21 lber on the fly

[john montana]

Spent today on the river (which is STILL high...ugh). *I caught a few fish, including this 21 lb beauty. *She was slow cruising through the weeds and ate a green soft hackle...love that fly.


Only two other fish of note, a nice 15 lber, and this 16 lb fish that absolutely tore me up...this fish went WAY into my backing.

I spent part of the day fishing to cruisers and tailers in the gravel and boulders. *You have to cover a lot of water to find fish in that type of area, but man do they react well to a fly. *Then I walked into a soft bottomed, weedy area and found a ton of sunning fish. *The bottom was quiet, and I was waist deep so I was super stealthy and got right on top of the fish. *


I copied this text from my blog...didn't want to type it twice!
With just a few feet of leader out the rod tip, I started dapping a lightly weighted rubber legged hares ear on the fish, and they responded well. So well, that I decided not to set the hook, instead I just let them eat the fly as I watched the entire thing from a couple of feet away. Lest you all think I am totally crazy, I did set the hook on two big fish, but they both destroyed me in those weeds.

All told, I saw about ten good eats. The fish would simply extend their mouth like a tube and suck the fly in from a couple of inches away...really cool to watch. Not one fish hooked itself. In fact, not one fish ever took the fly in deep. For the most part they just mouthed it with their extended lips, and only for a split second. Granted, these were not "positive" or feeding fish, but it was still amazing to see how delicately they ate that fly. Most fish immediately spit the fly, and then hard spooked out of there like their tail was in fire. One fish though...poor dumb bugger. He ate the fly, spit it, then moved forward and ate it again with this confused look in his eyes. The second time he held on for maybe a full second then spit and spook like the others.*

What a cool thing to witness. Carp are an interesting fish!

 

[steelhead_slayer]

Wow you always impress me

 

[cowboysfan]

john montana you are impressive! I have never heard of anyone targeting carp until you when i joined this forum and now i have a new found respect for the ugly fish. Thankyou!

 

[Sinkline]

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[john montana]

Thanks guys...the fish are starting to spread out a bit now. One tip for anyone heading out, if you are seeing large groups of fish I would keep walking. The big groups seem to be mostly lethargic post spawn sunning fish. Most of the feeders I found were in slightly cooler, rockier bottom and in smaller groups of 1-4 fish.

 

[TTFishon]

I always look forward to your threads John. Beautiful fish!!!

 

[OnTheFly]

A face only a mother could love. Same goes for the carp too! Just joking John. Nice fish!

 

[bran_man]

Great pics and some nice fish! Carp is definitely not my usual fish that I seek, but you always make me want to try for them sometime! sounds like a blast. good job!

 

[Carothers]

gross! lol. Nice fish, i have caught a few. nothing that big. I prefer to shoot them with my bow haha.

 

[Van]

Great pics John. Love the one of the group of monster carp just chilling.

 

[bigsteel]

:clap::clap::clap::clap:

 

[Sinkline]

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[Throbbit _Shane]

The tug is the drug!! Ill fish for them, great fighters!!

Nice fish John!

 

[bass]

Once again, great job and cool report. I love the pic of those mongo sized carp! Sounds like a fascinating day on the water.

 

[Carothers]

Why do you say, "gross"? What's wrong with carp? Did you know carp are the most widely eaten fish world wide? The majority of American anglers are misinformed about carp and rely on misinformation passed down over the decades about the fish. Carp are held in high regard by many anglers in other countries. The perception is starting to change here in the States about carp, and many are starting to see them as a quality fish worthy of angling. Just sayn'.

Randy

I say gross because carp are that. Gross. I don't care how many people, or which people eat them I don't have much use for them. I have watched them destroy the slough near my house. There is absolutely no aquatic plants where they once thrived. When the grass and other plants disappeared, so did the bass. I don't see any minnows or small fish anymore, and even the bluegill numbers have dropped sharply. The carp numbers and size have also dropped. They can be fun to catch, but even at that, they don't give you much of a fight. I'm not gonna give much love to a terrible eating, smelling, invasive trash fish that destroys habitat for native species. I can think of 3 good things these fish provide. Targets, fertilizer and crab bait.

 

[john montana]

. I don't see any minnows or small fish anymore, and even the bluegill numbers have dropped sharply. The carp numbers and size have also dropped.

I find it interesting that you use anecdotal evidence to proclaim your disdain for carp, but ignore the same exact evidence when it comes to carp. If I am reading your note correctly, carp have destroyed the habitat in the slough to the point that bass, bluegill, minnows and EVEN CARP populations have suffered. Seems to me that there just could maybe be something else going on in that slough...something that is effectively limiting or eliminating 4-7 species (depending largely on how many spieces of bluegill and minnows once abounded in said slough). Maybe our continued and wanton polluting of the environment? Chemicals from fertilizer etc? Truthfully, I have no idea. I am not a biologist and try to avoid drawing conclusions based on my own observations.

The rest of your post is simply opinion, and we all have those. Do I agree that carp are gross and smelly? Hah...no. I can just about guarantee you that I have caught as many carp as anyone in the state of OR the past several years...if they smelled bad I wouldn't do it. I would suggest catching them in cleaner water...fish often are simply a product of their environment (that is why trout in some lakes taste better and people pay big bucks for copper river salmon). Fighting hard? My opinion differs as well. I have broken 7 fly rods and been witness to more backing busting runs from carp in the past two years than my previous non carp life put together. But again, I try not to draw conclusions purely from my own anecdotal evidence...maybe they do fight poorly and I haven't caught enough bass. We all have opinions, and I don't want to argue yours over mine or vice versa. I say the same thing to my son when he says he doesn't like tomatoes, I just usually add "have you tried one?"

As for invasive species...on that we agree. They are invasive and can do damage to enclosed, soft bottomed waters. Thankfully, our native species don't use those water often. For the most part, carp simply don't live where are native fish do...the rivers are too cold. Yes, carp live and thrive in the Columbia, a major highway for our native fish, but they are not hurting that habitat. In genral the main river is too rocky. Still, I would gladly join hands with you and anyone else who has a good plan to eradicate carp and smallmouth bass from the columbia. The smallmouth are a much bigger threat to our native fish than carp...they are flat out predators. Does anyone really think carp are eating salmon eggs way up in the river systems? Does anyone think they are chasing down 3-5 inch long smolt? I don't, but if we could get rid of the non native species out here (bass, carp, bluegill, etc) I say sign me up.

 

[Sinkline]

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[steelhead_slayer]

John montanna that was a very unbias and well thought out response. It is very refreshing to see after reading so many comments that come straight from the hip. :clap::clap:

 

[Mad dog]

What's up with the bandana over your face?

If I caught fish that ugly I'd hide my face as well! :lol:

 

[john montana]

Sun protection...carp have a great sense of smell so I don't use sunscreen, I just cover up with long sleeves, gloves, and a buff.

22 lber from today!