Inspired by slop, it's time to catch a Carp on a dry fly.

Braving the 90 degree plus heat last week, I ventured over to Lone Lake to chase Grass Carp again. The heat, well I assume it is the heat, and the lack of vegitation had turned the lake into a soup of algae. It was colorful and interesting in a way but it was eerie. I wasn't sure if I even wanted to put my boat in the water and after I got in the water I really wasn't sure I wanted to fish. I had gotten a good start on the day. There wasn't even a breath of wind. The algae looked like it could have been in the swamp where Yoda meets Luke Skywalker. It looked like it could have been some sort of nuclear run off. It really was uncomfortable at first. I moved around the margins but of course could not have begun to see a fish feeding in all of this. I spent more than an hour without making a cast and thought I should probably just head home. A slight breeze came up and started to move the slime towards the southwest corner of the lake. That is until the wind changed directions and started to bring it back. After a while I did have some partially open water and was able to land one fish on a "Real Grass Fly". I estimated that he was 27 1/2 inches and about 9.5 pounds. I did bonk him on the head with a Seattle Mariners kids's souvenir bat and dispose of him in accordance with the WDFW Grass Carp Reduction guidelines. As an aside that little bat seems to be getting as many "hits" lately as the Mariner's bats are but whatever. I called it quits after a few hours. As I said, the slop was eeire. It was worse on the surface but was also clouding the water below the surface. I don't know if I will do this again. Inspired by the slop, I really think I am ready to go catch some Carp on a dry fly. (Commons and Mirrors) Yup, next week, that's what I want to do, catch some Carp on a dry fly. I am tying the flies this week and getting ready for the big trip. Wish me luck.

Grass Carp Flies: Part III

I had been out on Wednesday, August 4, and had virtually killed my battery. Instead of fishing on Thursday I had to learn about bringing back deep cycle batteries. I was reminded of Miracle Max in Princess Bride when he said, "It just so happens that your friend is MOSTLY dead. There is a big difference between MOSTLY dead and ALL dead..." Miracle Rick at the battery store told me that I had discharged my battery to such a point that my charger would not recognize it. However, it was likely not all dead, it was mostly dead. I had to put it on a different charger and it took all day but indeed it had been only most dead, not all dead. I didn't get to fish on Thursday but Friday was sure looking good.

Because I had some hookups on Wednesday, I moved faster on Friday morning and skipped the cinnamon rolls. Still not the break of dawn, I was on the water by 10:00 on Friday. I was also equipped with fresh flies from some time at the vise. Dang those things looked tasty.

Again, I had three hookups but this time I got two of them to the net. They were 11.5 pounds and 12 pounds. They measured in at 28 inches and 28 1/4 inches. They don't run anything like the Commons and Mirrors do. They run back and forth around the boat and down towards the bottom but not into the backing. I did slowly move out a ways from the reeds after hooking up so they fish couldn't break me off.

The goal of the Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife is to reduce the number of Grass Carp in the lake. Since they have eaten too much of the vegetation there is now toxic algae in the lake. That means we are required to remove the fish we bring to the net. This next picture is not your typical handle the fish with care and respect kind of picture. The fish are dead.



Oh, the fly, well I would love to say that careful trial and error went into this fly. Actually I just did it without giving it much thought. I felt a little funny doing this but I just had to try it. It is such an incredible work of creativity and tying prowess.

Here it is, Mr. P.'s Grass Carp Grass Fly:







Here are some from the morning's tying session. The one at the bottom is beat up from being in a fish's mouth.



These flies are sort of fragile. I carry them in a saltwater fly box. They also don't exactly last long so you would have to tie them "fresh" each day.

Tying recipe:

Hook: Tiemco 5262 size 8
Thread: Olive
Body: About 12 strands of grass trimmed from next to my fence.

I'm sort of self-conscious about tying grass to a hook but the Grass Carp ate it. Having them eat it helps me to steel myself against my own embarassment. I will be trying this again next week. My neighbor has a more nicely manicured lawn than I do. (He doesn't fish) I wonder if I cut a few blades of grass from his yard if I would catch more fish. We'll see.

Grass Carp Flies: Part II

On July 15, 2010 I made a post explaining that I was participating in a Grass Carp reduction program at a lake in my area. In that post you can read the background of why the Grass Carp were planted there, what the effects have been and why the Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife wants the number of Grass Carp reduced in the lake.

I am taking some time off and wanted to try and catch some Grass Carp. I got up somewhat early on Wednesday morning with the intention of getting a good start on fishing. I had breakfast, packed a lunch, loaded up my truck and almost was ready. I read the paper. Then I decided to tie some more "basic" Grass Carp flies just in case the ones I had didn't work. So it wasn't exactly early anymore.

