I Regret The Neglect

No doubt about it... I have been terribly neglectful of this journal and my overall fly fishing life lately - a life that brings me tremendous joy. 

There are a number of factors involved as to why this neglect has come about.  But, I'll not bore anyone and mistakenly make anyone think I want to hold a pity party.  It's just life. 

This has been the strangest summer of my 55 or so years of remembering the summer season.  This past week we set, not only, a record low high for July, but also a record low low temperature for the month of July.  Since the month of May we have had a steady flow of rain events and one of the more significant events was this past week.  Even with all the rain events we've had come our way, the wonderful bounty has hardly made a dent in the level of our little carp creek or the large lake that it feeds.  I think this is a testament to Oklahoma being in a drought far too long. 

I did find a grand opportunity to visit the carp yesterday for a half hour and met two of the carp community citizens on back to back attempts with the Aftermath fly.  It was a good rush.  I need more waves of that kind of surge.

 

 

Carp, Music, Art, And Brew

Most likely those that read my scribblings with some kind of frequent fashion have come to believe that I am one dimensional, with that dimension owned being catching carp and other species with the flies I tie. 

I will be the first to admit that I am far from being the most interesting man in the world, however I do have other interests besides fly fishing. 

When Saturday rolled around I will tell you that I had an itch to capture a carp by way of fly.  But, I also knew there was an event taking place on Saturday and this event held a number of things that draw and hold my interest.  Therefore, I decided to go to the carp creek and catch one carp and one carp only.

Before leaving the bunkhouse I decided to tie up another Aftermath carp fly.  On this fly though, I wanted to try something new by adding pink, more precisely cerise, to the pattern.  Cerise is the color that brought me hundreds of trout this past trout season using the Frenchie pattern.  Taking the cerise colored rabbit fur I gave the Aftermath a collar and off to the creek we went.

The pasture I chose to fish is called Big Well Springs.  The Johnson grass here is taller than I am and trying to wade through it is like being a jungle warfare combatant.  On the other hand, the tall Johnson grass gives the angler fantastic concealment and the carp can be approached undetected.  Upstream I saw movement in the water and it was telling me feeding carp in the shallows.

I saw a young carp and decided to target this lad.  The cast I made was less than spectacular with the fly going across the back end of the carp.  He immediately begin to move and I quickly pulled the fly past him and let it drop about a foot in front.  He swam straight to the fly and sucked it in. 

For a youngster he had a lot of fight. 

 

About the time I released the carp the event downtown was scheduled to begin, so fishing was done for me and it was back to the bunkhouse to get cleaned up.

 

 

The Artesian hotel, spa, and resort is one of Oklahoma's grandest destinations.  The Chickasaw Nation finished this recreation of the famous Artesian hotel about a year ago and since it's opening travelers have flocked to take in it's beauty.  On Saturday, the first Artesian Arts Festival was held. 

 

Native art has always been an attraction for me.  Perhaps it's because I'm an Oklahoman and Oklahoma is rich in may different native tribes.  Or maybe it was the time I spent on the artisan streets of Albuquerque and Santa Fe years ago.  For me there is something wholesome and spiritual about native American art.

 

 

 

 

The festival  was just art.  There was a lot of good food to be sampled and there was music.  I don't know the name of the band, but they were quite talented.  The music continue all day with different genres throughout the event. 

 

 

Festival activities were taking place downtown in historic Sulphur so I drifting that way to take in more.  First though I stopped at the reflection garden the Chickasaw nation has built.  The focal point of this garden is flowing water and of course that always catches the attention of an angler.

 





 

 

I continued to drift westward into downtown and then there it was... like a shining beacon in a dry desert.  It was a watering hole.

 

 

There went the rest of the day.  



 





Hola Carp

Charlie has returned from Mexico and wasted no time at all in saying hello to his favored carp.  Charlie tells me the Mirror actually chased down a red-tail Creek Critter.

