Day 1 - Wise Old Perch

April 20, 2010  

Morning came early today after a late night of celebrating the fact that we made it to Aswan, Egypt. This was one of the rare times that the hotel wakeup call startled me from a deep sleep. It actually took  me a few seconds to realize I wasn’t at home anymore. I whipped open the curtains and saw the morning sunshine illuminating the desert palm trees around the swimming pool of the Basma Hotel. Mikey and Warpath groaned when I said let’s get some coffee and breakfast. Then I tossed in the fact that we would be casting for Nile Perch in a few hours and their feet hit the ground fast. 

After a great breakfast and tasty coffee we found ourselves in a mini van with the South Africans headed for the village of Garf Hussein on the banks of Lake Nasser. Garf is about an 11/2 hour drive straight south towards the Sudan border. Sure enough as we pulled into the old port our boats and guides awaited.

The African Angler Guide Service set up works like this. First of all, we are on what they refer to as a Safari. We travel around the massive lake never fishing or sleeping in the same location twice. A worn houseboat carries supplies of food and drink and serves as the dinning room for us and has a community bathroom and shower. At night, rather then us sleeping on the houseboat, the guides and employees sleep there under the stars. We sleep and live off our actual fishing boat. Each fishing boat has two small beds in the bow. Being there is three of us; Mikey is sleeping on the roof. There’s little worry of rain as it rains in southern Egypt only once every two years! 

I’ve fished here twice and was one of the first anglers to come here specifically to fly fish. Previous to my first visit, nearly all fishing was done by trolling huge lures on heavy pop gear. On that first trip, my guide had great difficulty understanding the concept of fly fishing. It’s harder to catch the Nile Perch with a fly than it is to troll, and when you do catch fish they are typically smaller. Nile Perch have been taken from Lake Nasser up to 240lb! With the fly, our average fish runs about 4lb and my largest to date, although nothing to gawk at is around 40lb. I’m not even sure it was 40lb, but it did bottom out my 30lb Boga. I can see how the guides really don’t understand fly fishing. Fly fishing is much more difficult, requires tons of energy and we catch tiny fish relatively speaking. 

I escorted the first ever fly only anglers group in 2007. That was my second trip to Lake Nasser. During that trip the guides had no choice but to kick back and watch and learn. Of course we were learning also which is what makes this so damn fun; we are pioneering fly fishing for Nile Perch in Egypt. In this day and era, pioneering anything to do with fishing is a rarity. In any case, we proved to the guides that anglers can have fun working their butts off and catching smaller than average fish using this method. And to be honest, I think it was refreshing to the guides because it is different and involves walking rather than trolling which can get old day after day throughout an entire season.

During that second trip my guides name was Suka. Suka was a great observer and by the time the second trip came to an end, Suka had learned a lot about what it takes to catch Niles on a fly rod and how I approach fly fishing for Nile Perch. Therefore, when I saw Suka this morning, I made a beeline to him and declared him as the guide for Mikey, Warpath and I.

Our group consists of nine anglers, the three of us and six South Africans of Jonathan’s group. Once everyone settled on their boats, we all set off on the lake. It was a warm 100 degrees (standard of southern Egypt) with blue skies as far as the eye could see. We traveled for two hours and met up with the house boat for a quick lunch. Then we fished throughout the afternoon. Fishing was slow to say the least. Not one of us landed a single fish. However, the fish were there because we saw them. Huge schools of tilapia hovered around shoreline weed beds. Logically, when tilapia, the main food of the Nile Perch are tight to the weeds, large Niles are near. That proved true as I heard Mikey excitedly call my name to come cast to a 20lb plus cruiser he could see below him as he stood on a cliff filming the amazing Nasser scenery.

On my last trip, if you saw a cruising perch and showed them the fly before spooking them they often ate it without hesitation. Today the giant perch showed little interest. Other than a few nonchalant followers, the perch either weren’t hungry or have been harassed by anglers prior to our visit. Regardless, sighting fish is encouraging and I suspect we are going to have a fine week of fishing. 
 
Now, as I make this entry, I am barely in need of my headlamp. The moon is near full and the stars are so bright in the clear sky that I could read a book. I’m camped in Egypt again. That’s about it for today. Hopefully tomorrow will bring us good luck.

