Carp story number two

No, I didn't forget, I'm just learning that it isn't easy to work two blogs along with my production and regularly hourly work, but it is a good way to stay out of trouble. Except of course, in relating to the people who connect on my blogs, through my production, or in my regular job. ;)

I like fishing with the lightest gear that I can reasonably get away with. Now bear in mind, I'm not going after Flathead cats with 2 pound line or anything like that, and I'm not using gear that would play fish to complete exhaustion. I just know that you can usually use much lighter gear than we usually use and with a dash of skill + experience, you can safely and quickly land a pretty big fish.

This in mind, a couple of summers ago I picked up two new rods. One a 7 1/2 foot ultralight, and the other a 7 foot light action. The 7 foot rod I geared to fish 4 pound line, and couldn't wait to take it out on the water. I transferred a small reel from my 4 1/2 ultra light Ugly Stik to use on the long rod along with a fresh spool of 4 pound Trilene XL. Even though I was going to be running errands all day, one Friday I decided to put it in the back of the truck and stop by the mouth of a particular stream which enters the Ohio River not far from one of my stops.

It was a beautiful afternoon about 1:30 PM as I pulled off the main road and pointed my vehicle toward the railroad tracks which follow the rivers around here as faithfully as a hound follows his master in hopes of some play. A hundred yards or so upriver found me at one of my favorite fishing spots, a spot ordinarily so reliable that if I don't get a bite within 20 minutes I know that I can go ahead and leave.

I parked, excitedly snatched my new rod and "emergency fishing pack" from the truck and headed down through the weeds toward the water. (You've got an emergency fishing pack don't you? The mini-tackle box and gear that fits in your pocket and never leaves the truck just in case you drive past a likely spot during your days' travels and need to see if there are any fish there? You've gotta have one of these packs. I have one for fly fishing and one for lure/bait fishing.) The water in the mouth of this creek runs crystal clear nearly all the time despite the immediate conversion to olive green it assumes upon combining with the river.

There is a large tree that fell from the bank and sticks halfway across the mouth, and several boulders strewn haphazardly throughout its wide but shallow lower reaches. At any given time there are Rainbow and Brown Trout, Largemouth or Smallmouth Bass, Walleye and Sauger, Pike, Musky, Hybrid Stripers large Shad and probably a half dozen other species milling around this apparent haven.

One visitor nearly always in residence is the Carp, and normally in schools of no less than 10. This day was much like any other in that moments after reaching the bank, I saw several dark brown shadows cruising the area, stopping now and then to sip at the surface, much to my delight. As with most Carp schools, this one was accompanied by one fish which was a bit different from the rest. Why this happens is a mystery to me, but it seems that about 7 out of ten schools I see have one fish which is a total standout. I'll never forget the school I saw years ago which held one big Carp which looked all black.


This schools' oddball was about 3 shades lighter than all the rest, and seemed just as golden from above as the average Carp does when viewed from the side! Despite only being about mid-sized for this school of fish, he was the one I wanted. I decided to tie on a one inch pale tan Crappie tube jig, on a 1/16 oz jig. After watching the fish for a while to determine their direction (they were "pacing" the mouth of the stream as they fed), I tossed my little jig on 4 pound line on my new light action rod about 6 feet in front of the group. Several fish noticed the jig and swam toward it, but lost interest fairly quickly.

In the 2 feet of crystal clear water, twitching it on the bottom for their attention wasn't going to to be a problem. In fact, I had to be careful to twitch lightly because my next cast, sink, twitch cause about 6 of the fish to startle and swim off upstream a ways. I was kicking myself for this over the fear that they wouldn't return, but after just a few minutes my concerns were squashed, as the whole gang, with "goldie" off to the side of the school nearest the bank I attended.

I watched as they came slowly back downstream, sipping at the surface, nipping at the bottom, and before they were within 20 feet I decided to set my tube jig out there so that it could settle before the fish arrived, and then I could work it after they were near. With a flip of my wrist the teeny tube sailed through the air and landed with barely a ripple about 5 yards in front of me. The fish were getting closer, and the anticipation was making me nuts!

As the front of the school flowed by, the gold Carp that had initially attracted my attention stopped short, taking some small bug off the surface, and at that moment with the fish only three feet upstream and to the right of my jig, I started to swim it up off the bottom. Slowly, with small sweeps like a fleeing crayfish I moved my tube only an inch or two off the bottom, and that Carp pounced on it like a shark on a mullet!

Let me pause here to say that one of the most common mistakes when a fish strikes in this type of situation is to get so caught up by the take that the fisherman forgets to set the hook, the fish spits the hook and the chance is gone for good. So, this in mind I had been telling myself over and over "if this works, don't get so caught up by the take that you forget to set the hook".

So, after seeing this Carp so aggressively attack my jig, I found myself so caught up in the take that I forgot to set the hook. Momentarily. ;)

With just a tug on the rod the fish was on as was the fight! It took off several yards of line almost instantly, spooking the rest of the school out of the area. As my drag screamed I though of how much I love that sound, and how glad I was that there was another fisherman there to see me catch this fish, 'cause you know when you catch nice fish there's never anybody to witness it! This fish and I played tug of war for a couple of minutes, with me hoping and praying that it didn't come off the hook. At one point it seemed to become disinterested in our little game and headed for the deeper water out in the river channel and I started to believe I would never land this fish.

After fighting it back in close it decided to head toward the downed tree I mentioned earlier, and I feared it would either wrap in the branches or around one of the boulders in the water before me. Thankfully, it wasn't able to pull off an escape, and a minute or so later I was ble to bring it to hand. It wasn't big for a Carp, only about 6 or 7 pounds, but it was as bright and shiny as new copper wire and had given me a great thrill as the first fish on my new rod and reel.

As I unhooked the jig I realized that the hook had been bent nearly straight by the strong jaws and powerful fight of this "golden bone", and my respect for this wet warrior returned anew. As it slid through my hands back into its watery haunt, leaving me with a mitt full of slime, I smiled. This had been very good.

I was at the local fish market a couple of days ago, and as I saw the stack of Carp for sale I thought of the many days this fish has out pulled, out fought, and on rare occasion, out jumped, everything else caught on any given day.

There, over shadowed by the Striped Bass, the fresh shrimp and the Tuna steaks lay the simple, everyday Carp. Too well-known to be appreciated as it should, to common to be thought special, much maligned while showing itself a survivor capable of thriving in nearly any environment.

I looked, I smiled, and I walked away knowing that we would meet again, and that it was not a certainty that in our next meeting, I would again be the winner.