This is not the land of carp flats.  

Rather it’s the land of varied carp scenarios.  You don’t get 20-30 chances here.  This particular morning I suppose I got a legitimate dozen shots at fish that would have eaten.  Three great takes and three fish to hand.  Point being that in this setting each take counts for a lot and thus is noted. 

Take #1: this was a very forgiving fish.  Found two or three carp in amongst some woody debris.  One bigger female paired with smaller male.  I put the SJW on the female and she soft-spooked at it.  This is an interesting phenom that I’ve been observing and thinking about lately: if you don’t freak out and/or give up on these “bothered but not blown” fish you can still get after them.  Like she didn’t know what was going on exactly but she didn’t feel endangered.  So I sat still and waited for a minute or two, then put it on her a few more times.  I believe she had trouble seeing the SJW in the context of the leaf litter, debris, turbid water, etc.  Couldn’t get a hook up.  She started slow-cruising away and I figured it was over for us as a couple.  But in parting, I put the fly on her once or twice…    and as she tailed away ESP picked up on a slight, oh-so-Poe-like slight slight pause while the heart beat under the floor boards…   I picked up and damn it if she didn’t have that SJW in her mouth.  Right in the corner (it is inside the mouth, for any roughfish.com regulars) Decent weight (scaled at 9 lbs) but not extreme fight in this fish.  She didn’t get close to backing.  Couple moderately interesting runs.

Take #2: left my home water with 45 minutes to go on the clock.  Went to a water that I believe holds a few bigger sow fish.  Into action immediately; carp pretty much everywhere.  But with limited time and a fairly specific mission (and the skunk already off at this point), catching 5-7 lb carp wasn’t appealing; wasn’t the deal here.  I passed on a few and actually tried to spook them downstream.  These fish were holding in slow current, not actively feeding but clearly looking to eat, kind of in foraging mode. Positive mood as some of the books say.  I came to a group of 3-4 fish, three smaller males swimming around a sow.  At that point I basically decided that this is my mission and there is no way in hell I am leaving here without at least presenting a fly in good fashion to that big fish.  The terrain was rugged and I unhooked the net and left it nearby; got down on my hands and knees and crawled, so so slowly, to these fish.  Killing my silhouette.  If I’d have walked in crouched fashion they would have seen me.  Got into position and watched a smaller fish feeding <6 feet away from me.  Dead lock dead fish if I wanted it but no way in hell at this point.  I’m not here for you; rather, I’m leaving with your girlfriend, FYI.  The big sow fish was holding steady up ahead a bit, facing away from me.  I waited and watched and crawled; repeat.  Finally brought the rod over the grass and flipped a cast to the right of her…     this time it was a brown furry LOD that I had spat on with love.  Water was glass calm but the fly didn’t spook anybody…    sink rate good…    as it was falling that fish turned to her right and sauntered over to it…   flat out ate it in mid-column.  <10 feet from my face and this is the ultimate carp theater as far as I can tell.  Some good runs in this fish.  No backing, but strong runs.  I appreciated the drag on the new reel.  She didn’t have a big flat to run on; just a river channel but it was still a decent test.  I guessed 14 lbs but I’m a little rusty after not fishing much for a while.  Scale said 12 lbs.  Nice gut.  Nice big features.  I’ll remember the encounter.


This fish hung around for a while and I went a little overboard with the detail pics.  

Take #3: on my way out I ran into some smaller fish.  Didn’t have much time but now figuring I could bump one of those little guys.  Here was one foraging a bit in a sandy reach, facing upstream ahead of me.  Oblivious.  I wasn’t careful.  I crouched and approached in flippant manner.  I put the LOD up and to the right, and then dragged it back a bit and set it flat on the sand.  That fish turned, swam over the dead-still fly and dropped mouth right on it.  Just sick salutation here.  Good bye to the river and on to my son’s school for the afternoon.

Takes 4-6: blind fishing with Danny Boy (or, preschool session II on the river).  Walleye, SMB and quillback; here we see the roughfish that came out as evening approached.  All on LOD.  Obviously none of these fish require a reel.