Lone Lake "Blews"

In the 90’s I got into to flying two line stunt kites. It’s a lot of fun. I taught all three of my kids to fly them too. Of the three kids, Michael seemed to enjoy it the most.

About twelve years ago he and I went over to fish Lone Lake one day. We took a couple float tubes and had high hopes. Heck, I’m realistic, fishing isn’t always good but I always have high hopes when I go fishing. We got to the lake and the wind was blowing. It was really blowing. We parked the truck and just looked at the white caps. We hoped that “it would stop any minute.” That stopping minute never seemed to come. It was blowing so darn hard I swear it moved the truck from where I parked it. Michael still wanted to fish. I couldn’t tell him that there was no way he could kick into the wind and even get out from shore 50 feet. He tried anyway and I sure admired his persistence. After a short while he came in. We sat in the truck and tried wishing the wind away. It just didn’t work. Michael commented that we brought the wrong stuff. I asked him what stuff we should have brought and he said that we should have brought the lines for the kites, hooked them up to the float tubes and flown the float tubes over the parking lot. The wind was blowing hard enough that I actually believe the tubes would have taken off.

I have been over to Lone Lake now a few times this season. The first time out I got several fish using a Chironomid under a strike indicator. The next time out the weather was pleasant and the fish were cooperative. They are somewhat trimmer this year than they have been in the past and that is a disappointment but still it was an enjoyable day. A simple day of good fishing helps me to remember that life is good.

I enjoy indicator fishing some of the time. I prefer the indicators that indicate. The ones that just sit on the top of the water the whole darn day and don’t indicate are useless. Maybe they are defective, I don’t know, and maybe I should return them. Either way, I don’t like indicator fishing when the indicator doesn’t indicate.

I went out again to Lone Lake on a recent Thursday. The weather forecast was that it was going to be the best day of the week. The wind was blowing hard when I got there. I tried my usual thing of waiting a bit and then trying to wish it away. Nothing worked. Had I been in a float tube I would have turned around and gone home. I had my Zodiac and an electric motor so I knew I could at least get out far enough to throw down a bow anchor and a stern anchor and hold position. I could strip off some line, hold the rod in the air, and the wind would cast for me.

It was quite a day; my indicator must have disappeared well over 100 times. No, probably a good deal more than that. It was amazing, so amazing. There was just one little problem with that, the indicator was not going down because the fly was being tugged on by hungry trout. It was just disappearing between the whitecaps. I had to wear raingear, not because it was raining but because the waves were splashing over the bow of the boat. The water was splashing in the boat whether I was moving or just anchored. Heck, I don’t know, maybe I had some takedowns when the indicator disappeared between the waves but how would I know, the darn thing was out of sight as much as it was in sight. I persisted for about 3 ½ hours and called it day. Not a single fish and not a single takedown.

Life is still good; it’s just better when the fishing is good.

Thoughts on Winter Fly Tying

Where has the sun gone? It is cold out; in the morning the roads are icy and slick. It is the end of December; I am tired of the rain and I am particularly weary of the long, dark days. The Carp were good to me this year and I am thankful. Most of the ones that were tricked by my flies, took the fake so very subtly. Some of them jumped on the fly and just took off. I am thankful.





It is 4:40 AM and I am wide awake this Saturday morning. At times being awake on a weekend day at this hour makes me edgy or even down right crabby. I lay in bed for awhile thinking I might go back to sleep; I don’t. This morning I’m glad I don’t go back to sleep. I get dressed and head down the hall to my fly tying bench. The house is still; pattering rain and trickling water is all that is heard. I sit down at the fly tying vise and pick up where I left off last night. Twelve Mr. P.’s Carp Carrots are neatly lined up from yesterday evening; the head cement dried during the night. I plan to tie 3 dozen of this pattern in this size before moving on. Twelve more hooks, with the barb pinched and the bead on the shank, wait patiently to be married with fur, feathers, and artificial materials.

