Back in the Saddle

I just couldn't take it anymore. With work getting busier by the minute (thank you produce season!) and no break in sight from the weather I simply had to make a run to the river. The deck was stacked against me though. Cold water...check. Cold air...check. Lack of direct sunlight...check. Zero visibility...check. But sometimes, you just have to ignore the odds.

 

And sometimes, you get lucky.

This was the first of six on the day, and for the record, the smallest carp I have caught in 3-4 years. Tiny little bugger at 4-5 lbs but when he dipped down for the soft hackle I think I whooped for joy before I even set the hook! Conditions were brutal, and this was the only clean take I actually saw...the rest were half intuition, half sensing motion, and half guessing. I realize that is 1.5, but carp are tough to catch.

The rest of the fish were all about 8-9 lbs and skinny...poor carp have had a lean winter. I walked several miles of river and it was a cold, barren wasteland. Not a tail or shape to be found until I stumbled onto the one section that was warm enough to bring in some fish, and found about a dozen or so spread out on a soft mud bottom. The problem...the entire area was brown and muddy. All I could see we're clouds where the carp moved around and if I stared long enough, a shadow within the cloud that could only be a carp. The little guy was in shallow enough that I could see the entire fish, but detecting the other takes was tough. My arsenal:

I fished this two fly rig, and did my best to split the flies so that one landed on either side of what I though was the carp's head. I spooked a few (big mud clouds of escape) likely by hitting their tail instead of their head, but I got a few right as well. Then it was a matter of staring at the water for a sense of motion as the carp turned to eat. All in all, pretty cool for the first time out this year. With no sun, I had no business catching those fish so I will just give a nod to the fish gods in thanks.

And I am ready for more.