Lemurs, Chameleons, Cool Frogs & Wet Luggage

April 10-12

Madagascar – Day 11-13

I wish I could tell you that since I signed off on the 9th that we had an on time safe flight to Antananarivo, the capital of Madagascar before heading for the jungles, but we didn’t. If you remember, Granny and I were waiting for our flight in a bug infested terminal and some chick nearly got bit by a bat. Then it started raining in the air terminal. Well, from there things went from lousy to horrible. A massive thunderstorm started and went on for at least 2 hours. When I say we experienced torrential rain, I mean the clouds were dumping buckets of water. Our plane ended up being two hours late. Meanwhile, (we didn’t know it) our luggage was outside in the storm getting soaked waiting for the flight to arrive. Then when we finally took off two hours late, our short flight to Antananarivo became an adventure of its own. Our 737 got tossed around as if it was a Cessna in a hurricane and the plane got struck by lightning not once, but three memorable times! So, at 1 AM when we finally arrived in Antananarivo, we were exhausted, beaten and received our two bags completely soaked. Everything we own is drenched. What sucks is, NOTHING DRYS HERE. Oh well, we could be getting snowed on in Victor, Idaho!

Things have been better since the flight. We headed inland to Andisibe National Park. We hired a cool taxi/tour driver that I highly recommend named Jimmy Eliniaina Rabarison (jimmyblume_07@yahoo.fr) and he took us to the park for two days. Jimmy works with the Jenman Safari tour that lined us up at Sakatia Island last week. Anyhow, this isn’t a fish story so I’ll be brief, but you can’t come to Madagascar and not see the lemurs. Lemurs (monkey like creatures but not monkeys) are only found in Madagascar and Andisibe is home to many species of lemur.

On the way to the National Park Jimmy took us to see chameleons at a chameleon refuge. We saw the wild one yesterday at Sakatia, but at this refuge we saw about 20 different species that we could never just find on our own. Some were very well camouflaged by color while other had not only colors like their surroundings but they even looked like leaves, trees branches and even bark. It was unreal and well worth seeing. Chameleons might be one of the coolest looking creatures we’ve ever checked out. Enjoy the photos.

Once at the park we settled in at the Vakona Forest Lodge on the outskirts of Andisibe National Park and spent a day and a half hiking and checking out lemurs. We saw five different species including the Indri Indri’s the rarest and largest of all lemurs. Getting to see them is lucky. We weren’t just lucky but we got close to a group of four and as they navigated the trees above we stumbled through the jungle below and enjoyed them for over an hour before they vanished into the rainforest. Before this experience happened I would have told you seeing lemurs was no big deal, but this experience with the Indri Indri’s was spectacular. Absolutely memorable!

We’ve since traveled back to Antananarivo and staying at the IC Hotel a few blocks from the airport. First thing in the morning we begin the final leg of our Madagascar trip, true relaxation at Isle St Marie. Look on the north east side of Madagascar for a sliver of an island. Talk about being in the middle of nowhere, this should be it. And geographically, it should be great fishing.

Jeff Currier Global Fly Fishing Website

Springtime, Crossbills, Cliff Boxes and Work in Boise

I have been locked down in my work for three weeks now. The closest I’ve been to fishing is packing for Madagascar. I’ve tied 50 or so Biminis, whipped loops on lines, organized flies, rods, reels and all the other goodies that go along for a tropical adventure. Beyond my packing though, I’ve been painting fish to stock my galleries and drawing on Cliff Fly Boxes. It seems like I draw on at least a Cliff Box a day. Its nuts. I can’t wait until I get to Madagascar and actually reach in to a Cliff Box to grab a fly!

In addition to all this I’ve been preparing for a weekend of seminars in Boise, Idaho. If you are in the Boise area this weekend, be sure and stop in one of the local fly shops to sign up for the event. Pete Erickson, Phil Rowley and I will be teaching classes and giving seminars on every aspect of fly fishing both Saturday and Sunday. You could even catch us at the Boise Cabelas tonight as we will be there signing books and hanging out till closing.

The most excitement I’ve had in Victor lately has been watching the arrival of the migratory birds. As you’ve seen in my past postings, my birdfeeder hangs about 8 feet from my computer and I glance at them all day. Yesterday a pair of red crossbills arrived. This species always shows up in late March and my guess is that by the time I get home from Boise on Monday afternoon I’ll have a flock of 50 rummaging around for seed – as long as Granny keeps the feeders full this weekend!