Jeff Currier Global Fly Fishing web site

Green Drake Para Emerger

Another Emerger - The variations of this type of fly are endless.




Spent half a day in Little Rock and went down town to the Flying Fish for eats and drinks. (Tried to go to the Gander mountain but the hotel van driver said 8 miles was to far.) On a few of the walls they had the Bass Addoption wall of fame. I guess the rule is if you bring in a Billy Bass they give you a place to put it on the wall and you get a free plate of catfish. Next time I see one of these babies at a flee market for 1.50$ I'm buying it for the next time I'm in Little Rock.







My wife says that I have a habit of ordering the most interesting thing on any menu I see. I suppose that she knows me pretty well. Ive has snails, various sushi dishes, and even a few Belize termites (they taste like mint). For that have seen my brothers blog I guess it kind of runs in the family, I have never gone Bear Grills on a rattler but if the situation presents itself, I'll definitely try a plate of snake. In the meantime I tried these babies..... These are not chicken wings. I'll let you figure out what they are. By the way they are tasty!!

Let the Games Begin!

April 19, 2010
11:55 pm
Aswan, Egypt

Warpath has just arrived! The three of us have made it despite the Icelandic volcano and travel hell. We are drinking beers with my South African friend Jonathan Boulton and his group that we will be spending the next week with on Lake Nasser in pursuit of Nile Perch. It’s amazing how the most difficult of situations often work out. This should be a great trip! We head for the lake at 8 am. Can’t wait!

Jeff Currier Global Fly Fishing web site

Volcano's Can't Stop Us

April 19, 2010
5 pm
Cairo, Egypt

I must say I’m a little surprised, but Mikey Wier and I are sitting here at Cairo Airport waiting for our domestic flight down to the southern city of Aswan, Egypt near the massive Lake Nasser. We are going to be fishing tomorrow! And to top it off, Brent Dawson (Warpath) is rolling into Cairo in about three hours. Warpath officially could not make the Delta NYC to Cairo flight that Mikey and I flew on last night, so he bought a one-way ticket from San Fran to Amman, Jordan and then to Cairo at the airport! He spent a fortune but I guess it was kind of like, “I need to catch some Nile Perch” and he just flat out bought it. I like his spirit!

That’s about all there is to say on the trip so far. We are a little exhausted from the stress of worrying we wouldn’t make the trip and then of course the 26 hours of flying. That’s all behind us now and hopefully tomorrow night I will be reporting from our camp on Lake Nasser after a great day of fishing.

Jeff Currier Global Fly Fishing web site

Sulfur Para Emerger

According to Orvis this Mayfly can be tied with the following recipe:
-Hook short shank nymph size 14-22
-Thread Cream 8/0
-Wood duck flank for Tail
-Rib mad from rootbeer krystal flash
-Wing post from yellow foam
-Ginger grizzly hackle
-Abdomen made from pale olive dubbing
and
-Thorax of dark Antron dubbing.

Mine is a mix of yellow, brown, and red paint applied in a form somewhat similar to what the finished fly might look like. The Orvis fly might be of more value.

Fly Fishing in Egypt

 

April 18, 2010

No recent posts on the blog are a sure sign of two things. First, I have done little or no fishing. That’s bad news. Second, I’ve been working and had little time to fish and write the blog. That’s sounds bad, but it’s really good. To sum things up, I spent most of the last month at home catching up on art projects. I had one quick trip out of town in which I spoke to Mid South Fly Fishers in Memphis, TN. That was a fantastic trip. On any normal club visit, I would stay and fish a few days, but after a walk down Beale Street and some outstanding barbeque I returned home and kept up on my work goals. 

Lucky for me, periods of hard work generally lead to a major fishing escape and today I find myself on the long journey to Egypt’s Lake Nasser. I will be fishing through the African Angler for Nile Perch, tigerfish, vundu and bagrus catfish. This will be my third trip to this incredible and unusual fishery and I can honestly say it is one of my all time favorite fishing destinations.

