The winter here has seemingly lasted forever. My last carp outing on the Columbia seems like years ago, and it has been a long time since I felt that adreline rush, heart pumping moment seconds before a carp inhales your fly. Elia and I headed out today, mainly just to walk around the pond but I was secretly hoping to at least see some fish active. We walked about 50 feet and I spotted a fish, which had me sprinting for the car to rig up my 6 weight. Of course, as quick as I was (and anyone who fishes with me can attest to how quickly I go from pulling up to the spot, to putting a fly in the water!) that fish was long gone. Still, we walked around the pond, and somehow spotted 4-5 more fish in the murk and mud.



Tough conditions, and I never could make out much more than shadows or a tail here and there. Still, I should have nailed at least one of the fish. I put the fly in the right spot, but the fish were extremely lethargic, and I only thought "he took it!" once...and that was a whiff. What a 90 minutes of excitement though! Just stalking around, fly rod in hand and enough fish around to keep the eagle eyes active. I'll be watching for sun breaks every weekend, and I might just get a February carp.

Elia had a blast despite one slip in the mud. She carried the net and told me I'm still a good fisherman, even though I didn't catch anything today. I asked if she was ready to go home at one point, and she responded "I'm reluctant to leave all of these fish!" Yep...that's my girl!