Local Carping

Hasn't been getting my attention lately but I keep getting notes from folks saying I saw this fish, I saw that fish I saw ten fish twenty pounders feeding.  All welcome transmissions.  Good to see people get excited about big fan tails breaking the film. Yesterday said okay; better take a minute to check this out.  Snap some attention back to the big gamers; the gamefish; the gamest quarry.  What I found did serve to reinvigorate my local fishing drive; even though I've been pretty well ruined by the great fisheries of other regions.  How could hundreds of people walk by this I asked.  How could people drive 233 miles to catch 16 inch fish when they could walk down to the river here and HUNT down the biggest fish of their lives...    I did engage a few from above, and I thought they'd be a 100% go.  They spooked on me though.  Either me waving around, or the fly got them; pinched their nerves such that they left out for other waters.  Those opportunities gone, I proceeded to enter the river.  A water that I suppose is perceived as generally unwadeable and undesirable but I find it to be otherwise.  No waders.  No sinking.  Amphitheater setting; time to put on a show.

First carp in a while.  Cast was pretty long.  Wielding an old 5 wt.  Fish followed a slow drag for about fifteen feet.  Had to use educated guess on the careful lift of the rod.  It all worked out okay.

I dig this new net.  It served well on Lake Michigan.  Has the features required of carping.  Cost $16.

Scale said 11 lbs 4 ounces; less the net tare puts the fish at 10 lbs.

If I'd had more time I would have beat down this water.  It was good.  There were a lot of positive targets.

That's it for MN for a while.  Heading off to new waters.