Fishing log entry:
Got back out to tailwater on Saturday 11/18. Same fish were in the same places, only this time nearly all flow over the dam had ceased. I was able to walk along the cement slab all the way to the “pen” of carp… in the closest corner I dropped a green girdle bug right on a nice one and he sucked it up – saw the take and landed the fish. When I saw it was ~8-10 lbs I tried to land it fast so I could get on to the next fish – I used the net and scooped it up when it was still really green – manageable, but the fish was very wild as I removed hook and released. I wasn’t fast enough though – that fight scared all the fish into the back corner… from then on I was casting long distance and guessing at takes. I caught six more fish, but all but one were snagged! There are just so many fish in there – every time I thought I had a take I’d set the hook and snag a different fish. Two were snagged right in the tail – wow, does that make for a monster fight. One of them was 8-10 lbs, but because he was tail-hooked I didn’t even SEE the fish for 5+ minutes! I tried a dry fly for a while, but there were no carp surfacing like those I saw last time out. I fished from ~1230-1430, and the sky was very overcast – temps were low-mid 30 F… little or no wind. I did land one carp that apparently has cancer – amazingly large growth just back from gill plate (may post pic later). I also landed a carp that I would have kept if Em were not pregnant right now… perfect little 2 lber that probably didn’t have much mercury in its tissues yet. It was a great two hours, but I don’t like snagging fish, and I didn’t find any biggies… need to get back and try again. Still – hard to complain when you fight ~50-60 lbs of fish in a two hour period.