Summer’s barely gotten cranked up, and yet the flows are at historic lows while the temps climb daily into the upper 90s.
A fly angler’s worst nightmare? Hardly.
While practicing Tai Chi down by the South Platte River’s edge today, I received a couple of phone calls and texts. Yes, they disrupted my zen, and to add insult to injury they all sounded roughly the same: “Them carps are eating everything we throw at them.” Fly fishers being the lying sacks that they are, I returned to form eight, and then pulled a muscle in my left pinky finger. Yes, I’m really out of shape.
Thankfully, there just so happened to be a fly rod laying right beside my cooler full of beer jug of homeopathic tea, so I gave it a cast…
…and discovered that while fly fishers are still liars, the carp have indeed shifted into high gear. They are visibly following flies, turning back after them, and flat out charging after the faux meals when their buddies are nearby. Nothing beats seeing the eat happen, except maybe seeing the next eat, or the one after that. Even better, the Redington/Rio combo I’ve been contracted to destroy is still looking and feeling good as new, which means I’m failing at the task and must step up the efforts.
MG signing off (because if you can’t beat the heat you might as well join it)
EDITOR’S NOTE: Special thanks goes out to Andy “Bondo” Bond, former Gore Creek trout guide, for the transportation, the photo, and the icy cool beverages.