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Carpe Diem

Tuesday, October 4th, 2011

A couple of weeks ago the guys here at the shop decided it was time for me to be introduced to the fine art of fly fishing for carp.  I have been fly fishing for over forty years now and if anyone had told me the day would come when I would purposely go out and target carp with a fly I would have told them that they were out of their minds.  I know that chasing carp on a fly has become a popular pastime for a number of fly fishermen over the past several years but I have not been able to warm up to the idea.  I have said no way, not me.  But, when Dan and Jim insisted I give it a try, I said what the hell, maybe this old dog could be taught a new trick.  We met at the shop early one morning, loaded up the gear, and headed on over to the upper Missouri River. 

  

The first thing I noticed as we were getting Dan’s boat ready was that Dan had made a few modifications to his skiff.  His boat looked more like a saltwater flats boat than a river dory.  He had outfitted the boat with casting platforms fore and aft.  I would soon learn that the platforms aided in spotting fish at a much greater distance than a standard skiff or drift boat.  I would also learn that this is a real plus when chasing carp.  These fish, as I would also learn rather quickly, can be as sensitive to an anglers’ approach as any spring creek trout.  A funny thing happened on our way to fly fishing for carp.  By the time we had stopped for lunch we had only caught a handful of nice 17 to 19 inch rainbow trout.  This prompted me to ask:  Now there are carp in this river aren’t there?  I couldn’t believe what happened next.  I thought I had entered the Twilight Zone!  The three of us, three guys who have spent their entire adult lives in the fly fishing business for the most part chasing trout, were standing on the banks of the Missouri River cursing the fact that all that we had caught to that point in the day was a handful of lousy trout.  Where were all those sporty carp I had been told about? 

 

 

Well, after lunch, I decided to give Dan a rest from the oars and let him show a couple of rookies how it is done.  It didn’t take Dan long to get into a couple of nice carp and to prove to Jim and I that there were indeed carp in the river and that they could be caught. Of course I couldn’t let him take all of the credit so I boldly suggested that his success had a lot to do with my great oarsmanship.
 

 

 

Before the day was over I was able to hook my first carp on a fly even though I lost the beast when I let it run into the middle of the river and out into the heavy current where it came unbuttoned.  I have to admit by the end of the day I completely enjoyed the experience, especially the visual aspect of carp fishing.  It is very much like bonefish/redfish fishing in salt water and I look forward to next season and the chance to give carp fishing another try.

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This entry was posted on Tuesday, October 4th, 2011 at 3:58 pm and is filed under Montana Fly Fishing, Uncategorized.
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