john montana
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Posts posted by john montana
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I fished sunday with a buddy, and we only saw a few fish. Fortunately my wife is a saint, and could tell that i needed some more decompression before monday, so i headed out sunday evening to highway cone's lake to see what i could find. To make a long story short, I hooked 3 fish, all of which broke me off. two of the three were big fish in the 20 lb range (one female was really big.) I was fishing a bigger leader than i normally do (3x instead of 4x) and still managed to lose 3 fish.
well, that meant i just had to take a vacation day tuesday. i had heard rumors of 20 lb fish in a pond about 30 minutes from the house. the rumors are true. i hooked the biggest carp i've ever seen...probably close to 30 lbs. i had good control of the fish but he made a final run to the lilly pads, and i had to put the breaks on him...pop...that was that. a 4th fish broken off.
i hit a few other spots, and landed a small 5 lb fish and an 8 lb fish (great take...i jigged the fly in front of him while hiding in the bushes and he sort of jumped through the water column to eat it...really cool.) i also sawsome more big fish in the high teens, maybe 20 lbs...hooked 3 of them, broke them all off.
so i've now broken 7 of the last 9 fish off...i would say 6 of these fish would be 15 lbs minimum...several i know were 20 and two really big ones.
this week i'll chuck all my tippet spools and leaders, and buy all new stuff. still, i can't help but think it is not an equipment failure...more of a case of lost mojo...
i'll bet highway cone stole it...he looked smug today ignoring my flies...heh heh...
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it has been a wonderful experience so far. every day when i get home elia and I go out to any water i can find within 10 minutes of the house (in OR there is a lot of water!) and walk around. I don't bring the rod, we just explore and look at the ducks. most of the time these are tiny creeks on a map, no fish or anything. the other day i came across a small pond just loaded with 12-15 inch bass and tons of panfish. we saw tons of fish. i had permission to walk, but not fish, so i'm working on that part. she loves water, and the times we spend together fishing and walking the banks of creeks/sloughs/ponds/lakes/rivers are special. i know she won't want to tag along forever, so i'm soaking it up while i can.
we have a son due in august, and i know that will be a whole different experience. i'm really looking forward to watching the two of them grow together.
but tomorrow...i'm taking the day off and chasing down rumors of 20 lb carp in a pond about 30 minutes away. if i find 'em, i'll let you guys know!
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i fish with elia as much as possible. in fact, i would venture a guess that she is the only one year old that cold say "fly rod", "reel", and "fish." she has fun riding in the pack and we sing songs and she makes duck noises. really a lot of fun, and my wife gets a break at least one morning a weekend to sleep in! elia saw her first carp at about 5 months of age, and her first fish at about 4 months (a couple of smallmouth bass.)
here is one of my favorite pictures of her from when she was about 9 months old...she is 15 months now, and getting bigger every day! she is kind of heavy to lug around now!
this picture was taken with a camera phone, not great quality but i love it anyway. she is holding an old fiberglass rod i fish with every once in a while. i hope she grows up to love fishing and the outdoors as much as i do!
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I got an email from KB yesterday detailing his first carp on the fly. He caught nice 5 lb fish on a prince nymph yesterday afternoon. I mentioned to him that Elia and I would be out this morning and KB emailed me this gem:
"I might see ya tomorrow. It's carp or cutts. Not sure which yet."
Seeing as how he beat me to the pond this morning, I think it is safe to say the addiction is starting! heh heh...
Good to fish with KB this morning. Elia had a good time in the backpack watching the ducks, and we both caught fish. KB caught this great 5lb fish on a hare's ear:
I landed 3 or 4, with one being a nice little black and orange koi! not a monster koi like highway cone, but pretty neat anyway.
good to get out this morning in beautiful weather!
Edit...here is a shot of that little koi...best part about this picture is elia in the background!
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beautiful fish mr. p! i am jealous of that monster. by the way, i sent you a PM, but not sure if it went through...let me know if you didn't get it...
i am going to get out sunday for some carp action, but not where the grass carp hang out. i better do some research and find some spots. that is a great fish...i really would like to add a grass carp to the list!