 

My trips to the carp creek have been few and far between primarily due to the business of life and a struggling creek.  I did make a trip two days ago and found a carp that drew a fancy for the Aftermath.

 

 

Although things are quite bad as far as the creek, I hold great excitement for the next ten days where we stand a chance of receiving rain each day.  Then, Charlie and I can get after the carp on a more serious note.

 





All Important Observation

Quite often those that make the decision to pursue the art of fly fishing for carp are overflowing with excitement and exuberance.  Far too often this enthusiasm leads to not taking enough time studying the water before them.  First of all it should be suggested that the fly angler for carp should always give his or her eyes enough time to adjust to the water and surroundings.  Carp have a mystical way of blending in with the bottom of their watery abode and there are times they seem to appear like specters. 

Not all of us are eagle-eyed and thus it is even more important to take our time to observe and evaluate the water.  It is also important to not make a rash decision on fishing the first carp we see.  Too many times has an angler cast a gift to the first carp encountered and in doing so blown the whole community that was basically at the feet of the angler. 

In North Carolina guide Ken Hardwick with Davidson River Outfitters is as eagle-eyed as anyone that I've encountered while fishing.  Ken's ability could be God-given or he has simply trained himself over the years and knows what to look for within the riffles, seams, or in the pockets. 

Admittedly I have had to force myself to slow down, take time, carefully peruse every square foot of water before placing the fly in the drink.  In doing so, more carp have come to hand.

 

 

 

 

In Love With Pretty Tail

I loved pretty tail as a young man.  I love pretty tail now as an older man.  I own this fascination for pretty tail.  My philosophy, when it comes to tail, is that it would be insulting to not look at pretty tail and therefore I have always tried to do my best and look as much as I can. 

On the creek yesterday I was facing a quite stained waterway due to the wonderful rains we received recently.  As I stared into the coffee I saw what looked like a small orange flag waving in the water.  Almost as soon as it appeared it also disappeared from sight.  However, there were bubbles and with a thirty foot roll cast I place the Aftermath at the head of the bubbles.  A count of five and slow lift of the rod tip, tension felt, hook-set made, and I got my pretty tail.

 

 

Long live pretty tail. 

 

After The Aftermath

The carp are still favoring the Aftermath pattern primarily the one with the chartreuse body.  However, one with a black cactus chenille body was born and this pattern has taken the last three or four carp.  In wondering what is so enticing about this fly - the color of the body, the worm tail, or the partridge feather, I would now say it almost has to be the worm tail. 

Great dividends will come to the carp by fly angler if they have ownership of three things - keen eyesight, the patience of a heron, and steely sharp stealth.  Too many times have anglers not given their eyes time to adjust and find themselves walking past carp because just like the muckraker in Pilgrims Progress they are fixated on the wrong goal.  Crisp eyesight and stealth go hand in hand and the patience we must learn enhances both these fine qualities in an angler. 

The carp creek that Charlie and I fancy is in a bad way.  Currently the creek is choked with algae on it's bottom and tree tassels on the top.  Hardly a cast can be made without drowning the fly in some kind of sticky entanglement, which requires the fly to be clean with each attempt. 

However, carp to the hand have been managed.  But, it's been hard going my friends.

 

 

A Carp Here... A Carp There

Capturing a January or February carp here on this prairie ocean is a rare and rewarding experience.  So far, 2014 has been very kind this this fly angler with both January and February carp coming to my hand by way of the fly rod and Aftermath fly. 

March 28th is the official opening of our carp season.  It's a date established by Charlie and me years ago once we decided to get serious about fly fishing these wonderful creatures.

Although we are still two weeks away from our official start date, I've been venturing to the little creek we have the last couple of afternoons. 

The water is still a bit cold for a lot of activity.  The big guys seem content to hold by their dens near the far and undercut banks while the youngsters come out to play.  I'm content with the big guys holding and the youngsters on the go because it doesn't matter what size carp I catch.  I like them all. 

