I almost didn't go this morning, it was really windy in town - but I'd made a date to meet up with a friend from Spokane so I hitched up the pram and headed to SCL No. 2 (secret carp lake No 2 - taking a lesson on not naming waters from @Starman77).
As I pulled up to the lake I was really surprised to see the lake mirror like and no clouds. CAPR HEAVEN! (It didn't last long.) Bob was there along with one of Soap Lake's finest who decided to camp in the middle of the boat launch. Mr. Not Very Nice (me), pulled up in front of the launch and started backing down, shifted to park and got out. Bob and I visited for several minutes, the camper moved his gear (I thanked him).
It takes me about ten minutes from the time I get to the launch until I'm motoring away. Capr fishing doesn't involve nearly as much sh--- stuff as I seem to need when I'm trout fishing. I asked Bob where he wanted to start (he fishes off a paddle boat), I moved off across the lake so he could fish his way onto the shoal. As I neared the far shore I could see several fish clooping. Twenty seven years I've been fishing for capr, I've never caught one on a dry fly. The caprs were clooping schmoots and I was fresh out of any dry schmoot flies. I did have a carp maul tied on, a new pattern to me. The version I tied has only medium bead chain eyes, no tungsten beads, no fuse wire. It's light and sinks slowly, I guess the rubber legs flutter and that might attract a carps attention.
I laid the fly out in front of several cloopers, they ignored it, seemed to prefer schmoots, the real thing. I saw one fish slowly cruising with his dorsal out of the water, laid a cast a couple feet in front of him (her?) and watched it follow the fly as it slowly sank and suck it in. Third or fourth cast, a carp!
Carp Maul - size 8 Fulling Mill 2500 Bonio Carp hook
The schmoots cloopers were done clooping, back to stalking feeders. I managed one tailing fish and had six more eats (lost four of them) for a grand total of four to the net. One was a dink, definitely not a donkey - but oh was it fast.
This one was a beast, maybe not quite a donkey but over ten pounds.
An Ag Cat spray plane, not spraying, started buzzing the lake, making loud hard turns right above the water: Butthead. To top it off, the wind picked up, blowing the wrong way (from the north so it was blowing Bob and I towards the sun) and the clouds drifted in with the wind. Game over.
I made a few dozen blind casts, even tried an indicator, but it was done except for this peanut:
I'd told myself I was done chasing caprs this year but ------ the weather forecast looks like I have one more day....
As I pulled up to the lake I was really surprised to see the lake mirror like and no clouds. CAPR HEAVEN! (It didn't last long.) Bob was there along with one of Soap Lake's finest who decided to camp in the middle of the boat launch. Mr. Not Very Nice (me), pulled up in front of the launch and started backing down, shifted to park and got out. Bob and I visited for several minutes, the camper moved his gear (I thanked him).
It takes me about ten minutes from the time I get to the launch until I'm motoring away. Capr fishing doesn't involve nearly as much sh--- stuff as I seem to need when I'm trout fishing. I asked Bob where he wanted to start (he fishes off a paddle boat), I moved off across the lake so he could fish his way onto the shoal. As I neared the far shore I could see several fish clooping. Twenty seven years I've been fishing for capr, I've never caught one on a dry fly. The caprs were clooping schmoots and I was fresh out of any dry schmoot flies. I did have a carp maul tied on, a new pattern to me. The version I tied has only medium bead chain eyes, no tungsten beads, no fuse wire. It's light and sinks slowly, I guess the rubber legs flutter and that might attract a carps attention.
I laid the fly out in front of several cloopers, they ignored it, seemed to prefer schmoots, the real thing. I saw one fish slowly cruising with his dorsal out of the water, laid a cast a couple feet in front of him (her?) and watched it follow the fly as it slowly sank and suck it in. Third or fourth cast, a carp!
Carp Maul - size 8 Fulling Mill 2500 Bonio Carp hook
The schmoots cloopers were done clooping, back to stalking feeders. I managed one tailing fish and had six more eats (lost four of them) for a grand total of four to the net. One was a dink, definitely not a donkey - but oh was it fast.
This one was a beast, maybe not quite a donkey but over ten pounds.
An Ag Cat spray plane, not spraying, started buzzing the lake, making loud hard turns right above the water: Butthead. To top it off, the wind picked up, blowing the wrong way (from the north so it was blowing Bob and I towards the sun) and the clouds drifted in with the wind. Game over.
I made a few dozen blind casts, even tried an indicator, but it was done except for this peanut:
I'd told myself I was done chasing caprs this year but ------ the weather forecast looks like I have one more day....