Sometimes I believe that I am tying my own flies for the cost savings. One could say that, and I certainly say it, but saying it doesn’t necessarily make it true. It may be true for me; it may not, heck, in the end it may be costing me more money to tie my own flies, in the final analysis I don’t care either way.

The continuing study of entomology provides an endless source of learning. There was a period of many years where I seined nymphs, photographed them, measured them, described them in a journal, preserved them in formaldehyde, and then worked meticulously to imitate them.

There is orderliness and precision to fly tying. Results are immediate and tangible. Repetition and production are relaxing. It is rewarding to fill storage boxes with dozens upon dozens of flies. It is even more satisfying to line up little armies of flies in the boxes I use when I’m fishing.

There is a creative, imaginative part to fly tying. It is fascinating to experiment with new tying materials and to play with variations of tried and true patterns.

The anticipation of time at the vise starts with planning my tying, and then selecting the materials out of my tubs, bins and containers. I lay out the materials and savor the beginning. I proceed at a measured pace. Tying as fast as I am able, produces more flies but it distracts me from my day dreaming.

Most enjoyable of all is the day dreaming while fly tying. I am at the vise tying my Carp Carrot. I have tied this fly many times; I don’t need to think about what to do next. The repetition makes it easier for my mind to wander. Captures from the past months are relived; they blend with anticipation for the coming year. At the vise, all trips are good, all sessions are good sessions, the sky is clear, the wind is just a slight breeze, and there are plenty of feeding fish. At the vise, those feeders just LOVE my Carp Carrot! They move to it assertively, pick it up and take off. They fight well; occasionally one of them even leaps out of the water. Fishing itself regenerates me but fly tying renews me in a different way. In the dead of winter I yearn for long, hot, summer days chasing the world’s greatest sportfish. These dreary days tying flies and daydreaming about trips past and present almost feels like it is more fun and more satisfying than fishing itself. Perish the thought but it does feel that way sometimes. Tying flies makes the chase more interesting; it makes the hunt personal. Fly tying is about hope. Hope is the breath of the soul. In its own way winter fly tying helps my soul to breathe.



Five proven Carp Catchers:



Rubber Leg Hare’s Ear

Hook: 3769 sizes 8 & 10
Thread: black
Weight: bead
Tail: white rubber
Legs: white rubber
Thorax: gray or tan dubbin
Abdomen: gray or tan dubbin
Rib: flat gold or silver tinsel





Rusty Bunny Leech

Hook: 5263 size 8
Thread: orange or black
Weight: lead wire or lead eyes
Body: rabbit fur
Legs: rubber (optional)






Chocolate Cherry Carp Woolly

Hook 5262 or 5263 sizes 6, 8, or 10
Thread: black
Weight: lead wire or bead
Body: brown chenille
Hackle: grizzly saddle hackle dyed red




San Juan Worm

Hook: 2457 sizes 8-12
Thread: red
Weight: bead
Body: vernille or ultra-chenille



Mr. P.’s Carp Carrot

Hook: 3769 sizes 8 & 10. 5262 size 6 or 8
Thread: black or orange
Bead: bead or dumbbell eyes
Tail: The tail is optional. Rubber legs are my definitely my first choice though there was a time I used philoplume or web.

Body: orange yarn or dubbin
Hackle: pheasant rump dyed yellow











Jim is a freelance writer who lives in Bothell, Washington.
This article is from the winter of 2007 and was pubished in North American Carp Angler Magazine. Jim is the Fly Fishing Editor of the magazine. All rights reserved.

All content, photographs, and images are the property of Jim Pankiewicz. Permission is required to copy, download, or use text, photographs, or image files. Unauthorized use and/or duplication of this material without express, written permission from Jim Pankiewicz is strictly prohibited. Excerpts and links may be used, provided that full clear, credit is given to Jim Pankiewicz with specific and clear direction given to the original content. Contents on this site may not be mirrored, republished, or reproduced on another web page, website or offline. All rights reserved.