Monday, I went to the creek about 1:30  in the afternoon.  The weather was sunny and there was a stiff breeze.  The creek is a really odd color right now - a really pale green and it makes seeing the carp difficult.  Since sight fishing was out of the question I simply started blind fishing to shadows in the creek.  Before too long, one teenager latched onto the Aftermath and I employed a solid hook-set. 

 

With that one carp I was satisfied and left the creek.  On Tuesday I returned to the creek at the same time.  Again, it was sunny.  However, the wind was howling this day.  The chop on the water was so severe it almost became nauseating after looking at it for ten minutes or so.  Once again, I was resigned to blind cast.  After what seemed like two dozen or so casts I hadn't even got so much as a love bump.  Walking upstream I could see the silhouettes of several carp across the creek so I decided to do something I rarely do and that is enter the creek.

 

Our creek is quite thin and it doesn't take much movement at all to push a lot of water.  Normally, Charlie and I stand at the edge of the creek and roll our flies out to the carp, but today that wasn't working so I went full stalking mode.  It took a long time to inch up to the carp and then an overhand cast was made.  I missed the first eat, but on the next cast the Aftermath struck gold. 

 

 

Again, this one carp seem to satisfy my appetite for a little interaction between this man and fish and I left the creek. 

 

Sometimes I like to just sit on the bank and watch the carp as they live.  I know that the flies we use, the rods the lines, the clothes we wear are all important elements when it comes to successfully capture these creatures.  However, I think our attitude toward the carp is all important and I will speak more of that later. 



No Camera Blues

As of last Thursday it had been a better part of a month since I had last fly fished.  I could feel myself getting sick from the situation. 

A Thursday trip to Blue resulted in a nice Rainbow trout to my hand and a wonderful meeting with a gentleman from Sherman, Texas.

I was on the river Friday, and then Saturday and Sunday.  On Saturday I lost my camera to the depths of the Blue River.  No, I wasn't distraught or mad or anything like that.  This certainly wasn't the first camera or other electronic device I've lost to the waters I fish.

Sunday, I fished Blue in quick fashion and made a mad dash back home to go to Rock Creek for the carp.   Upon getting on the banks of the creek I spotted a really nice carp holding under a fallen tree trunk.  The tree trunk was dead, but still had live limbs sprouting from the trunk.  The fish was at the tip of the tree trunk so I decided to see if I could cast close enough to draw him out.  The first two casts were a little off the mark, but the third cast was dead on.  What a joy to watch a carp swim to a fly and suck it up. 

There I was with one of the nicer carp that I've caught by way of fly rod and fly and I didn't have a camera to take his mug shot. 

One camera coming up later today. 

A Matter Of Attempts

When conditions are tough, then getting the carp to eat is also tough.  Right now the water in our carp creek is still quite cold and for the most part the carp are static.  Of all the carp I saw yesterday in the hour on the creek there wasn't a single one of them eating. 

Even though they weren't in the feeding mode, I still believed I could entice one of them to eat the Aftermath carp fly.  And, it would simply be a matter of attempts. 

I must have made thirty casts to the carp and out of all those attempts I may have had one suck.  Now I don't know how I knew, but I did.  I'd been watching this one carp and he was slowly cruising almost in a circle - like he was on the prowl.  I told myself that carp would eat my fly on my next cast so I made that throw.  The fly landed beyond and slightly upstream from him and I turned my attention to the fly line.  He slammed the Aftermath. 

 

 

 

It's in the numbers sometimes.  Persistence pays off. 

 

Carp Campaign 2014

Yesterday, I was on the Blue River catching trout.  I had the pleasure of meeting 37 beautiful Rainbow trout with a single pattern.

Last night, I read a dispatch from Charlie telling of sightings of our favored fish the carp.  Today, I tied two Aftermath patterns and even though the wind was howling like no tomorrow I headed for the carp creek.  I was only there about twenty minutes, but I walked away with the first prize of the 2014 season.

 

May 2014 be a good year for all of us who love fly fishing for carp. 

