It is possible to have a good day with a little color in the water but you are going to have to work for it. You have to find fish tight and shallow which means you have to move and keep moving and keep moving. Combine that with this heat and it was excruciating. By noon I was wilting and for the first time in a long time I seriously considered showing some wisdom and calling it a day early. I ended up having a decent day and am glad I didn't.
I was pleased with the first fish of the day but it wasn't my favorite. It was a nice sized fish but I didn't really get to see it take the worm (guesstimate set) and for some reason this carp gave up immediately.
The second fish was more like it. A little bigger, awesome visual take and some seriously hard runs. This fish felt great because I had switched to a spot that I mentally set aside for these exact conditions 3 months ago. Successfully patterning carp like that is a thrill, it doesn't happen all the time. Nice picture too if I do say so myself. Stupid grass.
My favorite fish of the day was the last one though. This was a smaller fish, but one of those cool takes where the fish follows the fly down and nails it to the bottom while tailing furiously. Take your time on the hook-set, that fish isn't going anywhere! The best part was the fight though. I had to cast to this fish from on top of an 8' wall with clumps of trees 3 feet on either side from me. In other words I was hosed as soon as I set the hook. I had a plan though. I set the hook and immediately pointed the rod straight at the fish while carefully handing my rod around 4 or 5 trees until I got to a spot where I could get down. I wasn't even looking at the carp because I had to concentrate on passing the rod so I spent the whole time just watching my Lampson Lightspeed go for a ride. Really cool.
