The Bite is On!

July 15, 2010 Day 6 Somehow I actually jumped out of bed at 1:30 am feeling good this morning. I was confident and felt lucky. Vladi Trzebunia whipped up some coffee and we both headed to the salmon shed. Like last night, there were several of our new friends. They had been fishing all night but nothing. The rain was stopped and the Gaula River had already dropped a foot. Unfortunately despite feeling lucky, by 6 am not one fish was caught by anyone. Vladi and I went back to the camper for a quick breakfast that turned into a well needed 2 hour powernap. When we woke up it was 9 am and my permit for the Stǿren beat was finished. The sun was out and for the first time it was hot in Norway. It was about then that Vladi suggested I fish the beat one more session. I was reluctant because I’d love to see another river, but I knew there were fish here so it was hard to leave. Again I bought a permit. Vladi still wouldn’t get a license for himself. He’s determined to see me catch a salmon before he fishes. I’m bummed about this because I could learn so much from watching Vladi like have in the past, but there was no changing his mind. When I arrived at the salmon shed with my updated permit, the place was packed. There were our usual friends and several new folks. Everyone was waiting for 2b but no one was on 2a so that’s where I went. I tied on a double hooked salmon fly that I picked up years ago. I have no idea the name but can tell you it resembles a gray ghost, one of my favorite landlocked salmon flies that I grew up with. From the top of 2a I methodically worked my way downstream. It’s not simply cast at a 45 degree angle let your fly swing and do it again. Depending on the current sometimes you cast 60 degrees and sometimes 35 degrees. Sometimes you wiggle your fly a tiny bit in its swing while others you dead drift it. Experienced Atlantic salmon anglers have a feel for what to do like I know when a trout is about to steal my fly from the surface. Slowly I was learning my salmon presentation. At the bottom of beat 2a, literally on one of my last casts, I got the strike I’d been waiting for. It was at the very and of my swing with my fly dangling exactly 60 feet below me. It was not a classic light touch but rather a nice thud and wham I had a fish. All you do is take a deep breath and raise your rod tip and everyone stops what they are doing and runs to see what you have. By the time the first observer stumbled in the rocks behind me I knew my fish was small and suspected another sea trout. But when the fish thrashed on the surface the first time I could see my first wild Atlantic salmon. I slid the fish to the shallows and after a few quick pictures released him. The small salmon (grilse) was lucky to be alive, not only because I released it, but scars indicated the fish was recently tangled in a net. It’s a challenging life for these salmon both in the ocean and while migrating the rivers. The way back to the shed was an exciting moment with a lot of congratulations and high-fives. I was stoked! Two minutes after everyone went back their business, the Italian got hooked up. I was expecting this for the last three days for his casting and fishing concentration is the best in the group. Alfonso's fish was a good one as you could see his 16-foot spey rod bent to the hilt. After a great fight, Alfonso landed a 4.6 kilo salmon. That wasn’t all either. After a true celebration amongst all of us, Manuel, the Swiss angler also hooked up and landed a 6.4 kilo fish. All the fish seem to bite at once. I couldn’t wait for my next turn! Turn after turn came and went but that would be all for everyone today. About ten of us rotated beat 2a and 2b all day but nothing. All three salmon taken today were in a period of about a half hour. Then nothing. At 7 pm Vladi and I returned to the camper for dinner and a few hours sleep. The plan is to get back on the water by 1 am. Jeff Currier Global Flyfishing web site