Dear Carp - Arrival Of Autumn

Dear Carp,

Sunday announced the arrival of the autumn season and it was with great gladness I found myself standing at the fringe of your watery home for the third Sunday in a row. 

Although I knew my time would be a mere whit of an outing, still there was an ease and gentleness with the cool air that autumn brought this morning.  This mornings temperature was 59 degrees and that is a wonderful reprieve to the muggy and sticky high 70's we've been encountering in the hours before dawn. 

I was surprised to find so many of you in suspended fashion so early in the day.  My hope was to find one of you grazing as I often do, but as hard as I searched no grazers were found.

On this Sunday morning the gift I would bring to you was one cactus chenille Creek Critter.  I put the gift in the drink and watched for the telegraph signal in the line and there it was. 

 

The citizen that claimed the gift offered wasn't a large member of your community, but he thought he was refusing to yield time after time. 

 

He took me through a really compromised area of this sea current and before our encounter was over we were both battle worn wearing part of the creek on ourselves.

 

 

Shortly after saying so-long to this fine lad, I received a dispatch informing me to return to the workplace and therefore I parted company with the wonderful lot of you.

 

My friends, Charlie will be returning soon from Mexico and he has already shared with me his intentions of coming to you.  It should be a grand reunion. 

 

Soon I will traveling to North Carolina to visit other fellows that are similar to your kind.  When I return I will come to you with grand stories... hopefully.

 

Take care grand ones.

 

 

Sincerely,

 

 

Prairie Ocean Fly Fisher



Dear Carp - Removed

Dear Carp,

I came to your home today not in hopes of any conversations, but rather to perform a task that has been eating at me for a good while.

My hope today was to give you somewhat a little better home by removing two major pieces of trash that have no business being in your sea-lane. 

I brought with me a strong tether because once I retrieved these items from your sea-lane I would have to haul them up a slightly steep hill. 

 

My time was quite tight today so I waded straight in and headed directly for today's targets.  Of these two pieces of the artifacts of modern man, I thought all along the barrel would be the most difficult of the two to take down the creek. 

 

 

I decided to tackle the barrel first and to my pleasant surprise the barrel was quite an easy chore once I got it upright and the water poured.  The barrel simply floated down the sea-lane like a wrecked ship on it's way to dry dock.

 

 

Next came the school desk and this piece of garbage like to eat my lunch.  That's a term we use in my world my friends.  Simply put... it was much heavier than I imagined. 

 

However, the desk finally came to be beached on a sea-lane shelf and now it was time to get these modern artifacts up the hill and on their way to, unfortunately, a landfill somewhere.

 

 

Now it was time to get this trash up the hill and knowing you have seen me many times you know I'm not a spring chicken and not that big a guy.  However, this is where the strong tether came into play.  I simply tied the tether on the artifacts and pulled them up the hill and then about 100 yards to the road side where hopefully they'll be removed by the city stewards.

 

 

Sweet beasts, your home is somewhat cleaner today with two pieces of garbage removed.  Hundreds remain... but, they will be retrieved also as time allows.  Being a trash man is a dirty business, but a little dirt never hurt anyone.

 

 

Take care grand creatures.  The rain is on it's way they tell us.  Let us hope they are right.

 

 

Sincerely,

 

 

Prairie Ocean Fly Fisher 











Dear Carp - A New Gift For You

Dear Carp,

Oh sweet beasts... how wonderful it was to be able to come visit with you this morning.  No, I did not have a princely sum of time to visit, yet a little time is better than no time at all.

Before coming to the sea current you sail, I was sitting at my tying table churning out seven or eight worm patterns for Van.  Also, I tied him a couple of Curiosity gifts so he can show you them also.  While at the table I was thinking about the hard time you are having seeing my current bag of presents and decided to create you a new gift that will be vivid, bright, and glow - glow like, as they tell me, things will in case of a nuclear catastrophe like those crazy-ass North Korean leaders are trying to egg on.  You're probably wondering, like I am, what the North Korean carp think of their silly-ass chairman.  Not much I bet.