To get to Lone Lake I have to take a ferry to Whidbey Island. The line was short and the weather was wonderful. I was in a very relaxed mode. The drive from the ferry terminal to the lake is not long. On the way I really started to crave a cinnamon roll. Knowing that if I drove right past the lake I would end up at the Langley Bakery in about 15 minutes I just kept right on going. I know a person might say that cinnamon roll isn't much of a reason to add 45 minutes to the time before I started actually fishing and I agree. To that end I bought two very rich brownies to take home. Surely that made the 45 minute delay worth it.

I got my boat ready and was on the water promptly at 12:40. Not exactly first light but so what. I headed down to the more shallow end of the lake and watched for fish. I started out with my Scum Fly and fished it for a bit just casting blindly in the shallows. A bit in this case means about 5 or 10 minutes. I switched to one of my more "basic" flies that I had tied that morning. Within another 5 minutes I saw a fish working near the reeds. I cast to him and there was nothing doin'. Ten minutes later I saw another fish, I cast to him and BAM, he took my fly. I had him on for several minutes and actually was close to netting him. The rod was in my left hand and the line was in my right hand. I had let the boat drift into the reeds while I was playing him. Maybe that was a bit careless. The Carp got into the weeds and broke me off. Dang it!

I wondered if that fish would have taken my Scum Fly but it was too late now. I wasn't willing to experiment since I wasn't seeing many fish. I put on another one of the morning's handiwork and starting stalking again in the margins. It would be hour before I got into another fish. I got this one to the net.



As participants in the Grass Carp reduction program we are required to report our fishing time, our method, and the weight and length of our captures. He weighed 9 pounds 13 ounces and was 27 3/4 inches.

I would get one more hook up later in the afternoon and that was it for the day. I lost that fish also.

I have a small electric on my boat and the battery was giving up. It was either dying or I had forgotten to charge it after my last outing. The battery was so darn dead I couldn't fish anymore and had to row back to my truck.

I had planned to fish the next day but was going to have to solve the battery problem first. And tie some "fresh" flies for the Grassers too.

Connecting with Keith: Chapter II

The next morning we met again at 9:00. The sky was blue, the wind was down, the water was clear, and our hopes were high.



Okay fine, yesterday we just skipped the 10 fish each, day and decided to just jump ahead to a 20 fish each, day. We both liked that idea and had hopes of several doubles. We headed for a different section of the river but one that we both have fished many times, and again, like yesterday, a section of river that has been good to us.

We both definitely had shots at tailing fish as opposed to cruisers and comatose fish. I hooked a nice Common and got to play him for awhile. He ran out through a weed mat and into the river. I really thought I was going to get him in but he finally broke off in some weeds that were below the surface. Dang it!

Keith hooked up an hour or two later and also lost his fish in the weeds. We were seeing tailing fish but not nearly as many as we have in the past. Keith commented a couple times that he had never seen so few tailing fish in this section of the river. And there we were, two such nice guys, but not many fish to cast to. How could that be. We waded the river for a several hours. We got to the turning back point and saw a few fish tailing. A fish that I cast to tolerated easily 50 attempts from me to get him to take. I have never had that many shots at the same tailing fish. Virtually always if they don't pick up the fly they either swim away or bolt away when they make the fly as a fake. This fish was having some serious lunch. His nose was down and his tail was up swinging slowly back and forth. I would get several casts near him and he would move away. Instead of heading for the deep part of the river he would move 10 feet and start tailing again. I have never had that many shots at the same fish. Amazingly he finally took the fly. He made a nice run down the river and was just two turns from the backing and then he hit some weeds. Bye bye fish.

We had seen so few fish we thought about not fishing on the way back to my Carpwagon. We took turns on the way back walking in the lead and being the one who was "fishing". We only saw a couple more fish and that was that. Again, we were away from the truck for 6 hours. Certainly we both wished that we had caught more fish and that we had a double or two. It is not an effort at all to say that we both had a good time, actually an excellent time. I really enjoy Keith's company and enjoy stalking Carp with him. Catching so few fish was a great impetus to talk about another trip this year before the weather gets bad.

This critter, and I don't know what it is, was sitting in the shade by my truck as we got back. As we approached he scampered into the weeds and just kept an eye on us. He let me take three pictures (with the zoom of course) before disappearing.







There were quite a few grasshoppers on the bank of the river. Most of them were the same gray/olive color. This one was a different color than I have ever seen before. He also posed for a couple pictures before getting back to work.






Thanks for a great trip my friend. Another day Keith--another day... Soon I hope. I want chapters III, IV, V, and VI to happen this year.

Connecting with Keith: Chapter I

I met Keith at shortly after 9:00. We yacked a bit and headed for the river. We talked about exploring some new water and finally decided to just go to a spot that both of us have been many times. The spot has almost always been good to us. That seemed like a great idea. The weather forecast was for clear skies, almost no wind, and temperatures in the mid to high nineties. Oh yeah baby, we were both expecting a banner day. Hmmm... The real weather didn't look like the forecast. The sky was gray. It was totally overcast. We figured it would burn off quickly.

