Anyone Been Out Lately?

[henda11]

has anyone been out in the past couple of days ? whether it be eyeing up some swims, looking for carp? or fishing? let me know as i like to read people's stories?

[AnnaWerner]

Saturday was a GORGEOUS day, and I decided I had had ENOUGH of sitting aroung waiting for the "perfect" day to go fishing. (Saturday is never perfect, as it's usually so busy at the shop.) So, I waited until our employee arrived at noon, threw together some stuff (forgetting my log book and unhooking mat ), and ran for it! Settled on a spot where there was barely enough room for two rods and myself if I parked all my other gear a bit up the bank. The spot was pretty close to a spot I had tried and never had any luck at, but I figured it still couldn't hurt to try it. I had one rod already rigged up for doughbait and another with a hair-rig, and I was too lazy to cut off the doughbait rig, so I slopped some molasses doughbait on the one line and both garbonzo beans and Pescaviva Scopex corn (the last I had!) on the other. Threw out a few handfuls of mixed garbonzos and corn (trout-pellet-flavoured, as I'd put the last kernels of Scopex on the hair), sat, and waited. At least 3 hours. Scared the crap out of a muskrat when I cast, which kept me giggling for a while. Dozed in the sun. Jumped about a mile when something messed with the doughbait but didn't really pick up. Finally had to stand up and stretch my legs, and as I was wandering around, the rod with the corn and garbonzos went off. Fish was just a little guy (about 5 lbs), but it attracted a crowd, all of whom thought it was the biggest fish they had ever seen. AND it was my FIRST CARP OF THE YEAR!!! SO, I had some guy take a picture for me, even though the fish was small. Poor thing; I could NOT get the hook out, even though it was just hooked in the lip (totally embedded), so I had to cut the hooklength, then the fish flopped so much he got his dorsal fin spine tied up in the net mesh, and the effort of getting it out actually busted the spine. So, he learned a PAINFUL lesson that day.

 

Karma got me, I guess, on Sunday, when we went up to the Rifle River for some sucker-fishing. Maybe because I had sorely injured a Carp the day before, I had the WORST luck: leaving behind schedule, a raging headache, tangles, snags, and overall bad mood. But finally I caught one sucker, so I was tied with Dad. After that, all else was forgotten because I HAD TO BEAT DAD! I did, too, 5 to 1 (maybe because I hadn't killed the Carp, just beat it up a bit ) It was also great experience in fishing a fast-moving river around lots of other people, something I had never done before. It was also a hoot finding white goo on my pant leg after handling a sperm-laden male sucker . . .

 

Pictures to come, but I have to get a disk developed with my 35mm film, being as I am still living in the Stone Age.