Tail of the Golem

<h1><b>The Small Hours on the Front Side of the Season</b></h1>

Every enthusiast who is passionate about a seasonal endeavor itches with anticipation for the moment of the transition from early season to full season. Adding to the anxiety is not knowing exactly when that moment will happen. Fly fishing for carp here usually begins in earnest in mid-May but I can't hold out that long. I'll head for the flats at the first hint of warmth in March or April even though I know that there will be few fish around and questionable conditions. A glutton for punishment I suppose but there is a silver lining; I've wet a line and added on more anticipation for the transition. I love the early season atmosphere too. Last years cat tails brown against the Spring sky is somewhat settling. Especially with the spring soundscape added in. And lastly there is a chance I might catch a fish.

Two weekends have been open for me in the wee hours of the 2013 carp season. On the day before April Fools Day I waded one of my favorite flats near town. There were a fair number of fish around but the turbid waters made it impossible to see the tailing carp until you were almost on top of them. Hence most of the carp I saw were already spooked. I did manage to not spook one fatty though.

Even though I only caught one fish that day, it got the juices flowing. So I got into a fly tying frenzy and I dusted of the Mercy Creek Special.

And I was back on the Big C again a couple of weekends later. This time the elements kept the Mercy Creek Special in port but my sea legs were anxious. So I took my long time friend Doug who had never caught a carp on the fly. Even though conditions were not optimal for first-time carping Doug was optimistic was really wanting to catch a carp. The wind was horrendous and made for really nasty wading with wader topping four foot waves in exposed areas so we absconded to quieter backwaters. We had to beat through the brambles to get there though.

A few fish were raising hell in the muddy water so blind casting to swirls and where a carp last splashed was the name of the game. I mainly held back and let Doug get first crack at the action and he hooked up.

Doug never could get the fish's head up but I did see when he had it up close before it broke off. Never the less, Doug was stoked and is raring to get out carping again as am I. It's only going to get warmer and soon my anticipation will be abated. 

A Little Late Season Redemption

When you try so hard to catch those big fish and end up blowing the shot it just plain hurts. You feel yourself sink inside and rationalize to yourself that it's really ok, you really don't suck, the conditions just weren't quite right. You can't lie to yourself for very long though. Soon that feeling of "dammit I wish I had of stuck that fish!" comes flooding back in. There are many ways to blow the shot but the most painful of all to me is losing the Zen of detecting the take. I don't get nearly as upset about blowing a beautiful shot when I line the line fish or spook it with the plop of the fly as I do when I blow it from missing the take. The take is the best moment of the whole experience and detecting it with consistency in all conditions is what I strive for. It's difficult as hell to do. I've had some off days lately where I just seemed a little too early or late to get solid sticks. I wondered what had happened to my mojo.

Today was the first time I have been back on the Big C since labor Day weekend when I fished with John Montana. I had some really good shots at serioulsy bruiser big carp that day and the best I could do was prick one's lip for about 2 seconds. It was damn hard that day. But as always it is a great time fishing with John. Today I was expecting to see fewer fish with it being later in the season with lower water levels, cooler nights and slightly cooler days. Sometimes it is good to be wrong. Right out of the car there were tailing carp and and I immediately hooked a 15 pounder which ended up being the biggest of the day.

First and biggest carp of the day

That felt really good. I read the take well on an eat at about 30 feet away. Was the mojo back? It was early. The rest of day would tell. I had many more shots and got 15 to hand in 4 hours of fishing. All were between 10 and 15 pounds.

14 lbs.

12 lbs.

 



I feel good for now. A little self redemption. It was a beautiful mid September day. I am very blessed to have this precious time on the water and I savor each and every second of it.



 



How do you win a tournament and not catch a single fish?

You team up with master carpers like John Montana, David Nakamoto and Mr. P. The Carp-ocalypse was held August 11 and 12 at Banks Lake, WA which is well known for easily accessible carp flats. With that being the case, it is fished a lot and the carp are fewer and harder. Our team had a plan to split up with 2 guys heading to The Big C on Saturday and 2 staying at Banks. On Sunday we would all fish Banks.

On Saturday Mr. P and I walked amazingly carpy water on the Columbia but found no feeding fish; only surface cruisers in deep water. There were a ton of play-boaters around. Carp are skittish creatures and will flee the flats when there is a nearby disturbance. We got blanked. Except for the roadside PFD that Mr. P hooked. Very impressive casting! John caught one fish on Saturday at Banks making our team tied for first place. I was able soothe the wounds to my pride with delicious Ninkasi IPA at the end of the day though. Life is good!

