My kids amaze me everyday. Whether it is little JJ smiling and lifting his arms in the air, or Elia wanting to be put to bed not with one of her many stuffed animals, but instead with a book, they never cease to put a smile on my face at the end of a long day. JJ is on the verge of rolling over, and for some reason he loves to have his face and cheeks wiped. He instantly lights up and smiles if you just stroke his cheek with a finger.

Elia did two incredible things yesterday for such a young little girl. We had taken the kids to go look at pumpkins and animals at a local farm, and there was a big sign set up on the grass with arrows and words pointing "Animals" this way and "Exit" that way. Elia walked up to the sign, pointed at the A in Animals and said "Letter A." It was really surprising as we have not talked to Elia at all about the alphabet, she just seems to pick things up when we aren't even looking. Another example occurred when I pulled into the driveway from the park. I reached in to unbuckle Elia and she was holding a stuffed cow covered in black spots. She carefully pointed at one spot at at time and said "thirty seven, thirty eight, thirty nine...forty!"

I wish I could still learn that quickly.

What do you do in Oregon when the carp aren't biting? You fish for Salmon! Well, I'm pretty sure I could have caught carp today, but I finally gave in and fished for something other than carp. I had a great day chasing Coho with my friend Patrick. He only fished a few hours and hooked up with one, but it was a beautiful day to be on the river. There were fish all over the river. Patrick left before they got really active, but he still hooked up once. I fished from 12 to about 5pm, not exactly prime time hours for Salmon, but someone forgot to tell the fish. I ended up hooking somewhere between 15-18 fish, and landed 10 total. One of the 10 was a jack though, and another was a huge chinook in the 20 lb range. Frankly, it wasn't much fun to catch. That fish was just too big and slow, and it was a long tug of war with little excitement to it. Really neat to see a fish like that up close though.
My goal for the day was actually to catch a big old hook jawed male. I've just always wanted a picture of one all colored up like they get. I finally did hook one today, and fought him up and down the river. I was fishing above some rapids, and every fish seemed to run in and out of the boulders, making me run around like an idiot trying to hang onto them. I lost a bunch of fish in those boulders, but held onto enough to make it fun! It really was a great day, and it was fun to fish water that moves that fast! I'll be back to the carp in no time though. Despite landing 10 really nice fish, I didn't get to see my backing today!

Really good stuff from The Trout Underground. I for one believe that stealth is even more important when fishing for carp than trout!

http://troutunderground.com/2006/10/18/the-stealth-fly-fisher-catching-fish-through-deceit-trickery/#more-401

I took Elia out in the backpack on Saturday. Conditions were poor, but what the heck. Water was way higher than the last time I hit this pond, and the visibility was about 3 inches. The water was so high that all the spots I normally see feeding fish revealed nothing...nothing that I could see anyway. The good news was that the high water had turned a normally dry mud bank into a 2 foot deep perfect flat, but again, the visibility killed me. I snuck around the edges, and hooked two fish by spotting their bubble trails. Both fish were hooked on a mega-prince nymph with rubber legs. The first fish was this little 4-5 lber.

The second fish felt better, but popped off quickly...I was fishing primarily by feel (casting at the bubbles) and I think I was late with the hook set. I did see one nice fish that was so tight to the bank that I had a good view of him. He turned on my fly from a rod length away and i set the hook, but he wasnt' there. So it goes!

Getting tougher with the cooler water...I may have to put up the Carp rod and actually chase some steelhead, trout or salmon!

It isn't fishing related, but a great video of Elia nonetheless!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Gr6J5zUlL10

A good rule of thumb is that you can't catch fish if you stay at home. While that is true, when your target is carp there are times when it might be best to stay at home. Today, I ventured out despite my instincts. Elia woke up from her nap, I got her dressed and asked "do you want to go fishing with dad?" If I needed proof that she is already smarter than me I now have it. She looked at the window as it was pelted with sideways rain and said "No, stay home with momma." Smart little girl.

Undaunted, I headed out hoping that the visibility would allow me to sneak right up on any fish foolish enough to be feeding on the bank in this nasty weather. As I headed up the freeway I snapped a shot of the conditions. Not exactly ideal carping weather.

The lake was covered in rain when I arrived, and visibility was indeed, terrible. I moved up the bank slowly, and my pace eventually paid off as I found a pod of fish working the bank. All I could see was mud and the occasional tail, but it was more than enough to get my blood going, which helped warm me up considerably. I crept along and dropped fly after fly into the fray. Finally, as I jigged one fly near a tail I saw a mouth swoop up after the fly and make one, two, three quick attempts at sucking it in as it rose in the water column. I clearly saw the fish trying to eat, but simply could not stop my arm from continuing to lift the fly! After three attempts the fish remembered that it was a carp, and with a non chalant attitude it dropped back to the bottom as if saying: "I'm not working that hard for my food."

