Hobby Sports

Today was an interesting day. This is the first time Ive ever had a miserable carp outing and was not upset about it, well up until I snapped my favorite T&T Helix 5WT SW. Thats the second time Ive busted this rod. The first time I snapped the tip by slamming my clouser at it while fishing Newport Bay with Yosh a few years ago. At least that time I was casting to fish. Today on the other hand I broke it retrieving a plastic bag. A PLASTIC BAG!!!! Up until then I was actually having a good time even though I was not hooking up with any fish.

The carp are spawning and have taken to the tules to mate. They are making quite a ruckus and its very entertaining and quite scary at times when youre not ready for it. Its the same feeling when a quail suddenly flushes at your feet after a long day of seeing no birds. It startles you pretty good. I literally saw 100 carp today. Most were thrashing in the tules. Others were chasing others off. I saw a pod of about 6, shoulder to shoulder causing havoc, splashing water everywhere. The fishing was near impossible. Firstly the wind was out of control. The 5wt was quite the chore to cast. Secondly most fish were in the reeds and the garbage, both natural and man made, in the water was excessive. Youd hook up on something almost every other cast. Its was annoying. Not that it mattered as the fish were all tight lipped and refusing even the most perfectly presented fly. There was one giant thrashing about in the center of the water that probably provided me the best opportunity for a catch. Unfortunately he was bit out of casting distance although that did not stop me from trying to get a fly to him. I got in the water in an attempt to give me better casting room. In doing so the muddy ground started to give and I started sink slowly until my wellington boots started to fill with that nasty ass smelling water. I managed a few casts where actually good ones too but he refused all my offerings before I repositioned myself. He was big, may have been as big or bigger than the 9.5lber I caught just a few days ago.

The carp were pretty tolerant of my presence and not nearly as spooky as usual. In fact I had several near my feet before rushing off. I even had one bump my Wellingtons. Eventually I realized that these fish had no interest in eating so I mentally quite fishing although I did throw a line here and there. That is when I should have stopped. I made one cast and got caught up in a plastic bag. Foolishly I yanked it to shore thereby snapping the tip section. GREAT. I guess its off to Marriotts to send it back to T&T.

Luc awarded with a 3.5 pound LMB after making a great cast in less than ideal conditions.

I had to decline two different invitations to fish this weekend- one to the wild trout section of the Kern and another to the East Walker.  I really wanted to get on a trout stream, its been too long and with the local waters in a critical state I was bummed I could not get on some trout.  So when Luc invited me to fish Canyon Lake once again I jumped at the chance.  Luc the Jedi Master last weekend had an epic topwater bite.  His popper was producing bass including a four pounder, every half dozen to dozen casts until the sun started hitting the water.  So today I was hoping for some of the same. 

The first bass of the day a 2pounder

I awoke just before 4am and made the hour drive to Canyon Lake to meet Luc at his house at 5am.  We were on the water within minutes and headed to the east side of the lake.  Luc is a topwater fanatic and we planned to fish poppers as long as we could find shade.  Within the first few minutes, I casted to a clump of grass and I was distracted by a swirl six feet in front of my fly when a swirl came just under my popper.  Again my topwater misfortune continues and I was too slow to react.  This season Ive yet to get a bass on topwater yet despite having more than my fair share of blowups.   Luc was the first to get one a bass, a two pounder. 

My three pounder, finally a bass on topwater

On the next section I made my cast and as I popped my fly I moved, for whatever reasons, my attention away from the fly as I continued to pop the fly my line went heavy.  Instinctually I lifted the rod and set the hook and the rod came alive.  Fish on!  Of course my first fish this year on topwater would be from dumb luck and not from skill (or lack of skill).  The bass gulped the fly from beneath and inhaled it.  I brought it in and it was a very respectable three pounds.  I cant recall within these drifts how many bass we missed but it was a handful.  We moved to a deeper point on the lake and I casted where Luc suggested and after a few pops of the fly I had a blow up.  Focused I managed to get finally get a truly legit bass on topwater.  This fish was smaller but I didnt care.  Getting bass on topwater is the name of the game.

Another for Luc

Fog starting to wear off

This morning it was not my intention to hit the water but after some thought I decided to head out. With no pending work I needed to get done, I said what the hell. It was just after 10am when I hit the water. With a somewhat overcast sky and the fact the water was high and murky, I knew it was going to be a rather difficult time. I was still fishing the same line I was yesterday. I really should have used another, that line is simply too old and dirty to cast effectively. I blew a few shots because of it.

