Curtis Fleming is one avid angler. When he’s not fishing for brookies on the mountain stream or for tarpon on the shores of Belize, he’s – well – like a fish out of water.

 

Despite the busy schedule of the founder and star of the Sportsman’s Channel’s “Fly Rod Chronicles” – which airs in 36 million homes worldwide - Fleming recently hooked up with connect-bridgeport.com.

 

The 1984 Bridgeport High School graduate told us all about his most loved fishing holes around the world and the hometown where his passion for the great outdoors and fishing, in particular, are anchored.

 

“Some of my fondest memories are fishing over at Hinkle & Deegan Lakes with my dad and my brothers, Kevin and Keith. And Mom - she always packed our lunches and made sure we had hot chocolate,” Fleming said. “My dad was a coal miner and worked a lot, but toted me and my brothers with him when it came to the outdoors.”

 

That toting began at a very early age, his mom, Sandy Fleming said.  “I remember dressing him in a snowsuit when he was probably just six months old,” she said.

 

From the time young Fleming was aware of his rustic surroundings, he was a permanent fixture, said his dad, Sonny Fleming.

 

“He always loved to hunt and fish,” said the elder Fleming, adding that “Curt” reeled in his first rainbow trout when he was not yet 3 years old.

 

That fishing excursion happened to be at an Indian reservation in Cherokee, N.C.  He was wearing moccasins and fishing with a bamboo pole, Sonny Fleming said.

 

By his junior high days, he and his sidekick V.J. Baldini – and friends - were frequenting Spruce Knob and Dog Run Lakes.

 

“Mr. Joe Leonette and Mr. Al Lanzy had an Outdoor Club,” Fleming said. “They changed a lot of kids’ lives. They were true mentors to me and I will never forget them.”

 

The bond was mutual, Lanzy said. The recollection of memories with the boys – sometimes as many as 50 or 60 of them fishing at “Bauxite Point” – brought a fresh stream of laughter.

 

“We’d catch fish and the dads would fillet them for us. And, of course, Joe (Leonette) always made his ketchup casserole – beans with ketchup, mustard and onions,” Lanzy said. “We just had a good old time up there. It’s just that simple.”

 

Joe Steffick from Joe's Flies was also an important link of the club.

 

“He used to donate so much of his time and personally tied flies four our club and the locals,” Fleming said.

 

Since quitting his job six years ago to become a full-time fisherman, Fleming has made quite a name for himself in the world of fishing.

 

Besides “The Fly Rod Chronicles,” a four-time Sportsman Choice Award Nominee, he recently launched “Riggo on the Range - with John Riggins,” featuring NFL Hall of Famer, John Riggins, aka “The Diesel.”

 

The latter show has been in filming mode for the past six months and  will air, beginning in January, on The Outdoors Channel, Fridays at 9 a.m. and Saturdays at  8 a.m. and 6 p.m. 

 

With regard to his original fishing documentary, Fleming will spend some time this summer with Eric Clapton and Roger Daltrey in England and with rock star/model, Christina Magenta, in Spain.

 

What a life, many would say.

 

Despite the star factor, it’s the fish that continue to thrill Fleming, he said.

 

“Small or large, the excitement shoots through me,” he said. “I never act on TV. It has always been the reaction that comes out of me. I get – maybe more excited – when other people catch fish, especially their first.”
 

Fleming recently got one of his career high thrills when he surprised Bridgeport Police Officer Dustin Hotsinpiller with a fishing trip to Brazos River Ranch in New Mexico.

 

“We got permission from Chief (John) Walker of the Bridgeport PD to surprise Dustin at work and inform him that he needed to pack his bags and that we were going to film a show of a lifetime in New Mexico in honor of his brother – fallen Deputy U.S. Marshal Derek Hotsinpiller,” Fleming said.

 

The trip, to say the least, went well.

 

“I was blown away. I had been out west before. Mom sent me and Derek on a man trip a couple years ago. So it was pretty awesome to be surprised with this trip,” Hotsinpiller said. “We were there for four days and caught anywhere from 12-inch brookies to 20-plus-inch rainbows. The scenery was absolutely amazing. You couldn’t help but look around the whole time you were fishing in the streams.”

 

When Hotsinpiller landed a brookie on his brother’s fly rod – a gift given to him by Woody Thrasher – it brought tears to everyone’s eyes.

“It was one of the coolest moments ever,” Fleming said.

 

Fishing the globe has been a blessing, one which Fleming does not take for granted. But, then, he feels that way every single time he puts his line in the water.

 

“Always thank God for giving you the health and making the water and fish,” Fleming said.  “Always thank our servicemen and women for giving you the freedom to be able to fish and be free.” 

 

Fleming and his wife, Shelly, and daughters, 16-year-old Laken and 14-year-old Autumn currently live Winchester, Va. His residence may be in Virginia and his roots in Bridgeport.

 

But his office?

 

“That would be somewhere on the stream,” he said.

 

And on those healing waters are just where he wants to be.

 

“I call fly fishing my Prozac,” Fleming said. “It totally mellows me out.”

 

Right here in Almost Heaven, WV, his nature high is at its peak.

 

His favorite places to cast include the streams along Cheat Mountain, Franklin and Harmans – where he happens to be now.

 

“”We’ve got the USA Fly Fishing Team and Olympic team – Fishermen for USA – along with eight guests taking a two-day school and we’re filming it right here in West Virginia,” Fleming said.

 

A graduate of West Virginia University, Fleming had planned to play basketball at Fairmont State College on a full athletic sponsorship upon his 1984 high school graduation.

 

Sometimes things just don’t work out as planned, said the former standout high school center, who began experiencing severe ankle trauma his senior year.

 

But if you hang on to your dream – and believe in it hook, line and sinker - it will work out, Fleming said.

 

There’s only one thing missing from Fleming’s well-documented angling career, he said.

 

“For six years, I’ve been trying to get West Virginia involved in the title of my show. Since I developed the show, I wanted it to be ‘Wild Wonderful West Virginia Presents the Fly Rod Chronicles,’” he said.

 

Featured in bottom photo and video: Bridgeport Police Officer Dustin Hotsinpiller, who was Fleming's guest during a fly fishing excursion to Brazos River Ranch in New Mexico. 

 

www.flyrodchronicles.tv/