Big Rain, High Water, Hard Day

July 14, 2010 Day 5 It’s tough when your nickname is Monsoon Currier. Norway has had a dry summer up until today. Yesterday I experienced easy wading and clear water on the Gaula River, but today the river was much different. Last night hard rain pounded our camper roof to the point where I just could not sleep. Finally at 1:15 am I climbed into my waders and headed to the river. I don’t know about you but I’m a little groggy getting up at 1:15 am, but did it suspecting I’d have beat 2b to myself. However, when I got to the salmon hut there were several of yesterdays crew and a few guys that fish only at night. This Atlantic salmon fishing must be serious business. After greetings from everyone, I looked around and saw a salmon hanging by his tail. The fish was 5.5 kilo (about 12lbs). It was a gorgeous fish and seeing it woke me up fast. Then I looked to the river to size up my strategy and it looked completely different. It had risen three feet! I had a tough time getting my fly out far enough yesterday, now I would need to make a whole new plan. The new plan consisted of trying beat 2a. For some reason, everyone waits in line to fish beat 2b. It has faster water than 2a and I’m sure more salmon. But, I was up and now after seeing a nice caught salmon, anxious. And beat 2a was vacant so I headed out to it. It’s remarkably light out at 1:30 am, even with a thick cloud cover. As I waded into the top of beat 2a I noticed the water was slightly off color. I didn’t have a lot of confidence as I made my first few casts. Then I saw the occasional free jumping salmon and recalled Vladi's theory on rising water and migrating salmon. He must be right being that the first salmon in days was caught. It wasn’t long before Vladi arrived to me with a freshly brewed hot cup of coffee. He liked the fact that I was fishing beat 2a and encouraged me to make a few passes while no other anglers wanted to fish it. Sure enough, at about 3 am my fly got nailed as is swung behind a rock. Just like yesterday, everyone came running. Minutes later I landed my second sea trout. After a few photos I released him and headed for the salmon hut for my coffee and a break. That was a great start to the day. It was a fish before 4 am. It got me and Vladi so excited that at 9 am I got another 24 hour permit so I could fish until 9 am tomorrow. At about 10 am, one of the East Germans landed another salmon. It was a small salmon of about 18”. Despite its size, everyone ran down to see the fish. It was a salmon and not many salmon get caught. I was glad to see this salmon released. The truth is that even though Atlantic salmon are endangered, rod and reel fishing impact does little to hurt the populations. People keep salmon all the time and believe me, they earn them. It is the commercial fishing in the ocean that does the damage. If I catch a salmon this week I will definitely return him. The rest of the fishing day was slow. It rained hard at times and the river continued to rise. There’s no doubt that the salmon move and get active during rising water. We saw plenty of salmon free jump and there are more anglers here than yesterday. They, like the salmon come out with the rain. I fished until 8 pm without more than a beer break between turns. It was a hard day for everyone but we had a lot of fun hanging out in the salmon hut. These are some great guys and Vladi and I are making lots of friends. Vladi and I are just about to eat a surprise meal he made, Hungarian Goulash. It’s one of his favorites. All I know is I’m hungry and tired and plan to get up early again to use my permit till 9 am tomorrow. Jeff Currier Global Fly Fishing web site

 