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thanks for the tips guys. i am still hesitant to chum...we all draw our own lines and i'm trying to stay away from chumming or using bait. so far i have been able to find and catch carp without chumming them up, but i know the grass carp will be tough. i only know one place for them, and while i'm stalking the flats for commons they'll just kind of appear (like a shark actually!). i'll tie up some grass/algae flies and give it a go. i might have to ignore the commons and stalk around looking for the big grass carp with the fly all set. good to have a plan!
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let's see those pics Mr. P!
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how about a serious discussion? tactics with a fly, patterns, etc? there are very few out west here, but I do know of a place where i've seen some 40 inch fish, and they ignore my fly with almost as much disdain as highway cone. i've yet to even hook one of these things, and the closest lake I have found them is about 80 miles out. with that in mind, i'd like to go after them armed with the best info possible!
any tips out there?
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congrats! you are really in trouble now...
the next thing you know you'll be emailing every state/city/county agency you can find asking for maps of all the small ponds/lakes in your area. then they'll send you some interactive joy that you can scroll around looking for water on and you'll waste tons of time plotting locations that look carpy on a computer screen...
seriously, you are in for it now! heh heh...
great fish!
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good guys...slowly but surely they are coming around to carp fishing. dave (of highway cone II fame) has been out with me several times. he is one of 3/4 people that know where highway cone lives! good guy, a real pleasure to fish with.
carp on the fly is picking up out here in OR.
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ahh fislux...than you don't know Westfly! heh heh...that is the OR forum i spend a lot of time on...good site with some good info including the world famous (heh heh) Wilted Spinach. a great trout fly tied by yours truly! before i learned the ways of carp on the fly, i threw lots of flies at trout...since then...not so much!
check out the wilted:
http://www.westfly.com/patterns/wet/wiltedspinach.shtml
there is a forum button on there somewhere. the OR boys gave me a bad time about highway cone!
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john montana is not my real name, just what i go by on line. glad to hear you got another mirror eich. i'm hoping to catch a mirror this year, but i have seen very few out here. i'll track one down eventually. i got out this morning with my daughter elia in the backpack. i was fishing a fiberglass rod i bought on ebay for $10 and managed to land one and break off 4. that small tippet is a killer, especially with a chunky rod like i was using! i think i'll put the fiberglass rod back in the closet.
i've wondered about that too jerome. my dad found out i caught highway cone and told my mom i'd been fishing for him for 6months. she said "was anyone else fishing for it?" dad said, "no, just John." my mom says, "then what's the big deal?" heh heh...
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so yesterday for me was dominated by the long awaited capture of Highway Cone (yes!), but i wanted to put up this picture as well. this is carping along the columbia gorge...
i didn't catch either of those fish, but i liked the shot!
hope everyone had a good weekend of fishing!
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thanks for the congrats guys. i've been chasing highway cone for a while, and it was extremely satisfying to finally get him to shore. i hooked him a few weeks ago, but briefly. i'll remember that moment when his gills flared and i lifted the rod for a long time!
isn't that just the best? a sublte sign like the tail moving, gills flaring, the hopeful lift of the rod, and the reward of feeling that weight on the end of the line? the fight is great, but that split second when the fish takes the fly, and it all connects...wow.
next up for me is a big grass carp...i know where a big one lives. vegetation flies!
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i'm a fan of st croix rods. good rods for good prices. my favorite 8wt is a st croix avid series...only about $200...great rod. cabellas was just closing them out and had 6,7,8 wt for $99.
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It's not every day that a guy sets out to catch a 20 some pound orange koi on a fly rod...it wasn't today either. I woke up this morning happy to know that I had an entire day planned at one of my favorite carp lakes. Of course, plans don't always hold up, and today mine didn't. I arrived at the lake and while the sun was out and the wind calm, the water level was so high that I just couldn't see the fish. They were there, but hard to target, and even harder to reach due to the depth of the water. After nearly swamping my waders a few times I managed to hook a couple of fish, and landed one of them, a nice carp of about 15 lbs. It was fish like this that I had come for, but the tough conditions quickly chased me home.
