting stories and photos from Baja coming very soon.

Jeff Currier Global Fly Fishing web site

Last Day - Reel em In Dudes

April 26, 2010

It’s always sad when a great fishing trip comes to an end. This morning we fished our way back to the village of Garf Hussein where we caught the bus back to Aswan and the Basma Hotel. It was calm and hot starting the minute the sun rose. It was perfect fishing weather for Nile Perch on Lake Nasser making it very hard to leave. Normally I make this a ten to twelve day trip rather than only seven and I think for the future that will be mandatory for me. Egypt is just too far to go for seven days of fishing and I really love it here.

We caught a few fish and I had some opportunities to cast to big perch. I caught a 5lb tigerfish off a weed bed that Mikey spotted tailing. That was a first. In the same area Mikey brought in a nice perch. We also drifted Mikey’s bar for an hour or so and although we graphed a few fish, all we could muster up was a turbo puffer fish living down deep with the big boys. The two large perch I cast to were right before we had lunch and neither showed any interest. One followed but didn’t eat and the other sank out of sight so I don’t know how he really reacted. All I do know is it’s a real mystery that no sighted perch ate the fly. 

Once in Aswan we got cleaned up and went out to eat at with owner of the African Angler, Tim Baily. We went to a restaurant I have eaten at several times located on a floating barge on the Nile River. Each time I’ve enjoyed great food here. Our entire group talked of walking the town after dinner but when it was all said and done everyone wanted to go to the Basma and hit the sack. However, Mikey needed some footage of Egyptian culture so even though we were exhausted he, Warpath and I did hit the town anyway. We fly to Cairo early tomorrow morning while the South Africans stay in Aswan all day. So, outside the restaurant we took a group photo, said our goodbyes and then off we went to the Aswan market.

Any foreign market at night is a cool place to walk and observe. The market of Aswan does not disappoint. Narrow streets bordered with tiny shops and anxious shop owners that try to lure you as you pass them is what it’s all about. The big thing here for tourist is perfume. It sounds funny but the locals make some fantastic smelling concoctions from the lotus flower. I enjoy stopping and chatting with folks as we go. Egyptians are incredibly warm and friendly and appreciate it when you take the time to visit. It usually leads to a cup of tea and a full shop tour.

After about a two hour walk through the market, shops gradually began to shut down. It was getting late and we have an early flight tomorrow. We nailed a taxi and headed back to the Basma. I kind of expected to see the South Africans at the hotel bar but everyone is truly exhausted. Tomorrow will be the last report with pictures from the Pyramids.

Jeff Currier Global Fly Fishing web site

Day 6 - Tiger Island & Mikey's Bar

April 25, 2010

Morning Session

It was warm and calm at the crack of dawn. I sat up on my bed from about 4:45 till 5:30 just watching the world wake up. Everyone in the group is plenty tired from a week of tough walking and casting big rods. Not a single angler stirred at this time like they did the first few sunrises. I normally would jump from bed to go cast for tigerfish around camp, but I too was content just relaxing.

There’s plenty of wildlife here on the lake to watch. On occasion you will see wild camels or antelope at lakes edge getting a drink. There are plenty of foxes and occasional wild dogs and ferrule cats. There are numerous reptiles. The crafty crocodiles are always watching you. When shore fishing, jumping over lizards is standard and if you’re lucky you might see a giant monitor lizard up close. We know there are plenty of snakes too, but you rarely see them. The bird life is the most abundant and obvious. There are numerous species that call Lake Nasser home and there are many birds migrating through the area in April from their winter holdouts in central and southern Africa on their way to Europe and Siberia. My highlight this morning was watching a flock of bee eaters pass through camp while dodging attacking swallows that live in the cliffs above. They are the prettiest birds on the lake and I usually see a group on their migration each time I visit Lake Nasser. (Fox, Monitor Lizard and Egyptian Goose Photos Courtesy of Tim Baily)

