Of course I went carping. With the forecast calling for mid 80s and full sun, it really didn't take much for David to convince me to put the salmon off for a week or two and chase carp. I think a guy could still get into carp for a few weeks if the weather holds, but they are definitely not on the flats in the numbers to which I'm accustomed. David and I found enough targets, but all in all it was a bit slow. I think David only landed one carp (he hooked and broke off several more) and I landed 6, maybe 7. I had a nice stretch of fishing where I was able to put two fish in my net, let them go, and net another two fish a short while later! Why do that? It was fun.

The fly of the day was the standard San Juan Worm. I would say that 75% of our takes came on the worm, with the montana carrot accounting for the rest of the takes. The carrot is a great fly, but REALLY frustrating to fish. I just cannot tell when the fish has that thing in its mouth. With the worm, I'm right on them. With the carrot, they just suck at it and move all around it. One really nice fish made a dash at the carrot and I paused, then set the hook. I swear I felt that fish on for a split second...the rod even bounced once, then he bolted for deep water. When I took a look at the fly it was missing one rubber leg. I am sure that fish had the legs and one broke off on the hook set. Despite the frustration, it is a fun fly to fish because most of the time the fish really do light up on it.

The big fish of the day was this 15 lber. Not a massive fish, and it looks like I'll finish the season with 14 fish over 20 lbs (was hoping to get a big one today). David and I did see a couple of big fish, I had a great shot at one but couldn't put it together. Overall though, most of the fish were in the 10-11 lb range. The water was high and cool, and I think the bigger fish were out much deeper, we just couldn't get to them. Great day fishing with David...he's a heck of a carp fisherman and a good companion. I always enjoy chatting with him while we stalk the flats, and we made quite a few plans for next year's carp season. If next year turns out anything like this year I'll be thrilled. I'll put a recap of carping in 2008 sometime this winter...it was quite a season on the big C.