Conversations With Carp - Vacation Day Talks

To me the best time to take vacation is autumn.  When autumn comes around the air is cooler and crisper, and the leaves begin to put on a stage performance of beautiful gold, burnt orange, and yellow colors.  Also, trout season rolls around at Blue River and this serves as a perfect chance to see fellow fly fishers that have been absent since the spring. 

So, I try my best to save my vacation time for the fall season, but sometimes things build up on me at the workplace and I make myself burn a vacation day... just like this morning. 

The bill of fare I had in mind for the carp this morning was the black bodied, red tail Curiosity fly along with the chartreuse Creek Critter.  Beginning with the Curiosity, this fly would find the fattest and largest carp I've ever taken from the pasture we call Honey Hole.  This would be a lengthy conversation to say the least.  For some reason I decided to carry a net with me this morning and having this big carp on the line made me thankful the net was at hand.  However, I would learn after four attempts of scooping the fish that this poor quality net was simply too small. 

I would finally wear the fish down where I could get him close to the bank and grab his tail.  I wish I would have taken a better picture that would show the length and girth of this creature.  It was a sow carp and I feel lucky in landing this fish.

It wasn't long until the second fish was on the line and it would turn out to be about a 4lb. catfish. Between the first carp and this catfish the Curiosity had begin to come unraveled.

The red tail Curiosity was retired to the dry patch and this afternoon this great little pattern will be reincarnated in the fly tying room.  His cousin the tan tail Curiosity went on the tippet.

Traveling from Honey Hole pasture to the pasture known as lower Well Springs the second carp of the morning was targeted.  The tan tail cousin came through and the fish came to hand.

From lower Well Springs I travel to the pasture we call the Beach.  Here I see three carp feeding in close proximity of each other.  It seemed best to simply put the fly in the middle of them and see what would happen.  The chartreuse Creek Critter fell dead center of this trio and it was a race to see what carp would get to the fly first.  I honestly couldn't tell which carp was going to arrive first, but set the hook as soon as I saw the tippet twitch. 

There was a problem with where I hooked-up with this carp.  A small tree with lots of branches has fallen across the creek and this carp kept going dead-on for those branches.  Bypassing the drag I played the creature with my line hand.  Finally I hauled the carp to the edge of the sandy beach itself and was sure this carp had been whipped.  But, as I let pressure off the rod to approach the carp, the fish flipped, hook came out, and it was adios.  The carp won this battle.  Kudos to you fine sir. 

Charlie stopped by the mercantile store the other day and we begin to talk about how our fly selection, particularly to size, has evolved over the last several years.  When we first begin to seriously fly fish for carp we were tying patterns on size 6 scud and straight shank hooks.  We were churning out rather large Backstabber style flies, Carpolo Charlies, and San Juan wormballs.  Now, we are using size 12 scud hooks and this smaller patterns seem to catch more carp.  The one thing I've noticed is that the smaller patterns seem to spook less carp from the fly itself.  The only down side to smaller patterns so far has been there have been several occasions where the fly gets a little deeper  into to the mouth of the fish.  Not damaging deep, but if given preference I'd rather the hook go into the lip each time.  

Once large patterns were used, now smaller is better.

Both Charlie and me have been fly fishing for so long we could easily be considered seasoned anglers.  However, when it comes to carp-by-fly, we always recognize our phylogeny.  We will continue to learn and evolve as we go.  Next up is to improve our take ratio by blind-fishing, and then there is carp-by-fly at night. 

I don't know about the snakes though with this fly at night thing.  







Carp Redux 2011 - Thoughts Under A Diamond Sky

There hasn't been much time, here of late, to go to the place of fly-fishing - the workshop for the soul.  In the last two outings, three beeves have come to carry my brand and all three came as a result for their affection for the Crazy Charlie. 

My friend Charlie has had fewer hours than I on the water, but, he is still managing to rope and brand a beeve here or there with the Carpolo Charlie pattern in olive and yellow. Yesterday he decided to check on the herd at the pasture that bears his name.  On the ride in he found a stray beeve and quickly roped it.

Charlies stray beeve taken on a Carpolo Charlie olive/yellow.

Several nights ago I was sitting in the prairie open under a diamond sky thinking about the recent chatter as to the demise of the local and small fly shops across the country. 

Although, I've never been privy to the pleasures of having a nearby fly shop, I can certainly understand and see myself visiting quite often, only if one was near.  I would think there is something personal about a fly shop to a fly fisher in the same locale... such as good solid information on the water and the fish, and friendships formed.

As to why the small fly shop industry is in such a nosedive, there are most likely a number of factors. One factor most certainly is the sluggish economy we all have been wading through for the last several years.  Another reason may very well be the decline of interest in fly fishing altogether.  And lastly, there is the increase of on-line marketing by Internet fly shops. 