Your home is becoming more and more challenged each day.  Challenging for you to live and challenging for the fly angler to hold talks with you.  The algae is getting impossible. 

 

On this sea lane that you use to celebrate life, there are things that are ugly such as the large algae islands that now exist and there are things that are quite pretty.  I think this shows us the stark differences we can find when we go to the woods, the wild, or sail the currents.

 

 

As I sailed to you in my prairie schooner I made the decision to come to you at the pasture that has proven the most difficult for the angler to have a conversation with one of you - Big Well Springs.  At the pasture, the angler is totally exposed and elevated.  For us, it is almost like being naked in front of the whole world with that world being your world and the only thing important at the time.  So many times at this pasture you have sensed my presence before I even get close to having any hope of a conversation, but this morning was different.

 

This morning the entire pasture was a folly of mudding activity.  I reached down inside myself and found the patience to simply wait and study.  It wasn't long until I seen a mud cloud, bubbles, and a tail.  My new vivid and glowing gift, that I call the Aftermath, sailed out by my hand and landed at the head of the bubbles.  My eyes were fixed on the tail and when I saw excitement in the tail... I lifted the rod tip... and a most delightful conversation had begun. 

 

What a sturdy fellow this was.  He certainly had a set of shoulders on him and made attempt after attempt to free himself from the chat we were having. But, my tether... one I just put on last night was just as sturdy, and this citizen came in for the branding by the touch of my hand.

 

 

As I told you earlier I tied this gift so it would glow like something glows after an unthinkable nuclear catastrophe and with these things there are always an aftermath and thence the name for this fly.  The body was fluro chartreuse and I lined both the belly and back with peacock herl.  However, I first tied in a muted brown worm on the tail in for contrast, and lastly I employed a soft hackle with fine partridge.  I am most proud one of your citizens liked the Aftermath on it's maiden voyage.

 

 

Although my time with you today was short everything seemed to work out because after the championship battle with this morning's citizen, the rest of your community blew up and the pasture became one big mud cloud.

 

Word does seem to travel fast amongst your kind. 

 

Until our next chat my friends, live and enjoy life.

 

 

Sincerely,

 

 

Prairie Ocean Fly Fisher 







Dear Carp - The Milestone Day

Dear Carp,

Yesterday was March 28th.  That date most likely holds no significance for you my friends, but in my life and the life of Charlie... it certainly does.

Three years ago yesterday marks the date that Charlie and me decided to pursue conversation with you and your kinship and do so in the most passionate way.  It was March 28th, 2010 when I caught my first carp, by way of fly, and doing so with a passion burning inside me.  A few days later, Charlie caught his first carp on the fly with the same burning passion. 

Both of us, Charlie and me, had come to converse with you and your kind many years prior.  But, we didn't come into that exchange with any passion at all to seek further talks.  My first conversation with your lot, by way of fly, came in 2004.

It unfortunately took a downturn life event for Charlie and me alike, at about the about the same time, for us to come to agreement that we needed a great challenge, a great diversion, something that would bring us passion.  My friends... you were that great challenge... that great diversion... the creature that would grow a passion so immense that it would come to dominant our thoughts. 

To mark this great event in Charlie's and my life, I came to you yesterday in hopes of having conversation with one of your kind.  If I was successful, I would tell the story I just shared with the lot of you.  You, my friends, saved Charlie and me.  You rejuvenated, inspired, led us to the great challenge we so badly needed.  You... possibly saved us from declining further in the muck that living life can sometimes bring. 

Thank you.

I would share my story with one of your kind.  He was such a tender babe... a sweetest child and a unique member of the grand order of the Mirror.

 

After sharing my story with the sweet babe, I returned him to unite once again with family.  Then, I hoped to find more conversation with your lot. 

 

The weather changed on me as the temperature started to drop so I put on an extra layer of clothing.  My hopes were to find additional members of your community to carry on talks, but other species, that share your home, had other ideas.

