Conversations With Carp - Stalled Talks

Around mid-morning at the mercantile store today, I saw Charlie walking in a rather spry and quick paced fashion. 

"Hey Charlie!", I hollered. 

Charlie stopped, turned and with a tilted head looked at me and replied, "I'm headed that way... bye." 

Translated, Charlie was on his way to the big body carp water that we fished yesterday to engage in more conversation and he wasn't about to expend a lot of time on morning chit-chat. 

I too had hopes of going back to sea-lane in that lesser sea spoke of yesterday for more conversation with carp, but... I guess we can say that today I suffered from a case of stalled talks.

You see, yesterday after Charlie and I were through fishing, I went to the prairie schooner to leave and upon slapping leather across the ponies arses they didn't kick.  They didn't kick, they didn't whinny, they didn't do anything.  I was stalled.

Charlie stayed with me as the problem was examined and futile attempt after futile attempt to get the ponies to kick was tried.  Finally, I asked Charlie to use his cell phone and a call was put to Miss Carol to come to the rescue so at least I would have a way home.

When Miss Carol arrived, Charlie felt it was okay to leave and it wasn't two minutes thereafter the ponies kicked.  With that small miracle taking place the prairie schooner was driven to the prairie home and at the hitching post seven or eight attempts to get the ponies to kick were successful.

Early this morning I walked out of the prairie home, jumped in the schooner and the ponies kicked once again.  Driving to the mercantile store, I hitch the wagon to the front posts and open the mercantile store.  As part of morning regimen, and about an hour later, my morning fix of sissy-coffee was calling. Exiting the mercantile store to the schooner I find the ponies, once again, will not kick, no whinny - they will do nothing. 

Around the noon hour each day at the store, a retired gentleman comes in to get some of our food culls in his attempt to save some starving goats.  This gentleman just happens to be one of those guys who is mechanically inclined and upon learning of my problem with the schooner and ponies, he asked to take a look. 

It wasn't long until he identified a couple of problems and through that the ponies gave a little whinny.  Employing the use of another schooner as a boost, the ponies kicked hard and the schooner was good to go.  Driving the schooner through town a couple of times, in order to build the power of the pony motivator, I once again hitch at the front of the store.  After doing so, leather is once again slapped across the ponies arses and they did not kick or whinny - they did nothing. 

There is a prairie schooner parts store here in this settlement and if you lay down around a dozen sawbucks, plus silver, you can get a brand spanking new pony motivator - amazing what a fresh electrical charge source will do to ponies.

Motivator installed and ponies kicked hard; schooner ready to go; but was this the solving of the problem for real?

Not having total confidence that the schooner was fixed, I dare not go to the big water Charlie and I fished yesterday because tow trucks charge by the mile.  Instead, I went to the local creek which is only three blocks away from the tow service. 

Our local carp creek is still a brown colored blur, and now a blanket of blossoms is quickly forming.  Basically, I couldn't see anything, no bubbles were coming up, and the sun was very unkind today. 

However, nearby and upstream just off the bank I saw some disturbance in the form of rings.  Slowly approaching this area there was a single carp below me gently feeding in the forage of this pasture.  With the carrot on the stick I place the fly in front of him and he sucks.  He sucks, I miss. 

Remarkably, this fish does not spook and I show him the carrot again - he sucks, I miss.... again.

Never have I had the same carp suck twice, me miss twice and the fish not go ballistic in the water.  Today, this carp simply swam away as if nothing significant had happened. 

Now, how can someone blow two easy hook-sets on the same carp? 

Rust. 

It's called rust. 

More time on the water will dissolve the rust... I hope.