Norwegian Fishing Culture

July 13, 2010 Day 4 It’s amazing what a night of sleep will do for you when you haven’t had a good one in a few days. Vladi Trzebunia and I jumped from bed at about 6 am and listened to the birds over a pot of Norwegian coffee. Half way through, Vladi began giving me careful instructions on how to go about catching an Atlantic salmon on a fly. Few anglers have ever caught a wild Atlantic salmon. Populations have been overharvested and suffer incredibly from pollution and dams. Efforts in North America and Europe have returned small populations but overall there are only a few places left that have them running wild. I have fished Atlantic salmon only twice before. Once was a weak attempt in Maine and the other in Scotland on the River Tweed. I failed to catch a salmon either time and sort of wrote off my chances of ever catching one. That was until I met Vladi and now our trip to Norway. Even in Norway salmon populations are nothing what they used to be, however Norway does have some of the best rivers in the world. Norway is also known for some of the largest salmon left in the world. With my limited salmon fishing experience and the knowledge of how few Atlantic salmon there are, I came here in hopes of catching one wild Norwegian Atlantic salmon of any size. When Atlantic salmon migrate from the ocean to a river they do it to spawn and don’t feed. Therefore, getting one to take a fly is not an easy task. This has led to some amazing flies and tactics that have been developed over centuries. Luckily after eight years of Atlantic salmon guiding, Vladi knows many of these tricks. The River Gaula has numerous beats. Vladi and I are camped in Stǿren on the banks of the river on what is referred to as the “Stǿren Campground” beat. The “Storen” beat is numbered 1, 2a and 2b and 3. 2a and 2b are the only “Fly Fishing Only” sections. So first thing today Vladi got us organized to fish there. In most of Europe, there’s a fee for the beat you chose on top of the regular fishing license. Norway is the same and this famous beat cost 250 crowns ($40 US) for a twenty-four hour session. Vladi has chosen not to fish today to help me get that first salmon. When we arrived on 2a and 2b there were several fly fishermen taking turns fishing the beat. The way you fish an Atlantic salmon beat is you start at the top (upstream end) and after every cast you take three steps down. Once you are at the bottom (downstream end) of the beat you get out and back in line you go. This beat takes approximately 30 minutes to fish. I was at the back of a line of about five anglers. At first this may sound horrible but it was cool to hang out and meet the other anglers in the salmon hut. I would also find out later that time between turns provides valuable and needed rest. Most of these anglers are extremely experienced in Atlantic salmon fly fishing and true addicts. Some spend the entire summer at the Stǿren campground fishing beats 2a and 2b. Every one of them uses a two handed spey rod. I was the only one with a single handed rod. I quickly realized that I was immersed in a fly fishing culture. It was similar to opener of the Ranch on the Henry’s Fork. Long time friends gather and catch up on stories while catching some fish. The only difference is we walk around trying to catch a few huge finicky rainbows while these guys do it for Atlantic salmon. Best of all, these guys welcomed Vladi and me into their group. Today the group consisted of several anglers from Denmark, an Italian, three East Germans, a family of Swedes and several Norwegians. They loved that they had an American in the mix and were very excited that I was after my first salmon. And like I do for any newcomers I meet on the Henry’s Fork, all of these guys started giving me tips on how to go about catching my salmon. Already I’m in love with this new fly fishing experience. Despite witnessing some of the most unbelievable spey casting you could ever watch, no one hooked a fish while I waited my turn. When my turn came there was lots of encouragement and tips from the group. Vladi strolled down to the river with me and coached me on how to fish to the salmon. There are certain angles in which you land a cast and all kinds of methods for presenting the fly. For the most part, you cast as far as you can downstream at a 45 degree angle and let the fly swing until it’s directly below you. Some guys move the fly a little while others keep it still. When a salmon takes the fly it’s usually gentle and you then give them line – far different than anything I am used to. I watched each angler before me land 120 foot casts with their spey rods all the way to the other bank where the occasional salmon free-jumped. I was seriously handicapped with my 9-foot 9-weight because my average cast was about 80 feet. I addressed my disadvantage quickly and rather than ripping my underwear trying to cast 120 feet I concentrated on seams and rocks on my side of the river. There’s no doubt that beginners luck exists. As my fly swung on each and every presentation I knew something was going to happen. Sure enough, fifteen minutes into my turn I had an aggressive take and set the hook. It was a nice fish but by no means a huge salmon. Everyone came running down to see. After a good fight I landed a sea trout. Everybody was pretty amazed that the “single hand rookie” got a fish so fast. Not only that, sea trout are rarer than the salmon on the Gaula River. It was a lucky catch. My fishing ticket started at 9 am today and runs for 24 hours. While most guys’ fish about three hours then take a break and then come back for another three hours, I fished right through from 9 am until 10 pm. Now I’m tired and hungry as heck. I’m really excited about my sea trout in my first pass. Unfortunately that was my only fish today. In fact, it was the only fish caught today. There’s no doubt it was beginners luck and I need to mentally prepare myself for a tough week in search of that one salmon. The plan now is to get some sleep for a few hours then Vladi and I will get up at 3 am and fish out my ticket till 9 am. As we climb into the camper here for dinner (more pasta) it’s starting to rain. Vladi says when it rains fresh ocean salmon come into the river. Vladi is usually right! Jeff Currier Global Fly Fishing web site

Headed for the North Pole?