History of Mr. P.'s Carp Carrot (And Some Variations)

A plate of carrots


I first tied my Carp Carrot in the spring of 2005. At the time I was experimenting with different materials and patterns to entice Carp to take. A trout fly that I tie, has yellow pheasant rump in it so I already had a couple rump patches on hand. Way back in the 70’s we tied nymphs with wool bodies. I have several colors on small cards left from those far away days; among them is orange.

While nothing is cast in concrete when it comes to fly fishing for Carp, it did seem to me at the time, that darker patterns were working better than lighter ones. Trying all kinds of different flies for Carp has both pleased me and frustrated me. My presentations to Carp have included Trout flies and even Salmon flies. At least some of the time the Carp have responded well to trout flies but bright, flashy, Salmon flies have been a total bust. The Trout fly in which I use the yellow pheasant rump is one of my favorite half dozen. Well for trout it is anyway. It’s not a common fly but it is certainly used by others and is easy to tie. I was just sure the Carp would love it as much as Trout do. I have given that fly some serious effort and have not hooked a single Carp with it. Not even one! I swear one time I thought a nice size Carp had turned on the fly and I said, “Finally!” Well he turned on it alright but I think all that really happened was that he positioned himself to defecate on my fly, look back at me over his shoulder, and swim off with disdain.

In early 2005 I was weighting my Carp flies with lead wire wraps. I was varying the weight from 10 wraps of .020 to 15 wraps of .035. I keep a pretty extensive fishing journal and have for decades. I also keep a fly tying journal. It helps my muddled, middle age head remember how to do things, particularly if I have not done it for a year or two. In my tying journal I can read that in 2005 I was using Tiemco model 5262 in size 6 and 8 for my first Carp Carrots. Those first ones were heavy, having 15 wraps of .035 lead.

The above fly is tied on a #6, 5263. It has 15 wraps of .035 lead wire. This is one of my earliest Carrots.

It would be during that summer that I began using beads and dumbbell eyes.  I was also dubbing the fly with orange rabbit fur.  Sometimes I would dub over the dumbbell eyes right up to the head.  I don't know that dubbing works better than wool; the wool is just quicker to tie with.  I also experimented with tying variations with partridge legs and a partridge beard rather than wrapping the hackle.  (Still thinking of a name for that bug)

Unlike the Salmon Flies, and the Trout fly the Carp pooped on, they liked the Carrot right away. I don’t know why. I have ideas and theories, which change from month to month, but still, I really don’t know why they like it so well. They do though. The darn fish responded well the first time I presented them with it. During those first few trips where I was using my Carrot more and more, there were times when the body would partially slip off the wire wrap, particularly when it was the .035 wire. That caused me to begin trying bead head flies and then the dumbbell eyes. I was used to lead, dumbbell eyes from fishing Clousers in the saltwater. I really didn’t know if the dumbbell eyes would put the Carp off. At least so far, they seem to not be scaring the fish. With bead heads or with the dumbbells I can wrap the bodies much more tightly so there isn’t any slipping.

Since those early versions I have tied the fly as small as size 12 on a 5262 hook. I had a bad experience, grrrrr…, one day with size 12, 5262 Carrots. I straightened the hook on three consecutive fish. I wrote an article about it for the NACA magazine. From that point on I began using Tiemco 3769 for the smaller size hooks. It is heavier wire and holds fat Carp just fine.

The above fly is tied on a #10 5262.


This fly is tied on a #12 5262
I have moved away from using this hook in these small sizes.


#6 3769 with black dumbbell eyes, brighter yarn, and orange thread



I have also tried a variety of rubber legs on my Carp Carrots. I’ve used black, white, and variegated. The orange and black legs pictured are tarantula legs. I also use what are called juicy legs. I have some tiers use the slang, “silly legs” for the variegated color products. I have tied the legs short, medium and long. At this point if I am going to use legs I don’t like them to be too short. The verdict is out at this point on whether particularly long legs are helpful, neutral, or problematic. I don’t experience short strikes with Carp like I do with other species. The pick it up or they don’t. The can eject a fake very, very quickly and I don’t know if long legs tells them to hold it in or to blow it out. I’ll have to keep field testing.

