Carp and Sucker Skunk

I went for bottom feeders today: first carp. The Bell Pond was clearer than usual because of the cold temperatures and the quick cycling due to the high level of the stream flowing into it. I could see fish. They stood out like sore thumbs. Some days like this it can be as easy as getting the fly in front of the fish. Others getting the fly in front of the fish scares the bejesus out of the fish, no matter how it's done. Today was that kind of day. Drag and drop, stripping, light plop, dapping. The few times I found fish that were truly intent on feeding I didn't get a really got shot at them, and all the rest ran for the hills when the fly got anywhere near them. I was pretty sure of myself with one fish, the shot would have taken that fish if had been 6 a.m. on the lake in July. But it turned defiantly and pushed a lot of water when it left.

There is a good reason why I titled this post the way I did, I didn't get totally skunked. I was testing out a new articulated leech pattern I designed yesterday and watched this little monster come up behind it and smash it. Very stunning pattern on it! The fly has some really great action an I can't wait to use it on smallmouth soon.

After that I went with Ehren to check for river herring. We spotted a few suckers bellow the bridge including a monster about 25 inch long. I had my 5 weight with me so I went for it, after all that is the biggest sucker I had ever seen. I too me a few angles to get the heavy fly to drift under its mouth. I had to get up on the bridge and shorten the length of the leader out of the rod tip to about 4 feet. When the fish took and I set it charged upstream, and the loop to loop connection pulled of the tip section of the rod. It went upstream with the rod tip on tow, then back down. It was about to shoot the rapid when it popped of, giving me everything back clean and unbroken. Phew!

We went to Leeseville Dam to see if there were birds there that could indicate a herring run, but the only one around was an osprey that was heard but not seen.