Not much going on in the way of carp on the fly for me. I've had several fishless weekends in a row. I went out yesterday to River City Flyshop and bought a sweet carp setup. As usual, the boys at River City were top notch to deal with, I highly recommend this shop to anyone in OR. I cast a bunch of rods including some G Loomis, TFO, and Echo rods (the Echo was far and away my 2nd favorite choice. Tim Rajeff is one of the world's best casters, and knows how to put together a fly rod.) I ended up falling in love with an Albright EXS 9 ft 7 wt. These rods are designed by the former owner or rod maker for Reddington who was apparently let go when Sage bought them out. It is a high end casting machine, and while a little faster than I normally prefer, it is so smooth it felt slow! I'm not sure how much sense that makes, but it will be a carping machine. I paired it with a GLoomis Venture 7 reel, which is undoubtedly the best fly reel for under $100, and a silky smooth airflo line that is a nice peach color. I took the rod out with Elia this morning, and last night with Panga but didn't get much opportunity to put it through its paces. I also spent an hour at a local lake casting as some big carp today while Elia napped, but couldn't seem to hook up. I can tell that I am really going to like this rod from a casting standpoint and I'm anxious to see how it does with a fish on the end of it!

This place will likely be quiet for a while. Kelly's due date is July 31, so I'll be meeting my son soon. I don't know which I'm more excited for...meeting my son, or introducing him to Elia. She is such a loving little girl that I know she'll be a wonderful big sister.