 

 

 

The Drum that share your home were quite interested in my offerings as I come to meet a couple of these feisty fellows.  The perch, those pick-pockets of the prairie ocean, were also quite interested and we also had some good chin-chins.

 

The most pleasant surprise of the afternoon, and a milestone in this fly fishers life, was the connection and conversation with yet another sweet and tender child.

 

 

 

On this day, March 28th, a day I come to celebrate the passion I have for you... I established another milestone in my fly fishing life by holding a chat with my first Redhorse Sucker by way of fly. 

 

Such a sweet and gentle babe he was. 

 

A grand day my friends... a grand day! 

 

They say the rain is on the way.  Let it pour sweet beasts, let it pour.  We can catch up later.

 

 

Sincerely,

 

 

Prairie Ocean Fly Fisher

 



 

 



Dear Carp - The Rain Dance Carp

Dear Carp,

The promised rain begin shortly after daybreak this morning.  It was an event I have been excitingly waiting for.  However, the rain came in a fashion that certainly was not a princely sum, but rather paltry - a mere pittance. 

It was disappointing to say the least, and I found further disappointment being held captive at the mercantile store having to work my seventh day straight. 

It's funny how my mind works sometime.  I found myself devising a way to excuse myself from the workplace in order to come visit you and at the same time a way to make the rain pour.  I reasoned that if I would come in hopes of a conversation with one of your lot, then the sky would certainly open and the rain would pour.

So, around mid-morning I informed my fellow co-workers that I would be taking a long break and once I returned there would be a grand tale of a chin-chin with a fine carp who would make a rain dance.

At the threshold of your doorstep at Honey Hole, it was easy to see that conditions were terribly bad in any hope of striking a conversation this morning.  The sky was completely overcast, there was a steady drizzle, and a constant and strong chop on the water.  The glare from the partially lit sky is the worst kind of glare and it made seeing your kind hard for a man who doesn't see well to begin with.

I did spot several of your community and presented them with my offering in the form of a Creek Critter.  This morning it was the same as the other day.  The gift would fall just inches away and in front and to the side of these citizens, but they could not find the fly once they reached it. 

With the strong chop on the water, I decided to leave this pasture and look for a wind-break at another.  At the pasture we call Lower Well Springs, I found such a wind-break. 

Here, the first two citizens acted like the earlier ones and come to the fly, but swam over it.  So, I changed my offering to the mutated Creek Critter, which is a cross between the Creek Critter and Curiosity. 

I looked for a community member to show it to and it wasn't long until I found such a subject.  This gentleman had no problem seeing my gift and rushed to claim his prize.  I kept our conversation short knowing I had to get back to the mercantile store, and sometimes to-the-point talks are quite alright. 

This dandy and fine young man took me through a real mess of organic build-up and it was quite a messy affair.

 

Upon releasing this fellow I expected the rain to begin pouring... but it did not.  Sometimes, I think I let my mind trick me and my optimism is too grand.  I was sure this fellow was the rain dance carp. 

 

My tour of duty at the mercantile store is now done, and as I am finishing this letter to you the thunder is rolling and the rain is beginning to build.  The thunder builds, the rain builds.  Let the celebration begin.

 

Thank you rain dance carp.

 

 

Sincerely,

 

 

Prairie Ocean Fly Fisher 

Dear Carp - March 6th, 2013

Dear Carp,

Finally my friends, finally.  I could not wait to get home to write you this letter.  It's good news I think. 

One the front page of the local newspaper this morning was an article that speaks directly to the desecration of your home.  I'm talking about the trash of course.

It seems others have also taken notice and one lady in particular has raised her voice in public forum loud enough to capture attention.  I contacted her right away, jumped on the opportunity... like a duck on a June bug. 

She returned my contact and asked if I would willing to make a presentation regarding the trash problem on your home place Rock Creek.  Of course I said yes and I want you to know I will represent you well, and passionately speak for cleaner woods and water. 

I'll let you know how it goes. 

On another subject I have something else to share with you. 

