Orvis Carp Photo Contest

Orvis has initiated a carp central page on their website and is putting on a carp photo contest and they are NOT messing around.  This contest is going to have the kind of backing that only a company of Orvis' stature can put on.  They are going to have several sub-contests with different themes and prizes culminating in a grand prize of an H2 fly-rod.

This weeks theme is "biggest" carp and I would really encourage everybody to participate.  The more participants the more the fun.  Just as importantly Orvis has shown a strong interest in participating in the fly fishing for carp revolution this year.  If we want Orvis (and by extension the rest of the industry) to maintain or even grow that participation we need to support this fun promotion.

Now, frankly I am ineligible because I was consulted an eensy weensy tiny bit along with many of the other carp bloggers.  I really want to participate anyways so as a show of solidarity I am going to submit my smallest carp.  OK, I admit - I like being a bit of a smart-ass too but don't be a smart ass and vote for me.

Head Hunting and the CAG Big Four

Some folks take a negative view on fly fishing tournaments. I guess the idea is that there is something impure about competition that sullies the sport.   As long as people don't take things too seriously I view it in a positive light.  For me competition is a good way to add a fun wrinkle to a fun activity. It enriches the experience, socializes what is frequently a loner activity and provides a different context for learning.

At the beginning of May I entered the Carp Anglers Group Big 4 competition.  The competition adds up the participants four biggest carp by weight in the month of May and is really for euro-style carpers.  My only goals were to not come in last and generate motivation to focus on targeting big fish.  Looking back on May, the competition had an interesting effect on my fishing habits.

I am usually a shot slut.  I take any and every shot I get in the order I see them. If there are multiple shots I don't expend a sliver of thought on which fish is the biggest but rather go for certainty.  This past month I put allot of effort into trying to pick my shots.  I was weak at times but if I saw a small fish tailing I would try to check out the immediate area for bigger fish before taking the shot and even occasionally skip the shot altogether.  If I saw a group of positive fish I would take the time to try and target the largest of the bunch. 

The end result is not what I expected.  I adhere to the John Montana 15 pound criteria and by that measure I did not catch any big carp this May while I caught several last year.  I guess I probably got a few more shots at big fish that just didn't work out, but mostly I found that I became more observant.  Although I caught the exact same number of carp this May as last, I somehow feel that the quality of my shots increased significantly.  I really think I generally got more exciting shots than usual.  I also caught two mirror carp that I may have otherwise missed.

So here we are at the end of May, at least for McTage's fly-carpin adventures.  How did I do in the Big Four?  I think I will take the fifth on principle.  I wouldn't want to sully the sport with any impurities.  You know, stuff like "shit" and "shitty".  Nope, wouldn't want that at all.  At least I have some pride left though.  I am not going to log this awful picture of a very small carp.  Unless I move out of second to last place by 7lb 1ounce of course! 

Is it my imagination or does lack of focus add a couple of pounds?