Sharing The Thrill

I came to know Dusty Gilles several years ago through fly fishing at Blue River.  We both love the trout season at Blue, but once that ends we seek out other species.  About a month ago Dusty made a trek to the North Canadian to see if the sand bass had begin to run.  Instead of finding sand bass he encountered carp at a confluence of smaller creek with the Canadian. 

Dusty wrote me afterwards telling how he threw what he had at the carp but they weren't buying it and asked for a little information on fly fishing for these grand ones.  Writing Dusty back I told him how Charlie and I approach the carp, what their nature tends to be, and how to present a fly to this ever-so-smart fish.  Then, I went to the tying bench and churned him some flies and got them in the mail.

Dusty took the flies to the river with him yesterday and sent the results shortly thereafter.  He wrote that the first carp he caught took him into his backing and that was something he'd never experienced before. 

I would suggest that Dusty is the one that got hooked.

 

 

 

 

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. 

 

Carp Campaign - On My Knees

One of our favorite pastures to pursue carp is called the Honey Hole.  There are three sections at this stretch of creek - the main body, the upper shallows, and the lower shallows.  Normally, carp can be found on each outing either in the main pool or the upper shallows.  But yesterday that wasn't the case.  It was completely overcast and seeing anything at all in the water was next to impossible. 

Looking downstream a 100 feet or better I could detect a most faint wake riffling upstream and that told me that the carp were active.  Making my way to the lower shallows there indeed were carp and the problem that faced me was approaching them since they were at the tail end of the shallows.  Standing on the bank ten feet above them I made my way down inch by inch.  At the bottom of the bank I got on my knees and knee-walked out ever so slowly to a small sandbar.

About 15 feet above me were two young carp eating to their hearts content.  A flip cast put the fly, a black Aftermath, beyond the carp I had targeted.  A lift of the rod tip brought the fly in proximity of the carp, a single strip called the carp to action.  His tail wagged, he moved forward, and then the gill plates flared.  The hook set was good and as he sliced through the water like a launched torpedo I watch the rest of the carp community suddenly explode.  The explosions were like cluster bombs going off underneath the surface.  It was a most wonderful thing to watch. 

 

 

 

 

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.

 

 

Carp Campaign Neglect

I have been quite neglectful to this journal and to the carp that I so savor.  There is more than one reason, but primarily my work-life has gone from a somewhat manageable state to an almost impossible one.  My time on the carp creek has been quite limited and coupled with the condition of the creek when time is possible has led to this great neglect and regret on my part.

I have been out somewhat, however, and those trips have been productive.  The Aftermath fly continues to entice carp after carp.  Conditions have made this the toughest carp by fly season this angler has had to deal with.  The wind has been absolutely insane and now the creek is choked with tassels that the wind pushes upstream into blankets.

 

Yesterday the carp were feeding on the tassels on the surface.  Upon seeing the surface feeding I was inclined to tie on a dry pattern, which would have certainly been a Stimulator.  But, the wind was howling and it would have done little good to try and get that dry to a target.  Instead, I took the Aftermath and targeted surface feeding carp by putting the fly directly in front of them as they sipped the surface.  The carp would absolutely dive bomb for the fly and suck it mid-column.  It was a beautiful sight to watch. 

 

My last four or five outings have been dominated by chop on the water.  The last two days the chop has been more like swells on this sea current of this prairie ocean.  It makes for a most difficult day.  The carp still somehow come my way though and I am quite thankful.

 

To get caught up here are some pictures of some of the latest carp and they all came by way of the Aftermath.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 



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. 



Trout Season In Review

Trout season at Blue River is slowly winding down.  March 31st is the official end of the season, but the bows will remain for sometime.  It has been one of the better trout seasons in my memory.  With that being said, a look back at the season is in order.

On November 1st, the opening day of trout season, the Blue River Fly Fishers held their annual get-together on Blue.  This seasons crowd was one of the biggest, if not the biggest, annual events we ever had.  Several new faces came to Blue and we were delighted to meet people like Deborah Noble, Michael Underwood, and Steve Wolf.  These new folk added to the wonderful weave and blend of our fly fishing family.  The food was awesome, as the fellowship, and we even got in a little fishing time.

 

On November 1st, we decided to take on the "Too Lovely To Litter" project on Blue River as suggested by Matt Gamble.  We needed six sponsorships to pay for the signs on the litter stations and in less than five minutes we had those six sponsors.  That speaks to the great stewardship that exists in our family on Blue River. Chris Adams volunteered to build the stations and in less than two months the entire project was up and finished.  I believe the message the litter stations send has made a difference in the amount of trash we find on the river.  The south wilderness is amazingly clean and even around Hughes Crossing it's difficult to find trash like we have for so many years.  No, the project is not perfect, but it's a great start in our effort to have a pristine Blue river.

 

 

 

The quality of trout we had this past season was certainly something to write home about.  The wildlife department presented us with some very nice presents in the shape and form of 16 to 24 inch trout mixed in with the regular stockers.  There wasn't any shortage of trout to fish for this season and early in the season we received a bonus stocking, which added to the inventory of trout.

 

 

The Blue River Fly Classic came to fruition on February 22nd.  48 contestants signed up for the event with 44 able to actually compete in the event.  The first one pattern event we had drew 31 contestants, and the second drew 37.  So, we do have growth in this event and we fully expect it to grow over the years.  The Classic was more than a fly fishing competition. We had a grand time, entertainment, fantastic food, and just plain fun.  There were some awesome items that were raffled and when it was all said and done the event raised $2600.00 for the wildlife department.  The funds raised this year could very well go to a project that could add a couple of more stocking points than we have now.  Nothing official, but we'll know next trout season. Scott Dittner took first place in the Classic, Dan Ham finished a close second, and Jamie Reed took third in a tie-breaker situation.

 

From left to right - Walker Hairston, Steve Swenson, Byron Dowd, Chad Yoas

 

Scott Dittner

 

Dan Ham

 

Jamie Reed

 

And lastly, the elite Blue River Redhorse Sucker Club grew by two members... that we know of.  This season we added Chris Adams and Dan Ham to the ranks of the club.  Certainly the membership to the Redhorse Sucker Club will continue to grow and maybe... just maybe, I can catch one of those darn things. 

 

Redhorse Sucker caught by Dan Ham.

 

 

It's been a wonderful trout season.  

 

 

 

 

 







Postcards From Blue

Not only is Dan Ham a talented fly angler, he is also a wonderful photographer.  On our outing Thursday of this week, Dan was armed with a simple point and shoot camera as he described it.  The results he produced from this camera was amazing to me.  Dan was good enough to share the pictures and I find them so good that I want to share them further.  I think Dan captured just how pretty Blue river is right now. 

Thanks Dan.