Each December I kick back and review my year.  2020 was a year that roared out of the gates with heaps of speaking engagements, travel plans and hope before hitting rock bottom with the passing of dad, Covid and lockdowns. But resilience is key.  Creativity is a must.  All in all, 2020 is worth looking back on for the lessons learned, the strengthening of character and yes there were some good fish mixed in.  This tiger muskie has to be one of my favorites of the year.  Had this been a normal year, I would have been away from home and not added this new species to my list!

If you look at my annual fishing records from 2019 vs 2020 the difference in the number of species caught and places fished is unreal.  Obviously being grounded this year let the air out of my travels.  While it hurt me mentally back in March, I snapped out of it and fished more in the USA this year than probably since I was in my 20’s.

Here’s how 2020 breaks down:

98 total days fished – 9 in saltwater – 89 in freshwater.  I fished in 9 states – FL, WI, ID, WY, MT, UT, MN, NH and AR.  That’s 3 more states than in 2019.  I fished in only one foreign country.  That was Mexico in November.  In 2019 I fished a remarkable 9!

I didn’t have the joy of catching a variety of species like usual.  This year I caught 33.  In 2019 there were 73 and 17 were new species.  This year I caught only 2 new species, the tiger muskie and the longnose gar.  But both these cool fish I’ve been wanting for years.  It should also be mentioned that I caught the biggest black crappie of my life as well as my biggest bull trout.  And this rainbow from the Kootenai with my friend David Blackburn is my largest rainbow in recent memory.

Speaking of friends, we saw and fished with many friends that we haven’t fished with in years such as David Blackburn, Gary Eckman, Neuman and Howie and my college pals in MN, family in NH, Jerry Arnold in Mexico and of course my fabulous day on the Snake with the Bruun’s.  And there’s Alice, Scottyboy, Sicket, Derek Mitchell, The Berry’s, Norm, Erik Moncada, Boots, Jesse Belcher, Dede and Barb, Brune and many more – sorry if I missed you!  So all in all, 2020 fishing was far from a disaster.

Perhaps most important of all, Granny’s shoulder is back and ready to rock for 2021 (you might remember her accident in 2019).  There was the incredible Neowise Comet in July.  And I picked up my guitar for the first time in 30 years.

One of my biggest 2020 surprises is that I can get paid to do my presentations from my house!  I’m the Zoom PowerPoint fly fishing presentation king.  Instead of leaving my house at 4 AM to chase down airplanes once a week to speak in person at clubs, I sit in my den and present on my computer to the hoards.  Its weird but its keeping me in business.

So there you go.  I broke the year down and although I’ll always first remember 2020 as the year dad died, there are many positive things that will jar my brain as well.  Its good to be alive and there are many bright times ahead.

And while I still have your attention, thanks to everyone that supported me during my down times.  Kind notes when dad passed were much appreciated.  Thanks for buying my art when Granny and I were both out of work.  Many of you kept me so busy when the **** hit the fan back in March and April ordering Cliff Boxes I had no time to worry about anything.  All I could do was keep those sharpies going!  And my store sold more of my coffee mugs, beer steins, shirts and decals than ever before.  I mean a lot more and I hope everyone is enjoying them.

Last but not least, thank you all for reading the blog.  Keeping the blog going is a huge chore but I’ve learned to enjoy writing.  I can’t believe I’ve written about every single day of fishing since October 20, 2009.  It’s really fun to see how the writing and photography has improved from that day until now.  I’m not sure how long I’ll do this blog, but you can count on an action packed 2021!

For more photos and stories from 2020 visit my Instagram – @jeffcurrier65

Happy New Year everyone!

Jeff Currier Global Fly Fishing