So as I was driving around Denver looking for the park we were going to fish, I saw some old guy in one of those stupid pill cars "Smart Car" pick his nose and eat his booger! I was thinking of rolling my window down and yelling something at him, considering he had to be at least 65, but i just kept to myself and laughed on the inside.
Ok now to the fishing. I got to the spot around 10am and Michael was right behind me. I walked over to the bridge looked over and saw only trash, no fish. We were right near down town Denver so i am thinking what the hell is Michael thinking? He was here just a week ago and told me some pretty detailed stories, so I knew there were going to be fish in here.
For about the first hour we were looking and looking and saw nothing. The one carp rolled on the surface and that was the beginning. Suddenly carp are running up river right past us. Tom and his buddy came rolling down the hill where we came down threw the brush and trash that lined the river. Almost instantly Tom hooks into a great sized carp, I go to net it and it threw the hook. Tom really knows how to fish this area, he was using an 8foot #9 and he hooked into a big river tractor. This was a beastly carp. As the fish runs he is hitting his backing, watching him pull that fish in looked like he was hooked up to a dump truck. This fish was an easy 15 lbs. The third fish tom hooks into was a nice carp about 10 to 12lbs. (See below)
I finally got a hit but had a 2 second fight if that before it threw the hook. And now Tom hooks into another big carp again 10 to 12lbs.
Tom was the only one to catch fish today, but I still had a great time. Michael got a great hook up but it was spit about 20 min. before we decided to leave. I caught the tree about 10 times, I am going to be a logger now.
So i am hearing all about how bamboo rod are the way to go, "bamboo is the best." I don't agree! If you want to fish spring creeks and catch 6-14 inch trout, then fine, fish bamboo. But I think there is a lot you can not do with bamboo. I know many people who will fish nothing but bamboo, I just cant see myself doing that. And yes I like to pull out mine every now and then, but it didn't cost me $1500. I am cheap, and broke.
I would rather catch big pigs that spool me almost every time. Lets just face it, unless you are some super guru of fly fishing Panda Food rods just aren't going to cut it.
Check out Michael's blog for details I forgot.
hmmm, a little brownlining do I spy?
ReplyDeleteWhat flies were you guys using? There are worlds of those things in the little park lake where I fish and I've never hooked up with one.
ReplyDeleteTom got his on brown stone flies about size 8-10 with a black hairs ear in front. Gracie got his hook up on a San Juan worm, and I got my 2 second hook up on a Jean Paul Lipton style scorpion.
ReplyDeleteAgreed, Kyle, would not want to chase carp or huge fish with a light bamboo rod.
ReplyDeleteI just received a present of an old 7&1/2 ' Philipson bamboo from a flyfishing mentor, treasure it already and can't wait to fish it.
I have a hand-me-down 8 wt. Orvis Battenkill that was made for salmon/steelhead. Probably not my first choice, but you can land fish on them. I am dating myself, but bamboo and fiberglass were the only materials available when I started flyfishing.
Bamboo has a feel like nothing else, there is still a time and place for it, but one good sized carp could put a hell of a set in an old, maybe valuable bamboo.
What 8' 9 wt. rod was your buddy fishing - not too many rods that heavy in an 8' length. A Scott, Sage largemouth model or fiberglass?
Fiberglass bends to the cork on a good fish, but can prtect tippets, I am curmudgeonly enough to have a few fiberglass, love them in certain situations.
It was some TFO, I am not too sure what kind but It was a very nice rod. i have to get new guides on my bamboo and fiberglass, I keep shredding the leader
ReplyDeleteI have a guy here in Tucson that just put a few guides on an old orvis bamboo for me, but there must be plenty of them in Colo.
ReplyDeleteMost of the guides on really old rods are too narrow for modern flylines, maybe the agate insert in the stripping guide (first one) goes bad, or the tiptop gets a groove in it. Matching the the thread color is the chief hassel, but I don't usually care - just if it fishes.
The shorter bamboo rods are the ones to look for, not so heavy.
nice. looks like a page right off the roughfisher's journal.
ReplyDeleteyou know what they say.....
once you go brown, you never go back.