Fortunately I did end up hooking two fish. Both fish were in the low to mid teens and made great runs. In the murky water the takes were merely a feeling of the line stopping, and I didn't end up landing either fish. The first fish ran about 80 ft into my backing and buried me in a massive matt of weeds on the other side of the lake. I reeled in about 25 lbs of weeds, and broke my fly off trying to haul the weeds onto shore so I could dig through them for my fly. The second fish made a great run as well, and I was able to capture some of it on video. It was fun to video tape the screaming reel, but I think it cost me the fish as it got off shortly after I got serious.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Hwmn7WManLM

All in all a nice afternoon. WT once said you cannot underestimate the importance of direct sunlight when carp fishing. He is right on, but sometimes you just have to get out and make things come together.

My dad and I had planned to spend Friday chasing Coho Salmon on a local river. One look at the weather report added to sheer addiction of carp on the flats and we changes out plans in a heartbeat. We got up Friday morning and headed for the Columbia River in search of big carp.

My dad has caught a few carp, but our destination was the big leagues of carping, previously he had only fished in the minors.

Our first stop did a great job of getting him excited. We saw several fish in the teens feeding on the flats, but they were extremely spooky, and we just couldn't get any flies to them without sending the targeted fish rocketing out of the shallow water. Still, it gave my dad a chance to see some nice fish and to get a taste of the required stealth and casting accuracy.

Our next locale proved much more successful. We stalked the flats like herons, pausing to squint into the glare before each footfall. We managed to sneak up on several fish, and my dad hooked several, but just couldn't seem to hang onto them. I fished as well, and managed to land four fish, all in the 6-8 lb range. As we walked back out later that day my dad was treated to the sight of 2 big grass carp cruising along 200 ft away. One was a true monster. We also spotted one massive common I would put in the 30 lb range, but by the time we got into position to make a cast, the fish was onto us and moved away. Dad had plenty of opportunities and despite not landing a carp, he was excited about the day. In a lot of ways he and I are alike...We are both as much hunters as fisherman. I put away the rifle and bow, but still love to hunt and carping gives me a great outlet. The highlight of the day for me was taking a video as my dad made a great 45-50 ft cast to a big carp. The fish turned on the fly and my dad set the hook just a split second late. He was rewarded with a big boil as the fish narrowly escaped. It made for a great video!

Always good to fish with my dad!

Now you all know I am a die hard carp on the fly guy, but I have to admit that every year at this time, I am tempted to join the throngs and crowds and chase a few silver salmon. Fishing for Coho is actually pretty easy. Just find some fast water, park yourself at any pocket or break in the middle of the fast run and nymph the heck out of it with an 8 wt and two fly rig until the coho decide to move upriver. When they move, you can see them coming, leaping through the whitewater below. Invariably, they pause for breath and a rest, and if you chose the right pocket and they stop in yours, they usually aggressively smack that fly and the fight is on! While few things can compare to the power of a carp on the fly, a large coho salmon hooked right at your feet in the midst of a whitewater rapid does a pretty good imitation! They run like crazy, and seem to switch direction more than most fish. I've had coho actually beach themselves in a mad and desperate attempt to get free of the hook. Well, the time is upon us here in OR. My dad is currently making his way to my place from MT (he stopped and fished the venerable Deschutes river today) and I am frantically tying flies in preparation. Friday we'll be on the river before dawn and hopefully be in the midst of leaping, rolling salmon all morning.
And of course, if the salmon aren't in I can always go show my dad Highway Cone!
Wish us luck!

I spent Thursday and Friday in a conference room at the Sawgrass Resort in Jacksonville, FL. We spent two days discussing our successes and challenges as a company this year, and making plans for next year. As usual, the discussions were fruitful, and the meetings went well. We got ahead of schedule, and actually didn't have to meet on Saturday morning, so I was thankful that I had carried my 7 wt with me to Jacksonville.

I woke up Saturday morning around 8, had a long breakfast and then grabbed my rod, reel, and flies and walked out the front door of the resort. I was planning on spending the afternoon with one of the guy's from the Jacksonville office and someone from our corporate office in Atlanta, but I had at least a couple of hours to kill before meeting up with Kip and Jonathan. I walked down the long driveway along the hotel pond and eyed the water seriously. I did see a few panfish, but nothing to indicate any carp, so I keep walking. I crossed a busy road and headed toward a shopping complex, and spotted another big pond. As I walked around this pond I spotted a small alligator swimming out in the middle. Again, no carp but lots of panfish, and also a few signs posting the pond as no fishing.

I continued on, and crossed another road to get to a pond in front of a big grocery store. Here I hit the jackpot. As soon as I walked up to the pond I spotted two feeding carp near the shore. I dropped to all fours and crawled up to discover that not only were they large carp in the mid teens, they were grass carp! I watched them eat for a few minutes. They would move right up to the bank and grab a big mouthful of the weeds embedded in the shoreline, about as much as you or I could grab with our fist. With the weeds clamped into their mouths, the carp would then shake back and forth while slowly swimming backwards to rip the vegetation loose, then slurp it up like a mouthful of spaghetti. Really interesting, but it looked tough to mimic with a fly!

