Fly Fishing For Carp – Now Firmly Mainstreamed
Fly fishing for carp was never an “exclusive” thing. If you remember the origins, it was this radical anti-whatever fly fishing was/is attitude that gave some folks a chance to express themselves in new ways never before seen in fly fishing.
Nowadays, with the likes of Dave Whitlock, and many more fly fishing opinion leaders on board with the carp brigade … well fly fishing for carp became “normal” and backslid into the mainstream in the last few years. I’m not sure about the timeline, but one locally (in)famous carp guide who once plied the waters of North Texas, before moving to Texas fly mecca – Austin, Texas, “Carp are so 2004,” and maybe they are.
Funny thing is, with the inward migration to Texas, there are fly fishers from all over the country that are, for better or worse, replanted here in North Texas. That was the case a few weeks ago when I took Jay Buchner and his daughter Chaney out on the flats for some carp on the fly. Mr. Buchner is from Jackson, WY, had a fly shop and was a guide there for many (34?) years. He was also a member of the US Fly Fishing team.
With that background and some fantastic fishing stories to go along with those years, I can hardly wait for the book to come out on Jay Buchner. The great thing is, his daughter has been along, or part of, his fantastic journeys in the name of fly fishing. Needless to say, I didn’t have to give many (if any) instructions to either of them. And to top it off, I received a lifetime supply of coyote fur in the mail about a week ago from Mr. Buchner. Top shelf all the way.
HOT SPOT FISHING THIS WEEKEND
I’ll be staying away from Isle du Bois park for awhile after my loss there, but if you wanted to catch some sand bass for the freezer, now’s the time. The evening bite is on on the points off Isle du Bois, and you can give chase with a kayak and conventional tackle as long as we have the calm weather like we’ve seen the past few days.
Those sand bass make for great Father’s Day tacos off the grill, so I may chance the riffraff at IDB Park to see if I can catch a few for myself. It’s an evening bite, and they are moving like a freight train on top of the water. If it gets too calm, they turn off, but I did see a school of mature adults last night almost casting distance from the park points.
INSTANT GRATIFICATION
I will be checking on the carp today, and guiding a visitor from Minnesota tomorrow, so if you want the latest, keep an eye on the twitter feed @texasflycaster and also on the left sidebar “instagram” photos that pop up there directly from my phone on the water.
DONE DEAL
The only other done deal, besides the loss of that nine weight rod two nights ago, is a trip to Port O’Connor next week. Hmmm, sure could’ve used a nine weight for that (gotta’ rub it in on myself as punishment). I may have the time to lay that out for you before departure.
Category: Culture on the Skids, Destination Fly Fishing
