Carp 2 - Murdock 0 & Quote of the week

From an article in the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette and speaking of the common carp:

"From a fly-fishing standpoint, of all the species I've caught -- and it's considerable -- they're by far the most challenging," said Loughner. "They're the only fish that, whether they're nine pounds or 20 pounds, I'm guaranteed to see my [line] backing."

Saturday morning I hit the road early and drove the five or so miles from my home to the carp hole / bar and grill. I arrived at the location just as the sun was rising and the parking lot was once again deserted. A brief encounter with some active lawn sprinklers was all that stood between me and water that normally holds a large pod of big carp.

The usual holding spots were empty so I began walking the boardwalk all the while scanning the water looking for shadows on the shallow mud flat. Just as I reached the no trespassing sign the limits my range, I saw what had to be a 30 inch fish cruising a break in the flat. He was moving fast and I didn't even get a cast out before he was gone. It was disappointing and promising at the same time.

My next encounter came as I was walking back along the dock. I saw a good sized sunfish scooting out from under the walkway in a big hurry. It was followed shortly by a good sized large mouth bass. I quickly got a lesson in how spooky these fish can be when I saw the big bass visibly flinch the momentI raised my arm to shoot a cast in his direction. A sidearm cast wouldn't have worked in this situation as I had to worry about my backcast clearing the volleyball net behind me. This was going to be harder than I thought.

I got two more shots at carp before I had to head back home. Both times I got the fly in close and the fish moved towards it only to touch the fly with its lips and turn tail and run before I could muster a hook set. I had thought that "deodorizing" my fly by rolling it around in the mud would solve this problem, but I am guessing I still have a lot to learn about this sort of fishing.

I still haven't resorted to the french fry fly but I am getting closer with every unsuccessful trip.