Grass Carp 2015

I feel very fortunate to have finally caught another Grass Carp on a fly rod.  I caught it last night out of a local public pond.

I went to the pond because it has Grass Carp, but considering all the fruitless (for Grass Carp) trips I've made to this pond, I'm forever optimistic, but know my chances of catching one are pretty slim.

So, I went to the pond to target bluegills.  I grabbed the 5wt rod out of the car, instead of the 6wt I've normally been using (because I often want to cast wind resistant bass poppers at these ponds).  It had 3X tippet (~8 lb test).  Many bluegills were in shallow close to shore.  So, I went with at gray Boa Yarn Leech tied on a #8 dry fly hook (for less weight).  This allowed the fly to be worked with a nice action, slowly, without it sinking much.  I think this was key.  And, I'd previously caught 2 (maybe 3?) Grass Carp on a Boa Yarn Leech.  I knew they might go for it.

There were lots of people out fishing....I counted at least 13 other anglers on this pond during the 2 hours I was there.  I worked my way down a shoreline that others weren't fishing.  I saw a few signs that there might be Common Carp or Grass Carp around...but the swirls could also have been bass or catfish.

I caught some smallish bluegills, had a nice crappie on that  shook free near shore.  Further down the shore, I saw some more large swirls and activity.  Before I could fish my way along to that area, 2 other anglers came down and stood on shore there and fished.  They seemed oblivious to the occasional large swirls.  I didn't see them catch anything, and after about 1/2 hour, they left.

It was getting dark.  I moved to within casting range, but still kept a reasonable distance away.
I kept casting around the area.  Finally, I got a strike. Subtle, could have been a small bluegill.  I set the hook....

....and instantly, all HECK broke loose!  It was like somebody threw 3 bombs into the water....thrashing, super-loud exploding tail slaps...complete mayhem!  Threw giant waves across the pond!  Then it took off like a torpedo and porpoised out of the water twice as it headed for the middle of the pond.  After that, it was much more docile.  Despite my completely undersized gear, I was able to lead the fish around much of the time.  I walked it about 70 yards down the shoreline to a spot where I thought I might have a chance of landing the fish.  It made some runs to deeper water, but it would then let me bring it back to the shallows, before taking off again.  It was back-and-forth for quite a while, I was soaked from stepping in the water trying to get a grip on this fish several times.  I finally was able to land the fish.  I was SO EXCITED!!!  I was bummed nobody was around to take a better picture of me with this fish.

I'm not sure what the total duration of the fight was...It didn't seem quite as long as the 20 minute battle I had with one a couple years ago...so maybe 12-15 minutes?  As I mentioned, she became very docile after the first minute or two.  I feel like I won this round with patience rather than the strength of my equipment!  I'm STILL so excited about it!

This is my biggest Grass Carp so far...it measured 41.5" in length, with a calculated weight of 35.5 lbs!

I tried to get a picture of me with the fish, it didn't turn out very well, since it was with the low-resolution camera on my iPhone, which had no flash...and it was really dark out.  This was the best I could get.  I'm holding the fish tight to my chest.  It was THAT big!

Finally! Fly Rod Grass Carp #4!!

I finally FREAKING did it!!  After 2 seasons of not being able to land any Grass Carp (hooked yes, landed no)., I finally got fly rod Grass Carp #4 last night!  Total surprise, too.

My son had gymnastics last night, and my daughter went along for the ride.  After dropping him off, and the remaining two of us eating a nice healthy Taco John's dinner, I drove us to a nearby city pond.  My daughter stayed in the car to work on some schoolwork she had brought along.

I had 3 fly rods in the vehicle...a 5wt, a 6 wt, and a 7wt.  In general, this pond is good for catching some smallish panfish.  I had never seen a grass carp in this pond.  So, naturally, I selected the lightest of the 3 rods.  I was catching a few bluegills here and there, nothing major.  I was trying different fly patterns, hoping something would excite the fish.  I had put this fly on:

It was unweighted, and pushed quiet a bit of water, and sank very slowly.  It also made a good little "splat" when it hit the water.  I think all of this played a part in causing the Grass Carp to strike it.

I worked my way along the shoreline, and cast towards a small clump of floating algae that was floating about 30' off shore.  Something swirled on the fly.  I set the hook and missed, and suspected the fish was just a bluegill.  I immediately tossed the fly right back into that spot.  A fish lunged, grabbed, and darted to the side with the fly.  I set the hook, saw the fish, and knew right away I FINALLY had another Grass Carp on.  I was so excited!

Once I decided the fish was hooked well enough to stay on the line for awhile, I started trying to find a place to land the fish.  I had no net with me.  When a shore angler hooks a big fish and doesn't have a net or partner to help with landing the fish, the best situation you can hope for is some shallow water that you can drag the fish into so that it has to turn on its side.  Once on its side, it loses its advantage in the water, and can be landed at that point.  At this pond, the shoreline is limestone rip rap, which dropped almost straight off into knee-deep water.  There was just once spot that was a little bit shallower (but not shallow enough to "beach the fish")...where I could at least stand in the water and maybe try to land the fish while in the water. So, I got in the water.  The fish was constantly going back and forth.  I had collected some clumps of floating algae on my fly line, leader, and tippet.

 I checked the time on my phone.  I figured I was in for a long battle.  I was very skeptical that I would ever actually land this fish.  I continued fighting the fish.  Mostly it was the constant back-and-forth, with the occasional darting for deeper open water.  My daughter was in the car just 50' away, but since I was down the bank, standing in the water, she probably couldn't see what I was doing.  She was still working on her homework or reading a book.  I called her.  She answered, knew it was me, but couldn't hear me.  So, I just started waving my hand towards her, beckoning her to come to the shoreline.  She saw me, got out of the car and walked over.  I explained what was going on.   I told her I wasn't sure I could land this fish, and I wanted her to see it, and maybe she could take some video of the battle with her iPhone.  She did.  After 5-10 minutes, I told her the fish was tiring, but we seemed to still be at our stalemate.  So, she stopped taking video and went back to the car.

While she had been shooting video, I had been trying keep lifting the fish towards the surface and get its head up.  After my daughter got back to the car, I tried it again, and this time the fish let me KEEP its head above water.  So, I dragged the fish towards me.  It came, without spooking or thrashing this time, so I guided its head straight towards the rocks along the shoreline, and got its head up on a rock.  It still didn't thrash, so I dropped my rod in the water and grabbed the fish and carried it up onto shore.

No doubt about it, I was a VERY HAPPY GUY!

Chunky Fish.  It measured 30.5", with an (probably under-)estimated weight of 14 lbs.

After the photos, I got it back in the water to revive it, and within a couple of minutes, it swam out of my hands.

Hopefully I can get the videos added to this blog soon.