Joining me on the adventure are American anglers Mikey Wier and Brent Dawson (Warpath). Mikey is the genius behind several popular fly fishing movies including the very popular “Soulfish”. In fact, Mikey will be filming on the trip for a segment for his next flick. Warpath is one of the most talented custom fly tiers of our times. If you want high quality flies, Warpath is who you want to make them. We all became close friends on an epic exploratory float trip in Mongolia in 2008.

Mikey's movie and stripping Warpath Flies all depends on us getting to Egypt. The volcano in Iceland has played havoc with our travels. The three of us were supposed to meet in Amsterdam today but with nearly all flights to Europe cancelled including ours, we find ourselves a day late praying to board a direct flight to Cairo out of NYC tonight. At present, Mikey and I have our boarding passes for the 11 hour 30 minute flight, but Warpath is desperately fighting for his. It would be a huge disappointment for us all if Warpath gets left behind.

The host of this trip is my South African friend Jonathan Boulton. I was fortunate to get our threesome on board because Jonathan had some extra spots. Jon and I first met when he and his friend Craig joined my group to Egypt in 2007. I’m also looking forward to spending time with Tim Baily, owner of the African Angler and the pioneer of this magnificent fishery. Tim is full of information about Nile Perch and their behavior as well as many stories ranging from 200lb monster perch to 18ft long Nile crocodiles!

If you look at a map, Lake Nasser is the massive lake in southern Egypt formed by the famous Aswan dam on the Nile River. We will be living out of a houseboat armed with several smaller boats in which we sleep on and travel to our fishing locations. I personally prefer to get out on shore for most of my fishing. It is not uncommon to see huge Nile Perch foraging the shallows in search of spawning tilapia. Our group consists of all fly fishermen and I’d say the Nile Perch are in trouble. I will not have access to the internet during the trip. Therefore, I will launch my day by day accounts upon returning home on April 28th. For those who kept up on the March Amazon trip, it will be done the same way. Be ready for some incredible fishing stories and photos to come.

 

Jeff Currier Global Flyfishing Web Site

Purple Demon & Fighting The Wind

A Tarpon Fly.

On Tuesday afternoon - in 20 - 25 knot winds - I took what little free time I had and took the wife,kids, and a set of my newly tied flies to the old bass pond. My Little girl had a bobber and worm and I tried to cast into the wind with my 2w fly rod. I was very proud of the little x-hopper I had tied but after 10 minutes of fighting the wind I gave it up and tied on a heavier streamer pattern I came up with on a whim. Basically its just a long strip of rabbit fur tied with a bit of strip for the tail then wrapped forward. What is great about this little guy is the swimming pattern it has after a short strip. The little tail just keeps swimming as the fly sinks. The rabbit fur I cut myself from a little black and white pelt. On the third cast I hooked this little bass. It hit it hard and jumped the whole way in. As you might be able to tell, not very big but very satisfying to know it hit my own version of a rabbit strip streamer. Anyway, by this time the kids had had enough. Between my casts I was recasting my little girls worm to deeper warter because the wind kept pushing it. After a while she became more interested in throwing sticks into the waster than fishing so I gave up on fighting the wind and decided that it would be better to play with it....




Kids love kites, and so do grownups!

Green Highlander

ResearchBlogCast: Fewer Big Fish In The Sea

I am quite honoured to have the ResearchBlogCast #4 pick an article that I have covered here on Fish Schooled.

For the post follow this link.

For the podcast follow this link.

Deer Hair Caddis

Tips For Installing And Maintaining Water Gardens

Water gardens, also known as aquatic gardens and garden ponds, are miniature ecosystems They add charm, enthusiasm and a sense of tranquility to any place

Water gardens can be created by combining a pool with aquatic plants and ornamental fish Rocks, waterfalls etc when combined with pools add to the beauty of the gardens Water gardens can be man-made or natural, comprising the right blend of flora (plants) and fauna (animals)

Pond Plants

Water gardens have plants such as submerged plants, marginal plants and floating plants Submerged plants are those that grow completely under water Marginal plants have their roots deep into the soil but the plant grows above the surface of water Floating plants grow freely floating on the water surface The submerged plants in the ponds often act as oxygenators and provide oxygen to the fish in ponds A garden pond requires at least one oxygenator and a lily plant

