Carp trip #2 is in the books. It was a successful day, but conditions left a lot to be desired. Fortunately, I got to fish with David today. Having good company makes a big difference when you are standing in a cold river with no sun, heavy wind, and turbid water. We could see fish, but only when we got right on top of them. We basically dapped flies at fish that we could barely make out and had a heck of a time deciding when to set the hook. We did see fish in both of the main areas we fished, but again...it was pretty tough out there today.

We did manage to catch some fish though. David landed 2 (and a third with a fly buried in the pectoral fin). David's first fish was a nice 15 lber that ate one of my new "wiggle" flies (pictured below). That turned out to be the fly of the day, and while I'd like to think the carp ate it well, I think it was mainly because the tungsten sinks that fly so fast that we could dap it to the fish that were materializing just feet away from us. David's second fish was a standard 9 lber, caught on a small green nymph. I managed to land 3 fish...all three on the wiggle fly for the already mentioned reason. The first weighed 18 lbs...seriously healthy gut on that beast. Fish #2 was an absolute monster. This big girl pounced on the fly with a "summer" like take that was obvious even in the murky water. As I brought the fish to my net I hollered at David..."think she's 20?" David glanced back at the slab being towed toward my net and nodded the affirmative. The beast tipped the scale at just over 24 lbs...

I picked up one more a few minutes later...20 lbs on the nose. That makes 4 fish over 20 lbs in just two trips! An excellent start to 2009! It might be a while before I get out again...hopefully not too long. While today was great, and it is always fun to fish with David, the murky water, constant wind and lack of sun made the visuals tough. The fish are out there though...and every day it gets warmer, and they get a little more active.