The Internet fly shop has become the convenience store for the fly angler and fly tyer. With just a couple of clicks, Metz or Hoffman, Sage or Winston, or Ross and Abel can be on their way to our doorstep.  Although Internet fly shops are convenient, they leave much to be desired - I, for one,  really like to look at hackles and capes before buying. 

There was a surge in fly fishing interest during the mid 1990's and as it is with most surges there comes a peak or leveling-off that is sometimes followed by a marked decline.  It appears fly fishing as a whole is in this declining stage. 

The economy is slowly recovering, but, unfortunately when there are monthly overhead costs the small fly shop owner can only hold out for so long.  Sad, but brutally true.

By and by the fly fishing genius will look for an answer to stop the decline of fly fishing.  Failing to do so may very well result in a continuum of the art much like the demise of local fly shops.

Already we are hearing that the answer that will remedy the decline is introducing more youth to our sport, and why would any of us argue this point - it simply makes sense.

I would hope however, while we concentrate on bringing more young people to this fine and noble art, we fail not in rememering that they, the young ones today, will need adequate water to fish... in their future.

We are not exactly growing new fishing waters and do well to hold on to the existing waters we have.  With the way it is with water currently, and the competition for the resource from agriculture, municipalities, business and industry, water for recreational purposes (i.e. we who fly fish) gets the short end of a very short stick far too often.

There are water wars being waged in some states with California being one of the most notable.  Here on the prairie ocean, Oklahoma is currently undergoing a statewide water plan and hopefully the planners will have the same insight that Robert S. Kerr owned, making sure we have enough water, whereas our fisheries will not be threatened.

Carp Redux 2011 - Charlie's Triumphant Return

Charlie hasn't had much time on the water in the last week or so.  Well... that's not exactly the truth... he has had time on the water, but, it's been with cane pole, worms, and grandchildren.  That's beautifully wonderful in itself.

However, he hasn't been able to carp by fly in the last week or so.  Today, he returned to the pursuit of carp by the fur and feather and what a return it was.

 

Singling out a rather large carp, Charlie sent out an offering in the form of an olive and yellow Carpolo Charlie fly.  In his report, Charlie says this big chap took the fly on the fall, which is always a beautiful sight to behold.

During the Carp Crusades of 2010, and thus far in the Carp Redux, both Charlie and I have tried our best to attract the attention of the sucker fish in our local creek.  We both have met with great failure.  However, Charlie reports that today two Redhorse suckers turned on the Carpolo Charlie.  We have greater hope now and if I know Charlie Wright, he'll end up catching one of those suckers.

Carp Redux 2011 - The Day After "I Do!"

Charlie has told me a good number of times to seek out the shallows after a rain.  Of all the fly fishers I know, Charlie is one of the finest and the one that owns the keenest sense of observation - he studies these carp like a student prepping for a test.

Early this morning, about midway between the midnight hour and dawn, a thunderstorm tumbled across this prairie ocean.  It was loud with bright flashes and brought rain.  It didn't bring a tremendous amount of rain; a drought-buster my no means, however, it was a much needed rain and enough to turn the creek brown.

I decided to take Charlie up on his advice, and like I should have known, his advice was solid as a rock. With the creek being discolored, I dismissed the white Mysis Shrimp from duty and tied on an olive and orange Carpolo Charlie. Within thirty minutes I had battled and brought to submission three carp... including two of those fascinating looking Mirror carp.

It may be my imagination, but, Mirror carp seem to have more spunk than the Common carp does.  The Mirror just never quit and make run after run.  Sometimes I have to simply bulldog these Mirror carp and beach them.

Today the carping by fly was a mixture of sight fishing and blind fishing at the same time.  The creek wasn't dingy to the point the image of the carp couldn't be made, but, once the fly pierced the surface it was gone from sight.  I depended on the behavior of the carp to know when it was time to set the hook and if the creatures suddenly moved forward and stopped, or gills flared... I went for the hook-set.  This practice worked like a charm. 

First Mirror of the day.

Fascinating looking Mirror.

Fishing today was a total muddy mess.  The usual structure of felled trees and root balls were certainly present and today there were additional tree limbs that had been washed down the creek.  How the fish and I came through all that without a break-off amazes me.  Although it was fun, it was a work-out and in the end my rod was dirty, the reel was dirty, I was dirty, and the Carpolo Charlie looked like it had been through a meat grinder.
 

Speaking of Charlie again, I think he come up with the perfect coinage about fly fishing for carp.  In a dispatch I received from Charlie last year in regards to fly fishing for carp, Charlie said, "This ain't pretty fishing."  Charlie my friend, you're absolutely correct - this is sometimes down and dirty in the trenches fishing. 

It's not pretty fishing.

While I was having fun battling the carp, I didn't realize the creek was on the rise.  It wasn't a threatening rise or anything like that.  However, within another thirty minutes the creek had become unfishable, discoloring even more with a significant increase in flow. 

I gave thanks and left the creek.