Aquatic Animals

Water gardens look colorful with fish like Koi, Gold Fish, Golden Orfe, Golden Tench, Mosquito Fish etc Water ponds also attract snails, frogs and other predators Some predators such as snakes can be dangerous to the fish in the pond

Requirements For Water Gardens

There are certain points that need to be considered when installing water gardens Some of them are -

• 1 Sunlight – Most water plants need enough sunlight to grow Hence it is recommended to install the water pond at a place where there is enough sunlight In case of shadier places, the choice of plants is limited

2 Trees – Having a water pond near a tree is not preferable The dried leaves from the tree may fall into the water and harm the aquatic plants and animals

3 Location – The location of a garden pond should be such that it can be easily viewed and enjoyed It is recommended to install it in places near the windows or in places easily viewable from the terrace etc

4 Size – Size of the water garden should suit the size of the garden A small garden will not look good with a large water pond

Maintenance of A Water Garden

Since the garden ponds contain plants and animals living in them, just creating water gardens is not enough They require regular maintenance Maintenance of ponds includes filtering the water, pumping, preventing the formation of algae etc

Equipments Used For Maintenance Of Water Gardens

Pond Pumps – Pond pumps provide water enriched with oxygen to the plants and animals in the pond While choosing a pond pump do consider the operating cost of the pump as well along with the pump cost

Pond Filters – Pond filters mainly function to filter the water in the pond Fish and other aquatic animals living in water pollute the water due to their regular metabolic activities If the impurities are left behind, the water gets polluted thereby causing harm to the plants and animals in the pond

Ultraviolet clarifier – Ultraviolet clarifier (UVC) is used to prevent algae that result in green murky water The algae remove the oxygen from pond water and hence may cause death of fish in the pond UVCs are usually included in most pond filters It is important to note that UVC contains quartz tubes since that doubles the efficiency of the UVC

With proper planning and maintenance, water gardens can be your source of joy and pride

Sulfur Emerger

Hoping to hit a little water in the next two days. Probably just bass- once again not enough time for the epic trout trip. Dang I wish I lived where trout were out my back door.

Also, Here is a banner I sent to my buddy Jason for his web site at Killbillies http://www.killbilliesoutdoors.com/ to link to my blog.

Rainbow Trout

Nice little streamer/lure.

Nice Rainbow Trout

ORIGINAL SOLD

Here is a painting of a nice rainbow trout. The idea for this painting came from fellow Blogger Bigerrfish, and his picture of a rainbow he recently caught (hope you don't mind Josh). Also for todays post I've decided to post the evelution of painting this small work. If you look close there is a very small fly in his lip.
First the Pencil Sketch.


Then add a little paint.


Drop in a few spots. Got to have the spots.


Then finish with a load of detail. For the bigger paintings I usualy follow a similar process but add more detail and invest more time into it. This painting is very small for the subject but serves well as a study for future works. I hope you enjoy and thanks again Josh.

Quill Gordon

Here is a darker version of the Quill Gordon.

Cricket & A Bluegill

>Here is a little Ink and Watercolor Cricket for my daily fly post to go along with a the next picture. Hit a small pond nearby just before the sky opened up in hopes of a few bass but only ended up with this bluegill. I didn't see any surface rises so I shifted from a hair bug popper to a dark woolly bugger with a red collar. This guy inhaled it just before the rains came.

Fish of the Day: Flying Fish

Flying fish are a group of marine species that belong to the family Exocoetidae (order Beloniformes, Class Actinopterygii). There are approximately 64 species from seven to nine genera. Flying fish are found in all the worlds major oceans, particularly the warmer subtropical and tropical regions. Of course their most noticeable feature are their oversized pectoral fins, which they spread out like wings as they glide through the air. The enlarged lower lobe of their tail acts like an outboard motor, the speedy sideways motion of the tail allows the fish to gain height from the surface of the water. This morphology allows the fish to 'fly' out of water for extended periods of time with glides usually lasting for 50m, but upto 100m . This proves to be an effective predator avoidance strategy. Below is an example of a 'flying' flying fish.

Hair Bass Bug

Blue Doctor

Atlantic Salmon Fly.

Green Drake & Killbillies Outdoors

What dry fly fisher doesn't like the look the Drake has as its riding high through the eddies of a mountain stream.