Unfortunately, our weather has turned on us again. Last week I was surprised that my old car in the yard was still buried in snow. Well, it hasn’t gotten any better. Other Wednesday’s sunshine for about 5 hours, it has snowed nearly every day and it just started dumping again. Say goodbye to the old car for another few weeks I guess. And I better tighten that seatbelt for my long drive to Boise!

Jeff Currier Global Fly Fishing Website

Tailing Carp Dreams

Yes, that’s my old car almost completely buried in snow in mid March. There’s some absolute garbage falling from the sky today here in Victor, Idaho. It’s been warm so the snow is soggy. It rained all night. Then it turned to sleet this morning and now it’s dumping snow. It’s just lovely! But, it’s a perfect day to paint a jumbo Snake River Cutthroat, do a little writing, continue packing and researching for Madagascar and . . . watch a little NCAA – absolutely perfect!

For some odd reason I’m craving mirror carp fishing over at Blackfoot Reservoir here in Idaho. You can’t even drive to Blackfoot at the moment because of deep snow and even better, the lake is covered with three feet of ice. Nonetheless, I sit here daydreaming about tailing mirror carp.

In case you’re not up to speed on your carp you should be aware there are many different types. Carp are natives to Asia and Europe, where there is a variety of species. They since made their way around the globe carried by settlers for food. Here in the US the most prevalent and widespread is the common carp (Cyprinus carpio), (top) which is so common that it is found in 48 of the 50 states. The mirror carp (bottom) is a mutation of the common carp and is so different in appearance that one might incorrectly assume that it is a separate species. But it’s not. It is actually descended from common carp bred by monks back in the 12th century to have few or no scales, making them easier to prepare for eating (Although we’ve tried, my friends and I haven’t had much success making them edible!).

The mirror carp’s shape is similar to that of the common carp, but its scales are fewer and significantly larger. Usually, the scales are arranged in linear fashion, with two rows on top of the back, one down the lateral line of each side, and a row along the belly, all separated by golden brown skin. Some mirrors, however, have completely haphazard scale designs, and others are fully scaled. No matter how many mirrors you catch, no two will be the same, but all will be beautiful.

Like most invasive species, all carp are harmful to our shallow lakes and wetlands. Their feeding disrupts shallowly rooted plants muddying the water and they compete for food and spawning habitat of the native species. But like the cockroach, house sparrow, starling, and the red fox to name a few harty species, carp aren’t going anywhere. With that in mind, I hope you do or will learn to enjoy fly fishing for them as much as I do!

To learn tactics, fly patterns and more on how to catch carp on a fly, here’s a link to my past article in American Angler Magazine. And learn about other warmwater fish from my book!

Jeff Currier Global Fly Fishing Website

Being Home Aint So Bad

Today is officially the first day I can wake up and not be bummed that I’m home instead of fishing the Amazon. Had we been able to make the trip I’d be on the long flight home as I write. Now I can truly move forward.

I made the best of the week and got in some good outdoor activities in the snow. I cross country skied several days, hiked, ran and Granny and I worked every muscle in our bodies to the breaking point on Saturday when we summited a no-name mountain on the outskirts of Teton Valley. We hiked over about 8 feet of melting snow on snow shoes. You could say it was steep and deep and the pics tell the story. We’ll be feeling that workout for a week!

I also managed to catch up on some art projects. I decorated some Cliff fly boxes for Travis Mason of Deep Creek Fly Fishers in California. This is a great club that I’ve spoke at in the past. I know Travis from my visit to the club and ran into him again while at the Pasadena Fly Fishing Show last month. Deep Creek has one of the best looking club hats I’ve seen and Travis generously sent me not only one of the hats but also a club t-shirt. Being in California last month also got me fired up about golden trout so I painted one up this week. I plan to frame him up and hang him in my den until I stock up some of the local art galleries for summer.

The species info I posted last week about several fish of the Amazon was a hit. I had a few requests to do more postings similar when I don’t have current fishing stories to post. It’s a good idea and I’ll try to do more of it. I’ll probably post more exotic fish than what we run into with regularity just because its fun!