It’s hard to believe it is our last full day. Man time goes fast when you’re doing these types of trips. Fortunately, you could just tell fishing would be good today. It was strange heading to the first fishing spot without getting tossed around and splashed by huge swells. The lake was literally like glass as far as the eye could see. Our first stop was not on an island, but rather mainland. There were numerous tiny coves and points. It was ideal for the three of us to spread out. There were lots of weeds so our flies got hooked on them almost every cast. You could easily thrust aside such a spot, however, there were tilapia and baby tigerfish cruising everywhere so you knew the perch were near. Mikey and I walked and hunted for cruising perch. I spotted a suspicious swirl in a weed bed. Let’s put it this way, it was no tilapia. I sat on a high rock and watched the area for twenty minutes or so, but never saw the fish. There was one slot I could scour a fly through without hooking weeds. If the fish was there I couldn’t prove it. I made many casts with several different flies and various retrieve speeds, but nothing.

Mikey was experiencing the same. He spotted about a 10lber wallowing in the weeds. The perch was out of casting range without wading. He watched hoping the Nile would get closer, but instead it vanished. I was heading over to hang with Mikey and took my first good fall of the trip. A rock just rolled under my feet and down I went. I slammed my rod and reel into the rocks so hard that I was sure in my next cast the rod would shatter. Miraculously it seems to be fine. The only visible damage is a nice chunk from my Ross Momentum LT’s housing. It will be a nice memory, a chunk missing from my reel that kept a chunk from getting ripped out of me!

We caught a few baby Niles and filmed a puffer that wouldn’t blow up for camera. Suka tossed out the idea of hitting a special tigerfish location before lunch. With slow perch fishing we thought it was great idea. We'd been on the east side of the lake for several days, now we made the hour long crossing to the west side where we started a week ago. Soon after, Suka pointed out what he called, Tiger Island. 

It didn’t really look like much, just a small island all by itself in the middle of a monster size lake. We pulled up on the weedy side. I grabbed my tiger rig and headed up the right side. Warpath went up the left. Mikey grabbed his camera and climbed to the islands highest point in hopes to film a hook up. I knew that the front of the island would be best, but I’m all about covering water. I started just past our beached boat and methodically made a cast then took ten steps and cast again. At about half way to the front of the island I landed a toddler tiger. That’s where I got serious. Instead of moving ten steps for my next cast I only took about two steps. I made a cast up the bank where I hadn’t walked yet and then one about 20 feet out. Last, I launched a bomb as far as I could cast straight out to the deep. It was this cast that I got my first good rip. Like many times before, I got hit five times during my retrieve before the fish was on. It was good one. I wasn’t ready to holler for Mikey or anything but I felt that big ones were around. Boy was I right! 

As my leaping tiger came close to hand, I noticed he had an identical sized partner. Then this tigerfish took off and two larger tigers attacked my hooked fish. There was no more time to fight my tiger; in three huge sweeping strips I yanked the tiger to my hands. I had to hook up with one of the larger fish while they were hot. Just then the two big tigers bolted and were replaced by a tiger the size of small tarpon! It was unbelievable! That’s when I shouted for Mikey. Mikey came over only to see me unhooking a 25” tiger and politely asked if I wanted a picture. “No!” I firmly replied. “There’s a giant tiger out there. Get ready!” Just then Warpath howled in the distance demanding Mikey’s presence. I released the respectable tigerfish, put down my rod and we both scampered over the rocks to Warpath in hopes he had the beast. But he didn’t. He had beautiful tiger, but nothing like the one I saw. Funny though, he wasn’t calling us for his fish either, but he too saw the beast!

