Another lapse in posts and just like that, the month of May is behind us. I stayed busy and made time to be on the water more days than not last month. Sometimes only in very short intervals, but just enough to stay refreshed and of sound mind.
Made a visit to the lake where all this craziness began for me many moons ago. Fishing is always an important part of the lake experience, but it happens at a different pace than I'm accustomed to on my home waters.
The simplicity of standing (or better yet, sitting) on the edge of the dock, making the same cast over and over again, working out the kinks and taking the occasional sunfish on a popper is in an ironic sort of way, liberating.
By my estimation we're about a full month behind last year in terms of the seasonal activity of our local warm-water quarry, at least in my neck of the woods. Carping has been good but not great on most days, as many of the fish are still finishing up their spawn. I have a feeling that the next stable warm weather pattern will set off a feeding frenzy and dramatically increase the number of shots in an average outing. In the mean time, we're picking them off one by one when we find 'em...
The first batch of CARP hats went out last week, so I expect subsequent fish porn to be streaming into my inbox any day now! My own lid continues to build good mojo. The brute pictured above came from some big water that I shared for a brief stint with our buddy Greg Senyo - water I've driven over for years without visiting. I won't be making that mistake again! We spotted the fish sliding up a rock ledge to feed, tailing back out of the water. He sucked up a new fly that Greg had loaned me which I was eager to copy until I lost it on an errant hook set. So I went back to the drawing board with borrowed ideas and cooked up a fresh batch...
I've been having fun testing new carp bugs this year and have landed fish on well over a dozen different patterns. Still haven't dialed in a sure-fire "closer" but we're getting there.
June holds a lot of promise and some big plans, most notable of which is the grand tour of the state to the north that Alex and I have dialed up for the end of this month. Skipping the Trout Crusade this year and opting to stay a bit closer to home for a multi-species affair that could include carp, smallmouth, muskie, and pike. Who knows? We might even cast at a trout or two for good measure. Departure date is 3 weeks out, so stay tuned for the play by play.
We're also excited to be participating in the August 17th Three Rivers Carp Cup, hosted by 3 Rivers Angler fly shop out of Knoxville, TN. Going to make a full-on roadie out of it and sample some of the local water while we're down there, before hopefully returning home with a custom-made H2 carp saber...
Few mini-trips lined up in the interim and I'll try to be a little more prompt with the subsequent write-ups. The offer still stands for anyone who wants to join me on the Big D this summer or The Upper Mississippi this fall!
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