P and the PFD

On Sunday P and I explored the carping possibilities in the Barker Canyon area on the northwest side of Banks. Not a fish was seen. So we tried another spot down lake that had seen little traffic that was adjacent to a spot that had been hammered in the last 2 days. Blanked again. However, John landed 5 and David got 1 putting us over the top in the team catagory. An excellent desription of the prizes and winners can be found at Carp on the Fly.

Basalt coulee walls east of Banks Lake

David Nakamoto gets nipples deep for carp

There were many great prizes given away from the awesome sponsors of the event. A huge thanks goes out to the Native Fish Society, Portland and Bellevue Orvis Stores (Mad props out to Adam and Leland!), Idylwilde and Ninkasi for putting on the first ever Carp-ocalypse! We all had a great time and I can't wait till next year!

Hangin' with Mr. P at the Carp Lodge

Deadhead

Deadhead Lake

Many things come to mind when one hears the term "deadhead" like Cherry Garcia ice cream or an acid fried old hippie. No offense to hippies though. I think in general they are great folks. But no one thinks of an isolated little alpine lake that has no trail to it when they hear "deadhead". Looking at Deadhead Lake on map no one would have a clue if there might be fish in it. Only one way to find out.

I have been going on backcountry fishing trips with my friends Dean and Jason for several seasons but I missed the last three years because of life stuff. Jason's friend Mark was also on the trip. This year the plan was Waptus Lake in the Alpine Lakes Wilderness of the Wenatchee National Forest here in Washington.

We made it to Waptus on Saturday July 27 after a late morning start. Jason and Mark started fishing right away on Waptus with spinning gear and were not catching. At that point I had given up on fishing this trip. So I grabbed the map and scanned for possible places were there might be some adventure. 2 miles away and 2500 vertical higher than our camp was Deadhead Lake. It looked like something I could get to and back in a few hours before dark. I took my fly rod just in case.

Fording the Waptus River

Was I in for a rude awakening. The trail portion was 1.5 miles of pure uphill nut-busting fun and then there was the cross country bushwhack with route finding through thick brush and cliff bands.

The Spade Lake Trail

A little scree thrown in for off-trail fun

When I got to Deadhead Lake all the pain of hiking in melted away. The place was amazing! Truly beautiful and I had the whole place to myself. This would have been a campsite in heaven and I felt kind of sad that the others in my party were missing out on the experience. I have been to many isolated high mountian lakes before but Deadhead struck a chord with me. So I looked out into the water. I saw a trout. I strung up my rod and found that same fish right where it was when I first saw it. I let the semi-flashy little bead-headed leech sink down to the fish. White lips pursed and gills flared. Fish on. It was a blissful moment.

The first fish I caught

Cutthroats are so beautiful to me. Trout are pretty fish in general. This was not a puny fish by any means either. I would estimate it at about 10 inches. So I walked along the shore blind casting to rocks and stumps. The gin clear water revealed all structures but I didn't see any more fish.

Snow Casting

Until I got to a spot behind 2 short evergreens where I saw another trout cruising slowly by. I cast out the leech. It sank to eye level right in front of the fish. No movement by the trout at all as if the fly wasn't there. So I gave it a couple of strips. The fish whirled around on the fly. I slowed the strip and the fish turned away. Then I srtipped quickly and steadily. The fish the chased the fly almost to the surface before it ate. Another moment of alpine bliss.

The last fish I caught.

 After catching the last fish I saw no more. Time seemed suspended in this magical place but I soon realized I had to sahwack my way back to the trail. It was an hour in paradise that I hope to find again.

Deadhead Shallows.

On the way back to Waptus camp I took a different route and followed Deadhead Creek down to where it came closest to the Spade Lake Trail. So much beauty involved with this little stream.

Deadhead Creek up high.



Falls on Deadhead Creek.

I had a swim after returning to Waptus camp. The cold water sealed in my Deadhead memories. After a good night's sleep I woke to a still morning. No trout rising on Waptus though. I would have loved to stay another day but the trip out also had some offerings.

Leaving Waptus.

A farewell giver.





I have always loved the mountains and always will. This trip was an enjoyable distraction to my carp obsession which I am eager to promptly resume. Thank you Deadhead!