I could fish this week but I’m rolling with all kinds of projects that keep me home. I haven’t been home much the last 18 months so I’m kind of enjoying it. And the college basketball – superb. I only started following it a few years ago. I really enjoy it and my bracket is set. Also, being home won’t last long because next week I go to Boise for three days of giving seminars and then Granny and I head on our expedition to Madagascar. Madagascar should be some good blogging!

Jeff Currier Global Fly Fishing Website

A Last Day Crushing!

Today was my sister Becky and brother-in-law Don’s last day in town. It didn’t look like they were going to go back to New Hampshire with any great fishing stories from this visit. Last week our jaunt to the Henry’s Fork was a near bust (although Becky pulled a hopper away from a beast). Then while they were in Yellowstone Park this week they were blown off Slough Creek by our windiest day of the season. And although yesterday was certainly fun getting three year old Sierra hooked up to some fish at the Victor pond, it wasn’t like Becky or Don got to wade a river for wild rising cutthroats. With that in mind, for their last day I wanted to take them to some place that they were almost guaranteed to catch a few fish. And not just little fish either. I wanted to see them catch some big beautiful fish on dry flies. Piece of cake – right? Well, such a request might be a piece of cake in my boat, but with a three year old and four adults the boat wasn’t an option. We had to walk.

I thought pretty hard about this and last night I came up with an idea – drive as deep into the Canyon of the South Fork as possible and hope to find at least a few cuttys feeding on a riffle. I’ve floated the Canyon several times this summer and the fishing has been no less than spectacular each time. And as long as you don’t mind driving your car up a dirt rod for twenty miles you can access some of this water on foot. By 11 am this morning we found ourselves at the end of the road on the banks of the South Fork Canyon.

We weren’t even out of our cars when Granny spotted a nice cutthroat nymphing. She was leaning out the passenger window staring at a fishy looking spot under a leaning river birch with leaves beginning to turn yellow. “There’s one!” Granny shouted. “Get over here Donald”.

It appeared Becky would be first on Sierra duty as Don already had his vest on and was speeding our way. By now I too was observing the cutty and was glad to see he was also rising to the first of the days hatching PMD’s. He was a hefty trout. He was easily pushing 15”s and thick around the belly. I could see his beautiful orange colorings as I looked down from the dirt road we were perched on. Catching this cutty would make anyone’s trip a success. For starters I had Don tie on a small Chernobyl Ant and wade into position. The trout was weaving in and out of some very strange currents but when I saw the opportune time I told Don to cast. He made a perfect presentation but the cutty had no interest in the ant.

I advised Don not to make another cast and to immediately change to a PMD. I had a feeling we would end up going this route, but it’s so much easier to see a Chernobyl on the water for someone who rarely gets to trout fish we had to try it. Often times the Chernobyl entices the strike. But the Chernobyl is also the type of fly that if the fish wants it he’ll eat it on the first cast. If he doesn’t and you keep trying, he quickly figures out that there’s an angler around and may stop eating everything altogether.

Don tied on a size 16 PMD and began to cast. By now there were two nice cuttys looking for PMD’s and I knew we had a good chance. As expected, the smaller sized fly was difficult to see and Don had trouble landing it where it needed to be. These fish really were in a technical spot and in order to get a good drift the cast needed to be right on the money. Once Don had a feel for the drift he laid the fly right in there and one of those gorgeous cutthroats ate it.

Unfortunately, the cuttys of the South Fork have and uncanny way of not getting hooked. We all saw the mouth close on Don’s fly but when he lifted his rod there was nothing but air. Unbelievable! Now the trout were wise to us and other than a few refusals we didn’t get hooked up.

Then it was Becky’s turn while Don watched Sierra. Granny, Becky and I walked down through some willows to a back eddy where some fresh fish were feeding in a bubble line. Becky is much more experienced than Don so Granny and I just grabbed a seat on a fallen cottonwood tree and watched. As Granny and I fought off some angry ants Becky presented the fly where it needed to be and a cutty ate instantly. But she too missed her first fish. I tell you, these guys really can be tough to hook. Becky was a little frustrated but she threw right back in there and hooked and landed one of the smaller risers of the pool.