Suka, who speaks fair English but doesn’t understand anything when you’re freaking out came running from bathing by the boat probably thinking someone got eaten by a croc. It had to be relief when he counted three of us. By now my fly was back in the water and Mikey had the camera on. I made five casts but nothing. I felt I wasn’t deep enough for the enormous tigerfish. I dropped my 7-weight rig on the rocks with loose line everywhere and sprinted for the boat where my 10-weight and 400 grain sinking line for Niles was resting. In minutes I was back and ripping line off the reel. I launched a cast and as my fly sank I got my strike. I missed him but began a furious strip. Wham! The tiger was on. The tiger was airborne immediately and it wasn’t the beast. However, it was one of the first two nice size tigers. I forgot how hard a quality tigerfish fights. Here I was with my 10-weight and the fish was kicking my butt. Might I add this was the rod I fell on earlier today.

Fortunately the rod held up during the great battle and I tailed a spectacular 7lb tigerfish. It wasn’t the tigerfish of my dreams but a dandy nonetheless and Mikey got the whole thing on film. That turn of events was pretty cool. I wasn’t done casting for Godzilla but I knew he was on to us out by now. Sure enough, the three of us combed the area for an hour and never had another follow from even a dink tigerfish. Lake Nasser tigerfish have survived because they are smart!

Afternoon Session

Everyone seemed pretty content after lunch. Usually everyone starts looking for their guide following the last bite but today everyone relaxed in their boats. It was hot, an easy 105 degrees Fahrenheit, normal for Egypt. This definitely slows you down. We were all tied up to the back of the houseboat so we could talk and have a good time. We must have been on our second of third beers when it was the guides who came to find us. Lunch camp was ready to move guides were ready to fish.

Kick back or not, when the guides were ready so were we. With the lake being calm, Mikey asked Suka if we could try something different. He wanted to use the fish finder to locate a deep fish and stop and cast to the area. Being that no one has yet to catch a 100 pound perch from the bank, logically this might be the way to do it. Usually I’m all about getting dropped off on shore and avoid fishing blind from the boat, but at this point in the trip I was happy to kick back and watch. I’d played with this method on my first trip in 2006 with Chris Bailey while filming a TV show called “Reel Outdoors”. Chris and I caught some great fish on our first attempt at this method. We truly thought we had the lake figured out. However, we caught only one more fish by this method the rest of our trip! With that experience in mind, I was more eager to watch Mikey then fish.

It didn’t take long to locate a few fish at about 20ft deep. Warpath watched with me while Mikey grabbed his 12-weight and began to feed out his very fast sinking line. There was a light breeze that was absolutely perfect to help Mikey slowly tow his fly down deep through the fishy area. I kid you not, in less than three minutes Mikey was hooked up. There wasn’t a one of us on the boat that wasn’t shocked at the speed in which the bite happened. I grabbed Mikey’s camera and started running the video and taking pics immediately. At this point, we thought the fish just might be a 100lber by the way it was taking line and bending the 12-weight. It was unreal! 

Mikey had a look of pure panic in his eyes as he held on for dear life. Suka, with his hand firmly on the start key asked if we needed to fire up the motor and start chasing. To tell you the truth, I can’t remember what happened. I was so engrossed in the excitement of a true giant on the end of Mikey’s line that the rest of the world was at a standstill. Two minutes, three minutes, five minutes went by and although the fish stopped pulling line, it had not shown itself. We were certain this was a monster. Then Mikey’s line surged to the left and his fish completely cleared the water in cartwheel fashion, an unusual jump for a Nile Perch. It was a hell of a fish, but by no means a giant. At that point I handed Warpath the camera and got into position to Boga the fish when ready. The guides here love to use the old fashion gaff hook once upon a time used for tarpon and I always beat them to the fish with my Boga. I’m sure some anglers don’t believe in Boga Grips, but I can assure you they are a heck of a lot better for a fish than a gaff hook through the lower jaw.

It wasn’t easy getting Mikey’s burly perch on the Boga. As usual the perch had serious lock jaw and gunnels of the boat are just high enough off the water to make it even more difficult. Finally, using my left hand to pry the mouth open I slipped in the Boga. This was a fantastic Nile Perch! The flopping fish bounced the Boga Grip all over until finally settling on 27lb. It was a truly incredible catch on the fly and Mikey made it look as though there was nothing to it!