July 12, 2010  I signed off yesterday just before  boarding a plane from Amsterdam to  Oslo. The flight went just fine but when  I got to Oslo Vladi Trzebunia wasn’t quite there  yet. Unlike me, Vladi did not fly for this  adventure but rather drove all the way from his home in Zakopane, Poland. This involved traveling 1400 kilometers by driving through Poland and Germany, then across the Baltic Sea by ferry boat, and once again driving, this time through southern Sweden and finally into Oslo, Norway. We both knew the schedule of the ferry may cause him to be late picking me up so when I couldn’t find him I wasn’t worried. Sure enough he arrived within the hour. The other slowing factor was that Vladi actually towed along his camping trailer. Yes, all the way from Poland. The reason being is that Norway is one of the most expensive countries in the world. With his camper we can sleep anywhere and prepare all our own meals. Not only will we prepare out own food, but most of what we eat Vladi brought from Poland. It’s a heck of a deal and what makes this entire trip possible. So there we were in Oslo, I flew twenty hours and Vladi drove forty. We were exhausted. Nonetheless, like you’d expect we were so excited we brushed sleep aside and headed north. That brings me to another detail of the trip. We are going Atlantic salmon fishing. Tell anyone that knows much about Atlantic salmon fishing and inform them you are headed to Norway to do it and you are automatically assumed rich. Atlantic salmon fishing is truly one of the most expensive fly fishing habits there is and to do it in Norway is unimaginable for a couple of fishing bums like us. Nevertheless, once again, Vladi makes it possible - he guided here for six years! However, that was not since 1991 which is why we are here. He misses it tremendously and needs to visit some of his old friends. We drove about five hours into the night before pulling over to sleep. As normal with me when I cross oceans, I could only sleep about three hours so at 3 am I had us up and continuing north (remember its light at 3 am). There was some absolutely gorgeous scenery along the way. At about 9 am we arrived in the town of Stören on the banks of one of Norway’s most famous salmon rivers, the Gaula. Vladi may have been more excited then me. We can all relate to returning to a place or time in our lives that we enjoyed so much. That’s what it was for Vladi. We travelled along the river stopping at nearly every pool. Not only did Vladi remember the fish either he or his clients caught over the years but he had a story for each. It was an unbelievable treat and soon became a day I will never forget. We had every intention to fish today but I let the time go by without mentioning it. Vladi's stories of Atlantic salmon were fantastic. In a way I was fishing by listening, studying the water and observing other anglers as we went. After two hours and 100 kilometer meander upstream we came to a roaring canyon fed by a waterfall. Vladi parked and we walked as close to the falls as we could. “Watch my friend”, is all Vladi said. I probably don’t need to tell you the rest but I will. I sat and watched one of the worlds greatest game fish leap the falls. There weren’t many of them, a sad reality, but there were enough that two hours later Vladi had to drag me away. We are presently camped on the outskirts of Stören on the banks of the Gaula River. We just feasted on a spaghetti dinner mixed with half the countryside of Poland. It was delicious. I will now attempt to sleep a whole night and in the morning try for a Norwegian Atlantic salmon. Jeff Currier Global Fly Fishing web site

Vladi Trzebunia

July 11, 2010

I became a member of the Team USA Fly Fishing Team in 1997. That was back when you didn’t compete to be on the team. It was what was considered a “Gentleman’s Team”. If you were a decent angler and had the connections you could be on. I made my connections in 1996 when the World Championships of Fly Fishing were held in Jackson, Wyoming. I didn't fish on the team that year, but like many Jackson Hole fishing folks of the valley, I gave hours of my time to help the foreign contestants learn the water and techniques to catch cutthroat trout. I also ran a fly shop right in the lobby of the hotel where all the international teams and contestants stayed during the competition. I sold flies and leaders and offered advice to contestants every morning as they set out on my home waters. (You should have seen their faces when they saw their first Chernobyl Ants!) I met many of the worlds greatest fly fisherman (even though I didn’t’ know it at the time) from the Czechs to the Japanese to the Irish and the Kiwis. There were twenty-two teams from around the world in total. It was an awesome experience and I made a lot of great international friends.

