[Exotic Sportfish]

Interesting! There are stories of giant catfish lying on the bottom behind various TVA dams in the South that are bigger than the divers who claim to have seen them. A TV show had an English fellow who was a fisheries biologist and fished all over the world for giant fish. One show was filmed on the Trinity River in Texas for alligator gar. I saw the mounted head of one in a store in Shreveport, LA that was over 100 lb. when caught. Giant catfish are taken from the Santee/Moultrie lakes in South Carolina. My idea of big fish is the 3 piece dinner at Captain D's.

[hat handed to me]

Roughfisher, I see you flatten the barbs on your hooks. I tell my flytying classes to flatten the barbs- easier to remove from the fish and easier to remove from yourself.

[Learning how to cast]

It's hard to figure out a casting problem on the 'Net. Suggest you check out amazon.com for flyfishing books or videos/DVDs. The tops in my book are Joan Wulff, Mel Kreiger, or Lefty Kreh. Also, www.tutv.org has a section on learning to cast. This is Trout Unlimited's TV show site. I saw a book, Flyfishing for Dummies, in a bookstore recently. It is good and has the fundamentals in easy to understand language. I have been flyfishing for over 40 years and none of the instructional stuff was available back then. Just trial and error. Good luck and keep practicing!

BTW, I noticed that you said that you were using a piece of mono for a leader. Check to see if your line is the correct weight for the rod. Then....get a tapered leader for about $3.00 or so. Again the fly tackle folks should help with this. Rule of thumb- leader 75% of the rod length or the rod length. I used mono for years and strained myself to get flies and poppers to cast properly. Since really getting into trout fishing here in east Tennessee, I have found that tapered leaders make a great difference in casting.

[Fly fishing morals]

I recall an article in an old issue of a flyfishing magazine that addressed the use of scents for carp. The father and son had fished for a while without any hookup. The son applied garlic scent to his fly and began to catch fish. After all, bass anglers and catfishermen rely on scents for successful fishing. Why not carp anglers? How about the use of different baits as doughbaits, corn, chumming with various grain-based products? All are used to attract fish and entice them to strike.

[Do These Species Count?]

I think the article that carpmaniac refers to is Dave Whitlock's "Stalking the Golden Ghost." It can be found in the July, 1998 issue of Flyfisherman magazine. You can log on their site and possibly find it in the archives. There is also a book dealing with flyfishing for carp. The title is "Carp On The Fly" and one of the co-authors is Brad Befus. Did a Google search on him and found he is a renowned flytyer. Carp on a fly- didn't make it this past year but is a "resolution" for this year. So much water....so little time.

[Gurt Big Lobster!]

That is one big lobster. You would have to use a couple of pounds of butter to scoff that one down. Reminds me of the story of the animal rights folks that bought a big lobster that was to be auctioned off for table fare. They bought it and dumped it back in the ocean. After they released it, they remembered that they didn't remove the rubber bands from the claws. Obviously, the lobster starved to death.

[Getting Started in Flyrod Carping]

Fishermom- I just finished putting 20# backing on my new reel. The easiest way to put backing on is to put the front end of the fly line (the end that will have the leader and tippet) on the spool and wind it onto the reel spool. When you get to the end of the fly line, tie the backing on with a nail-less nail knot. This knot was developed by Gary Borger. I tried to find the exact site but the "video" had nail.mov on the top bar of the screen. A search should get you started. After you tie the knot, coat it with 2 or 3 light coats of Pliobond adhesive. Let each coat thoroughly dry. This will make the transition from line to backing easier to go through the guides. The adhesive can be found at most hardware, building supply, or chain stores as Wal-Mart. Wind the backing over the flyline. When you get to about 1/8th inch from the edge of the spool, you are done. Cut the backing and next carefully unwind the backing and line onto a clean floor. Make sure that you layer the line in large loops. I spread mine all over the floor of the den. Then start with the backing first and wind the backing onto the reel. This method bypasses having to exactly measure what the manufacturer says you should put on the reel. Good luck!

[Strange catch]

This topic brings back memories. My father was reeling in to cast to another spot and hooked what he thought was Moby Dick. It turned out to be a 3 lb. carp that he hooked through the dorsal fin. Pulling it sideways through the water was like dragging a 2 x 4 sideways. We got a chuckle out of the "big fish" and released him.

P. S.- Greatly enjoy this site and hope to catch a carp on the flyrod.

[What is your Favorite Carp Fly]

I don't have all the details but I recall a magazine article in days gone by about a fly that Dave Whitlock tied to imitate a mulberry. He described the fly as having purple deerhair stacked on the shank and green deerhair tied in for the stem. Found it!! The article is found in Fly Fisherman Magazine, July, 1998 issue. It is really good and contains come great info for flyfishing for carp. Good Luck!

[Mega Catfish]

My wife and I were watching a Chattanooga, Tennessee TV station this past week, Thursday, I believe. One of the top stories of the day was a humongus blue catfish caught in Chickamauga Lake (Tennessee River). The fish weighed 122 pounds. It was caught on a hotdog. Sorry, I don't have any pictures or any more details but maybe you can pull up something on the website for the local paper, The Chattanooga Times-Free Press. It just goes to show that we aren't fully aware of what is swimming in our favorite lake, stream or river.