Fly fishing for carp has opened up a lot of fishing opportunities in a region I am otherwise quite limited in without owning a boat. After several years of plying my craft in local rivers, creeks, lakes, and ponds I began looking elsewhere to satisfy my urge for freshwater ghosts. I found it in an unlikely place I had written […]
Tidal Carp
Carp Tales
As I approached the bank of the pond for the first time this Spring, I immediately saw an image I had not seen in quite some time. A long dark shadow prowled a few feet off shore obscured by turbid water and freshly disturbed detritus. I hunkered down and tied on some fresh 4x and paired it with a size […]
Damsel in Distress SBS
A few years ago, Adam Hope created the Carp Damsel, which is a hybridized version of a damsel and dragon nymph designed to target carp. The fly excelled across a wide range of conditions but made its name fishing mid-column to prowling carp and to bank feeders where the fly was delicately dapped in front of the fish. The […]
SOMETHING has GOTTA give…
For the past 2 months Chicago has been pounded with snow, subzero temperatures, ice, and wind. We broke two records for the coldest days in IL history this winter, we have 52 plus cumulative inches of snow on ground, and another 6 inches coming tomorrow. Everything from creeks to large Rivers are froze over. No open water as far as […]
Summer Sessions
Taking a look back, my last days of summer were well spent. I fished a lot of new water and got to try some new techniques in the process. I had an absolute blast. As summer came to a close salmon and steelhead took my focus away from carp. Carp are #1 in my eyes but swinging flies is #2. […]
Backup Plans
It is late August and there are sporadic reports of good numbers of salmon running through the lower end of the Douglastown Salmon Run. Naturally, my mind wondered to two handers and swinging flies for fresh kings, cohos, browns, and steelhead. The reports elicited enough of a response that I decided to break my one rule for salmon fishing: […]
El Chupacabra
My brother Matt was married on a Friday evening in the Poconos to his ultimate catch, Stacy. The wedding party spent the weekend at a lake house nearby and word on the street was that there were hordes of carp inhabiting the waterway. Needless to say, but along with my wedding attire I packed a truck load of fishing equipment […]
#mulberrytime
The first week of June usually signals the beginning of that special time of year. Mulberry time. The mulberries are now ripe enough to attract the attention of hungry birds and squirrels. Usually multiple squirrels and a variety of birds can be found in a mulberry tree at any given time. They feed on these berries quite aggressively because […]
A Date with the Devils
I often wonder what it would have been like to be born before the advent of modern civilization. A time before pollution, homes, shopping centers and high-rises swallowed our unobstructed view of the natural landscape around us. Back when the only lights to illuminate the sky were the sun, moon and stars. The Devils River on a small-scale represents those […]
Muddy Water Carping
With the heat of summer upon us, it is also time for that annual threat, the severe thunderstorm. Looking at weather forecasts, it seems as if thunderstorms are expected to occur every single day. They come quick and dump an inch or more of rain in a few short hours. For trout streams, this is replenishment. To a warm […]