Becky caught a few of the smaller trout before hooking a big one. I saw his large jaws close down on her fly  and the surprised look come over his face when he felt the hook. Then I watched him take off frantically and bolt from side to side in the pool. Becky’s 5-weight was bent and the game was on. By the time I scurried down to her to prepare to take some pictures the brute had worked his way to the main river. As we all know, the current and power of this river is amazing and the cutthroat had a huge advantage. I instructed Becky to put some heat on him and boy did she ever. Unfortunately it was too much heat and she broke him off.

Becky was bummed to say the least. So were Granny and I. There were plenty of fish but there was little to show on my digital. While Granny and I brought along our rods to do a little fishing, we decided that it was best to leave the good fishing opportunities for Don and Becky. We had some errands to do anyway so we headed back to Victor and they stayed.

Becky, Don and Sierra returned to Victor this evening with big smiles. I knew if we left them on their own they would find a way to outsmart the big cuttys of the South Fork. It turns out that Becky landed several more trout from her pool including one nice one like the one she lost. Don also landed two cutthroats. What made one of Dons catches so rewarding was that one was the first he missed to start the day!

Jeff Currier Global Fly Fishing web site

Fishing and Gliding - Yes Gliding not Guiding

After a 2010 summer record, four days in a row without casting a fly, today I took my three year old niece Sierra to the Victor pond to reel in a few fish. My sister Becky and her husband Don have been in the area for about ten days. They drove all the way out from New Hampshire with young Sierra who already has a serious liking to everything the outdoors has to offer from hiking, wildlife viewing, skipping rocks, and running barefoot in the grass. She even seems to like fishing.

Last week we spent two days camping and fishing the Harriman Ranch of the Henry’s Fork with them. The trip was kind of a bust with horrible weather and only a few small fish. I never got around to writing the report for those days because shortly after I got home from them I got the horrible news that my friend Rob Merrill drown in the South Fork. I’m sure most of you read the story. At the time of my post, Rob’s body was still missing. He was found Friday afternoon an incredible 34 miles downstream from where his boat overturned. A celebration of Robs life will be held at the Timberline Bar and Restaurant here in Victor on Saturday night from 6:30 pm until 8:30 pm.

There are only a few stocked trout left in the Victor pond by the time Labor Day comes around. This little pond has had the living daylights pounded out of it by so called “one weekend a century” anglers since Memorial Day Weekend. The crafty anglers have bombarded these poor trout with worms, powerbait, marshmallows, lures, minnows, bacon, spaghetti, and perhaps even dynamite. The few fish left have literally seen it all and if you are dumb enough to think they will devour any fly you throw at them, I can guarantee you will be sorry. These survivors are brilliant!

Becky, Don and I fished for two hours and only managed to land a few of the wise little trout between us. Remarkably, Sierra caught one of them while reeling in her bright pink closed-faced Princess fishing rod outfit. Don cleverly set her up with a good old fashion red and white bobber, but instead of dangling a worm, he tied on an olive tungsten bead head hares ear nymph below it. I didn’t think it would work but heck, it wasn’t much different than the embarrassing rigs grown men have started nymphing with during the last decade. Perhaps they too should spend much less money on their equipment and get themselves a close-faced outfit named after their favorite superhero.

Anyway, Sierra had great fun fishing but then it was lunch time. We stopped by the house and picked up Granny and drove to the Warbirds Cafe in Driggs Idaho. Warbirds is located on the edge of the runway at the Driggs airport and while you eat you watch the valleys small airplane traffic come and go. Just as I was biting into my half pound buffalo burger (which I highly recommend) and sipping a hefty draft beer, our friend Sam Lee pulled up a chair to say hello. We used to see Sam all the time but he got into flying gliders and since then we hardly ever see him. He absolutely loves it and now takes people on glider rides out of Driggs. Sure enough, before I knew it, I was heading up with him for a quick glide after lunch.

Now I’ve always wanted to take a trip in a glider. But if I were to plan it, I’d do it before lunch rather than after. And I probably wouldn’t treat myself to a pint before the trip either. But there was no planning involved, just a spontaneous answer of, “Yes I’ll go”. Well, the good news is that I’m quite solid when it comes to a rough ride at sea or major turbulence on a small airplane and fortunately for both Sam and I, both buffalo and beer sat right where they belonged. Best of all we had a fantastic ride high above Teton Valley and just west of the Tetons. If you’ve never been thousands of feet up without an engine carrying you then it’s hard to explain this adventure. Just imagine this though - there was hardly a cloud in the sky today and if there were climbers on top of the Grand Teton we probably could have seen them. What I can say best about the trip is that if you pass through Teton Valley and Driggs Idaho, YOU MUST treat yourself to a trip with Sam.