After some debate, I decided to go look for Highway Cone. I hadn't gotten serious about throwing flies at him in a while, and had been hammering his buddies, so at the least I figured I would chase him around, and then try to catch some of his friends. Armed with a fly I tied up just for Highway Cone, I zipped back to Portland.
As soon as I got there I spotted my adversary...that doesn't say much as he is pretty hard to miss! I stalked along the bank about 3o feet behind him, hoping he would turn and head towards me. I had learned long ago to forget about casting to him from behind. The fly line traveling over his head would immediately spook him. Eventually he worked his way into a little bay, with me not far behind. I set up shop and took a moment to put on the special fly I had tied...I had seen Highway Cone in this bay a few times, and I knew he would circle back toward me, hopefully on the feed.
Twenty minutes later, he did just that. I stood in a semi-crouch hidden by some bushes as he worked slowly towards me, and for the first time, he really seemed to be actively eating. Unfortunately, he seemed to be actively eating the algae blooms in the water...something I didn't think I could imitate at that moment. I prepared to cast anyway, and when he got about 15 feet out I flipped the fly into his path. As usual, he moved right past it. I tried a second, then third cast with the same result. By this time he was only a few feet away from me, and was beginning to turn with the bay's contours and start back on his circuit. I made one final cast and managed to put the fly about 10 inches in front and 2-3 inches to his left. Highway Cone eased forward, then slowly, his huge head turned in the general direction of my fly.
His gills puffed out.
I lifted the rod.
Water flew everywhere.
Line exploded off of my reel.
I was hooked up! In shock I watched as the fly line sped through the guides and the big fish made a wake as he blasted out of the shallow bay. Highway Cone made short work of my trusty Plueger and 6 wt St. Croix...thank God I brought the 6 wt today!
After a long run I settled in to what would be a tough battle. This was a big fish, and while I finally had a fighting butt to use, I was still fishing 4x tippet. I brought him back to me one time only to have him blast into my backing again. Slowly but surely I brought him back to the bay, but as soon as his belly touched bottom, he headed into my backing for the third time. The third time would be it though. I kept up the pressure, and eventually had him headed in toward shore, clearly exhausted.
At this point I had a problem. There was NO WAY Highway Cone was going to fit into my net. It was not even close. I frantically looked around for a 12 year old kid in dirty shorts, or a 50 year old chinese guy...the two saviors from the last two big fish I had taken. No one was in sight.
I steered Highway Cone into the shallows, and prepared my next move. Bending down, I dropped my tiny little net over his head like it was a burlap sack, dropped my 6 wt to the ground and grabbed for his tail as quickly as I could! Got him! In this awkward position I managed to lift this behemoth up and brought him to the bank. I removed the fly, firmly planted in the huge fish's top lip, and reached for my camera. With no one around I did the best I could in snapping a few pictures of this fish I have chased for 6 months, then picked him up and set him back in the shallow water.
In no time Highway Cone flipped his tail and headed for deep water. I walked up the bank a bit and sat down...soaking it in. As I stood up to collect my flyrod and net I looked out into the lake, and there he was, cruising along about 40 ft away. Slowly he slipped out deeper, and then disappeared.
Highway Cone is still out there, but I bet I have to come up with another fly.
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wow! what a fish eich! i have yet to catch one on the surface, but i will have my chance during the cottonwood seed hatch this fall. that is a beautiful mirror!
funny story...i was with a buddy of mine in WA and he caught a nice 7lb mirror. it was his 3rd or 4th carp and he thought he had caught a diseased fish! he couldn't believe i was that jealous!
i can't wait to catch a mirror...great fish eich...it is pretty cool to hear carping stories from both sides of the country!
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i've never tried one, but i'm sure they would work. i haven't chummed for carp at all, and without bread/chum on the water i am not sure they would take a bread fly...i'm probably wrong!
i tied a goofy vegetation fly for highway cone...i think it will work and should find out this weekend!
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here are a couple of pictures of the fly i use a lot. i tie them in lots of colors, but i'm fond of olive and tan...
