It's been a lousy Fall for carp so far. I'm sure that I deserve some of the blame - I've missed plenty of fish and maybe I haven't spent as much time on the water as in the past. However, I have noticed some definite differences this year. For example, in the late Summer and … Continue reading "F" for Fall →

I took a new friend fishing last week. Toby recently moved to Nashville from Florida and was interested in carp so I took him to one of my more consistent spots where we spent the morning (and a good portion of the afternoon!) throwing flies at fish. Toby did very well for a first timer. … Continue reading Bycatch →

Some time ago Drew, a friend of mine from way back, called me and asked if I tied my own flies."Sure" I told him."OK, I'm sending you something."That was pretty much the extent of the conversation.A few days later I received an envelope with no letter. Instead, it contained a single flight feather from a … Continue reading Special Delivery →

We're just back from a trip on the Trans-Siberian Railroad, a nearly 5000 mile journey from Moscow to Beijing. We spent several days in Severobaikalsk, a small city at the northern tip of Lake Baikal. The lake has about half the surface area of Lake Michigan, but at over a mile deep it holds more fresh … Continue reading Trans-Siberian →

I recently met Gil, a fellow carp angler, through a mutual friend. Via email we have been sharing some of our favorite fishing spots. Gil mentioned an urban pond near town that is full of small carp.Not wanting to fight the crowds on the Fourth of July Weekend I decided instead to check out this … Continue reading Trophy Hunting →

 Fishing can be addictive. I don't think it is a chemical addiction. Thrilling moments are too short and too few to qualify fishing as an adrenaline rush, and it is simply not aerobic enough to produce a "runner's high." Instead I suspect that the addiction is more cerebral. Like an obsession with golf, catching fish … Continue reading Highs in the 90’s →

Things finally worked out so that I could take Miles on the carp fishing trip that he won back in February. The recent flooding has temporarily restricted my carp fishing to one lake. So that's where we headed.The wind picked up off and on, and the sun hid behind the clouds some but overall the … Continue reading Free Ride →

I returned the next morning, determined to land a grass carp. I had tied some simple dry flies to resemble the flowery stalks I had seen the fish eating. The weather was a bit overcast and it was sprinkling rain off and on, just enough to keep most people at home. I had the water to … Continue reading Amur-ous Diversion →

Last weekend I heard that people had been catching buffalo on the Caney Fork river. I have not solved the puzzle that is catching buffalo on the fly but from what I understand the key is timing. In the spring, the buffalo stampede upriver to their spawning grounds. The strategy for catching them is the … Continue reading Catfish, Interrupted →

The new pump arrived for the boat! I usually prefer to avoid the Sunday crowds but today I decided to go out and look for some fish anyway.The conditions weren't great. The wind blew pretty hard and from time to time it would change directions. Nevertheless I found carp feeding along the shorelines who were … Continue reading Rare Treat →