It was an incredible day today. It seems we never know what will come from a summer day in the Yellowstone area. What began as a simple few hours on the water with a three year old and some family turned into an unexpected adventure 12,000 feet in the sky. I love it! As for the future, tomorrow is the last day with my sister and her family and I’m sure we will fish again. Then they head home and Thursday begins the Jackson Hole One Fly Contest.

Jeff Currier Global Fly Fishing web site

Sad Day on the South Fork

The minute I got in the truck with Gary Eckman today on the way to the South Fork he gave me the somber news that a fishing guide drown on the river last night. He told me the few details he heard, one of which was that the guide was from Driggs, Idaho.

It was too early for such information. The whole thing hit me so fast that it took me a few minutes to process. Then like and siren sounding off in my head I realized what the likelihood was that this was a friend. The fishing community in Teton Valley is small and close. Everyone knows everyone and I am friends with most the fishing guides from Driggs, Idaho to Pinedale, Wyoming. Many are fellow employees whom I saw nearly every day for years. They’re like family. I urgently flipped open my phone and made some calls.

I didn’t find out much. I was just glad to hear some voices. I thought perhaps I’d be lucky not to know this person. But when Gary and I got to the South Fork I wasn’t so fortunate. The guide was indeed a friend, not from Driggs but rather Victor.

The friend was Rob Merrill. Rob was a fellow employee at the Jack Dennis Fly Shop and we carpooled from Victor to Jackson Hole Wyoming for several years. The last few years he has managed Three Rivers Ranch Orvis Fly Shop in Driggs. He made a great name for himself with his knowledge of the surrounding waters. Rob was as passionate about fly fishing and teaching others about the sport as anyone I’ve known.

Rob had more than enough experience wading and boating our fantastic fly fishing waters. Unfortunately Wednesday night his boat hit a tree and overturned. While his clients were lucky enough to swim to shore, Rob Merrill was wearing waders and could not. This type of accident can happen to the most qualified boaters but remarkably the possibility rarely crosses our mind.

Gary and I met up with fishing guide Mike Bean of Idaho Falls. Mike is highly regarded as one of the finer guides of the South Fork River. I’d never met Mike before, but I knew that even though I know the South Fork well, there was opportunity to learn a lot more from Mike. But although I should have been excited about this I couldn’t get my mind of Rob.

As we pushed off the Conant Boat Ramp to float the Upper Canyon section, police in jet boats, sheriffs on jet-skis and even a lone helicopter searched the river for Rob. Naturally on every cast I too was looking. Usually I found myself staring aimlessly in the water while other times I prayed to see him on the bank freezing cold just waiting to be rescued. As far as our fishing went, it was decent. I banged up a few nice trout on streamers and once the sun warmed Gary picked off some huge cutthroats with one of Mikes special ant flies. The fishing progressively slowed down and by 2 pm we had trouble catching any fish at all. We noticed that the water level was dropping. It was obvious that the Bureau of Reclamation reduced the flows at the Palisades Dam in order make the search for Rob easier.

Throughout the day Rob’s accident began to sink in. It was a challenging afternoon in many ways. Our fishing was tough while my mind raced with ideas on how Rob could be OK. We did have some high fishing moments. One thing about fish is, when the water drops they panic. But while it seems that most retreat to the deep, some quickly return to the shallows and feast like it’s their last meal. We managed to catch a dozen or so nice cuttys from the riffles on tiny size 20 Pale Morning Duns (PMD’s).

By the time we finished our float, Search and Rescue had retrieved Rob’s drift boat 1 ½ miles downstream of the accident, but there was still no sign of Rob. Deep inside I knew if Rob was alive on the bank he’d of been found by now. I was losing hope. The South Fork is a huge river and there are many pools that are far too deep to see bottom from standing in a boat with polarized glasses. As we left, divers were beginning to help with the search but as of nightfall they had no success. Tomorrow the search will continue.

