Mgamby posted this great video on Westfly.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BEZKlynGr58

Aside from the sketchy narration...pretty good stuff!

I'm hoping to trade Mike for a trip to some of his precious (and beautiful) trout water in exchange for the chance to hook a carp or two. Should be fun!

A good picture of Justin prospecting for steelhead on his first trip to OR. I was looking through some old pictures with Elia today, and just really liked this shot.

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!