The thrill of victory

[john montana]

Spent four day with my college buddy, chasing carp in super tough conditions. We got some fish to hand and enjoyed the trip...caught some cool media too. Including the hookup with a 20 lber...the thrill of victory:

Solid fish:


And of course, the agony of defeat:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AVtymk4DuG8&feature=youtube_gdata_player

We caught some of these guys as well:


But mostly these!


Just dropped J off at the airport...always a good time fishing with him! Will get some more pics out later, but it was a great weekend to be on the water!

 

[Admin]

Wow!!!

 

[tomriker]

nice bass! and carp too i guess...

 

[CoastieFlo]

Wow I can hear those big lips sucking from here lol

 

[troutdude]

Those fish look like they wanted a kiss.

NICE smallie btw.

 

[Van]

Way to show us how it is done John.

 

[john montana]

Fun weekend. Somehow we have managed to continue our yearly fishing trip through 4 kids (two each) and multiple moves...J lives in MN but we always spend a few days each year fishing together. Great tradition.

Did someone mention lips?

 

[bass]

Great video of hooking that carp. I love just hearing that drag sing. I do not understand why carp fishing like this does not have the same following that bonefishing on the flats does. It is really identical fishing for a very similar species. Great job as always. A few questions if you don't mind.

You had mentioned that conditions were tough. Out of curiosity what made things tough? Was it the wind or the water level or something else? Also, did you catch the bass by sight fishing to it?

 

[john montana]

Tough conditions for me come in three shapes...I would rank them as:

1). Lack of direct sunlight. You simply cannot overestimate the importance of direct sunlight when sight fishing for carp. Clouds are a killer...high, white clouds like this trip are the worst. I would rather fish in dark clouds than the white stuff that turns water into a mirror. Sunlight is the single most important environmental factor.

2). Winds. I prefer a slight chop to break up my outline, flat calm is tough, and big winds and waves are tougher. Not only can you not cast well, but seeing fish through the rollers is tough, and if it is too much, the waves simply push the fish out of the shallows to shelter. Plus, waves cause the water to get roiled up and murky...hard to see into.

3). Water levels. You can't sight fish in chest deep water. You must have some ankle to thigh deep stuff to be able to see the fish and get a fly to them, so if it it too high you only have a narrow strip of shoreline, cutting down on the available carp locations. Knee deep is what you want.

So this picture is bad.



High, white clouds, heavy winds pushing whitecaps, and high water in the trees. We basically were walking looking for a tail breaking through the surf since we simply couldn't see into the water.

We caught about 25 bass, all by blindcasting bunny leeches in rocky areas. After 6 pm we couldn't really sight fish anymore so we blind casted unless we saw a tail break the surface. Some pretty solid 16-19 inch bass were caught...I enjoyed that. All told, we landed roughly 50 carp which is not great in four days, but under those conditions (we hit all three of my non wish list above...sometimes all at once) I was pretty happy. Plus, the company was good.

 

[vanbrunt]

Way to go. I loved the hook up video. I learned something watching that soft presentation and higher rod tip. I always try to strip set with my rod parallel to the water and miss TONS of hook-ups.

 

[john montana]

If I am moving the fly, I strip set. On a dead drop or still presentation I trout set.

 

[vanbrunt]

Thanks for the clarification. Most of the time I'm moving the fly so I'll just have to keep working on the strip set. Man carp are fun to catch.

 

[john montana]

the strip set works if the fish are following the fly...plus, if you miss, you don't blow the fish out of there. on lake MI we strip set everything, but those fish CHASE! pretty cool to see a 15 lb fish break off at a 90 degree angle and swim 10 ft at a sprint to inhale a 2 inch long bunny leech. wish columbia fish would do that!

 

[vanbrunt]

Man it would be sweet to see a carp hunt like that. I have had tough luck lately. I'm still just learning how to "hunt" the carp though. When I'm patient I catch more fish but I have a sloppy cast with larger flies. But, you can bet I'll be showing OFF my fish when I start catching more. I have been going out for carp 2 days to every day I go for steelhead... I'm feeling the addiction.

 

[john montana]

It is a pretty slippery slope...be careful! I used to be a respectable steelhead and trout angler. Now look at me.

one more from our recent trip:



As a general rule, i don't use really big flies out here. size 4-10 usually...and the 4s are tied on short shanked hooks. and the VAST bulk of my fish come off of a "no motion" presentation. The fly sinks, the fish see it and eat it...occasionally i get them to move to the fly with short, sharp strips...but i'd say 90% of my fish come off of the "drop." if you can make 'em see the fly hit the bottom without spooking the fish, they will usually eat it.

 

[vanbrunt]

That thing is a HOG. I need to just get out on the water more, get better at searching out fish. I have had some luck fishing 4-5 foot deep water enticing them to bite. This has been in dark water on dark days. I can't choose when I fish (working and other lame activities get in the way of fishing) so I'm waiting for when the stars align and the weather works out for my beginner eyes. I did get out to sauvie island one day and stood in knee deep water with over 100 tailing carp. It was an amazing sight. They all stopped their spawning behavior and went to eating for about 20 minutes. That was the only time all day I hooked fish. Right after it went back to spawning and crashing around. Good times.

 

[john montana]

That is the trick...finding feeding/positive fish. With an artificial fly you really need to find a willing partner. It is tough to talk a carp into eating! 4-5 ft deep water is tough...I don't fish that stuff unless I see a monster tailing and kicking up a ruckus! Too hard to detect the take that deep. Keep hunting man, but be prepared to wipe dust off of your trout gear!

 

[Sinkline]

.

 

[steelhead_slayer]

very cool video and fish

 

[john montana]

Thanks! I am off to ID tomorrow to chase some big mirror carp! Hopefully I get some cool fish and pictures.