As for me I’m going to take a fishing break for a few days. This will be a good time to stay around the house and catch up on many things. One of these things will be thinking about Rob Merrill and about life in general. What’s really important and what’s not? This is an accident that could happen to me or anyone reading this. What if? We all walk a fragile line and it’s unfortunate that it takes tragedies such as this for us to realize that.

Go fishing, spend time with family and friends and enjoy as much as you can.

Jeff Currier Global Fly Fishing web site

Cooper Chuckin Streamers

Today was Friday on the South Fork of the Snake River with Gary and Cooper Eckman. Cooper is the 14 year old fly fisherman and son of Gary that I introduced last Friday. He loves to fish and I enjoy watching him in action. This week Cooper showed up with a plan – he was going to throw streamers in search of a “River Monster”.

Prior to today, Cooper only dabbled in streamer fishing. He’s already a very competent dry fly angler. He can feed a big bushy dry fly down a grassy bank and he can present a tiny Pale Morning Dun pattern to a selective cutthroat on a riffle with the best of them. But he knows that fishing a streamer is its own art. He also knows that larger trout are often times more likely to prey upon small fish rather than tiny insects. That’s how they get big. So in turn, if he’s going to get that River Monster, he needs to learn how to fish streamers effectively.

A good place to catch trout on streamers is the canyon of the South Fork. This is a 26 mile stretch of water that can be broken down into two stretches, the Upper Canyon and the Lower Canyon. No matter what section you do, it’s an awful car and trailer abusing shuttle because part of it is a fifteen mile washboard dirt road to a place called Cottonwood. If you do the whole canyon you avoid the washboard dirt road altogether and shuttle drivers simply move your car down the highway and there’s little fear of your car and trailer being tortured. In order to do the entire canyon you must do a two day overnight trip, bring a motor or row your butt off a portion of the day. We opted to do the whole canyon and row our butts off a portion of the day.

That meant an early start to the day. Fridays are a tough one for me because Thursday nights are “Music on Main” in Victor Idaho. It’s a heck of an outdoor concert at the park only a rocks throw from our house. We do “Music on Main” whether we like it or not, fortunately we love it.

The boys picked me up at 7:20 am and we were launching at 8 sharp. I grabbed the oars and while Gary and Cooper got rigged up I pushed us downstream. I rowed for about 90 minutes or to a landmark known as “Hole in the Wall”. “Hole in the Wall” is just that, a huge hole or cave high up on a rocky cliff. It’s about a third of the way down through the entire canyon. It’s an absolutely gorgeous place and one of the most beautiful floats. Like fishing in Grand Teton National Park the other day, it’s hard to watch your fly and not just stare at the scenery.

It’s tough to row past good looking water. I know Cooper and Gary were ready to fish five minutes into our long row. But everyone just kicked back and enjoyed the scenery and wildlife. Cooper made a cast on occasion just to check if we were there yet. When we started, we were all ready for it. I watch with anticipation as Cooper made his first few casts. To start, Cooper was casting his two streamers like a dry fly. However after a little coaching he put a little more authority into his cast and put the flies where they needed to be; now we just needed a fish.

We easily went a mile without seeing a single fish. Cooper started second guessing the streamer like any 14 year old kid would. I kept saying fish it through this bank. Then the next bank would look good and I’d suggest he do it again. Finally Cooper was ready for a break. But there was one bush he just had to throw his flies too. I promised him this would be the last one he had to cast too. And sure enough, he hooked up to his biggest fish of the day.

Cooper landed a fat cuttbow. It was his River Monster and boy was he satisfied. We took a few photos and then as you can imagine, the streamers were back in the water most of the remainder of the day. Sure Cooper threw dry flies on occasion, but for the most part he stuck to the streamer. Cooper can fish a streamer superbly after one day in the South Fork Canyon. He ended up with several cutthroats and even a nice brown. We finished up our long float at about 7 pm. As always we had a great time.

Jeff Currier Global Fly Fishing web site

Carp for Trout This Week

It’s been an unbelievably great season of trout fishing in our area. In fact it’s been so good that if you’re not careful you can start to expect it and perhaps even take it for granted. That’s why this week Granny and I rested the trout gear and went fly fishing for carp. While many trout anglers still snub their nose at such a diversion, we like to mix it up. Chasing a variety of species keeps our life interesting and because each species requires a few special tactics, I think it makes us overall better anglers.