Naturally we set up to do the drift again. This time Warpath joined in while I remained skeptical. While they both fed out their lines, I rigged my 10-weight with a big jig fly that Warpath gave me. Before I tied my fly on, Warpath thought he was hooked on bottom. I think Mikey was first to disagree, but Warpath would have none of it. “Mikey, it’s bottom,” he said frantically. I stopped everything and stared at his rod tip. Warpath was using a 14-weight and I could swear it was jumping a little bit. Then Warpaths snag took off. “It’s a fish! It’s a fish! He clamored. Mikey reeled in fast.

Sure enough it was a fish. I couldn’t believe my eyes. Ten minutes or less of fishing and two magnificent perch were hooked. Less than ten minutes later, I clamped the Boga on to the twin perch to Mikey’s. This one reacted a little differently. I was in a cumbersome position as I hoisted the perch from the water for photos he went nuts. When he went nuts he literally dropped me to my knees and I caught my right side on the boat gunnels. Little did I know in the excitement, but I’d be feeling this for the next month. Suka gave me a helping hand and we handed Warpath the fish of his life. Mikey filmed and I took photos. What a turn of events. 

I probably don’t need to tell you what happened next but I will. We drifted that spot twenty more times till nearly dark and although a few fish showed on the fish finder we never hooked another. Regardless, it was a remarkable day from the incredible Tiger Island to what I will always refer to as Mikey’s bar. Although we will get a morning on the water, tonight was the last night of camping. As you can imagine after the day of fishing we had – we partied down!

 

Jeff Currier Global Fly Fishing web site

Day Five - Small Islands Big Fish

April 24, 2010 

The weather has broken. Finally, it’s warm enough to sleep outside the sleeping bag and you can walk around at sunrise with your shirt off again. This is the comfort zone I’ve learned to love in Egypt over the years. Unfortunately the wind is still whipping around, but luckily it’s out of the west instead of the northeast. I live by an old saying I picked up in Wisconsin, “Wind from the east – fishing the least. Wind from the west – fishing the best.” It stands true everywhere I go unless I’m south of the equator. We flipped things around some today. Jonathan Boulton and I haven’t wet a line together since our trip here in 2007 so today we did. Mikey filmed us all morning as Jon will be a great addition to the movie.

I wasn’t kidding when I said it’s still windy. Our camp was somewhat protected from the wind, but when we boated around the first island to the open lake, “Wham!” Huge whitecaps and a gale wind. We all chuckled as we are getting used to the challenges of Egypt 2011. Suka took us out to a group of about seven small rocky islands. These were so tiny that it took less than fifteen minutes for Jon and me to fish completely around them. Basically what we did was pull up on the leeward side of the island and we rock hopped and fished opposite directions. When we met on the windward side we’d reel in and head for the next island. We did this around two islands and caught a couple dinkers, but on the third Jonathan hooked up to a good one.

Believe it or not, this entire week of filming will only be a ten to twelve minute segment in Mikey’s movie. The finished product will be a two hour conglomerate of many fantastic fishing destinations. With that in mind, Mikey really just needs one fish fight and one nice fish. All the great scenery, wildlife (which I haven’t even mentioned) and life around camp puts the story together. Mikey, had just put down his camera to make few casts himself when Jonathan squealed. Although Mikey missed the hook up, he got the camera rolling for most of the battle including several jumps. It was an ordeal slipping the Boga into the jaw of this beautiful fish because I was on my belly getting knocked around and doused by crashing waves. And as most big Niles do, this perch had serious lock jaw. Finally the Nile cracked a smile and I clamped my Boga in there. I handed Jon the fish in a nick of time as a rogue wave swept me off the rock and into the lake. We all laughed as I climbed back up like a drenched dog. This fish brought on a sigh of relief from all of us as Mikey had him a killer movie! 

