Hit Rush Run yesterday from 11A till 3P. The thunderstorms sprang up all around me, but not close enough to do anything more than make it partly cloudy and very humid. I wouldn't have known about the storms if I didn't hear it on the radio when I left the lake.
Because of the very humid conditions and lighter breezes there were a lot less cicadas on the water, though still enough to cause some surface action. I found a bank which ran parrallel to the wind direction and quickly spotted a few cruising carp. Tied the canoe to some standing timber (I'm getting smarter about solo boat handling) with a quick-release slip knot. Shook out abot 30 feet of fly line and made a presentation to the next big carp swimming along the bank. She was a big one - perhaps 20lbs. I was fishing a 6wt with 5lb test tippet in an IGFA set-up leader (just in case). I dropped the cicada imitation with a slight splat about three feet in front of and two feet to the side of the cruising carp. She turned and came up to the fly and I was thrilled thinking I was going to get a take on my first good cast. Wrong!
About two inches from the fly, in mid-rise, the carp turned and bolted leaving a huge boil in the water!
Several more carp passed along the lane I was fishing. One fish came up in a perfect "nose out" rise and took the fly under but I was too quick on the gun. I pulled the fly out from under the carp, scaring the bejesus out of it. It bolted with a huge bow wave and lots of noise. I figured that spot was too hot from spooked carp to fish (I understand carp release a pheromone when frightened which can put most fish in a "tense" mode for up to twenty minutes after the spook). Moved on to another spot.
A cruising carp towards the canoe presented a perfect presentation opportunity. 35 feet out and closing slowly. False cast low to the water and drop the fly gently about 2' in front of the fish. She came up and I watch the fly go under the fish's head. I waited three more seconds until the line came tight and started to move before strip-striking the fish. She was very big and took line with authority. My canoe was being towed along in an Ohio version of a Nantucket Sleigh Ride when the big girl headed into some standing timber. It wasn't more than a minute before she rubbed the fly off on a log. The tippet was abraded for nearly two feet above the fly!
Several more carp did the head-and-tail rise thing only to spook at the very last second. I am not sure if the issue was scent, a fly that was not a perfect imitation, or drag on the fly from a tight tippet. Can carp even see something which is 3" in front of their nose? Do they have stereo vision? I can't imagine a carp being that selective to a fly pattern or even slight drag, when the live insect struggles mightily in the water. I crushed a cicada and rubbed it on one fly to see if scent was the issue, but I still ended up with refusal rises. Very curious and a problem I'll need to figure out in the next two weeks - or wait seventeen more years for another crack at it.
Oh yeah, the bass weren't as picky as the carp. I caught five bass (largemouth) from 12" to 17". And a bunch of mid-sized bluegills which finally look like they are getting on the beds.
Tight lines!
Joe C.
Because of the very humid conditions and lighter breezes there were a lot less cicadas on the water, though still enough to cause some surface action. I found a bank which ran parrallel to the wind direction and quickly spotted a few cruising carp. Tied the canoe to some standing timber (I'm getting smarter about solo boat handling) with a quick-release slip knot. Shook out abot 30 feet of fly line and made a presentation to the next big carp swimming along the bank. She was a big one - perhaps 20lbs. I was fishing a 6wt with 5lb test tippet in an IGFA set-up leader (just in case). I dropped the cicada imitation with a slight splat about three feet in front of and two feet to the side of the cruising carp. She turned and came up to the fly and I was thrilled thinking I was going to get a take on my first good cast. Wrong!
About two inches from the fly, in mid-rise, the carp turned and bolted leaving a huge boil in the water!Several more carp passed along the lane I was fishing. One fish came up in a perfect "nose out" rise and took the fly under but I was too quick on the gun. I pulled the fly out from under the carp, scaring the bejesus out of it. It bolted with a huge bow wave and lots of noise. I figured that spot was too hot from spooked carp to fish (I understand carp release a pheromone when frightened which can put most fish in a "tense" mode for up to twenty minutes after the spook). Moved on to another spot.
A cruising carp towards the canoe presented a perfect presentation opportunity. 35 feet out and closing slowly. False cast low to the water and drop the fly gently about 2' in front of the fish. She came up and I watch the fly go under the fish's head. I waited three more seconds until the line came tight and started to move before strip-striking the fish. She was very big and took line with authority. My canoe was being towed along in an Ohio version of a Nantucket Sleigh Ride when the big girl headed into some standing timber. It wasn't more than a minute before she rubbed the fly off on a log. The tippet was abraded for nearly two feet above the fly!
Several more carp did the head-and-tail rise thing only to spook at the very last second. I am not sure if the issue was scent, a fly that was not a perfect imitation, or drag on the fly from a tight tippet. Can carp even see something which is 3" in front of their nose? Do they have stereo vision? I can't imagine a carp being that selective to a fly pattern or even slight drag, when the live insect struggles mightily in the water. I crushed a cicada and rubbed it on one fly to see if scent was the issue, but I still ended up with refusal rises. Very curious and a problem I'll need to figure out in the next two weeks - or wait seventeen more years for another crack at it.
Oh yeah, the bass weren't as picky as the carp.
I caught five bass (largemouth) from 12" to 17". And a bunch of mid-sized bluegills which finally look like they are getting on the beds.Tight lines!
Joe C.
