Escape from Monsoon

by | May 28, 2014 | fly fishing in Bhutan | 1 comment

blog-May-28-2014-1-flyfishing-in-bhutanHeavy rain started yesterday afternoon as soon as we got in the cars and went all night.  This morning we got up at 5 and scrambled to pack our junk in a downpour.  Then we hit the slow moving roads of Bhutan before they start washing out.  We’ve gone from the jungle to the cloud forest.  Monsoon may have very well started here in southern Bhutan.

 

blog-May-28-2014-2-monsoon-season-in-bhutanIt was a six hour jaunt to Geylegphug where we are spending tonight at Hotel Kuku.  We hoped to fish along the way but not a chance with this rain and rising waters.  We arrived at 11 AM and all of us took short naps.

 

blog-May-28-2014-3-mahseer-fish-hatchery-bhutanThis afternoon we visited a mahseer fish hatchery.  Like the trout hatchery Mike Dawes and I visited ten days ago, this hatchery was primitive in comparison to ones in the US.  But there are some great young guys running it and all were very enthusiastic about fish and of course, saving the mahseer.  They took us out in the rain so they could show off some of the nice ones they have on hand.  Five kids dragged a net through and when it went tight golden and chocolate mahseer started leaping over the net.  They jump like Atlantic salmon!  It’s amazing though how little is known about this fish species.

 

Tonight Jon, Niel, Dawes and I put together our presentation for the Prime Minister.  Remember, Dawes and I are consulting for the World Wildlife Fund (WWF) in order to help Bhutan get a feel for their fishing tourism potential.  Meeting the Prime Minister is a highlight for us all.  That being said, we found out he’s stuck in Delhi, India at the moment because it’s raining so hard in Paro that they couldn’t land his plane today.  All we can do is hope his busy schedule allows time for us for our scheduled appointment in two days.

 

blog-May-28-2014-4-grass-carp-for-dinnerAnd tonight for dinner we had grass carp.  Yes you heard me correctly, white Amur, my favorite quarry of Phoenix, Arizona.  It didn’t taste so great by the way.

 

That’s all for now.  As we drive north tomorrow we hope to get out of the rain and fish for mahseer the exact place we caught our first ones at on May 21st.  We are crossing our fingers!

 

Jeff Currier Global Fly Fishing

1 Comment

  1. Erik Moncada

    I don’t know what you are talking about, Jeff! That grass carp looks delicious!

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I started fly fishing at age 7 in the lakes and ponds of New England cutting my teeth on various sunfish, bass, crappie and stocked trout. I went to Northland College in Ashland, Wisconsin, where I graduated with a Naturalist Degree while I discovered new fishing opportunities for pike, muskellunge, walleyes and various salmonids found in Lake Superior and its tributaries.

From there I headed west to work a few years in the Yellowstone region to simply work as much as most people fish and fish as much as most people work. I did just that, only it lasted over 20 years working at the Jack Dennis Fly Shop in Jackson, WY where I departed in 2009. Now it’s time to work for "The Man", working for myself that is.

I pursue my love to paint fish, lecture on every aspect of fly fishing you can imagine and host a few trips to some of the most exotic places you can think of. My ultimate goal is to catch as many species of fish on fly possible from freshwater to saltwater, throughout the world. I presently have taken over 440 species from over 60 countries!

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