Nevertheless, I got into position. For the next hour I realized that grass carp are indeed the spookiest fish I've ever seen. If I coughed, they spooked. If I stood up, they spooked. If I slipped, they spooked. If I false cast more than once, they spooked. I ended up literally crawling around the pond while the cars on A1A honked and pointed, hunting these grass carp. I managed to get the fly in front of plenty of fish, but almost the second the fly touched down, most would spook. It was pretty frustrating.

Finally, I got close enough to a fish to literally set the fly softly into the water next to his head. As the mohair leech slowly sunk, the big fish turned slightly and inhaled it. I quickly set the hook and the fight was on! Sort of...

The fish made a short run, then came in like a log (even worse than a northern pike!) I reached down to try to tail him, and then things got interesting. The grasser sensed me coming and bolted for deep water, making two long runs that almost touched my backing. I eventually got the fish in under control, and landed him by tailing him and getting my other hand under his belly. What an interesting fish! It is clearly built for eating, and makes me think of a freshwater cow. The mouth had some roughness inside, but no teeth at all, and the entire fish was stiff and strong, not much softness even in the belly. I'm guessing this carp weighed about 14-15 lbs, but I did not have my scale, and it was such a foreign species to me that I couldn't be sure. It felt heavy, but I haven't seen enough of them to really know.

So I have now added grass carp to the list! I would love to catch a few more, but with the fish being illegal to chase in both OR and WA, it might be a while before the opportunity presents itself. Always good to justify carrying the fly rod on a plane though!

I learned something today in a short carp session. There is a large difference between trying to be stealthy, and being stealthy. The trouble is, only the carp seem to know the difference.

I found myself fishing mostly on my hands and knees this afternoon. The fish (and these were big boys) were feeding against the bank, and the only way to get a fly to them without putting line across their backs was to belly crawl up to them and careful get on one knee in the brush and dropped the fly in like food from heaven. This worked exactly 4 times, and while it was thrilling to hook fish with all my flyline still inside my guides, I didn't land a single fish. At first I was merely crouching to approach them, and invariably I would spook the intended target and promptly watch 6-8 other carp forms (that I hadn't even noticed) blast from the shallows in a general stampede. The delayed reaction was the best part. The first fish would spook and blast through the pod and as a group the remaining fish would startle, and then bolt for deep water. Pretty fun to watch, but it would have been better had I landed something!

The first fish I hooked was sheer fortune. I had just spooked a pod by apparently failing to be at or below sea level as I moved, and was sitting on the bank looking through my flies for several minutes, searching for a pattern they hadn't seen before. After a few minutes and the realization that I hadn't tied flies in a LONG TIME I noticed a nice fish moving in from the depths. Actually a big fish. As it got closer I realized two things. One, it was going to stop and feed against the bank, not 3 ft from me. And two, it was a big mirror. This fish was easily in the mid teens, and would be the biggest mirror I've caught by at least 5 or 6 lbs. I pried myself away from thoughts of big mirror carp and great photos for the blog and and gently flipped a little crayfish pattern into the path of the oncoming mirror. The big fish paused when it reached the fly, I popped the rod tip and saw his head dip down and I set the hook quickly. The fly line ripped through my guides in starts and stops and I prayed the tippet would hold. It did momentarily, and I got to my feet to begin playing the fish. I had no control over the big mirror and he zig and zagged through patches of dead and dying weeds, and in short order had a massive amount of salad attached to the flyling and leader. The drag of all those weeds proved too much and the tippet parted. I had so much junk on the line I didn't realize the fish was gone for several seconds.

I quickly sat down and rerigged with heavier tippet (back to 1X!) and then continued down the bank, pretty much spending the entire time on my belly. Fish #2 was feeding tight to the bank, and he took my crayfish pattern (the green one) with such confidence that I almost felt bad...almost. I jumped to my feet with renewed energy, knowing my 1X tippet would do the job this time. It did, but the hook didn't The fish quickly got off and I reeled in a completely straightened crayfish pattern.

On to fish #3, again with the green crayfish pattern, same size and hook equaling predictable results. I hooked the 3rd fish easily enough, and he straightened that hook easily enough as well.
I do learn, although slowly. I went up a size on the crayfish pattern, tied on a size 8 salmon hook this time, and began hunting for fish #4. As active as the fish were, it didn't take long to find him. Once again on my belly I got within a rod length of the fish, another good one (none of the fish I cast at were less than 10-12 lbs, with the big mirror being the largest). I dropped the crayfish fly just out of range, and hopped it toward him. He turned his head slightly and inhaled the fly from about 8 inches out. As soon as I set the hook the fish blasted out of the bay and into deeper water, and quickly began boring into every weedbed he could find. I held him as tight as I could but the powerful fish kept ripping the line from my fingers and gaining distance. Soon enough he was buried in weeds, and somehow managed to slip the barbless hook. So ended the dance with fish #4.

I spent a few more minutes looking around, but I was pretty satisfied and thinking about Elia at home waking up from her nap and ready to have some fun. I broke down the rod and headed for the car. It was a good day.