Each trip seems to be a learning opportunity. I had a little time to get in some morning fishing so I headed out to Yellow Creek where I previously located the big schools of carp to see if I could entice another bite. Last time I had a take but my line broke almost instantaneously. This time I was armed with #2 fluorocarbon tippet and a little more confidence that if I hooked one I could get it to shore.
I snuck down into the Rock Trough pool and peeked through the vegetation to see where the fish were laying. This time my plan was to more or less sneak up on them because the water was clear again and the fish could easily see me if I didn’t take precautions. I started with a brown wooly bugger but didn’t entice any bites. I switched over to black but this time with no bead to get a little different action out of the fly. I finally got a perfect drift and when the fly swung I eased it back upstream through a small gathering of carp remembering they have about an eight inch sight window.
As I gently pulled I could feel a subtle but obvious take. I watched one of the larger carp slowly move downstream and the tickle in my fingers confirmed it had my fly. For whatever reason I never gave a solid hook set and just about the time I could feel the massive weight of the fish bend my rod, the fly popped out and the battle ended up being nothing more than a sparring match. That’s when it occurred to me that carp have thick, hard mouths and a sturdy hook set is necessary. It’s basically the opposite of a trout. Another lesson learned the hard way.
I decided to work my way downstream and try to catch whatever was willing to bite. Just above the White Fish pool I ran into a guy that clearly fishes the creek a lot with spinning gear. He reported consistent success at the spillway with nightcrawlers and said his son had recently caught a big smallmouth. He also mentioned a tiger muskie grabbing a bluegill his son had hooked just a few days earlier. That sounded familiar! The bottom line is there are big fish in this stretch of stream but they’re few and far between so you have to be patient. It’s a frustrating creek to chase warm water fish if I’m being honest.
At the bottom end of the White Fish pool I felt a healthy tug on my wooly bugger as I retrieved it and hooked about an eight inch largemouth. He put up a pretty good fight for a little guy. As far as I can remember, it’s the first largemouth I ever caught on a fly rod. Who knew they were even in this stream? It was a fun surprise, but would be the only fish I’d land.
The next time I go carp hunting I’ll have more appropriate gear as my new 11 weight rod is due to arrive on Tuesday. Hopefully we get some rain between now and then because if we don’t the water is going to be bathtub clear.