05-22-2007, 04:09 PM
Carping yesterday with my flyrod. Blustery, cloudy, off and on sun (mostly off). Lots of fish working in the flats. Landed five. Four were from 5.5 - 7.5 pounds. Here are a couple of them.
[inline c-1ro450.jpg]
[inline c-2ro450.jpg]
I was fishing through some mudders and I tossed my fly out into the fray, tightening up until my leader was straight between the Palsa indicator and my fly. The little float twitched ever so slightly and I set the hook. For a few seconds everything just stopped. I felt kind of like I had just poked a big mean bull with a stick and was in that dead time between the jab and the instant the bull figures out what happened and who did it. Then everything cut loose. The fish tore around in a circle, apparantly getting his bearings and then he took off. My backing was melting off the reel at an alarming rate. Two things presented themselves as problems. First, I figured if the fish didn't stop, at this rate I would be spooled. Second, there was a big log anchored out in the middle of the lake (put there for the ducks, I guess) and the big carp was headed straight for it. I had visions of the fish wrapping me around the cable that held the log. So... I clamped down on the screaming reel and held on. The fish went directly under the log and I figured things were over. But then suddenly he turned and came right back at me. Now I was cranking loose line like crazy! He came about halfway back, then turned and headed out again - this time in a slightly different direction than the log. I put as much pressure on him as I thought the 8 pound tippet would stand and again he turned, this time going on a diagonal course. After awhile I managed to get him near the shore where I could see. He was a huge fish! Now I really didn't want to loose him. From there it was a matter of working him toward shore, then hanging on as he saw me and headed out again. Back and forth, back and forth. I wondered how I would ever get him in by myself. I had visions of the skinny leader breaking at the last minute from all the seesaw action. Finally though, I managed to catch him off balance long enough to work him up onto a shallow shelf. The instant he touched the shelf and curled his body I grabbed my net and pounced on him, slipping his tail into the net and sweeping him onto the shore. Wow! My heart was really beating. This was the biggest carp I had every caught! I switched him around to head first into the net, released the weigh handle, and watched the scale go down nearly to the bottom 30 pound mark. Close, but not quite. It stopped at 28 pounds. Here is a self portrait of myself and the beast. Photo was overexposed (or whatever the equivalent is in digital lingo). I managed to darken it up a little with my editing software.
[inline bigcarp-2rro450.jpg]
Here's a head shot with my seven weight.
[inline bigcarp-3ro450.jpg]
And a hand to tail comparison of the beast.
[inline tail-ro450.jpg]
The cable anchored log that nearly ended the fun.
[inline log-ro450.jpg]
I had been a hopeless carp addict. Now I'm a hopeless big carp addict!
z~
[signature]
[inline c-1ro450.jpg]
[inline c-2ro450.jpg]
I was fishing through some mudders and I tossed my fly out into the fray, tightening up until my leader was straight between the Palsa indicator and my fly. The little float twitched ever so slightly and I set the hook. For a few seconds everything just stopped. I felt kind of like I had just poked a big mean bull with a stick and was in that dead time between the jab and the instant the bull figures out what happened and who did it. Then everything cut loose. The fish tore around in a circle, apparantly getting his bearings and then he took off. My backing was melting off the reel at an alarming rate. Two things presented themselves as problems. First, I figured if the fish didn't stop, at this rate I would be spooled. Second, there was a big log anchored out in the middle of the lake (put there for the ducks, I guess) and the big carp was headed straight for it. I had visions of the fish wrapping me around the cable that held the log. So... I clamped down on the screaming reel and held on. The fish went directly under the log and I figured things were over. But then suddenly he turned and came right back at me. Now I was cranking loose line like crazy! He came about halfway back, then turned and headed out again - this time in a slightly different direction than the log. I put as much pressure on him as I thought the 8 pound tippet would stand and again he turned, this time going on a diagonal course. After awhile I managed to get him near the shore where I could see. He was a huge fish! Now I really didn't want to loose him. From there it was a matter of working him toward shore, then hanging on as he saw me and headed out again. Back and forth, back and forth. I wondered how I would ever get him in by myself. I had visions of the skinny leader breaking at the last minute from all the seesaw action. Finally though, I managed to catch him off balance long enough to work him up onto a shallow shelf. The instant he touched the shelf and curled his body I grabbed my net and pounced on him, slipping his tail into the net and sweeping him onto the shore. Wow! My heart was really beating. This was the biggest carp I had every caught! I switched him around to head first into the net, released the weigh handle, and watched the scale go down nearly to the bottom 30 pound mark. Close, but not quite. It stopped at 28 pounds. Here is a self portrait of myself and the beast. Photo was overexposed (or whatever the equivalent is in digital lingo). I managed to darken it up a little with my editing software.
[inline bigcarp-2rro450.jpg]
Here's a head shot with my seven weight.
[inline bigcarp-3ro450.jpg]
And a hand to tail comparison of the beast.
[inline tail-ro450.jpg]
The cable anchored log that nearly ended the fun.
[inline log-ro450.jpg]
I had been a hopeless carp addict. Now I'm a hopeless big carp addict!
z~
[signature]
] ![[Image: carpBNPS2205_468x316.jpg]](http://img.dailymail.co.uk/i/pix/2007/05_02/carpBNPS2205_468x316.jpg)