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tell us about your fish eich! i want pictures!
macfish, i actually have a degree in english lit. i'm a truck broker by trade, but my concentration in college was creative writing...i never was good enough to make a living at it, so i move freight instead!
the only problem with a good day like yesterday is i can't wait for the weekend!
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thanks guys, it was a nice day. any day with a flyrod in hand and visible carp is okay in my book!
mr. p, i'll try to get a picture of the fly up as soon as i get a chance. i tie them on tiemco standard nymph hooks...1x long. i use a small black or silver bead as the only weight. i've started putting less weight on all of my carp flies, as the splash seems to really spook a lot of fish. plus, the slowly sinking nymph is tough for even the sunning fish to resist if you put it right in front of their nose!
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If any of you out there live around Portland, you know how beautiful the weather was today. After a rough couple of weeks in the office, I just couldn't pass the chance to leave early and chase some carp. This lake is fast becoming my go to spot. It is close to the house, and has some really nice size fish in it...and of course there is Highway Cone. Someday I'll get that monster. Today was good...hooked 3 fish, only landed the one but it was another pig of a carp, that pushed 20 lbs easily. This fish was as big around as a volleyball.
As always, the takes are the most memorable parts of carp fishing (though one fish went into my backing not once, but twice! On his second run down the bank he got so much line out it got all tangled in the bankside vegetation, and he got loose. So it goes...) Today this big boy took the fly perfectly. I dropped it about 1 foot ahead of him, he mosied up and tipped down. I never saw the mouth open, but what a moment when you know he took it, and gently apply the pressure to set the hook in solid. Great fish, and once again I had help (this time from an older gentleman) with the net and camera.
All three fish were hooked on a size 14 rubber legged hare's ear. One took the fly with him, but I have more, and will mass produce these babies! Highway Cone made his usual appearance, but at this point, he just laughs at my feeble attempts and sad looking flies. I've got a plan for him now though...
What a splendid day.
One other item of note...I have GOT to get that 4 wt out of the car. That thing is going to be carp kindling any day now.
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the only book i've read is "carp on the fly" by barry reynolds...some great stuff in there. he also wrote "pike on the fly" which is equally helpful.
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that kayake sounds like quite the craft...good job on the carp!
My lucky streak appears to have ended
in Carp on the Fly
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good tip macfish. i generally use 4x frog hair tippet. i stay away from florocarbon because it take hundreds of years to bio degrade. straight monofillament deteriorates in the sun, but floro is nearly indesctructible. it does have a better diffraction rate, so it is harder to see in the water, allowing you to go bigger diamater than with mono, thus, more strenght. floro is also abrasion resistant, which is vital on carp. most of the carp i catch invariably turn and rub the leader/tippet against their fins/body when running. the shape of a carp makes this rubbing a certainty, and floro would hold up better.
i've thought about using floro tippet, as 15 inches is not a ton, but a year ago i told myself to stop using the stuff, because once it is out of your pocket, off your line and in the water, it stays there for a very long time. frog hair seems a good compromise, and has held up well until recently. part of it is also my reel. i was using my 4 wt with a high end Hardy reel...outstanding drag. i'm now using my 6 wt with a pflueger (which i love). the pflueger is a beautiful reel, but is not nearly as smooth as the hardy, and fits and starts speak disaster with small tippet.
i'll go to 3x, and keep at it. i have been fishing at the biggest fish i can find lately, and break offs are part of the game. the take is the best part anyway. i'm not really complaining about it, i just think it is kind of funny that i've had such a bad run. all good tips on this thread, thanks for the insight and good wishes!
also, take my view on florocarbon with a grain of salt. we all draw our own lines and reach our own conclusions in the sport of fishing, and i certainly don't mean to force my issues onto others. for the most part, i realize fishing is a blood sport, and that i'm basically beating up on another living creature for my own pleasure...i'm okay with this, but i do try to minimize the amount of damage i inflict on the fish, water, and general surroundings as best as i can. to that end, i carry a garbage sack when fishing. that is something we all should do.
tight lines everyone!