Since most of the waters in the area have recently turned to the color and consistency of chocolate milk, that leaves few options for a quick, after work fish. Sure, there is the Lower Madison but everyone and their dog is out there. I can only put up with so much combat fishing, and it damn well better be worth it. Sounds like the Mother’s Day Caddis hatch out there has been worth it, but still.
About this time every year, our attentions turn toward waters and fish we would otherwise overlook during the course of the year. Ponds, lakes, and warm water species such as carp and bass. Shane hooked his first carp earlier this week, and since we both had nothing better to do we decided to head back up there.
“There” is Toston Dam and the impoundment behind it. For a long time I’ve heard folks talk of the carp and pike populations here, and have always wanted to fish it. Access to the spot we fished was of a somewhat questionable legality, but we were able to reach the spot without incident.
The spot Shane knew about is perfect. It’s several feet above the water, giving you a clear vantage of fish and there are few trees and bushes behind to snag a backcast. We immediately spotted several large carp rooting around in the weeds and mud. Brimming with confidence, we had no doubt we could catch one.
Ha.
We don’t know anything about carp. Well, almost anything. We know they spook easy, eat things off the bottom, and mud and tail like redfish or bonefish. Other than that, pfft, we’re screwed. So for the next few hours we tried and tried to get those damn fish to eat. We spooked most of them, had a couple actually look at our flies, and spent more time than we should have calling down eternal damnation on the freaking wind.
The evening wore on, and we had to head back. We’re already making plans for a return trip, and we’ve got some ideas that just might work. It’ll be interesting to see how this plays out…