Jonathan’s fish weighed 16lbs. We all know of how these mighty game fish can reach more than 200lbs, but trust me, any Nile over 10lb on a fly rod is a catch of a lifetime. Jon and I went on to fish the rest of the islands. We each landed a nice tigerfish and a Nile just under 10lbs. The eat of the perch I caught painted a picture in the memory bank of Jon and me for a very long time. We were on a miniature island. It was more like a naturally formed jetty of jagged rocks about ten feet wide and one hundred feet long. It was very deep on both sides. It was one of the strangest geological formations I’ve ever seen. I prowled and dropped casts up one side and Jon the other. We were both looking ahead which is why Jon too was able to see the fish eat my fly. 

I dropped a cast to one of the most ideal looking Nile Perch spots imaginable. It was a true ledge. Under this ledge must have been a bottomless cave, a place that every Nile Perch dreams about for a home. I let my fly sink so that even a perch far back underneath could see the dancing fly. On my second strip a blur of silver shot out and hammered it. I’m sure I let out a girlish screech while Jon screamed, “Mikey! Get the camera!” 

I knew after the violent strike that no matter how big or how small the fish was, I had my hands full. Just the abundance of jagged rocks waiting to sever my leader or fly line scared me. When the fish decided to race completely out to the end of the narrow island and back down the other side, I wasn’t surprised at all. With no fear of slipping, breaking a leg or becoming a bloody mess, I bolted after him. It was a good thing because this fish went around and under every protruding rock he could find. Staying on his tail allowed me to miraculously steer my line clear of most the fish losing dangers. Once around the point, Mr. Nile went down deep to where he actually got himself stuck. I ventured waist deep on a submerged unstable shelf and with my rod arm fully extended and the power of my 10-weight Ross rod I lifted the fish from his hold. The one thing about Niles is if you can get through a crisis situation you usually get them. Sure enough, the exhausted fish came to the surface and Jon slipped in the Boga. It was an 8lb Nile with the attitude of a beast. Due to the treacherous terrain and the fear of dunking an expensive camera, Mikey got to us only in time to film the release. No big deal as the fish was not the hawg he pretended to be, but what a thrilling battle. 

Jonathan and I were both fishing weightless flies on fast sinking lines. After I worked the prime water in hopes of another perch, Mikey wisely went in with one of his gorgeous jig flies. The shear weight of his monster fly calls for his 12-weight. The fly itself not only gets to the deepest of ledges but has spectacular movement. I only wish I could tie flies like Mikey and Warpath. Just as I finished the trek back to our boat, Mikey had one. Grabbing my camera, I headed back across the island right behind Jonathan. We got there just as Mikey landed a gorgeous 15lber! Mikey the clean up man had subdued yet another fantastic Nile. 

We didn’t know it, but we had a two hour ride to meet up for lunch. Suka had no idea we would have such success on these seven islands and thought we’d be fishing near the lunch spot by now. It was time to leave this fantastic chain of islands. We had done our jobs and Mikey got a morning of filming we can’t wait to see. After a fiasco if not being able to find the houseboat and arriving for lunch two hours late, we finally joined the rest of the group. Although none of the others had big fish success like us, everyone was catching fish. Things are good on this part of the lake!

Jeff Currier Global Fly Fishing web site

Day 4 - To Catch A Tiger

April 23, 2010

The cold and wind is still here on Lake Nasser. Last nights temps must have been in the upper 50’s and this morning at sunrise the winds were cranking again. This weather is unusual for Egypt in April. Throughout the night we listened to the eerie sound of netting. Hearing netting may sound strange, but the way the local fisherman fish is they string out a ½ mile of net around an island or the mouth of a bay. Then they beat the bottoms of their boats like a drum and splash their oars against the water. They actually create purposeful rhythms that make great music – it’s really wild. The tempo they create sends the fish running for their lives, literally right into the nets. Locals aim for tilapias which get a high price at market, but we all know the Nile Perch, tigerfish and various species of catfish entangle in the nets as well.

