This morning was a beautiful spring morning here in Oregon. The sun was out, no clouds in the sky, and it was warm and inviting outside. As we headed off to brunch with Elia and JJ, I noticed that clouds were beginning to form, and my perfect day of spending the afternoon with JJ in the backpack chasing carp in the sun was not likely. After a great brunch we walked outside just as the rain started. That pretty much killed my plan of taking JJ along, but Kelly volunteered to get the kids down for naps and I headed out for a few carp lakes.

As easy as the fish were to find yesterday, they were equally hard to find today. I checked 2 spots, with only a few bubblees that may or may not have been fieeding fish to show for my efforts. The third stop I made is usually a guarantee, and it proved to be my saving grace once again. I spotted several fish, but none were actively feeding. Despite no tailers or crusiers, I cast Justin's big crayfish at the stationary fish a few times, spooking most. I finally got the crayfish pattern in front of a fish willing to eat, and he slowly dipped his head to follow the fly. I set the hook and it was fish on!

The battle lasted only about a minute, when I heard a loud crack and watched the top third of my fly rod drop into the water! I knew it was a matter of time before I would break a rod on a carp, but this was not a particularly big fish. I fought the fish with renewed attention, mainly because I was terrified to break him off and have the top part of my rod dissapear into the lake. At one point the rod tip had slid down the line 20-25 ft from shore, and rested against the fly in the fishe's mouth! I finally did land this fish, 10 lbs according to the weight net. I took a hasty picture, let him go and examined my rod. It broke right at the ferrule, leaving a good chunk of rod inside the female portion.

So I will be without my beloved Albright EXS for several weeks. Tim to pull out the 9 ft 9 inch St. Croix Legend Ultra!