Butt Kicking Mud Wrestling Carp

I had an appointment to get the oil changed in the truck this morning. Well - on the way back home, I just happen to pass a well known carp hole. Since I was in the area... I figured I should let my inner redneck shineYou can see the mud puffs in the middle of this pictures. There are carp feeding at the upstream end (left side) of the puffs. Yeah you - I got your number!!! Lots of people use the C&O Trail as a part of their running path. Little do they know that there are a bunch of mud wrestling beasts just hanging out waiting to kick some butt! Well - I got my butt kicked - but I was using a tenkara rod to even up the odds. I got the carp to take the Montana Hybrid fly (awesome fly by the way - google it if you are interested) and as I set the hook, I started looking for a place to get down the embankment... should have thought about that before I cast the fly. I got the fish turned a couple of times and they it bolted and took the tippet with it. I lost a good fly - the carp got a new "lip piercing". You win some, you lose some! I walked around a bit looking for more carp - they were there - I'll have to come back with a 6 wt (so I can use 2X tippet and win the wrestling match). This was the first time I had been to the Lock 7 area when the leaves were not filled in. You could see all the accesses to the other cuts. I tried walking through some of the brush last year and got hit by poison "something growing in the weeds" - I had flashbacks of the bad itchy scratchies. I just got hypochondriatic heebee jeebees...

New Rod Joins the Lineup

This was my birthday present this year - the Suntech Field Master. Three way zoom tenkara style rod. You can fish it as a 360 cm rod and zoom down to 320 or up to 390 depending on the situation. I'll admit that I didn't need a rod to fill this size niche - I have the Daiwa 43MF Kiyose for large fish and a Nissin Fine Mode Nagare Two Way 390 to 440 for the smaller fish. What the Field Master does do is fill the size niche just below and conveniently right between the other two capability-wise - it has the backbone leading up to the Kiyose, but is lighter and has some of the sensitivity of the Fine Mode - just right. But perhaps the thing that I like the most about this rod is it's name - FIELD MASTER - and the rod is just that - it gives you the confidence that you can land most any fish that you can fool with a fly. So here are the three general purpose fixed line flyrods that you'll see me toting around as I try to antagonize the local piscine community (catch and release of course so don't get your undies all bound up in knots).

Carp'n Again

Saturday morning - secret spot (but completely in plain view) - mission to hook up a LARGE carp. I recent bought a Ranger 471RR net - with an expandable handle (~78" from the bottom of the handle to the top of the net) - so landing these guys was easy now. Everything was in place... In the pictures, you can see a lighter colored carp swimming around - that was my target. BUT at the last second, the smaller mirror carp pulled a blocking maneuver and then I was battling it instead of the ginormous one. Well - any fight is better no fight. This guy was 30 cm - not the biggest carp I've caught but it still brought a smile to my face!

Keiryu Rod Repair (Replacing a Lilian)

I wrote about losing a big carp and the flyline attached to it AND the lilian off of my Daiwa 43MF Kiyose rod. I already ordered a replacement tip to ensure I don't have this issue again (as much as I can help it - I need to negotiate with the big carp so they more readily take my flies and stop breaking my gear). But while I'm waiting for the new tip to arrive, I took the liberty of removing the lilian off the tip I broke on the TUSA Ito and used it to fix the Daiwa. I used an Xacto knife and a Japanese flush cutting pliers to clean off the tip of the Daiwa. I made sure the old lilian from the broken Ito tip would work on the Kiyose tip (it did) and super glued it in place. The repair seems to be good to go - I pulled with my fingers straight outward, and then I rigged up a flyline and pulled with it. No issues. If this ever happens to you, when you clean the tip of the rod so you can glue a new (or reclaimed) lilian on, you can easily see where the old lilian ended - stick to cleaning the area above that point. My tip seemed to have a slightly rougher finish to the area under the lilian - maybe for ensuring the glued on lilian has a good seating point. Like most projects, this was easier than I thought it would be. Now to find the time to get back to Lock 7...