With the gray sky they were much more difficult to spot but after we entered the water we still saw fish early on. Within 15 or 20 minutes I was connected. It was everything that makes chasing Carp on the fly so exciting. A tailing fish, a good cast, (well at least tolerably good anyway) the turn to the fly, the hook set, the explosion, the runs for deep water, posing for a quick picture, and the release. Dang I love fly fishing for Carp!



Now about the weatherman. In western Washington much of the year it is pretty safe to say, "partially cloudy with a chance of clearing." Much of the year it is also safe to say, "a chance of rain." If the weatherman says that he is almost always right about 9 months of the year in western Washington. In central Washington and eastern Washington there is less rain and lots more sun. In July and August it is safe to say, "Sunny and warm." Well that's what he said but that wasn't what we got. Heck, it stayed completely cloudy the whole day. We got sprinkled on at one point and then we got poured on. We were soaked. How did that happen?

I tried to take a picture of the unseasonable rain drops in the river but they didn't photograph so well.



We were walking down river and taking turns walking in front. We help each other spot and who ever is in front makes the cast. Also, Keith gets to laugh at my bad casting and I get to marvel at his good casting. Keith often fishes with both of his dogs. Abbie is he black one and Maggie Sue is the smaller one. He carries Maggie Sue much of the time. He can still cast with Maggie Sue under his arm. It all makes for a good day.




I have lost track of the time exactly but after some time Keith got a nice Common.






The rain stopped and even though it wasn't 95 degrees out we stilled dried out pretty quickly. The sky was very gray the entire day. We each got shots at tailing fish but there just really weren't that many. Adding to that they seemed unusually spooky even for Carp.

It was 6 hours from the time we left the truck until the time we got back. We eached hooked and released one more fish. Not exactly the 10 each I was hoping for but still a very enjoyable day.

Connecting with Keith: The Prologue

I just love fly fishing for Carp; it is so dang fun! The Carp regularly remind me that they are not easy quarry. Some days aren't that great but some days are so satisfying.

This year I have resolved to spend at least some of my sessions visiting entirely new water and also going back to places I haven't been to in at least three years. I left home feeling brave and adventurous; I was going to look at some new water on the Columbia River. (for a second time) The spot I wanted to check out is nearly four hours from home so this is not something I can do on some evening after work. It's a commitment. Still, I'm not complaining; as I said, I love fly fishing for Carp. I also love the extremely varied scenery that I experience as I travel from the west side of the state to the east side.



At the beginning of this season I checked out a new stretch of the river. It looked promising and I was able to wade the bank for well over an hour but never saw a single fish. I thought that may have been because of the amount of boat traffic that day so I definitely wanted to go back on a quieter day and check it out. Instead of getting down to the river's edge and wading in the margins to stalk fish, I stayed up high and walked the cliff looking for tailing fish. There wasn't the boat traffic but I still didn't see a single darn fish. The spot looks so promising. I'm going to have to go back there again.

I drove down the river a good ways to a spot I had not fished for a few years. It was close to 1:00 when I arrived. Interestingly I have caught fish there before but not the last time I was there. Well now, I saw a tailing fish about 3 minutes after I started wading. I would love to say I made a perfect cast and he picked up my fly just like I wanted him to. My cast was pretty good but he made the fly as a fake and headed out to the deep water. It was 45 minutes before I hooked up. It was a marvelous 14 pound Common that did everything perfectly. He was tailing, he turned to pick up my Carrot, he exploded, and took off out into the river. He was even kind enough to avoid a patch of weeds as he went into the backing. The sun was bright, the sky was blue, the river was clear, the wind was down; it was just as it ought to be. It was one of those moments when I thought I could do this all day, every day for a week, and no matter how tired I was I would still want more.


I was having trouble with weeds that I couldn't see. There are places on the river where the weeds are thick; you can see mats on the surface of the water. If a fish gets in them, it's all over, the fish will get away. On this day, even in what appeared to be very clear water I was picking up strands of weeds from the bottom. As I waded there were some spots where I just could not keep the weeds off the fly. It forced me to be very selective about when I wanted to cast. If I picked up a strand of weed on my fly, it made more disturbance in the water as I retrieved it or prepared for the next cast. Weeds moving through the water don't work as a Carp attractor.



Those four hours of fishing were extremely engaging. I was seeing tailing fish and getting some shots at them. Seeing a tailing fish accelerates my pulse and I am fully engaged. It is riveting. Dang I love chasing Carp on the fly!!



I hooked five fish, three on Black Betty and two on the Carp Carrot®. One of them broke me off in the weeds after I had played him for some time. They were all bigger than 10 pounds but none of them were over 15 pounds. I felt very good about my afternoon of fishing.