Culturally it’s fantastic to hear and see the locals and their way of life, but it’s not a sound you want to hear if you are here to sport fish. After seeing the fishing deteriorate as we entered the east arm yesterday then hearing the locals all night, we have decided to fish our way back out of the east arm and finish up the safari at mid lake. This proved to be an excellent plan because every great looking spot we fished on the way out verified this part of the lake has few fish.

The afternoon sessions on the main lake were productive. It appeared we made the right decision leaving the east arm. In order to rack up some fish numbers, I targeted tigerfish exclusively. Although there are some big tigers in this lake, I prefer to use my 9-foot 7-weight Ross Essence rod with my new Evolution LT #3 reel and a RIO Saltwater Tropical Intermediate WF7I/I line. The thing with Egyptian tigerfish is that they like to follow the fly before hitting it and demand a fast retrieve. In order to obtain this presentation you must make a long cast. I can launch 80 footers all day with this rig making it the ideal set up for me.

I’ve recently changed my leader design for tigerfish. Tigers have tremendous teeth and for years I have used wire in order not to get bit off. However, today I and many other anglers feel that the eyesight of tigers is so good that they can see the wire and often don’t strike because of it. On that note I have been experimenting with mono shock tippets and other than the rare break off I find that 40lb mono works excellent. It appears to me that the tigers take the fly and bite down and hold down. What then happens is the shock tippet gets locked down in to the gums of the tigerfish jaw rather than sliding back and forth over the teeth eventually sawing your fly off.

Tigerfish are very enticed by flies with flash in them. My favorite is a flashy 2/0 red and white Clouser Minnow. Tigers have smaller mouths than you would imagine and such boney toothy jaws that they are difficult to hook. You often make a cast and get five strikes during your retrieve yet end up with nothing. Therefore, hook choice is very important. I don’t claim to be an expert on this, however, after four serious tigerfish trips; I’ve had my best hook up results on Gamakatsu Octopus style hooks. They have a deadly sharp hook point and a short shank with a slight twist. They work wonders for me.

The best places to locate tigerfish on Lake Nasser are off the rocky points. It’s best if you have the wind in your face. I spent the afternoon specifically casting from such places and to my delight was able to catch several tigers. Most of them were small. Small tigers here are less than 25”. However, I hooked a giant, and wouldn’t you know, he chewed through my 40lb mono shock tippet. That kind of messes up my theory, but I guess that’s the beauty and challenge of learning these exotic species. Along with the tigers I stumbled in to a several baby Niles and a puffer. The fishing has definitely improved.

Everyone’s fishing improved dramatically. Each angler in the group managed to catch at least some baby Nile Perch. The biggest news, Jonathan made Lake Nasser history. Although not weighed, Jonathan caught what may be the largest Nile Perch taken on the fly from Lake Nasser. He estimated this fish to be at least 60lb! We will definitely be fishing with confidence tomorrow!

Jeff Currier Global Fly Fishing web site

Day 3 - Cold in Egypt???

April 22, 2010

There is a major change in the weather today. I don’t mean rain, but rather cold temperatures. Cold for Egypt isn’t really that cold. It was probably in the low 60’s, but it was enough to wake me up shivering. I was sleeping with just a light blanket that was fine the first two nights, but at about 2 am I had to dig out my sleeping bag that I luckily always travel with. Out of all the nights I’ve spent camping on Lake Nasser over the years last night was definitely the coldest. Then there was the wind. At 5 am we had a steady 20 mph wind blowing from the northeast. You know if it’s blowing that hard at 5 am you’re in for a rough day. 

After breakfast in my fleece, we broke camp and began fishing our way deeper into the east arm of Lake Nasser. Although the skies were clear and the sun grew stronger, so did the wind. The waves grew huge fast and you knew Lake Nasser had the potential to turn into an ocean. Suka took us directly to a cliff facing straight into the wind to try and fish. It was good looking perch habitat but we all knew it was going to be extremely difficult to cast huge heavy flies directly into the gale and crashing waves.

