Chasin' Carp

It has been awhile since I last posted, mainly because I was in D.C for a week, and have been extremely busy with commercial tying.  But, I did manage to get out and fish quite a bit recently. I chased smallies from the bellyboat, largemouth on shad patterns, and most recently, carp on the flats of my local lake.  All of the above events were exciting, but I just can't seem to get enough of carp fishing on the fly.  It really is an amazing experience, and it will truly challenge you as an angler.

About to set out in pursuit of smallies

Nice grassie...these things fight like a saltwater fish!

As I was patrolling the edges of my local lake, I noticed a cloud of mud, indicating that the fish had spooked. As I cursed at myself for blowing my opportunity, I realized that the fish hadn't spooked, but was instead mudding (sifting through mud on the bottom in order to get nutrients) in a circular motion, creating the cloud of mud that I had seen. I put my fly in front of him, and with a little kick of his tail, he engulfed that pattern. With a swift lift of the rod, he took off for the nearest cover, but was slowly brought to hand.

Common carp that finally showed his identity through the murk of the mud cloud

This guy took me in to my backing quicker than I could blink

Overall, it has been an eventful couple of weeks, and I look forward to hearing how fishing was if any of you got the chance to hit the water.  I am headed to the Taylor River, Antero Reservoir, and Delaney Buttes in a little over a week, so I will be sure to let you know how things went. 

Other than that, I am hoping to get a tying tutorial up sometime before my trip, but I want to know what you guys would like to see. There are so many tutorials already out there, but if there is something specific that you would like to see, please don't hesitate to let me know. It is greatly appreciated!