Curtis Fleming’s pursuit of the great outdoors continues. Airing on The Outdoor Channel, “Fly Rod Chronicles with Curtis Fleming” features picturesque scenery, culture and wild game, not to mention hometown folks and celebrities. But the real star of the cast is the fish – and whether he’s trekking to southwestern Alaska or West Virginia’s own New River Gorge, he catches some beauties.

 

“We just got back from Alaska where we caught fresh salmon on the Alagnak River,” Fleming said. “We were in the Bristol Bay area and the closest town was King Salmon. From there, we caught a float plane and traveled 60 miles into the tundra to a resort called Alaska Trophy Adventures.”

 

The episode, which will air during the first quarter of 2015, will feature an area where both northern pike and grizzly bears are plentiful.

 

“This place is in the middle of nowhere and it’s a river known not only for different species of fish, but also where most of the National Geographic photos of bears are taken,” Fleming said. “You’re surrounded by grizzly bears all the time. The guides carry guns and bear spray, but if you give them their space, they’ll give you your space.”

 

Of course, Fleming and the FRC crew did just that and concentrated on the task at hand – a fly fishing hike for pike.

 

 “The guide informed us that it wasn’t going to be easy – that it would be 40 miles by boat and four miles on foot and he explained that it was mostly uphill getting there – through the tundra – and that it was moose country and mosquito country,” he said. “So we took two guides and two camera guys and went in there and started catching small pike and getting some good footage.”

 

Literally at Fleming’s feet was a 40-inch pike which jumped out of the water and put on quite a show. In fact, the entire Alaskan trip yielded amazing footage.

 

“The aerial shots we got were pretty incredible – ridiculous photos,” he said.

 

Another recent excursion was to the heart of the Mountain State.

 

“We literally sit down and talk about what would make good TV and we know West Virginia is a given. I’ve said many times that I love to show off the largest playground in the world. I love our state and landing those shows is even more exciting because there’s more access to camera people, more equipment and we’re able to show the rest of the world what we have – right here,” Fleming said.

 

This particular West Virginia trip centered around the New River Gorge with guest fishermen Secretary of Commerce Keith Burdette and his two sons. Burdette – who during the 2013 Greenbrier Classic opted to fish with Fleming rather than golf – was an ideal choice for contrasting a busy Capitol City lifestyle with the easy flow of the New and Gauley Rivers.

 

“We got some unbelievable footage as the fog roars up out of that gorge amongst some of those coal towns that used to thrive in the 1900s. They’re now ghost towns, but you can see some really cool stuff,” Fleming said. “We got footage of the different overlooks and views of the bridge.”

 

The featured fish was the smallmouth bass. Fleming knew the crew would find plenty there, but he said he really didn’t realize the magnitude of the beauty in the New River Gorge area. He’s glad he took the advice of a good friend.

 

“(WVU Basketball Coach Bob) Huggins had pulled me aside a few times and said I was cheating myself by not doing a show there,” Fleming said. “I think this show has the potential to open up what West Virginia is all about.”

 

Another FRC show was recently filmed in the Harman/Cabins area. Guest fisherman was Sir Nicholas Alexander Faldo, an English pro golfer on the European tour.

 

“He’s one of the greatest golfers ever to play the game and he’s a resident of West Virginia now,” Fleming said. “Sir Nick literally flew to Petersburg on a private Learjet with two pilots – just because he’s Nick Faldo. Then there’s Curtis the country boy who shows up in a pickup truck.”

 

Fleming laughed as he remembered the meeting.

 

“You know, that’s actually the whole point of fly fishing: It takes all walks of life. When it comes to fly fishing, we’re all equal,” he said.

 

Sir Nick made a catch on his very first cast.