My friend, Keith, and I were planning to connect the next two days and I felt that this day boded very well for what was ahead. This day was good and I was hoping for even better the next day. Hook five today and land four--let's see, that means I should hook 10 tomorrow and land 8 and the next day after that I wanted to hook 20 and land every last one of them. That's not too much to ask. Let's see what happened...

"Changing to the Past" Day Three of Three

Why are some days of Carp fishing easier than others? Okay, the conditions vary from day to day and from trip to trip but what about when the conditions are basically the same and we are talking about two or three days in a row? I just don't know sometimes. It's frustrating and it all adds to the puzzle. I think that I know what I'm doing so I want to catch fish every day.

Day III just started off better. I saw fish right away and would see them most of the day. It kept me on constant alert which makes it all so much more engaging. Lordy some place I go to fish for Carp are frustrating and some of them are beautiful. They're even more beautiful when I'm catching fish.


I'm standing in knee deep water here looking back at the shoreline. I feel like I'm in heaven.

In heaven there are so many cool things to see also.


At one point I had made several casts to a seriously tailing fish. He was eating purposefully and was a prime target. I bet I made 10 casts to that fish before he got tired of it and swam away. I was so engaged, actually more like riveted. I took a deep breath and shook my head. As I did a couple very slow cruisers moved into the area. They were in about 3 feet of water. They were in the middle of the water column. Ususally I don't think of these fish as prime targets but I still cast to them fairly often. Well go figure. I laid out the Black Betty in front of the lead fish and also past his line of travel. I gave two strips and he made a quick movement. I thought the fly had bonked him and he was getting away but the rod jumped and we were off and running. What a nice surprise that was.

I actually got two fish to pick up the Black Betty in the water column. I remember why I liked this fly so much! Also, Gerhard, I'm glad that Black Betty is working so well for you.


Black Betty, Bam a Lam. She's so rock steady Bam a Lam. She's always ready. Bam A LAM!*


Bigger fish are more fun to catch than smaller fish but more and more I think that fish in the 10-14 pound range, and I would say 12 pounds if I had to pick just one number, just seem to have more get up and go pound for pound. This is a generalization of course and I may change my mind in the weeks, months, or years to come, but I think Carp in that weight range are "hotter" pound for pound that a fish that weighs 20 pounds. I would like to have a day of multiple 25 pound fish and have them prove me wrong.

This fish was right in the range; he was just a hair under 13 pounds and just flew into the backing. The reel was really singing. Dang I like that!



I have lost track of the exact progression of fish the rest of the day but I do know that I caught fish on two successive casts. They weren't part of the same shoal; they were probably 75 yards apart. When that happens I start to think that Carp fishing is just all kinds of fun. I also remember that I went a stretch where I cast to several tailing fish and could not get a single one to pick up.

I switched to a #12 Carp Carrot and got a fish fairly soon. I got another one and then I remember that awhile later I got yet another one on the Carrot and had him laying in shallow water on some weeds. He was also in that prime range and had also made some excellent runs out into the river. I had the line still tight and was probably just 15 or 20 feet from him. I paused to take my camera out of my shirt pocket and walk over to him to get a picture while he was sitting in the weeds. As I took a step the Carrot shot up in the air. What surprised me was that the fish had not thrashed or flopped; he hadn't made any motion at all. He was still passing water through his gills so even with the Carrot out he just sat there. I thought I might still sneak a picture of him underwater but as soon as I took two steps he moved away. What was really a surprise to me on this fish is that the hook broke. I have bent out some hooks on a Carp in years past but can't remember breaking a hook. It was my third fish on that fly. When there are a lot of weeds or other gunk in the water I check my fly very often to make sure it is clean and hasn't been bobbed by a weed. I had checked that fly before casting and it wasn't bent. Oh well, all I got was a picture of the broken hook, not of the fish.


So I fished for three days. I got blanked the first day, heck I never saw a tailing fish the first day. Was that a good day? I don't know. I guess, yeah, it was a good day. I hooked up a good number of times the second day and lost the first few fish I caught in the weeds. Was that a good day? Yeah, I think was a good day. On the third day I caught twice as many fish as the second day. Was that a good day? Well it sure as heck was a good day in terms of how many fish I caught. It was also a beautiful day. The weather was just perfect. It was warm, the sky was clear, the wind was down and the water was pretty clear.

Was it a good trip? Yes, it was definitely a good trip. On so many levels it was a good trip. The days of not seeing tailing fish or seeing them and not being able to get them to take blend together with the good days when catching Carp on the fly almost seems easy. I want every day to be like that third day but I know they aren't. Days like the first one help me to appreciate every aspect of fly fishing for Carp and help me to savor the days when it almost seems easy to catch Carp on the fly. Almost.

Words to the song "Black Betty" by Ram Jam.