I struggle to take good pictures of flies, but here are a few of the rubber legged hare's ear I have been using. This one is tied in olive, but I tie them in a variety of colors. My favorite colors are olive, tan, and rust. I like the white legs because I can see the fly easier, making strike detections much simpler.

If any of you out there live around Portland, you know how beautiful the weather was today. After a rough couple of weeks in the office, I just couldn't pass the chance to leave early and chase some carp. This lake is fast becoming my go to spot. It is close to the house, and has some really nice size fish in it...and of course there is Highway Cone. Someday I'll get that monster. Today was good...hooked 3 fish, only landed the one but it was another pig of a carp, that pushed 20 lbs easily. This fish was as big around as a volleyball.

As always, the takes are the most memorable parts of carp fishing (though one fish went into my backing not once, but twice! On his second run down the bank he got so much line out it got all tangled in the bankside vegetation, and he got loose. So it goes...) Today this big boy took the fly perfectly. I dropped it about 1 foot ahead of him, he mosied up and tipped down. I never saw the mouth open, but what a moment when you know he took it, and gently apply the pressure to set the hook in solid. Great fish, and once again I had help (this time from an older gentleman) with the net and camera.

All three fish were hooked on a size 14 rubber legged hare's ear. One took the fly with him, but I have more, and will mass produce these babies! Highway Cone made his usual appearance, but at this point, he just laughs at my feeble attempts and sad looking flies. I've got a plan for him now though...

What a splendid day.

One other item of note...I have GOT to get that 4 wt out of the car. That thing is going to be carp kindling any day now.

Just got this picture from Justin. Love the look of this spot. I can just picture bass, panfish, northerns, and carp cruising in and out of the weeds...nice.

Elia at Home Depot relaxing after her first haircut.

I"m still excited about this monster carp. Here is another shot of it's huge mouth!

In all the excitement of landing the 20 lber, I neglected to mention that I had an all too brief hookup with Highway Cone Koi. This fish is approximately the same size as the one i landed today (they were swimming together for a while). I hooked him on a size 12 rubber legged hare's ear about an hour after landing the big boy. He ripped off about 60 ft of fly line and just came unpinned. Tippet and hook were intact, I think the fly just pulled. Normally I would have been crushed, but where is the fun in reaching both goals in one day?

A moderate angler armed with a wispy 4 wt fly rod and 4X tippet should never win the battle with a 20 lb carp, but today the stars aligned and I met goal #1 for the year! With the cloudy weather I cancelled a planned trip into the gorge to my favorite carp lake, but I couldn't resist an hour or two out at a local lake I like to fish, just to look for carp. I got there about 1pm and walked around the lake with my eyes peeled. I spotted some fish, but without the sun the fish were there and gone in an instant. Still, enough activity to keep me excited, and I was getting a few chances to throw the fly at some nice sized carp. After 30 minutes or so I spotted the Highway Cone Koi and raced down the bank to get ahead of him. I knelt down in the mud and prepared my size 12 rubber legged hare's ear. As Highway Cone neared I noticed that a few feet behind him came a carp of similar size. I waited until the two fish were nearly upon me and gently flipped the fly into action. Highway Cone ignored my offering with his usual disdain, but I left the fly in the water. When the second fish was right above the fly I gave it a tiny twitch, and the big fish stopped. I almost didn't set the hook, but after about 2 seconds I realized that I hadn't seen either fish stop in their entire circuit down the bank, so I lifted the rod and immediately felt the weight of a heavy fish. The carp blasted out for deep water and I quickly palmed the Hardy Bougle as it screamed a shout of joy across the lake. The battle was long and with 4X tippet I carefully played give and take with the monster fish. After about 10 minutes I got the fish close to the bank and leaned down with my tiny little net. At this point, I realized I had a problem. I was pretty sure I could get the fish in the net, but only if I made the perfect stab, and with rod in hand and small tippet, I was in no position to make an error. I looked up in mild panic, knowing that this fish quite likely would meet or exceed my 20 lb goal. A kid and his friend of about 12 years were standing on the pathway above me, avidly watching me struggle with this monster fish.