 

The Trial of the Soft Clam

The Soft Clam in size 6

I have a handful of favorite flies that work pretty well most of the time. San Juan worms, trouser worms, carp carrots and soft hackles all do the trick in the waters I fish. So I got to thinking about a staple in the carp's diet that they eat in all the bottom types in the river, be it a rocky bottom or sandy bottom. That particular food is the freshwater clam. With that in mind I decided to tie a fly that combined elements of my favorites into one that imitates the fresh water clam. Hence the "Soft Clam" was born. I tied this fly in the headstand configuration to have the chenille tail ride up so it might look more like a clam's siphon gently waving in the current. I have no idea if a clam fly has been tied in this fashion before so if anyone has seen such a pattern please tell me. In the past I have tried clam patterns with little success so I wasn't quite sure how this one would do. So naturally I had to try it out.

Saturday 7/21/12



The forecast was for west winds of 7 mph but that was wrong. The sun was high and the river was glass on the flats. You would think that clear, still water would be ideal conditions for carping but in all actuality it is quite tough. I had numerous fish spook from just the slightest plop of the fly on the surface. Especially the biggest ones I casted to. Very frustrating. If anyone has a tip or two for very soft presentations of weighted flies for up to 40 foot casts please do tell. The fish seemed super wary and I had no luck sneaking in close. I did catch a few fish though and I used the soft clam for most of the day.

I caught this typical 10 lb. Columbia carp early in the day.

This was the biggest on the day. My scale said 7.2 kg. Hmm.

There were some of these guys around too.

So far the Soft Clam was successful on the cobble and gravel flats. I just wondered what it would do in different conditions.



 

Sunday 7/22/12

The trial of the Soft Clam continued on some sandy flats a little closer to home on Sunday. It was clear with a west wind of 5 mph which increased to about 15 by the end of the day. I was lucky that this flat was loaded with fish since my time was short. Surface ripple and a little cloudiness in the water allowed me to sneak up on carp. The soft clam got ate left and right. I caught several carp between 8 and 15 to include this mirror.

Mirror carp look so cool.

Another typical guy.

It was the end of the day, the wind was strong and I still hadn't caught a true fatty the whole weekend. A true fatty carp to me is a carp over 20 pounds. So I decided to pack it in and head for home. On my way to shore dozens of carp cruised through the whitecaps. None appeared to be true fatties so I walked on. While I was walking along the shoreline I saw a big black shape about 40 feet from shore. Could this be what I was looking for? So waded out cautiously until I could better make out what the shape was. When I got within about 20 feet I could see a tail the size of sycamore leaf. I maneuvered behind the fish through the waves until I was a rod length away. The soft clam settled near where the head was and big carp's body bowed concave in the direction of the fly. When the hook bit the carp shot straight up head first out of the water and then bolted through the waves like a missile snapping the tippet off while accelerating. I didn't even slow her down. I reeled in the rest of my line and waded out happy to have had a good weekend of carping.

Holy smokes you have come upon truly a once in a lifetime moment! You are reading the very first post of this here blog! Don't you feel special?! Ok enough with the theatrics. If you've found your way here it's probably because you love fly fishing for carp or you are an aquaintance and I told you to drop by. Anyway, I hope that you find these pages first and foremost entertaining and secondly informative. This blog is basically about fly fishing for carp in the Columbia River Basin which includes a lot of carp water and the grandmother to them the all; The Columbia River (a.k.a. the Big "C"). There will also be other stuff thrown in that I enjoy too to include fine brews, back country skiing, hiking etc.

A couple of disclaimers: 1) I am not a professional fisherman or guide in any sense. Just a regular guy fly fisher. 2) Nearly all of my techniques and tactics have been gleaned from, copied, modified from or adapted form great carpers such as Jeremy Kendall, Darce Knoble, Barry Reynolds, John Montana, Mr. P, McTage and several other unmentioned individuals whom articles I have read in various publications over the years. But the greatest contributor to my carp knowledge cache is experience. One can only improve upon their skills if they go out and fish and find out what works for them on particular waters.

So with that being said I will try to catch readers up to the present with a photographic timeline going back to 2008 when I began carping in earnest. I hope that you enjoy these pages and I welcome all constructive comments and inquiries about my trashfishing and funhogging exploits.

And I am going fishing tomorrow so stay tuned.

2008

2010

2010

2011

2011

2011

2011

2011

2011

2012

2012

2012

2012