I guess it pays to be a nice friendly hard working guy, because during the winter of 1996-97 I got asked to be on Team USA for the World Champs to be held in Zakaopane, Poland. It was under one condition; I had to go two weeks before the competition and fish and learn the Polish waters from our host, Vladi Trzebunia.

Although I should have, I didn’t know of Vladi Trzebunia. Vladi didn’t fish the Jackson Championships. He was a long retired competitor of Team Poland. I should be known that when he competed for Poland, he became a worldwide legend. It was Vladi that introduced what is now referred to as “Polish”, “Czech” or “European Nymphing”. A method of nymphing designed specifically for catching European grayling that just so happens to also work superb on trout, whitefish, yellowfish, chubs and you name it. In 1989, with his (at the time) “secret” method, he carried Team Poland to a Gold Medal on the waters of Finland and also won the individual Gold Medal. Vladi was a World Champion and continues to be one of the best fly fishermen on the planet.

All this greatness under his belt, and Vladi Trzebunia generously offered to be the host of Team USA for the 1997 Fly Fishing World Champs. Why? Simple, because he wanted to improve his English.

I spent two incredible weeks learning from one the worlds greatest and in fact I still learn from him today. Vladi is one of those rare folks you meet and two minutes into the experience you know you’ve met a friend for life. Since that trip to Poland in 1997 Vladi and I have fished and traveled together throughout Europe and the USA. I have a long list of entertaining fishing stories and experiences with Vladi. Someday have me tell the story of the first time Vladi set eyes on the Madison River or when I caught the huchen while with Vladi in Slovakia.

I thought it was a good idea to introduce Vladi to start this blog chapter because in two hours I will be meeting up with him in Oslo, Norway. Vladi used to guide Atlantic salmon in Norway and now he is taking me to camp, fish and visit many of his old friends during the next ten days. I’m presently sitting at the Amsterdam Airport awaiting my flight to Norway. It is absolutely nuts here, more so than normal. Everything is decked out in orange for the World Cup Soccer Game that the Netherlands hopes to win today. It should be a very exciting day for all of Europe. It’s all real cool but I just hope Vladi's travels have served him well and he will be there waiting and for me in Oslo.

Jeff Currier Global Fly Fishing web site

And We're Off

July 10, 2010

I’ve been traveling all day but sure haven’t gone far. That’s due to a seven hour layover at the airport here in Minneapolis. I was hoping to visit a college pal that lives here but he is tied up with a softball tournament. All we could do was chat briefly on the phone.

It actually works out good as I was behind on emails and retuning some calls the past few days. Now that’s all done and I am truly ready to rock. Tonight I fly to Amsterdam and then tomorrow afternoon I’ll fly up to Oslo, Norway where Vladi Trzebunia should be waiting. Actually, he may be late because as we speak he and his camper are on a ferry from Poland to Sweden. He gets to Sweden at 6 am Sweden time then has about an 8 to 10 hour drive to Oslo. We will both be exhausted before the trip starts – NOT! We will be so pumped we will roll north into the midnight sun without any problem. I can’t wait!

Jeff Currier Global Fly Fishing web site

Granny Puts on a Clinic

July 7, 2010

My legs were a little sore this morning. Granny’s were too that’s why she thought I should hook up the boat and float her down a river. And by the way, get my bike out so I could do an eight mile bike shuttle to start my day. So SHE could rest her legs! Ha!

I pretend to be abused but I love taking my wife down the river and I ride my bike nearly every morning anyhow so at least today I’d have a reason. My tackle is in disarray from my upcoming trip so even though it’s not the set up of choice, I grabbed the already rigged Ross Journey 7 ½ footer that I’ve been using small stream fishing. I packed it in the truck and away we went.

The bike shuttle was a dusty one but there was little wind and overall it was very enjoyable. When I got to Granny she had the boat ready to roll and we pushed off. The river, like most around here is too high to provide good fishing but nonetheless, it would be a nice relaxing float and perhaps we’d find a few hungry fish rising in the dirty water.