Some fantastic carp waters exist right here in Idaho. While carp are classified as warmwater fish, the truth of the matter is that they are like earwigs, rats, house sparrows, whitetail deer and red foxes, they seem to thrive just about anywhere they happen to live. Two hours from Victor Idaho we have Blackfoot Reservoir and a few surrounding lakes that have heaps of mirror carp and the occasional common carp.

Granny and I have camped almost every Tuesday and Wednesday (Granny’s weekend) all summer long. This weekend was no different. We packed my rig, bought some food and drink and off we went. These carp lakes work like this. Blackfoot Reservoir has big smart carp and it’s tough to land them because there are lots of weeds and protruding willow bushes in the lake. They average about 10lbs and 20lbers are common. Granny and I have taken several fish over 30lbs! The surrounding bodies of water to Blackfoot Reservoir have small dumb carp. Small meaning 2lbs to the biggest I’ve seen, 16lbs. Seeing that I haven’t chased the carp around since our annual tournament last May, we chose to start with the easy guys.

Let’s just say the easy guys weren’t so easy this trip. The temperature around here is in the 90ºs. We see it this hot about once every three years. The heat doesn’t hurt the carp fishing, but it makes you do stupid things like try to fish in shorts and flip flops. That was our first mistake at the small carp lake. Naturally we were slipping on rocks and the first time I wandered out to retrieve a snagged nymph I got so stuck in the mud that I nearly lost my flip flops. I may as well have because now they are so stretched out they are basically ruined. The end result was, Granny left to read a book and I put on an old pair of leaky duck hunting waders and sweat my way around the lake.

Water clarity was poor. We’ve had lots of storms and this shallow lake was churned up from weeks of major wind. One thing about proper carp fishing is that you sight cast to them. I like to watch them mull around the weeds and drop offs looking for nymphs and crayfish. Sometimes they tail like a redfish or create muds from feeding aggressively along the bottom. Either way, I always observe them a few minutes before I make my cast.

Due to the lack of clarity, I wasn’t seeing the carp soon enough. I was basically standing  on them when I saw them. Then, all I had to do was wave my rod to cast and they spooked. It doesn’t take much to spook a carp. Gradually my eyes got tuned in and after an hour instead of spotting the carp next to me I was able to pick them up when they were twenty feet or so away.

They still weren’t easy by any means. Not as easy as they usually are on this particular lake. But after botching up three in a row I hooked and landed a nice mirror carp of about 6lbs. Carp always give you a good battle but this guy really took my 5-weight to the test. Real quick, if you’re wondering why the 5 instead of a heavier rod, it’s because heavy lines hit the water harder then that of the 5-weight. If they hit too hard you spook the carp. Sure, with a 5-weight it’s hard to turn a big carp but at least you get  the hook up and then it’s a heck of a lot of fun trying to land them.

By 2 pm it was so windy that my chances of spotting even a tailing carp became unlikely. I managed one more carp that was one of the smaller ones I’ve taken. Granny was around so we popped a few pictures of the little guy. Then we packed it up and drove to Blackfoot followed by a treacherous drive through a mile of tall grass to my secret carp camping spot.

The wind was really cranking by the time we got to Blackfoot Reservoir. Whitecaps covered the lake surface except for the tiny bay where we staked out camp. Granny decided on a nap and I wadered up and made a slow walk around the bay. These are big carp! Blackfoot Reservoir carp always amaze me when I haven’t seen them in awhile. For the last month I’ve been trout fishing and the biggest one I’ve caught was about 20 inches. One pass around this bay and I saw five mirror carp near 3 feet long with girths like piglets! I didn’t catch any though. The wind and chop on the water was too much. I got only one decent cast for most the brutes saw me before I saw them. And the one fish I cast to refused my offering. I was done for the day and Granny and I kicked back and grilled up a feast while listening to Cubs baseball on my XM radio. All the time the wind settled and at dark there were tailing carp everywhere.