#6, 3769 with medium length white rubber legs, darker yarn color, bead head, and black thread

#6, 3769, longer black legs, brighter colored yarn, bead head, and black thread

#6, 3769, tarantula legs, darker yarn, bead head, black thread.



I have tried some bright, glass beads on my Carrots. These, at least so far, don’t seem to produce any advantage though I am continuing to experiment.

The first Carrots I tied were with wool bodies. The fly produced such pleasantly surprising results that I went out and bought a ball of yarn at the fabric store that was basically the same color as the wool I was using. Two years later I bought another ball of yarn that was brighter orange than my original Carrots. Once the fly is wet I don’t think it makes any difference whether it is the brighter orange or the duller version. In fact I tie most of my Carrots with the more subdued color simply because the material is slightly easier to work with than the brighter color. The darker yarn is a bit easier to work with.

I have also tied the “Carrot” in other colors. I don’t know exactly how I can call something that is green, black, red, tan, or pink a Carrot. Nothing seems to work as well as orange.

I do tie some unweighted versions in small sizes that I fish in very calm, shallow water when I am casting to particularly skittish fish.

No one fly will work for Carp all the time. This is my "go to" Carp fly. The fish seem to be more willing to move to this fly than to others. There are still days when the Carp don't want my Carrots and I have to give them something else.

All content, photographs, and images are the property of Jim Pankiewicz. Permission is required to copy, download, or use text, photographs, or image files. Unauthorized use and/or duplication of this material without express, written permission from Jim Pankiewicz is strictly prohibited. Excerpts and links may be used, provided that full clear, credit is given to Jim Pankiewicz with specific and clear direction given to the original content. Contents on this site may not be mirrored, republished, or reproduced on another web page, website or offline. All rights reserved.

Walkin' the Dogs and Forgiveness

Sometimes a fishing report has everything to do with fishing. You know, things like who you fished with, what species you were chasing, what day it was, where you went, what the weather was like, what flies you used, what line, what weight leader, taking pictures, and of course, how many fish you caught.

Sometimes it is partly about fishing. Other things intrude. Humphhh...Yes they do; sometimes other things intrude. Sometimes you see interesting things and sometimes other things happen. Yes, sometimes other things happen on a fishing trip besides fishing.

Here is a short fishing report about fishing:
I went fishing yesterday. That was Friday. For Chums. The weather was rainy and cold. Tied to a 15 pound tippet, Christmas Trees and Marabou Clousers were the flies I used. A St. Croix Legend Elite (Salt Water) 10 weight was my stick for the day. Three fish only were hooked in the mouth; the snagged ones don't count. I ran into my friend Gary on the water. Took a few pictures. Got cold.

There, that's it; that's my fishing report.

Well hell, that doesn't work. Yesteday was one of those days when other stuff intruded. Okay, I got a few pictures of a beaver.




But that's not the only thing. My beautiful, St. Croix Legend Elite 10 weight, didnt' have a good day. Neither did the reel. Neither was the beaver for that matter.




I write some other blogs. One of them is a personal or inspirational blog. Its not about fishing but yesterday's post was about the demise of my rod and reel. The story in that blog is not told from the perspective of a fishing report; its more from the perspective of a life experience. You can read the story here:

http://mrpdoesafewwords.blogspot.com/

It's in the post called Forgiveness: Part II

Who Let the Dogs Out?!!

It's November; I'm sure there are still Carp in the water out there somewhere, but not many in the flats. And even if there were, spotting them would be dang difficult what with the thunder, lightening, total cloud cover, hail, hard winds, and pouring rain we are having right now. While Carp are my favorite fish to catch on the fly, I am thankful that this is terrible Carp fishing weather. It helps me to enjoy other fishing opportunities.