Tough conditions or not, we were going to put in our best effort. Mikey wisely chose to run the camera and watch Warpath and I fish. I worked my way along with one of Warpaths huge jig-like flies. His jig flies are gorgeous and the weight they carry is exactly what you need when dredging for fish. Warpath fished behind me with a small red and white Clouser Minnow for tigerfish.

The waves were breaking on the rocks so hard that you could hardly see the rock ledges that you were trying to present your fly to. Plenty of debris had blown to this side of the lake and the clarity of the water from edge to ten feet out was murky. Nonetheless, I prowled my way along while getting splashed from the rogue waves. Even though the temperature was probably in the 70’s now, I was freezing. To my delight I landed a small Nile within five minutes and I got the feeling fishing would be good. But it was all downhill from there. 

First of all, with the lack of water clarity I continuously got snagged in the rocks. The last thing you want to do is bust flies off. Nile Perch leaders are like tarpon leaders in that you typically use 20lb class tippet with 60lb mono shock tippet. The 20lb RIO class tippet that I use is so strong that if there is a weak spot in your fly line or weak link anywhere, it may break there rather than in your class tippet. Sure enough, I broke off a chunk of the head of my fly line. It obviously got roughed up by the rocks previously and when I pulled to free my fly the fly line broke. Such a re-rigging process is a major hassle. I knew it might happen again so rather then go back to the boat for another fly line, I simply perfection looped what was left of the end of my fly line then made and attached a new leader and continued on with the now poor casting rig. To avoid a reoccurrence, on my next few snags, I braved the crashing waves and cold by swimming for my fly. Lake Nasser has some huge crocodiles and let me tell you, you do think about getting eaten while you’re pulling your fly loose from the depths!  

That first session was not fun. Luckily as we got further into the morning not only did it continue to warm up, but the wind began to subside. We eventually hit a steep cliff area that I knew from my past trips had to house some fish. When I say steep I mean steep. These particular cliffs were so rugged that we literally had to cast from twenty to thirty feet above and just dangle our flies along the rocks below. One slip and you would bounce your way off jagged rock outcrops down to the water. I guarantee you’d be a bloody mess, and depending on how banged up you were from the fall would determine whether or not you could tread water long enough for Suka to come retrieve you with the boat. There was little chance you’d climb out on your own. This is extreme fly fishing at its best.

Mikey was done watching us struggle to catch fish for his film so he put down the camera and broke out his rod. Mikey tied on a massive heavy fly of his own concoction and rather than cast it out there he methodically jigged it in the rock crevasses below. I can’t explain how intense this is. All three of us are good on our feet but honestly, if a 100lb fish shoots out of the rocks to your fly, you’re gonna be startled. And if you make a quick and hasty move with your feet, your life could be over. Enough of that kind of thinking because the truth is that when you’re actually doing it, falling is the last thing that crosses your mind.  

As the three of us worked the water thoroughly, Mikey had some action. If it wasn’t for rocks bouncing down the hill next to me I wouldn’t have been alert to hear Mikey hollering. But as Suka left his perch where he could see Mikey hook up, he kicked loose several rocks that nearly clipped my head off. I reeled in and scurried along the cliff to find Mikey. As his hollers grew louder I knew I was close. Fortunately they weren’t yells of distress, but rather that he was hooked into something good. At last I made it to him just in time to see him hoist in his first Nile. It was worth the trip because this was a dandy – the first double digit fish of the trip. Mikey was fortunate, he was in a rare spot that he could climb down to waters edge and he proudly posed for some photos.

