Day Three

Turns out that Wind is the devil too! At least it was today. We fished in massive amounts of wind...so much wind that the shoreline was basically a muddy, brown mess. I could barely recognize my beloved clear, Columbia river! Still...we got on the fish.

On them, but not much more than that. The 18 lb slab above was Trevor's only fish of the day, and I had to be content with the little guy shown below. That said, our lack of success can only be attributed to us. The fish were there, the fish were feeding, the fish saw our flies. We flat out didn't hook them.

Picture this...McTage stands waist deep in the river, white caps and waves breaking over his back as he stalks a big, black shape. The fish is obvious, and active...a real horse that I eyeballed at mid to high 20s and Trevor (who had both a broadside view and a head on view) pegged at 30 plus. Silt and debris erupt in a cloud from around the head, as the tail slaps vigorously from side to side on the surface of the river. From 35 feet away with a 30 mph wind to deal with Trevor puts the fly on the fish. The trick here...this carp is happy where she is. She will NOT move for a fly, got plenty to do right where she is, so you better get that fly 4-6 inches from her mouth. In 30 mph winds. With waves crashing over your back. With waves moving the flies when they land. With waves distorting your view of the fish and flies as they break. With the sheer fact that this is a monster fish.

Sounds easy, right?

At least it is exciting...and we had lots of excitement today. Lots and lots of shots like the one above. Carp theater is fantastic, even when you can't see the take and a 25-30 lb fish finally ghosts off into the depths.

 

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