Here in Washington State we are on the east side of the Pacific Ocean. Being on the west coast of the United States, it is weird to think of ourselves as being on the east side of anything. In Washington we commonly say that there are five species of Pacific Salmon. The Washington State Department of Fish and Wildlife shows five species on their webpage. There are actually seven species of Pacific Salmon two of which are only found on the west side of the ocean, in Asia. The other five species are found on both sides.

In Washington the salmon we have are: Chinook (King), Coho (Silver), Chum (Dog), Sockeye (Red), and Pink (Humpie). All of these fish die shortly after migrating to fresh water and spawning.

Our Pacific Salmon undergo dramatic changes as they go into their spawning cycle. The Chums take on calico coloration.
They also get some serious teeth that look like dog teeth. Hence the slang, Dog Salmon.

Yesterday I got out for some Chum fishing. Its close to home, the fish are big and they will take a fly. All those are good things. Fishing a river that I first sampled in the middle 70's, I tried a new section. Overall, it was a good day. One of the things that is frustrating about Chum fishing is the number of fish that you snag. When the fish are in the river there are often quite a few of them together. Swinging a fly and dead drifting can both be effective techniques.

The Coho also run this time of year. They are more highly prized than the Chums. They are MUCH more difficult to catch on a fly; at least here in Washington. I was also fishing for Coho but I realize that is more like dreaming than fishing.

I got a Chum to hand about 10 minutes after stepping in the river. The fly was in the corner of his mouth so I count that one as caught. The next several fish I hooked were all snagged. Grrrr... I just don't like that. If they are tail snagged or belly snagged, they are difficult to get in and it just isn't satisfying at all. I got a few fish to hand that had my fly inside their mouths.

My best fish of the day took the fly, danced on the water, and charged down the river. He took me a good ways into the backing. I followed him and got him right to my feet. As I as reaching for the camera to get his picture he flopped and scurried back in the river. It was okay.

Good Chum fishing really only lasts for a few weeks. Being able to fly fish for them is heavily dependent on the river conditions.

The days are getting shorter. The weather is nasty. So are a Chum's teeth. Life is good.

Fishing with Michael

We're getting towards the end of Pink Salmon season. The fish, the males in particular, have taken on a different look. The humps are more pronounced definitely showing why Pinks are also called Humpies.




My son, Michael, was able to get out with me. He got into some fish and that pleases me no end.







I have wondered what would happen if a thousand fish, heck, even just a couple dozen fish, with teeth like this decided they didn't want me in the river with them. I wonder, would Simms take a warranty claim for teeth holes in my waders?






Morning dew:






This was a great season of Humpie fishing; there were tons of fish and the weather was unseasonably warm and pleasant. Oh yeah, there was that thing about "giving" my camera to some guy I've never met but I'm over it now. Life is good.

A new camera to replace the one I LEFT at the river

Getting towards the end of Humpy season with my dang, new camera...

Approaching the river I didn’t see any fish rolling. I knew there were still fish in the river but not in nearly the numbers as there had been in past weeks. This was a good opportunity for me to move and explore some new water. I moved farther up the river than I have in the past. The males definitely have their distinctive humps now; they are changing colors and are sporting their kypes (hooked jaws) and quickly growing teeth.


Pink Salmon can be distinguished by the large, oval spots on their backs and tail. (caudal fin).

Even though there were not nearly as many fish in the river there were still plenty of guys out trying. Moving away from them, albeit to less desirable holding water, gave me some pleasure. I got a some fish to hand that helped me baptize my new camera.

A female:


A male:

The Fall colors are beginning to show in the leaves. The air is getting colder. I am reminded that as I turn 59 in just a matter of days, I am very much in the Fall of my own life. I get colder my easily. Like the leaves I am experiencing changes; those that come with aging. Winter will come soon as will the winter of my life. I have often felt that Fall is the best season. I hope it is my best season of life.