Spirits were lifted and the three of us fished until lunch with incredible confidence. But other than a couple more small perch fishing was slow. After lunch we fished our way further into the east arm, but got completely skunked the entire afternoon. Worse than the lack of fish, there were new concerns. We were entering a heavily netted area. The local fishermen were netting everywhere. Technically, commercial fishing season is closed in April, but we were so far from civilization that evidently there is no enforcement. 

At dinner, the South Africans shared their experiences of the day. Sure enough, like ours, their fishing quality had decreased the further east they went traveled. And they too saw a horrific number of nets. Were we heading deep into a part of the lake that was nearly fished out? We had to make a decision by morning as whether or not to continue to this remote region or turn back to the main lake.

Jeff Currier Global Fly Fishing web site

Day 2 - Stubborn Fish

April 21, 2010

After a very peaceful and relatively decent night sleep I awoke to a cool breeze at about 5:45 am. All anglers stirred with anticipation for a big day of fishing. I rigged up a 7-weight incase we hit a good tigerfish spot today and then joined the Africans for some fresh brewed coffee that Jonathan was kind enough to share. After a hard boiled egg breakfast we set out towards the massive east arm of Lake Nasser. It’s a branch of the lake that rarely gets fished as it is about as far into the boonies of Lake Nasser as you can get.

Mikey and Warpath tied up some spectacularly huge flies and they are determined to try trolling them. Warpath even designed a super neat way of sinking them deep down to where the giant perch live. I think it’s really cool the boys are eager to try different things. I personally love the shore fishing so when they said trolling was what they wanted to try to start today, I had Suka drop me off at an island.

My island was gorgeous. What you look for when shore fishing on Lake Nasser are ledges and crevasses between the rocks just off the bank. Nile perch hang in these places and ambush their prey. Usually, the better the hiding spot the bigger the perch are that hold there. Great looking ledges about five feet deep have been so reliable in the past for me that I get nervous everytime I present my fly to such a spot. I know it’s possible that a real “heart-attack” (100lb +) fish could bolt out and grab my fly.

After fishing my way completely around the island over the course of an hour, I did not catch a single fish. This was very surprising as in past years; an island of such quality would at least produce several small Nile Perch and perhaps a nice tigerfish by casting off a point into the deep. The only encouraging sight was about a 10lb cruiser that I got a great cast too, but like yesterday he looked but didn’t eat.

The boys had no luck trolling either so we set off into the east arm. Suka dropped us off at several more islands along the way. While Mikey filmed and observed, Warpath and I got the skunk out of the trip each by landing a few puffers. Yes, I do mean the puffer fish that one would find in the ocean. This lake is the only place in the world where I have found freshwater puffer fish. They are really cool fish that aggressively take the Nile Perch flies.

At lunch time, the consensus of the group was slow fishing for all. A couple small Niles had been landed but in general, fewer than normal fish numbers had been seen. After lunch we continued to ease our way into the east arm, island hopping and dredging every good looking Nile Perch spot imaginable. Warpath and I each landed small ones but surprisingly not a ten pounder even spooked out of the rocks. I did however get a cast to a fast cruising beast. It’s always hard to judge the size of such monster fish but this one was big. I’d been fishing blind off a deep point. I was literally starting on my right and thoroughly working each cast about ten feet to my left until I covered the area. After my last cast on the left, I launched a backhand cast to start to my far right to work the whole area again. As I dropped my cast, just fifteen feet away a huge Nile Perch was cruising just below the surface. This fish looked to be about 70 lbs, but not having much experience viewing such fish for all know he could have been 25lb. It didn’t matter; doing my best to stay composed, I stripped as fast as I could to get my fly in sight of him but before I did he sank out of sight. I let my fly sink accordingly and with each strip my heart beat hard in hopes I would feel the grab. I didn’t. 

At dinner time the troops returned from the afternoon of fishing and there was some good news. Jonathan had landed a 14lb perch and one just under 10lb. This was good news for all as it shed a new birth of confidence throughout. After a nice meal and a few beers we all retired early to be strong for tomorrow.

Jeff Currier Global Fly Fishing web site