Things started very slow. The highlight for the morning was watching a family of magpies. The babies had just left the nest and were fun to watch exploring their new world. At about noon, I actually heard what sounded like a trout sipping a bug. There were some Pale Morning duns on the water. I stared in the direction of the sound and sure enough, the fish sipped again. It was game on.

Granny got a kick out of casting the short rod. It definitely took her a few false casts to adjust, but then she presented her thorax PMD beautifully in the direction of the sipping cutthroat. The way I was holding the boat, we were about fifty feet away so she had to really shake line and feed her fly to the fish. Then, as we hoped, the trout sucked down her fly and downstream he went. Frequently, the more subtle the rise the bigger the fish is. This was a prime example of this. When I first pointed the rise out to Granny she thought it was a little brook trout. I disagreed and when Granny felt the weight of this fish she admitted I was right. A few minutes later I netted a burley Snake River Cutty.

We only saw one more riser today and he turned out to be a rainbow. Granny got him too. He could be one of the best colored up rainbows of the year – truly spectacular! I plan to start painting him today. Most or our rivers are still at least week from coming into their own. When I get home from Europe the fishing should be incredible everywhere.

Jeff Currier Global Fly Fishing web site

 

Testing, Testing 1, 2, 3

Believe it or not, I don’t fish every day, but I do think about it. That’s why I did some more camera testing today. Granny and I went on a fantastic hike and ended up on top of Packsaddle Ridge. I practiced my close up shots on wildflowers all along the way and saw a few cool bugs and caterpillars too. The hike was supposed to be a three hour jaunt but it turned into a seven hour climb. It’s good exercise though and there’s no better time to be in the high country than July. Tomorrow we will rest the legs and make few casts.

 
Enjoy the pics and if anyone knows what species of flower, beetle or caterpillar these are I’d love to know. Believe it or not, I don’t fish every day, but I do think about it. That’s why I did some more camera testing today. Granny and I went on a fantastic hike and ended up on top of Packsaddle Ridge. I practiced my close up shots on wildflowers all along the way and saw a few cool bugs and caterpillars too. The hike was supposed to be a three hour jaunt but it turned into a seven hour climb. It’s good exercise though and there’s no better time to be in the high country than July. Tomorrow we will rest the legs and make few casts. Believe it or not, I don’t fish every day, but I do think about it. That’s why I did some more camera testing today. Granny and I went on a fantastic hike and ended up on top of Packsaddle Ridge. I practiced my close up shots on wildflowers all along the way and saw a fewool bugs and caterpillars too.

The hike was supposed to be a three hour jaunt but it turned into a seven hour climb. It’s good exercise though and there’s no bet ter time to be in the high country than July. Tomorrow we will rest the legs and make few casts. Believe it or not, I don’t fish every day, but I do think about it. That’s why I did some more camera testing today. Granny and I went on a fantastic hike and ended up on top of Packsaddle Ridge. I practiced my close up shots on wildflowers all along the way and saw a few cool bugs and caterpillars too. The hike was supposed to be a three hour jaunt but it turned into a seven hour climb. It’s good exercise though and there’s no better time to be in the high country than July. Tomorrow we will rest the legs and make few casts. Believe it or not, I don’t fish every day, but I do thin k about it. That’s why I did some more camera testing today. Granny and I went on a fantastic hike and ended up on top of Packsaddle  better time to be in the high country than July.

Jeff Currier Global Fly Fishing web site

A New Camera for Norway

July 6, 2010

Part of organizing for this trip to Norway is getting familiar with a new camera. I feel like this adventure will be one of the best ever and getting great photos is a must. The cameras I’ve been using were not up to par with what’s available these days. On that note, even though I couldn’t afford it, I bought the new point and shoot Canon PowerShot G11. Reviews rave about the incredibly clear photos it takes and its ability to shoot both RAW and JPEG format. It also has many features that standard SLR cameras have.

I read the manual the last two days and today it was time to take some pictures. At first I tested it around the yard but then I wanted to test it on some fish. We have terribly high water on most our major rivers so back to the brookie streams I went. Joining me was, Mark Kuhn, better known as Milkfish. Milky and I drove towards Ashton, Idaho and started wetting lines in random small streams. Unfortunately, even the small streams are presently raging and although fishable, they were slightly off color.