I managed to come to a point and I look out in the distance and noticed a retriever in the water ahead with his owner walking on the pathway. Great, I thought to myself that dog just spooked every fish in now. The owner paid little attention to him and when the dog came to me, I greeted it only to be jump on with his wet and muddy body. I screamed out HEY! The owner didnt even acknowledge it and called his dog back. Fucking Asshole. Not only I am wet and cover in putrid black muck, now all the fish upstream and downstream are spooked.

Great, after that I basically called it a day.

Looks like I shit myself

Not long after I managed a 4.5 pounder.  After releasing it, I hadnt noticed I was in some sinking mud.  I was at least shin deep in the mud before I moved and lost  my balance.  I feel right on my ass landing in some of the nastiest black mud ever.  Although I couldnt see I could only imagine what it looked like-as if I shit my pants.  To clean my pants I squatted over the water as if to take a dump and started scooping water on my ass while trying to clean off the mud.  I only wished one of my fishing buddies were around to witness this as it must have been hilarious.  Thankfully this area is not widely used by joggers or morning walkers as I cant imagine what they would have thought I was doing.


I started to make my way back to the truck looking for tails on the way back.  A pod of 5 of so rather large carp were on the other side of the river.  I double hauled to reach the other side.  I lost connection with the fly line with my stripping hand.  The carp took it on the drop.  I set the hook with only one hand by rotating my waist to the right.  Surprisingly the fish was on.  This one was about 3.5.

While trying to cast in front of a cruising carp I spooked it but continued to strip and felt a light bump.  As I pulled him in I noticed it was a baby bass.  Its nice to see that the bass have successfully bred.  This is only the third bass Ive ever caught out of here.  All fish caught on a BH Rubber-Legged Hares Ear on a Sage 6 wt XP with Abel Pt5.

Pale Mallard?  Ive never seen one before.

Yesterday Chul asked me if I wanted to go carping after he gets off work.  I gave him a rather unenthusiastic response of maybe and asked him to call me when he gets off work and Id let him know.  Waking up this morning I had a hankering to get a tug so I headed out to the local brown water to see if I could get a carp on a fly.  It was a waste of time and instead of getting hepatitis or some other waterborne disease I should have stayed home.  The moment I stepped out of the car it stunk.  Water is too deep and murky to successfully sight cast.  I made a few pointless blind casts until I noticed a dark blob in the water so I made a few casts to it not knowing exactly which side was the head.  I got a tug and I set foolishly set the hook like a trout and ripped the fly out of its mouth.  Game over and I quit after that and let Chul dont even bother coming.  I did see two large carp launch themselves out of the water but both were too far to cast to, besides I have never found casting to jumping carp to be successful.  The only positive today was I saw a pale mallard, a bird Ive never seen before.

I keep losing good fish!  What the hell is going on?  This afternoon, bored out of my mind I decided to see how my local brown water was fishing.  The water has lowered somewhat but is still off colored more so than Id like it.  Today I stacked the odds against me.  First I dont like fishing the afternoon since the winds create too much ripples and so its hard to sight fish.  Second I fished my Sage TCR 6 weight that is lined with a warmwater bass line.  Way over powered for delicate presentations.  Not to mention its orange.  Bright orange.  Third since I was way too lazy to change the existing tippet, that leader on the line was probably a year old if not more since I dont fish the 6 weight that often.
I spent most of my time trying to find fish.  When I was about give up I decided to hit up an area Ive neglected for a while.  How things have changed.  The islands and tulies have been moved and so it channelizes the water.  Its gin clear, it almost seems as if youre on an English chalk stream.  That is if chalk streams smelt like ass, were loud with traffic noises, devoid of any clean water fish and had water that would make you sterile.  Other than that, yeah, very similar to a English chalk stream.  There were at least 15 large carp in here.  Casting was tough so I moved away from it and approached them from downstream. I had to wade and that didnt help my cause.  They spooked after several casts.  So I moved up and started blind casting into the weeds.  My rod went heavy and at first I thought it to be garbage until I lifted the beast out of the water and exposed its side.  It was at least a 2 pound bass, a pig for this water.  He never fought, he was limp as a Dirk Diggler and just as big.  He got off somehow after I exposed his side.  This month Ive been losing way too many good fish...

That doesnt smell like mud...