Two Failures

Last two carp outings featured some distinct failure:

(1) Sight fishing to big cyprinids. Very spooky fish. Some were feeding. Water very clear; no wind and decent sun. I had shots at maybe 4-5, of which one was great. No fewer than four times did a largemouth bass or sunfish eat the properly presented carp carrot. Had me fuming. Non-target fish. Like pocketing the wrong ball when playing pool. Or shooting at one basket only to have the ball go through the other. Just not cool. In one instance I had a fish locked up. There were no questions. It had its head down, eating… less than a rod length away. If there is a cast involved, there is a good chance I’ll screw it up. Dapping though, is pretty much money. So I dapped. The second the carrot hit the water, a froth exploded and some involuntary interjections were offered. Carp don’t do that. Water settled and first I noticed the carp was gone; second I noticed I had a pisant bass pulling annoyingly at my line. Pisants. Non-target fish. They can be fun if you’re chasing them. Not by accident though. Not when they act as roadblock and pitfalls.
(2) Blind fishing to some carp that were around but wouldn’t eat. I tried numerous rigs and weights in a known carp haven… But no takers. Caught probably 6-8 freshwater drum, 2-3 smallies and a sunfish – all on rubber legged hares ears. So at least the flies were in the zone. No carp though. Not sure why. Just another part of the assemblage that is turning me off fishing just a little bit. Getting tired and also realizing that it’s been a decent year and there has been much done and seen in the way of fishing. I don’t much feel like working hard in heat and thick vegetation to do something I’ve done quite a few times over. I guess a guy needs a break to reconnoiter, tie up some flies and miss the fish some. Winter. Between now and then I’ll do some more fishing but nothing’s really planned out now. Hell, I’ll do my share of fishing – no question about that. Just losing a little drive and these dastardly non-target fish that specialize in foiling efforts erode that drive even further. Need a change of fishscape - i.e. BWCA (we're comin, we're comin). It’s gotten to where I’d rather work on my urban ranch than go fishing: turning dirt into food, building things from the stone that builder refused, and watching the kids appreciate all of it.

There is no fulfillment to be gained by way of an accident:


Lack of fishing drive, to the benefit of home projects:


PS: the RLHE were not dogmeat either: