Carp Culture on the Skids – Lone Star Outdoor News
Much to the surprise of many, the idea and practice of fly fishing for carp is still alive and thriving. I read on some message board recently that fly fishing for carp was “so 2004”, and it made me sit up and take notice. This comment was from a bona fide self-professed, North Texas, carp-on-the-fly-guru.
Not only do I agree with him, I will take it one step further. Some vintages are better than others, as we know, and from the same winery. Sure fly fishing for carp may have hit the zenith in 2004 or thereabouts, but from all appearances it is aging gracefully.
The stalk is on at Ray Roberts Lake in North Texas.
STAYING POWER
Companies are taking note, with all kinds of carp related products. US companies are mostly reactive, so they may be a little behind the 2004 zenith, but better late to the party than never. New carp fly lines, carp flies and anodized carp reels by Abel can be purchased by anyone with the money and a hankering to go overboard.
Will the carp phenomenon sweep fly fishers off their silt soaked Marlwalkers? If it hasn’t already, the answer is – probably not. Carp are a good fix for what ales a lot of fly fishers; they are a worthy opponent, they are big, and they are strong. Sure there will be more converts, and sure there will be some guys always looking to notch another species, but it gets difficult to remain focused as the numbers blur.
Imagine some exotic location that is on par with North Texas for heat and humidity – then keep the pressure on!
Call me crazy, but when I fish for carp, I turn it into an imaginative game of “Bones & Reds”. I try to think about using these experiences to be better at catching Redfish, and maybe someday if I win the lottery, Bonefish. Stealth, presentation and accuracy are all in play just like the big boys on the big trips.
Smallmouth Buffalo keeping Dusty Montgomery significantly slimy.
Now that the Lone Star Outdoor News piece is done and run, I decided to go ahead and do the coup de gras on the whole flats fishing for carp story line – at least from my perspective. Unless carp show up at some new, exotic location (use your own definition of exotic), I think that except for records, this goose may be about cooked on this site.
On a different and more, shall I say hopeful note, the parents are headed for Merida on the Yucatan Peninsula today. I didn’t hesitate to tell them it is, according to highly placed sources, a fly fishing frontier.
So, I will again violate the principals of good blogging here today, and run the entire story and images to finish this chapter on fly fishing for carp on the flats of North Texas.
A smaller common carp caught by Joel Hays. It isn’t silver, and it isn’t red, but it is gold.
Category: Culture on the Skids