Carping Saturday

I drove down the the C&O Canal this morning to spend a couple of hours chasing the carp that live there. I used the Daiwa 43MF Kiyose rod and brought this 17" (nearly - hey it isn't a fish story if you don't stretch the "tape" a little) to hand. A few minutes after I let it go, I hooked into a much bigger carp - during the fight it used a quick change of direction against me to break the lilian off the tip of my rod - that was it for carping today. Waiting for the takes, getting to see the carp inhale the fly and setting the hook are in the group of events where time stands still - like surfing a barrel, the apex of a big air kite jump or jumping off a high rock face into a pool of water below - definitely adrenaline producing! With my heavyweight rod out of commission (for now) I started walking back and I took out the Nissin Fine Mode Seiryu rod I have and cast a blue popper - I got some takes from the sunfish lining the banks of the canal - they don't start the adrenaline pumps the same way big carp do, but they are enjoyable nonetheless. Fishing for carp may not seem glamorous or a noble pursuit - but it is a BLAST!!!

Carp tastic!!!

We're on a field trip again, so lots to write about this weekend. Starting point is the "secret spot" for some tenkara style carp fishing. Okay - so it is a manmade pond - likely purposed primarily for flood control and secondarily for social aesthetics. And so the carp are there most likely for algae bloom control. But the fact of the matter is there were some big carp in this manmade, save-me-from-the-flood pond and I had a score to settle with these fish from the last time we were here. I used the killer blueberry fly on a 15# tippet mounted on to the Daiwa 43MF Kiyose. The first one I hooked into gave an indication of just how much strength these fish have. I gave Marlon and Noe a chance to fight the fish with the rod and then both said it was too much for them pressure wise. As I was trying to land this fish in our green all purpose net, it gave one head shake and back flew the fly - almost as if the carp said "you can have your stinkin fly back - I'm outta here". The pictures of the carp in hand are of number 2. Another strong carp, but this one was half the size of both the first and last fish. 14" long - not bad, but also not good enough. I knew I could do better. By the time I hooked into the third carp, I had concern for the shopping complex patrons. The only signs said "no one is allowed inside the fenced in areas" - good thing myself and the rod were outside. Besides, we had a date with the beach. If you haven't gone fly fishing for carp, you don't know what you're missing...

Secret Fish Catching Weapons

We're going paddling/surfing/fishing this weekend!!! I've got a score to settle with some freshwater piscine adversaries and these Gamakatsu size 10 SL45 hooks covered in blue yarn are going to be "Killer Blueberries". The orange yarn size 14 eggs are stripped down sand crabs - advertising what I think the small fish would want - "just the eggs please - no shells". We'll see if this works as I'm not sure the baby pompano are running around the lower Chesapeake yet. And the fall back for the common bottom feeder - a small orange and black clouser minnow. I am going to bring spinning gear, lures and bait as well as the fly gear (Daiwa Kiyose 43MF, Orvis Helios 8 wt and the Nissin Fine Mode). Weather is looking good too - can't wait!!!

Fun Busy Saturday, Part 1

I finalized a deal to sell our Amphibious Assault Craft - the Jackson Kayak Big Tuna - which meant we had to drive down to Virginia Beach today (oh no - twist my arm). We certainly made the most of it! I had loaded the truck last night (in the dark) and miraculously managed to get all the kayak pieces/parts, fishing gear and beach supplies (boogie boards, rollie, fins, tent, etc) - and we were able to get an early start. So stop number 1 - breakfast. This place had to be the best breakfast spot I've ever been too - the pictures speak for themselves - captive audience, clean hook set, awesome fish on and subsequent fight, kids each get a turn, and just as I was going to try and land the big one, the tippet breaks. The barb was pinched down so I figure the fly (pitiful attempt at a bread fly - but ravenously taken) will fall off quickly. I haven't landed one yet, but at this rate, I should be able to cross "carp" off the list of summer targets very shortly. We're eating breakfast at this spot again (and I'll bring a net and stronger tippet next time)!!!