Also, I found out the other day a buddy I work with started his own outdoors business out of West Virginia a few months ago. Fishing, Hunting, and Trapping are their areas of interest. Some of the videos on their site are sick - including one linked below, I heard of fishing with your dog but a deer? http://www.killbilliesoutdoors.com/fishing-video.html Click the Holly River Video and wait for this guys Buddy to arrive. Ok, I know this guy is spin fishing but that's not the point (his jig is a hand tied feather streamer if that counts.) That's just cool. Incidentally this is a wild deer and not his pet, he was just fishing when it showed up. Anyway The company Is Killbillies Outdoors http://www.killbilliesoutdoors.com/index.html So far the site has only been active for a few months but Jason aka Bellyeyes tells me many more videos and products will become available in the coming months. So visit his site and if you feel so inclined, support a good ol' boy grown company...

Rabbit Strip Bass Diver

Another bass bug.

March Brown Spider + Bass

I like the bead on this march brown spider. It adds to the attractive nature of this effective fly.
Also had a chance to wet a fly again on Wednesday at a little pond nearby. It wasn't the first time I've fished for bass on a fly but it was the first in quite a while and I almost forgot how much fun it is, especially when the fish are hitting. A Buddy of mine showed me the spot and on his first cast - crank bait popper - a nice bass hit it like a truck. It was the last fish he caught. I on the other hand hooked up with quite a few on everything from an olive woolly bugger to a small Adams. My buddy was a little impressed. He'd never seen anybody bass fish with a fly rod before. I think the sight of nice bass exploding from the water to hit my hopper might have made him a convert to our noble art... Anyway, It was highly enjoyable and I look forward to doing it alot more often. The best part is it was only a 5 min drive instead of the 50-120min drive it takes me to get to the closest trout waters (which is why those that follow my blog may notice a lack of ACTUAL fishing posted on my blog....) So, don't be astonished if you see more bass than trout start appearing on my blog. I wish I could live in an area where trout were within walking distance but such is life.

Prey populations explode as predators get smaller.

When top predators are removed from ecosystems their prey and/or competitors increase due to decreased predation and competitive release. However, can changes in behaviour, or body size, of the predators also cause this effect? If true, this would be most evident in heavily exploited marine ecosystems where size selective fishing has lead to rapid reductions in the size of top predators. The authors in this study used a 38 year time series to examine the relationship between predator size and prey biomass within such an ecosystem, the Western Scotian Shelf.

Their analysis showed that since the mid 1990's predator biomass has remained relatively constant. If one species of predatory fish was overfished it tended to be replaced by another species of predatory fish. Yet, despite no changes in predator biomass, prey biomass has increased by a huge 300%. Statistically, what matched this increase most closely was a decrease in the size and body mass of fish at higher trophic levels. The mean lengths of benthivores decreased by 21%, piscivores by 8%, and planktivores by 16%. When translated into body mass large benthivores decreased by 59%, medium benthivores by 48%, piscivores by 45%, and planktivores by 34%. For example, a haddock in the 1970's weighed, on average, 2 kg, but now weighs approximately 0.8 kg.

The empirical results from this study support the hypothesis that reduction of predatory fish size is the dominant factor in the underlying explosion of prey biomass. Why would this occur? Larger predators have been shown to be more successful at capturing prey due to their faster swimming speeds, and greater visual acuity. Thus, larger predators can consume more prey per unit time than smaller predators, and as a result larger predators can regulate their prey populations more effectively. As predators get smaller, a reduction in predation pressure results, leading to large increases in prey populations such as the pattern observed in this study.

Shackell, N., Frank, K., Fisher, J., Petrie, B., & Leggett, W. (2009). Decline in top predator body size and changing climate alter trophic structure in an oceanic ecosystem Proceedings of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences, 277 (1686), 1353-1360 DOI: 10.1098/rspb.2009.1020

Emerald Spey

.

Bass Bug Popper

Sensory Plasticity in Changing Environments

Can environmental conditions during early development shape individuals phenotypes so they become more adaptive to the conditions they are likely to encounter later in life? Such phenotypic plasticity could provide organisms with the potential to respond effectively to environmental change. One area where such plasticity would be important would be in an animals sensory capabilities. Animals extract information from the environment using a number of sensory systems, and this information guides the animal as it locates food and mates, while also avoiding predators. Thus, the ability to compensate for a deficit in one sense, by increasing the acuity in another, is likely to be of critical importance within sensory disparate habitats. This is what is named the 'compensatory plasticity hypotheses'.

