The Rare Sighting of the Dogtooth

April 5, 2011

Madagascar - Day 6

We fished with George again today and will for the next couple days. George filled us in on pirates to start the morning. Everyone knows about the Somali pirates tormenting parts of the Indian Ocean these days and they do come as far south as Madagascar. Luckily George assured us there’s nothing to worry about with a boat of dirt bag anglers.

Fishing was flat out slow today. We tried to go way out to sea for a reef George knows about but the weather was a little threatening with wind and dark clouds. So we headed back closer in and went north to where we fished yesterday. The entire way George and his mate dragged two billfish trolling rigs but like yesterday afternoon we didn’t get a strike. Once we got to yesterdays fishing grounds the wind started to calm some and it was quite nice. We drifted a favorite reef several times. I chucked my 12-weight with the 700 grain SA Bluewater Express until my shoulder went numb without a bite. It was so surprising to me I asked George to disassemble one of his trolling rigs and dredge some bait along the bottom. If there were fish down there surely that would catch them, however he only caught three little strange looking fish. The fish just weren’t active.

By mid afternoon seas around Nosy Be were as calm as a small lake. With great visibility for any disturbances on the water, George said it was time to chase birds and tuna. Fishless to this point, Granny and I were all about the move. But once again it quickly became apparent today was a different day. There were no birds at all. The ones we saw were doing the same as us, searching for the odd bait crashing tuna. At last we stumbled into one cooperative school and lucked into skipjack tuna and frigate tuna. One, George called the blue is one I have never caught before. He was more elongated like a bonito and colored with an unusual blue, however I think this one also was the frigate. Just incase you’ve never caught a tuna before, even though these tuna are small, they gave us plenty of fight on the 8-weight. Pound for pound the power of any tuna is amazing.

Despite uncooperative fish today, every day in blue water offers some sort of thrill. In a previous blog I gave mention to the dogtooth tuna. I said one would be a real goal to catch. But what I didn’t say was that my chance of catching one on the fly is about as good as the Cubs winning the World Series this year. If you did not read about this specie in the link I provided earlier, do it now. Dogtooth tuna are one of the fiercest fish in the ocean. If you hook one at the surface while in 200 feet deep water, he’ll get to bottom and break you on the rocks in seconds. If you hook one at the surface in 400 feet of water, he’ll get to the bottom and break you in the rocks in seconds. From what I have heard, and with further confirmation from George, dogtooth tuna are the strongest fish on Earth. They also reach an amazing 300lbs and swim to speeds of at least 40 mph! Then you throw in the teeth they have that are four times the length of a barracudas, and you have little chance. In fact I’d start being concerned about a hooked dogtooth eating the boat!

But nothing is impossible, and tonight we chased a school of dogtooth. It’s rare that they feed on the surface but they were there and they were eating skipjack tuna over 20lbs each! They were simply shredding them in mid air! The doggies (as George calls them) were all easily 60lbs and leaving 6 feet from the water. It looked like they were in slow motion but we could barely keep up to these feeding beasts even with both engines running full throttle.

Its bedtime now and I’m absolutely stuffed with skipjack Carpaccio. All I can think about is those leaping dogtooths. So much that an hour ago I peeled the line off my Momentum #8 reel that I use for striped marlin in Baja. I checked every knot connection thoroughly and combed over my Scientific Angler 700 grain fly line for dings. Everything is as strong and ready as can be. Perhaps tomorrow I’ll hook a doggie!

Jeff Currier Global Fly Fishing Website

Going, Going, Gone to Madagascar!

 

Opening day of baseball is one of my favorite days. My Fantasy teams (all three) are ready to rock. The Cubs are still contenders and life is great. But this opener is more special than ever, Granny and I are on our way to Madagascar to celebrate our 20th anniversary. How did she do it!

Yes indeed this is a fishing trip. Is there anything else? We chose Madagascar because from what I saw on web images, there are some of the most exotic looking palm covered beaches I’ve ever seen. Furthermore and most important, I Google Earthed the place and noted that the surrounding waters look to consist of flats, coral reef, channels and plenty of blue water. It looks absolutely incredible for fly fishing! And being that this tropical island is less than 1000 miles from the ever so famous saltwater fly fishing waters of the Seychelles, this could be epic!

If we travel this far, why not just go to the Seychelles? Well, it’s as simple. The Seychelles fishing packages are super expensive and winging it like Granny and I often do, is next to impossible. Madagascar however is cheap and it appears you can wing it. So off we go.

The bad news is however, research on the internet has not been all that promising. Although the blue water fishing for marlin is first class, the inshore fisheries where we can fish on our own may be dismal. The only reports we found (and very few) were that all water you can walk to has been virtually fished out. Not good news for us. However, we aren’t scared. Sometimes places get bad rap from anglers just because they don’t have the “popular game fish” such as bonefish. It can be like; an angler says his fishing stinks near his home because there’s no trout. Yet this very angler has a trophy bass lake a block from his house. Anglers can be pretty stupid sometimes.

We’ll see. I’m not too worried about catching some fish and having a great time. Our goals are feasible. Granny and I both need to see that famous cool-as-heck-rotating-eyed Chameleon. We’d like to see some lemurs. And if we’re lucky some bad-ass snakes. We also need to get some rest. A winter of constant work, shows, travel and a postponed Brazil trip have taken its toll.

Most important to me however, I want to catch five new species on the fly. I’d love one of them to be a milkfish, an Indian Ocean triggerfish or a dogtooth tuna. The other four species can be anything cool from a small colorful grouper to a new trevally species. I'd also like to get some killer photos and come home with another great PowerPoint presentation to take on the road with me next season. That’s about it.

Granny and I said goodbye to the snow at 4 AM this morning. We drove over Teton Pass and flew from Jackson, Wyoming to Salt Lake City and now we are headed to Atlanta. We have a four hour layover and tonight we board the 15 hour flight to Johannesburg, South Africa. We will overnight in Joburg then Saturday fly to Nose Be, Madagascar which is a small island on the North West side of the main island of Madagascar. From there the plan is to catch a boat for a tiny island called Sakatia and there’s a bed and breakfast type place that we will base out of for a week. From there we plan to head to the mainland and take in a National Park. Then to an island of Madagascar’s east side called Isle St. Marie. Whether I have internet access along the way is unknown. However, stay tuned. I will write about every day of the trip and post them when I can. Like other journeys that many of you have followed before, every day will e accounted for even if I have to post some when I get home.

The “Currier’s Blog” is back on track!

Jeff Currier Global Fly Fishing Website