Falling asleep to tailing carp got me up early this morning and eager to land one of the Blackfoot beasts. The problem was we had clouds, some rain and no tailing carp. It was completely opposite of the forecast we expected and spotting carp in such conditions was near impossible. Luckily clear skies loomed to the west and so while we waited Granny whipped together a superb breakfast and we had our second feast of the weekend. By 10 we had clear skies and calm waters.

With conditions near perfect we wadered up and made a death march to one of my favorite points for sight casting to carp. It was hotter than yesterday and both of us  nearly died in our waders. It didn’t matter Gortex or not, it was brutal. Normally we wet wade but not in the weeds and mud of Blackfoot Reservoir. Once there it appeared the walk was worthwhile. The water looked good and there were cruising carp and a few muds to attend to.

Granny opted not to fish. She climbed up on a ridge viewing the lake, ditched her waders and kicked back to enjoy the day. I prowled along the shoreline like a blue heron. The carp were difficult as always. The wind from yesterday and earlier murked the water more than I thought and it was difficult to spot carp. I startled a few right off the bat before I figured out how far from the bank they were cruising. Once I had that down I never took my eye off there again and started to see them. I cast to at least six cruisers and dropped flies into muds with no takes. I used several flies that normally do well for me. My favorite is a red Copper John but I also do well with rubber leg hares ears, tan Crazy Charlie’s and some of my Vladi Trzebunia nymphs. But the carp paid them little attention.

Three hours into it I was really scrambling for ideas. My sightings of carp were dwindling and the wind and clouds were making their way back. I was running out of time. Finally I met the cooperative carp I was looking for and he was at least 20lbs. I twitched on of Vladi's woven body Euro nymphs in front of him and he destroyed it. He didn’t follow it or scrutinize the fly, he simply attacked. I gave him the metal and I laughed at the shocked expression on that carps face. His eyes bulged with surprise and he opened his mouth and flared his gills to the max trying to blow my fly out of his soft mouth. He failed and the game was on.

I love my 5-weight Ross fly rod for carp fishing but it is the drag of my Ross Evolution LT Reel that makes it all possible to land a 20lber on a 5-weight. This big carp was a hot one. He smoked me straight out about twenty feet into my backing and started a big sweep to the right. He knew exactly what he was doing, because to the right was a patch of willows protruding from the lake. I put an unbelievable amount of pressure against him both with my reel and the bend of my rod. It was like I was putting the heat on a speeding saltwater fish. I even started backing up on shore trying to force him away from the willows. By now Granny was at my side. She had a look on her face a lot like the carp did when I hooked him – shocked and surprised. Then, that sick feeling of instant slack happened. The carp was gone. It didn’t look like he made the willows but evidently he got me onto something. He broke me off. It was over.

Granny looked at me with disgust. It was if I totally screwed it up. Evidently she wanted that carp bad. But there was nothing I could do. The carp of Blackfoot are tough. Blackfoot Reservoir terrain is unforgiving. And this big-ole-boy kicked my butt. I’m a sick man. I love the agony of defeat. I’ll want it more next time. I love the challenge. I’m not sure Granny will be charging back with me anytime soon, she likes her fast and furious trout fishing. Next week I’ll take her to the Gros Ventre and she’ll catch more trout than you could ever dream of!

I love my 5-weight Ross rod for carp fishing but it is the drag of my Ross Evolution LT Reel that makes it all possible to land a 20lber on a 5-weight. This big carp was a hot one. He smoked me straight out about twenty feet into my backing and started a big sweep to the right. He knew exactly what he was doing, because to the right was a patch of willows protruding from the lake. I put an unbelievable amount of pressure against him both with my reel and the bend of my rod. It was like I was putting the heat on a speeding saltwater fish. I even started backing up on shore trying to force him away from the willows. By now Granny was at my side. She had a look on her face a lot like the carp did when I hooked him – shocked and surprised. Then, that sick feeling of instant slack happened. The carp was gone. It didn’t look like he made the willows but evidently he got me onto something. He broke me off. It was over.

 Granny looked at me with disgust. It was if I totally screwed it up. Evidently hing I could do. The carp of Blackfoot are tough. Blackfoot terrain is unforgiving. And this big-ole-boy kicked my butt. I’m a sick man. I love the agony of defeat. I’ll want it more oth with my reel and the bend of my rod. It was like I was putting the heat on a speeding Jeff Currier Global Fly Fishing web site