This past Saturday I was at the river Blue taking part in One Fly 2013.  Yes... I know, I was spending time with the pretty fish. Without offending you more, I must say it was a most enjoyable experience and it was for a very good cause. 

While I was there, a man named Walker Hairston presented me with a most pleasing gift.  Walker handed me a notebook adorned with a painting by James Prosek.  I'm sending you a postcard of the notebook.

 

I know, I know... that's a painting of a pretty fish, and I agree with you completely that James should consider doing a notebook with a painting of your kind.  Let's just see how that goes.  Okay?

 

Anyhow, what I really want to share with you is that my first thought was to make Walker's gift a part of my archive of treasured fly fishing gifts.  But, then I thought that an empty notebook would seem somewhat lacking, naked, a waste.  Therefore, I have decided to make this notebook a miniature journal of our visits with one another this season. 

 

On Monday, when I came a'calling, I made my first journal entry.  Of course I am hopeful there will be many more recordings and someday my children or their children will discover this journal and explore the words within. 

 

 

The rain is coming this weekend.  Let us all hope it comes in an abundant fashion.

 

 

Sincerely,

 

 

Prairie Ocean Fly Fisher 

 



Dear Carp - February 7th, 2013

Dear Carp,

There hasn't been much chance to visit with you this week.  The weather is in a most unsettled pattern and I am sure this has much effect on your kind.  You should know that it effects the angler also. As I am writing you now, the sky is troubled and we are receiving a most wonderful rain event. 

Early this morning, at the mercantile store, I stepped out the back door about the time the fog-bank was lifting and looked toward the sea lane that is your home.  I couldn't keep from wondering if you were grazing under the cover of the fog or if the water was still too cold.  I know that I am still a month or so too early to have any hopes of meeting your kind in fair numbers. 

I did meet one of your community members on the first day of this week.  He was a splendid citizen - a young chap with a gallant amount of fight.  I'll never forget how attracted he was to the Creek Critter and how he dove and intercepted the offering mid-column.  For me, it was an absolutely beautiful thing to watch and I am a lucky man to see such things take place.

 

For sure the weather is not allowing the sea lanes to warm enough so your kind and I can have many conversations.  However, my impetuous self will not allow my body or soul to rest.  I find myself thinking about you during the day, sometimes dreaming about you at night, pouring over the journals of our encounters and chin-chins of seasons past.

 

Speaking of seasons past, I was reading through journal entries of last year and could not keep from noticing that there were two gifts you favored more than others.  Your favorite gift of last year was the Creek Critter, and following closely was the gift I call the Curiosity. 

 

It may interest you to know that I was reading my journal during tilts of the pilsner brown.  The more I read, and the more the pilsner brown was held high... the more my mind opened.  It wasn't along until the thought of taking your two favorite gifts of last year and marrying the two together came about.  And so, I went to the vise. 

 

At the vise I took the red stinger tail that belongs to the Curiosity and employed in on the basic Creek Critter pattern.  As a result, a gift I will call the Curious Creek Critter was born.

 

 

Now you might wonder where the credit is due for the creation of this gift.  Was it the success of the two gifts of last year?  Was it the effect of the pilsner brown?  Or, was it simply something that came from the darkest recesses of the id of an ordinary man? 

 

If I were a betting man, I would say it was the effect of the pilsner brown. 

 

Soon I will bring this new gift to you and hope you like it.  If you don't, then I will go back to my prairie home and tilt a few more pilsner browns in search of a new creativity.

 

 

Sincerely,

 

 

Prairie Ocean Fly Fisher    



Dear Carp - February 3rd, 2013

Dear Carp,

Today we find ourselves three days into the fine month of February and I had yet to meet any of you this month. 

Yesterday, as the groundhog was telling us we would be having an early spring, I was spending time with the pretty fish at Blue River.  To be honest with you, however, I did not have a lot of energy for the trout and left early leaving them to the fur and feather of Van - a man who has quickly become quite the fly angler and someone I am sure you will meet in the near future. 

