Waving Tails and Backing

I remember how much I shook the first time I made a cast at a common carp. I'd never caught such a large fish before, and it seemed that, if I hooked it, I'd be in for a proper battle. I didn't then, and it ended up taking a long while before I ever caught a carp. When I did it was on the fly, and I'm still very proud of that. It did indeed fight and fight hard. Since then, I've caught many common carp in many ways: on bait, on the surface, on dry flies, sight casting to tailing fish... and honestly it doesn't matter how I've caught them, it was always extremely enjoyable. They are one of my favorite species to fish for and always will be.

Though I don't get the same tremors I did that first time, I usually still get the shakes when I'm about to make a cast a large tailing carp.

Carp are a fish that can't be forced. You can't get away with bad presentations, you can't force feed them, and they demand subtlety. Often I don't know why a carp spooked or refused the fly, and it happens a lot. That's part of why I love fishing for them. I've been regularly targeting carp about as long as I've been fishing for trout, and though catching trout has become second nature, fishing for carp makes me feel like I still don't know anything. But every once in a while, even a blind squirrel finds a nut.

I walked around the lake shore one morning in late June looking for waving tails. I found a couple, but I only fooled one. I barely remember it, but the fish was tailing, I made a cast, and it turned hard and ate with confidence. It then found backing quite rapidly. I was using my 5wt, a much lighter rod than a started out carp fishing with, but more than adequate for small carp and fish up to about 25 pounds. This fish as somewhere in between. And it was also my first of the year, a few months later than usual. It's hard to be on top of everything, because an awful lot all happens around the same time. Such is the common frustration of the multispecies angler... what should I fish for today?

Fortunately, as summer crept along, he choice would be carp on a handful of key days. The first of the year would not be the last of the year. More waving tails and backing to come in 2020.
Until next time,

Fish for the love of fish.

Fish for the love of places fish live.

Fish for you.

And stay safe and healthy.

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