In this experiment the authors raised newly born guppies at low and high light intensities, and then tested their ability to locate food using both chemosensory and visual cues. Guppies, Poecilia reticulata, reared at high light intensities responded best to visual cues, while those guppies reared under low light intensity responded the strongest to olfactory cues. These results confirm the 'compensatory plasticity hypothesis' and shows that these fish have remarkable sensory plasticity. They are able to switch from vision to olfaction in environments where light is limiting.

How this switch occurs is unknown. It may be due to increased attention to sensory signals through learning, neurophysiological changes in the hard wiring of the sensory circuits, or structural changes in the morphology of the sensory unit (i.e olfactory epithelium such as increased lamellae folding) or in the brain itself. In rats that have undergone early visual deprivation you find a reduction in the grey matter within the visual cortex, and an increase in neuron density in the auditory cortex.

The ability to switch sensory modes is likely to be of upmost importance in aquatic ecosystems, which are among the most heavily impacted in the world due to human induced changes. These changes can often result in decreased visibility due to increases in turbidity, or change the olfactory environment through the release of pollutants. How fish species can respond to these changes through sensory plasticity is still largely unknown. Research on larvae of the marine striped trumpeter, Latris lineata, showed that individuals reared in clear water had reduced foraging efficiencies in turbid water. In contrast, larvae reared in turbid water were able to maintain their foraging capability. This suggests that fish are capable of doing so, but to what degree is an area that definitely requires further investigation.

Chapman, B., Morrell, L., Tosh, C., & Krause, J. (2010). Behavioural consequences of sensory plasticity in guppies Proceedings of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences, 277 (1686), 1395-1401 DOI: 10.1098/rspb.2009.2055

Blood Red Steelhead

I enjoy Steelhead, spey, and salmon flies. I only wish I lived in an area where I could fish them. The closest one gets to the colorful, striking colors of a Steelhead fly around the southeast is a bass bug or salt water streamer.

Steelhead Yellow Gold

Black & Blue Prince

Browsing blogs I visited the midge-mans blog and found a nice prince. His will catch trout, mine will not but I hope you like it.

How Swimming Can Change The Way You Forage

This study really excites me as it shows how functional morphology and swimming mode can be reflected in the ecology and evolution of animals. The authors in this study used digital particle image velocimetry (DPIV) to measure the wakes produced by swimming jellyfish. DPIV is a technique where you place neutrally buoyant beads into the water that fluoresce under light. You then shine a plane of light through the water and measure the movement of those beads, which is typically caused by some biological organism such as a moving or feeding animal. For example here is a DPIV of fish suction feeding with shrimp as prey.

So back to the science. In this study two distinct types of wake patterns were formed behind the jellyfish. All jellyfish form vortex rings in their wakes. As the wake vortices grow during the formation process, which occurs during the contraction phase of swimming, the vortices approach a maximal limit for their size. In some jellyfish, within this study, this limit is not met and so their wake consists of a single vortex ring in their wake. In others this limit is passed, and as such can no longer incorporate or entrain the additional fluid, and thus a trailing jet is produced behind the vortex ring.

What they found was that those species that formed vortex rings had less effective propulsion compared to those that produced a trailing jet. However, producing vortex rings for locomotion was more energetically efficient than producing a trailing jet. In short, you either move quickly but for short periods, or you move more slowly but continuously. The cool part was that they found that those species that forage by continuously cruising are the species that produce vortex rings without trailing jets (energy efficient mode), whereas those species that ambush their prey produced trailing jets (speed mode). This of course makes perfect functional sense. This is a trade off and there was no species that could move both quickly and for long periods.

Dabiri, J., Colin, S., Katija, K., & Costello, J. (2010). A wake-based correlate of swimming performance and foraging behavior in seven co-occurring jellyfish species Journal of Experimental Biology, 213 (8), 1217-1225 DOI: 10.1242/jeb.034660