As I was coming your way today I had it in my mind that I would find you as you have been here of late - gathered in garrison and basking in the warming sun.  When I arrived at the doorstep of your home my suspicion was confirmed.

 

Normally, when I find the lot of you basking like this there is little or no interest in eating.  But, there was one dandy chap who did have a little bit of an appetite and we would have us a chin-chin.  He was a dandy fighter I should say. 

 

 

 

Our friend Charlie has made travel to Mexico.  Before leaving though he suggested that we try sending our offerings to you by a method that has been perfected by a fine fly fisher in Idaho named Gregg.  The idea is to take our offerings and float them to you with a flotation device.  Now to Gregg it has become natural, but for me it seems foreign.

 

However I would try this method today and selected a yellow and brown bodied Creek Critter to drift in front of your searching eyes.  It wasn't long until a connection was made, but it was oh so brief.  It seems with this method being new to me I wasn't quite ready and the citizen who dialed me suddenly cut that call short. 

 

One more opportunity would come my way using this method, but again I wasn't attentive enough and wasn't ready for the signal one of yours sent to me. 

 

I hope you didn't think I wasn't in a visiting mood today since my stay with you was quite brief.  I left you early because the sun went behind the clouds and your presence to me was no longer there. 

 

In my absent mindedness I once again forgot the big trash bag, but trash was removed from your home.  Hopefully, with my next trip, a great deal more will disappear your abode. 

 

I am home now tying some more offerings to present to you.  I hope to see you in the coming days. 

 

 

Sincerely,

 

 

Prairie Ocean Fly Fisher





Dear Carp - January 27th, 2013

Dear Carp,

I came to your home on this gloomy day in hopes that a conversation with one of you would brighten my spirit the weather has dulled.  This morning was a thick and sticky foggy occasion.  The sun did not break through the overcast at anytime today. 

The darkened skies, along with the southerly wind causing a solid riffle on the surface gave you and your kind a good advantage today. 

But, even if these things hadn't been present I would have fell to you in defeat regardless - a defeat that I certainly suffered today. 

Shortly after arriving at your home I spotted one of your citizens that had a good number of wise years accumulated.  He was a brawny beast. 

I offered him a yellow winged and brown bodied Critter.  He liked it.  He liked it so much he took it with him snapping my line with ease and handily defeating me. 

Tying a natural colored Critter on next, the second citizen of the day and I would connect.  This chap would also defeat me with the aid of a brush pile. 

Looking into the offering box there was only one Critter left and of course it went on the line.  The third citizen could easily been seen for he was in the shallows.  The Critter landed a foot or so in front of him.  He rushed to the offering, opened his mouth and sucked.  As I went for the connection the fly and leader sailed above me becoming entangled high in a tree.  Not only was the Critter sacrificed, the leader was dismantled.

You defeated me this afternoon and you are always humble in victory.  Of course, I try to be gracious in defeat, but never quitting is a large part of me.  I left your home to return to my prairie place.

At my home I begin to take my waders off, but then changed my mind.  At the tying desk two Critters were quickly fashioned.  A new leader was unpacked and assembled on the fly line.  I headed back to your home.

Although your victories were grand today my reward for returning would be equally nice.  A shadow of one your citizens could be seen below the riffled surface.  A yellow winged, burnt orange bodied, with pumpkin colored legs went to him.  I could see him move toward the offering, but could not see his mouth.  My gut kicked in and I went for the connection.  Our conversation begin.

This citizen was of a slightly different order than the most of your community and he was indeed a fine looking fellow. 

 

By now it was late afternoon and I still had to keep my promise to you by removing more trash from your home.  Today, I would go to the middle of where you live to reach down deep in the water and remove something that certainly doesn't belong. 

 

 

 

As I said earlier, you are always humble in your victories and I must tell you that I am humbled by your victories.  This is a good thing though because it reminds me of your power and just how grand you are. 

 

 

Sincerely,

 

 

Prairie Ocean Fly Fisher