Hop(per) on The Carp Train

This morning, I had a long phone conversation with Howard. We talked Dream Stream, float fishing, and lots of other things. But something he said reminded me of an idea. Howard was talking about how he loved to throw hoppers at big browns on the Arkansas. Browns? Brown trout. But what else is brown? Carp! So this afternoon, I went out to my favorite spots with a question in my head. Was it possible to catch carp using dry techniques? Fishing hoppers on the skate, the twitch, the dead drift? Basically, was it possible to catch carp as if they were trout? From the second I pulled up to the pond, I knew I had picked the right day. You could see the rings and hear the "bloops" of carp feeding all around the pond. I tied on a Grand Hopper, hopped into position, and took a cast. My first three shots brought total rejection. My forth shot, however, fell short and landed literally 4 inches in front of the fish's face. But the fish didn't spook. He looked up, moved towards the surface, and slowly inhaled my fly. He turned, felt the hook, and shot away, snapping the 3x tippet as he went. I watched my last Grand Hopper swim away feeling pretty stupid. I re-rigged with a PMX, moved to a new area, and tried again. One fished came up and nosed my fly, then turned away. Next I had another slow eat, but my set was too early and I missed the fish. Finally, I moved to a nice sunny patch of water between two trees. After watching for a minute, I saw a big shadow moving along the bank. I cast out and in front of the fish, twitched it three times and let it sit. A giant golden head rose up, sucked in, and thrashed at the feel of sharp metal. Ten minutes later, I had the answer to my question:

Shown Here Displaying Jordan Shoes And Gucci's "Carp Selection"

Mug Shot

End of School Fish-A-Thon; Day Three

After another great day at the shop helping customers, I just had to push my luck. Had to work every drop of awesome into my day. Also, had to test out a new reel. As I pulled up to the spot, things were looking good. My first four casts yielded follows or strikes. After that, not much action. I moved over, saw a BIG shadow, and sent a yummy little morsel his way. Boy, did he pounce on that fly hard. And after quite a battle, and the first 20 yards of my backing touching water, I managed to land the fish.

Now, seeing your backing sounds like fun. Let me tell you, it is scary as well. Any fish that is taking you over 100 feet away is not your Average Joe. If the fish makes a turn at 100+ feet away, it can put a belly in your line. That belly is slack line, so the fish has wiggle room to escape with. All I'm trying to say is, next time you see that White Dacron, keep tight on whatever is out on the business end of your line. Good luck out there!

Hit the Water Before the Weather Hits You!

If someone had told you that the temperature in mid-March was supposed to reach 90 degrees, you would have... well, you would have believed them. It never really got too cold here in CO this winter, but this is ridiculous. The temperature (according to the only weather station I trust anymore, Wunderground) is supposed to hit 88-90 tomorrow and Wednesday. Seems like it's time to put away the long underwear for the season and move on to warmer (and greener) pastures. In other news, the fishing on Boulder Creek has been on fire! Lots of action on dries, tons of eats, and even a few nice-sized fish out of BC the past few days. This time of year, I try to hit the water every day after school, or at least a few days a week. Tomorrow, I'm hoping to head out to some still water and get down and dirty with some poor man's bonefish. In the mean time, get your ass out to Boulder and enjoy our warm weather, great fishing, and local crazy people hippies Boulderites!

Sky's First Carp

"I guarantee you catch a carp." And with that, we were off. My friend had never caught a carp before. But today that would change. On the way into my hotspot, my friend spooked 11 carp. "You've got to be quiet," I said. He casted to a few fish feeding on the surface, but having not casted a fly rod for 9 months, the casts were just a little off. So the next fish I saw, I put a cast to. Strip, strip, rest. Set! Fish on. Then being the perfect, generous, awful.. wait no. Anyway, I handed him the rod. It was a good first fish, around four pounds. We caught a few more nice carp like the one above, and then switched gears. I had been feeling some bass hits earlier in the morning, so I tied on a popper and started throwing. We caught a few very small bass and a crappie, but nothing big. And that's when it happened. My friend bet me that I couldn't hit the opposite bank. I yanked out tons of line, picked up my rod, and cast. Clack! The fly hit the bank and bounced into the water. Almost immediately, my fly got picked up by something of size. At first I thought my fly had hit a carp in the dorsal. But no! It was a big bass, kicking around and throwing his head. I battled the the fish for a little while, put him in the net, and had my friend take a picture. Sweet! We decided to call it a day after that, and go home to set off some SERIOUS fireworks. Happy 4th!

My New Carp Fly

So two weeks ago at the fly-shop, I was bored out of my mind. Things were slow, I had been there long enough to start getting bored, and my primary source of entertainment (my iPhone) was at the bottom of a lake. So what else could I do, I asked myself while sitting at the tying desk. The answer was right in front of me, literally. I was staring at the vice, wondering what to do, and then it came to me. I should tie some flies! But which? Everything I knew how to tie was too repetitive and boring for this moment. So I decided I would tie something new. After a few awful attempts at tying crap on a hook, I came upon something that was only terrible, not awful. To a normal person, that's the same thing. But to a fly designer, that's the beginning of brilliance. So I tied it again, a little neater this time, and showed it to my good friend Jay Zimmerman. Jay is a guide at the shop I help out at and a professional fly designer for Umpqua Feather Merchants. He gave me some advice, and I went after it again. And again and again and again. I would change one little thing, ask Jay what he thought, and then tie another. After a week of sitting in my room, tying flies over and over, I finally had one fly that I thought would catch fish. Now don't get me wrong, I'm not saying I would show this to anyone. But I did believe it would get some good looks from fish. I had a very hectic schedule with my schoolwork, so I dropped some flies off for Jay. A week or so later when I saw him again, he told me he had something for me. He plugged a flash drive into my computer, and up popped some photos. Photos of carp. But wait, there was something else! The carp had MY fly in it's mouth! Amazing! It's been a while since that day, and I've kept working on my fly. I tie it in colors for Spring, Summer, and Fall. I feel confident in my fly, and I'm glad I have something to put my name under. Good fishin' to ya, and tight lines!