Saturday, March 19, 2011

The Casual Approach

One of the main reasons I dove into the Carp on the Fly deal was that in theory, I could stay closer to home. With the impending birth of my daughter (and the idea of a second kid buried in our heads somewhere) staying local and still satisfying that fishing itch made a lot of sense. Little did I know that the "local" aspect of flyfishing for carp would turn out to be the least important. instead, I fell in love with the hunt, the stalk, the visuals but possibly most of all the casual manner of flyfishing for carp. I don't mean to say that I am not my normally abnormally intensive self when stalking fish, but the entire experience can be very casual and relaxed. When I hit the water, I go light...a small pack with some flies, scale, net and camera...a rod and reel. Basically, I go for a walk in or near the river and see what I see. I cast when I like the situation. When I don't...I keep walking. I rarely feel hurried or pressured, and most of the time I am content to simply keep moving, knowing that finding what I am looking for is primarily a matter of walking and watching. There is a lot of joy in movement. There is peace in motion, and when the time and space come together you are met with the thrill of the moment. Carp fishing at it's best is a rare combination of serenity and chaos.




















7 comments:

testflycarpin said...

Sounds familiar. I started focusing on Carp when my son was born because it was easy to get out for an hour of Daddy-time close. Next thing you know they are your favorite!

John said...

I find the same casual approach in my area, east central Iowa. I'm 1.5hr from the closest driftless trout streams and within minutes of smallmouth streams. In about a month the carp will spawn and I'll have schools of carp travel from the large rivers to the smaller streams. Convenience is big when you got little ones and family.

Pete said...

I like this approach for just about anything.

Unknown said...

John,

I'm greatly interested in fly fishing for carp. And have signed up to follow, I'm sure I can learn something.

You can find me @www.smallstreambrowntroutfishing.blogspot.com

Have a look and follow if you have time.

Kind Regards.

George.Permiakov said...

John, I feel the same way. A lot of people ask me "Why fish for carp when you can catch a big delicious salmon!" The answer is simple, I would rather wake up in the morning, slap on some shorts and a shirt, grab my rod and hop on my bike ride across the street to a pond full of 12lb carp that fight just the same as salmon do.

Be sure to check out my Blog too, I make the occasional post of carp when I catch one.

www.fishoregon.blogspot.com

Troutdawg said...

Fly fishing for Carp, hard to beat the fight of a Golden any month of the year!

Ryan said...

Good post... looking forward to reading more. I found your blog today on OBN... I like it and will follow along.

The Average Joe Fisherman
http://averagejoefisherman.blogspot.com/