My standard fly for blind casting small streams for trout is an elk hair caddis or a yellow sally. I’ve seen a few sallies around lately so I tied one on my 7 ½ foot 4-weight Ross Worldwide youth series rod. Ross sent it to me a few months back and today was a perfect place to test it. By the way, I was very impressed.

Milky did about the same and neither of us had much activity at first. Then, as a pair of sandhill cranes were scolding me from the bank with some God awful cackles, I caught my smallest fish of the year – a 4” brook trout. Such a pretty fish was a perfect test for the camera.

That was the only fish Milky and I caught. This surge of warm weather has melted the last of our high country snow and water levels have risen for the last time. Our small streams are about a week away from being excellent fishing and the major rivers will follow just after. Luckily, our tailwaters like the South Fork of the Snake will be prime in just few more days.

On the way home, Milky ran over a rock. We were backing up through some sagebrush and unfortunately there was a beast of a rock that tore up the bottom of his car. After we thought all was good, we proceeded down the dirt roads and his car was yelping a sound that was very similar to the upset sandhills I met earlier this afternoon. We made it back to Victor but I’ll be curious as to what is really messed up.

I just downloaded all my practice pictures. I’m very pleased with the results and I think with some practice with the camera settings the pictures will only improve. I just hope that next week the viewfinder is full with a huge Norwegian Atlantic salmon!

Jeff Currier Global Fly Fishing web site

Packing for Norway

July 5, 2010

The 4th of July came upon us fast this year. It was such a cold and nasty spring followed by a cool and windy start to the summer that when the calendar dropped to July the other day I was shocked. It will be winter before we know it!

While Granny had to work, I partook in some of the July 4th celebrations with friends Pat and June. We took in the Victor parade followed by pizza, microbrew beer and a game of darts at the Wildlife Brewery. Then we caught several of the live outdoor bands with the rest of the town of Victor at the Knotty Pine. The Knotty has a fantastic party every 4th of July and if you’re out this way for Independence Day be sure not to miss it.

Once the fun was over it was time to pack. I’ll be traveling again here soon. This time to Norway to meet up with my friend Vladi Trzebunia from Poland. Vladi used to be an Atlantic salmon guide in Norway and has been meaning to return to see his friends and catch salmon again. Last time we were together Vladi asked me if I’d like to join him on an adventure back to Norway. Naturally I wanted to go, but when you run a fly shop in Jackson Hole, summer is not the time to go on vacation and the trip never happened. This year is different. Since I left my fly shop job I have yet to let a travel chance slip by. And although I could certainly be working on my art, Norway with Vladi is a once in a lifetime opportunity.

Packing is never easy. Especially when you go to unfamiliar territory for a new specie. I’ve never been to Norway and although I’ve fished for Atlantic salmon, I’ve never caught one. I need to make it happen this time around. What is most difficult for me is choosing my fly lines. I do so many different types of fishing from chasing trout on my home waters to jungles of the Amazon to pike to saltwater etc. I have hundreds of lines for various applications. One great organizing tip that works for me is to mark my lines. I simply take a sharpie and code color both ends of my fly lines with the line weight. A thick line stands for five and each thin line equals one. The example I have shown is a 9-weight line.

If you frequently take lines on and off marking the lines is essential. Don’t wait until you mix up your arsenal. I also recommend that you save all your fly line boxes and plastic spools until you toss the line. That way when they are off the reel it’s even easier to identify them. Last, get yourself a Rio Cranky. This simple tool makes it easy to change and store your lines. You will also avoid twisting and adding unwanted memory to your lines. I’ll be packing throughout the week and if I have any other good tips I’ll be sure to share.

Jeff Currier Global Fly Fishing web site

Tiny Trout

July 1, 2010

 

I've been chasing big trout, big weird fish, saltwater fish and you name it all year. Yesterday Granny and I just wanted to catch some tiny trout on a small stream that may never get fished. Small trout can be some of the most impressively colored fish in freshwater.

Jeff Currier Global Fly Fishing web site