Fly Fishing For Carp - Lazy Sunday Carper

Was I ever worthless today.  I'm talking about a total case of laziness my friends. 

I awoke this Sunday morning the same time as usual, which is something I can't seem to not do.  After shuffling around the bunkhouse for an hour, I decided to drag my lethargic butt to the mercantile store to take care of something in need of taking care of. 

Then, it was back to the bunkhouse where I read some outdoor reports and a couple of blogs I follow.  Eventually got around to ordering a couple of shirts from The Fiberglass Manifesto and in doing so I wondered if this might be the highlight of my day. 

Finally, about an hour before noon and during intermittent rain showers I hit the creek to see what the carp were up to.  It really wasn't the ideal day for carping - completely overcast sky, rain drops now falling at a steady clip, and a lack of energy on my part.

At the creek it didn't take long to discover I wasn't the only one who was lazy this day.  The carp were too.  I could see them - just kind of hovering in the water column - like a day at the poolside drinking ice tea or a Tom Collins.  And... they sure weren't interested in eating. 

Finally a mud cloud was spotted, along with the faint image of a tail.  A black body with red stinger Curiosity was put into the liquid mud pie and eyes were fixed on the tail.  The carp didn't budge an inch so a little strip was employed and that's when the tail waved and lurched forward.  A soft hook-set followed by a firm follow-up resulted in a solid hook-up. 

 

I would get one more decent shot at a carp, but this opportunity would be problematic.  Fishing narrow and shallow water there was a carp about fifteen feet upstream from my position.  In between the carp and me was an overhanging tree branch that almost touched the creek.  Not wanting to move another inch, out of fear of spooking the fish, I would have to cast sidearm and hope the fly line would be a curve ball.  From the get-go I figure I would blow this cast, but much to my surprise the fly landed about a foot directly in front of the carp.  As soon as the fly hit the drink, a young bass hopped on it and robbed me of a possible carp tally.

 

 

After the bass, I went further upstream where I discovered the catfish had a little more energy and enthusiasm than the carp. 

 

 

Catfish on a fly has been crazy this carp season.  Charlie and I together have probably caught 100 catfish without wanting to. 

 

After this catfish this afternoon, my laziness became worse.  So, I take my worthless self home and take a lazy man's nap. 

 

Lazy is good... sometimes. 





Where I Would Take Graywolf #100

One thing about Cameron over at the The Fiberglass Manifesto is that he keeps things interesting in the fly fishing world. 

For his latest effort in making fly fishing more fun, he's teamed up with Shane Gray of Graywolf Rods and these two have created a contest where some lucky guy or gal will walk away with one of Shane's wonderfully crafted rods. 

The rod to be given away is a Signature S-Glass 8' 5-weight rod valued at $600.00. 

To enter the contest all we have to do is answer the question, "Where Would We Take Build #100?"  Therefore, in hopes of getting lucky I am answering that question here and now.

I know exactly where I would take Build #100 and I want to share why. 

I would take Build #100 to Blue River in southern Oklahoma.  The reason I would take Build #100 is because Shane and Graywolf Rods and Blue River have something in common.  They both are unique. 

Blue River is the intimate waterway that the people of southern Oklahoma had to rescue back in 2002.  In 2002 there was an effort by a coalition to drill, pump, and transport massive amounts of water from the Arbuckle-Simpson aquifer - the lifeblood of Blue River.  The amount of yearly water to be removed was almost exactly the same amount that flows down Blue River each year.  If this effort would have been successful, it would have been a matter of time before Blue River would have ceased to exist. 

However, those of us who know and love this unique river banded together and stopped the water removal. 

Blue River is a wonderful year round fishery and designated trout stream from November 1st to March 31st.  The geomorphologically and plant life of Blue River are two of things that make this river unique.  Blue River is the only place in Oklahoma that the seaside alder is found - a plant that is indigenous to the east coast.  Outcroppings of granite and limestone at Blue River are a stark contrast to the mostly flat farm land that surrounds this river on both sides. 

There is something to be said about being unique, especially when there is so much mediocrity available.

Now, I'll keep on rat-holing money to buy my own Graywolf someday just in case my luck doesn't pull through on this contest.  But if I do get lucky and my name comes out my random draw, then on November 1st, opening day of trout season, I'll be standing in the Blue with the Graywolf in my hand.

Conversations With Carp - Talks Cut Short... but,

Being in fine fettle yesterday morning, I planned to make it a day of extended talks with carp.  At five minutes after six, while dawn was still announcing itself, I was standing on the creek bank.  Within fifteen minutes two carp would come to hand.  At that point I was telling myself it could possibly be an outstanding carp-by-fly day. 

The fly yesterdays carp fell for.

But, an outstanding carp-by-fly day it would not turn out to be.  It seems one of the young hands at the mercantile store didn't make it to work, and this old man went in to take up the slack.  I should say this old grumbling man went in to take up the slack.

However, since I was giving time to the mercantile store I was deserving of a lunch hour and I quickly returned to the creek for a short hour reprieve.  In that hour one more carp would come to hand and this would be the extent of my carp-by-fly day. 

Even though my planned extended talks with carp was cut short on Saturday, I have nothing to complain about.  Last week was one of the more enjoyable weeks I can recall. 

A week ago Saturday, my youngest daughter Kempy married an outstanding man in Van Stacey.  As her father I could not be more pleased or proud of the happiness Kempy has found with Van.  Besides, Van likes to spend a lot of time in the outdoors fishing and hunting, so we will get along just fine.

On Monday I watched the Oklahoma City Thunder take one step closer to winning the NBA Western Conference by beating the Spurs for the third straight game.

On Tuesday, I had one of the best carp experiences of my carp-by-fly life in capturing five carp in less than an hours time on the water.  It was efficiency at it's best.

On Wednesday, I watched the OKC Thunder slowly dismantle the Spurs and win the Western Conference.  Now, these young talented men are on their way to the NBA finals.

The Thunder will face the Miami Heat for the NBA title.

On Thursday, the UPS driver delivered the replacement rod for my broken Temple Fork six-weight.  This rod has been missing in action for a good while and I've truly missed the rod.  How can we not love lifetime warranties on our fly rods?

On Friday, our friend Charlie waltzes into the mercantile store and hands me a Carp On The Fly window decal.  I love this thing!  Having a window decal like this makes a guy feel kind of official.  I wasted little time in slapping the decal on the prairie schooner along with other decals such as Fly Fish, Aztec Anglers, and The Fiberglass Manifesto.

Of course there was yesterday and I've already reported about Saturday.  Let me add that even though the outing was much shorter than I hoped for, any time spent on the creek chasing carp-by-fly is good time. 

And then there was this morning.  This Sunday morning, as most, the mercantile store owned my being.  Around 8:30 this morning the call of the creek was simply too much.  I inform the girls in the office I would be taking a break and would return within an hour.  Actually, I would be back at the store some forty-five minutes later.  So, it was out the door and to the creek, white shirt and all.

On the creek I would miss the first two carp sucks from simply not paying attention.  The third carp, a rather prodigious fellow, would snap my line like it was nothing.  This is the second time this week I've had my line broke by one of the larger carp that make Rock Creek home. 

Finally, I would capture a young carp using the same red tail stinger fly used yesterday.  The fly that attracted the two missed opportunities along with the broken line was Charlie's Biter Critter.  It was a fly I had just tied to replace the last one that was lost due to a carp breaking the line.

It's been a good week.