20 Day Burnout

That's right, Ive been doing a burnout for the last 20 days... Sitting still with my throttle pinned wide open... Wheels just a spinnin.... Tires just a smokin! Going nowhere, FAST!

Been dragging this fly around in the mud till it comes apart... Fishing for some carp while the rivers have been trashed... Couldn't get any traction to save my own life...

Learned a lot about the things and gotta say "them be some smart fish" but DUUUUUMB! If I ever see them in stronger numbers where I can see them better it's on like Donkey Kong JR.

I have been fishing, but that's all its been...

I Did Manage to land the biggest bluegill quite possibly to date... Could have almost stuffed a pop can down in this gills mouth.
This shot Makes me miss the trout in a big way and I think of it as a runoff style postcard to me... From them... (low blow)

Here are some other photos I was able to take as the tire smoke would clear from time to time...

The photo above is where I stood until my shoes were under mud... The shadow of me is how I stood and stared, hiding in the cattails, concealing my shadow with a blanket of muck... My head hangs the same way for the carp as of now.

The photo below is a view of what I would get punished for looking at... For if I took my eyes away from the 10 ft deep hole in front of me, It would take a week to locate the carp again causing me to make motions that would scare them in to making another long long long lap around their lair.

I have had the chance to catch my breath a bit, Meditate... And this is the final warning.... Better Watch Out!!! Gonna get ugly!!!

Headed up north for some tea and perhaps get some dubbing wet...
Then headed to the range up front to find myself for the summer and shake some hands.

Getting new rubber today, got a clean mind, carp are in the review mirror. The pond ruined my line... Prompting me to take a big breath and cut some nail knots...

Frog On The Fly

Every time I try to go fly fishing for Carp, something weird happens, Like catching frogs...

I have yet to land a carp on a fly. Ok, I've only had one take but I get a whole lot of "almost's". The carp are really big and really fast, Its not exaggerating when I say there are a whole lot of them in the 4 foot range.

Well, the rivers are nasty! However the carp are out there doing their thing at a local favorite warm water pond. They really get me going and I'm not sure why... Defeat perhaps... Perhaps its their smarts that I have always under estimated... As a kid we would catch them with worms no problem and thought of them as trash fish...

Stand on a hill and watch a big pod of them work over a bunch of swimming damsel nymphs, cast at them till your...

blue... gill in the face.. You begin to think of your own skills as trash.

I fished to a pod of 6 fish for three hours with out a take. I chased them things all over a pretty big pond. Frustration was setting in and was ready for one of these carp. They are big big ones in a big ol pond and only visible this time of year as far as I know. For the last three years I have returned here in search of a golden bone.

I have talked with a few of the carp fishermen who blog, I have good list of hints and tips.
This River Is Wild blog, has been a big help in sharing fly patterns and technique. Them boys know carp!

I tried to stay away from the bass and bluegills and focus on the carp but when this thing swam by...I had to do it.

Long story short.. I got frustrated, I gave up and hooked a frog to get the tug... That feels weird by the way.

Heads In The Right Places

Things just go better when your head is in the right place. I'll admit, ours were not on this day and became the biggest obstacle to navigate.

We made a Friday, half day run to the dam to check out the water and see about sliding a fly in to the mouth of a fish.

Fish did come, but it was not easy... The weather was beautiful, the sky clear... yet a cloud was present and although it did not yield rain it possessed the things that stir the pot as an angler and the price was paid in full..

Needless to say our attitudes needed adjusted and I'm not completely sure the river is the place for that.
Fishing was tough, as the lake above is still low and is starting to change color, bits of drift wood are sneaking through dam and are a small pain in the neck... Fish are still spot-able but its getting more difficult.

First fish of the day was a smallish, pretty rare brown trout..

A few small bows made it to the net during the morning.

The day was ended in the usual time crunch with a decent cutty.

At any rate we were there, we threw line, we hooked fish and we went about our business once returning home.

I'm not making excuses but... We were fishing at 10:00 a.m. on June 3rd.. take a look at the flow chart below