"Want to give me a hand?" I yelled.

"Sure thing!" replied the kid enthusiastically. He sprinted down the bank and I prepared to hand my net and hopes of reaching my goal to this 12 year old in shorts and a dirty Tshirt.

After a quick and dirty lesson while I fought to keep the monster fish under control the kid declared himself ready. I angled the fish back to the bank, once, twice, three times and on the third time the kid reached down and went for it! With such a monster fish I had told him just to try to get the fish's head into the net, and the rest would (hopefully) follow. With practiced aplomb and complete disregard for his white sneakers he stepped closer to the edge and nailed that big carp in one swoop! The fish went crazy went it felt the net and its impending imprisonment and the kid nearly lost his cool as a 20 lb behemoth thrashed and flopped inches from him. For one second I expected him to drop the net and run in horror, but with ice in his veins he grimly held on. The thrashing ended with a cloud of mud, water and debris obscuring the net.

"I think I got him!" the kid yelled.

"Lift him up!" I encouraged and the kid did his best to comply, but the fish was simply too big! "Use both hands!" I nearly screamed at him and he quickly grabbed the rim of the net and lifted the beast out of water!

As soon as he got such a close view of what he had just captured his steely nerve nearly failed...I could see him breaking before my eyes. I dropped my precious 4 wt and the mud and leapt forward to take the net from his shaking hands.

I laid the monster on the bank and gently removed the fly. This was a BIG FISH. I lifted the net, and unscrewed the handle that holds the internal scale. With a loud clunk the scale bottomed out. This fish was nowhere near the 14lb maximum weight of this scale. I hefted it a few times, and while there is no way to be 100% sure, I declare my goal of a 20 lb carp on the fly official realized.

As proof I list a picture, taken by the sure (but slightly shaken) hands of a 12 year old. Without this kid I really don't think I would have landed this fish. The moral of the story, I need a MUCH bigger net!

Here is a nice fish my dad caught on Kipp lake recently, a little over six pounds. I didn't catch the name of his friend in the othe picture, but his fish was 6.5 lbs. Looks like a great day to me!

Just your typical day of carp fishing. Knots were tested, hooks were broken, backing was exposed and stealth was needed! With the near perfect conditions today I just had to leave the office and spend a few hours at a couple of carp hot spots. This was really the first day in months where my expectation were high. Fortunately, the carp did not disappoint.

Almost immediately upon reaching the water I saw carp...tons of carp. They seemed to be everywhere in pods of 2-6 fish, mostly holding near the top of the water column soaking in the sun. The first hour proved an exercise in humility as the fish ignored, and spooked at most of my offerings. While the high sun helped immensely with the visibility, it also made the fish skittish, and even the shadow of a bird on the water was enough to send most fish bolting for deep water. After a fruitless hour that included one heartstopping change of direction from the infamous Highway Cone Koi (for a split second, I thought I had him) I headed to my second go to place. The fish were not quite as spooky there (probably because of all the dog walkers, mothers with strollers, and general every day foot traffic...heh heh) but they were also clearly enjoying the sun, and not much interested in eating. Eventually I spotted a nice "high and happy" fish about 15 feet out from shore. I put on a size 14 hares ear with a small bead as the only weight, and plopped it down just inches from the carp's nose. The lightly weighted fly did its job and sank at a tantalizing pace. The carp's fins moved ever so slightly, then it opened its mouth and sucked the fly in like a vacuum cleaner! I quickly lifted the rod and the fight was on!

After figuring out the trick with that first fish, I stalked around the pond ignoring all but the "high and happy" types. The numbers for the day, 8 hooked, 6 landed, 1 poor tippet knot, one broken hook, and 40 lbs of fish. Not bad for 3 hours.

You just gotta love carp fishing!