This time of year the windows of opportunity can be extremely small here in my part of the country. Yesterday was 58 degrees and sunny with a light breeze , the kind of weather that had me thinking of big carp feeding in the shallow bays of my local lakes.
With a couple of hours to kill in the afternoon Joe and I headed over to one of the small city lakes I like to fish. In all honesty I didn't expect to find anything , but the possibility had my mind wandering. Of course I went in unprepared...no waders ,the five weight and a couple of flies. Just a glorified walk around the lake with the dog , or so I thought.
After a short walk back to a shallow , mud bottomed cove I started scanning the surface for signs of activity. And to my surprise I saw this...
And then I proceeded to hit the fish in the ass instead of the head where I was aiming. 0 for 1....
We walked a 200 yard stretch of shoreline and encountered a few more active fish , unfortunately the score remained the same.
I managed to hook one fish on a generic black carp fly that I tie but he broke me off before I could get a hand on him , probably from a piss poor knot.
I got some good shots in and just couldn't get them to eat, even though that's obviously what they were doing. I didn't leave until I'd put down all of the fish I had seen , with only the one take. I vowed to be back tomorrow and be better prepared.
Arrive at the same lake today , except it's 10 degrees cooler , the wind is howling and a cold front bringing snow tonight is pushing clouds into the area at a breakneck pace. We make the walk but I know what the story will be before I even leave the cab of the truck. No surprise to me...we don't see a single orange tail today , not so much as a bubble trail.
Joe enjoys it anyway , I'll be waiting on that next window of opportunity to show itself , and next time I'll be ready.
I'm almost embarrassed to say that I haven't fished for carp and have no plans for the immediate future unless I accidentally catch one while fishing for bass. But I do understand that we are limited by what our waters hold and the time of year. Glad you got out.
ReplyDeleteI always say that carp fishing isn't for everyone...until you see one tailing in 12 inches of water and then proceed to watch him inhale your fly and show you the backing knot you havn't seen since you cleaned your flyline last winter!
DeleteThere's always next time. What size is that black carp fly that you tie?
ReplyDeleteI'll be ready for em next time Jay. Last year my first carp was in May so I was pretty surprised to see those tailers in February!
DeleteI like to tie those on a size #4 DAI-RIKI bass hook (#810). I also tie it in a size #6 for a smaller presentation in clearer water. The hook point and gap on that hook does well for me on carp applications.
I have never fished for carp. I have seen some caught and their size can be impressive.
ReplyDeleteI still get a few strange looks from some of my fishing buddies who havn't tried flyfishing for carp yet. Some people just can't understand wanting to catch a fish they grew up believing was just a trash fish. As for me , I've seen the light (and my backing ) enough times in recent years to make them one of my favorite adversaries when the conditions are right.
DeleteI'm excited you saw active carp already! All my local ponds & lakes are still 95% ice-covered.
ReplyDeleteI was as surprised and excited as you Dave , ice-out carp...who would of thought? I kept reading about guys in Colorado catching carp all winter in their rivers and decided maybe I could find some active fish around here too. I'd say that once the water opens up for a week or so and those shallow muddy-bottomed coves start warming up , the fish start moving around in search of food.
DeleteNow I just have to figure out what they're eating!
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ReplyDeleteGood for that! I've caught one, 2 days after your sighting/fishing/hooking. No fish excites me as much. I'd be fumbling with my camera with those fins!
ReplyDeleteGregg
Gregg - well you've got me beat as I'm still looking for number 1 this year!
DeleteI don't think there's a more exciting sight in freshwater flyfishing than that big forked tail out of the water and waving at you. Well , maybe that same fish turning and inhaling your fly!