Where is The Cliff?

As the late summer nights get cooler the transition from catching to fishing is usually very abrupt in Colorado for carp on the fly.  Typically during a two week time-span in September carp will nearly completely abandon the flats on most local still-waters.  I call this transition "The Cliff".

The cliff usually starts with smaller ponds and lakes which tend to cool faster and within the span of a few short weeks works it's way up to the larger reservoirs.  Additionally, at about the same time the carp in the Denver South Platte often go into a funky mood where they stop eating.  The cliff is so abrupt and harsh that my catch rates plummet which leads to depression and anxiety. Uncool cliff. Uncool.

Based on averages over the past 6 years, I expect to catch roughly 1/3 to 1/4 of the carp in the fall as I did in the summer.

This year however, I see signs of the cliff but I am still finding some prime fishing this September. For example, I had one day recently were I caught 16 carp in about 4 hours on a small lake which is close to my highest catch rate over a 4 hour span ever.  On another day I caught my first ever goldfish.

And just a week later I caught this 24lb common from my SUP which is my new personal best in Colorado.

 
And just a few days later the Carp Slam broke records for the most carp caught in the tournament. Even I managed to wrangle two to the net.

All in all September has been absolutely stellar and as of this afternoon continues to be so.  So I ask you .... Where is the Cliff?  And how hard is it going to hurt?

If It Didn't Eat, It Didn't Count

So far I have made a conscious effort to not dictate any rules about what is, or is not, fly fishing for carp on Fly-Carpin.  Don't get me wrong, I have some strong opinions about scent, chum, weighing versus guessing, boga grips and other issues, but who the hell am I to tell anybody else what to do?

I heard some intel from a local carper today that I just have to make a stand on though.  Evidently some new recruits to the Denver cell of the Revolution have been overheard spouting the following nonsense:  "If you can't make them eat it, make 'em wear it".

Perhaps it is a joke, but it was described to me as real intent.  I don't know about you but I just threw up in my mouth.

So, lets just go on ahead and lay down Fly-Carpin's first ground-rule for non-poser membership in the Fly Fishing for Carp Revolution:

"If it didn't eat, it didn't count"

I guarantee you that I have 100% concurrence from every single hard core carper who has spent significant time perfecting the art of getting them to eat.  If you are snagging carp on purpose, and you think that you are accomplishing something...well you aren't doing what I do.

So, to be clear, if you want to do what I do.  If you want to do what anybody who truly has a passion for fly fishing for carp does.  If you really want to take on the challenge, then repeat after me:

"If it didn't eat, it didn't count"
"If it didn't eat, it didn't count"

"If it didn't eat, it didn't count"

"If it didn't eat, it didn't count"

"If it didn't eat, it didn't count"

"If it didn't eat, it didn't count"

"If it didn't eat, it didn't count"

"If it didn't eat, it didn't count"

"If it didn't eat, it didn't count"

"If it didn't eat, it didn't count"

"If it didn't eat, it didn't count"

"If it didn't eat, it didn't count"

"If it didn't eat, it didn't count"

"If it didn't eat, it didn't count"

"If it didn't eat, it didn't count"

"If it didn't eat, it didn't count"

"If it didn't eat, it didn't count"

Period.  End of story.  Non-negotiable.  That is not to say that you will not snag the occasional carp on accident.  It happens to everybody, but it is nothing to be proud of.

Fly Fishing For Carp Survey Results: The Epicenter

Update 9/4/2014 - New York wasn't getting counted in my spreadsheet.  Fixed.

This is the first in a series of posts giving some of the results from the fly fishing for carp survey.  With more than 200 participants we have enough data to have some fun with the numbers.  First we will try and find the regional epicenter of the revolution.

If we look at the raw numbers by state Colorado had the most participants by a very wide margin.  I think there is no real surprise to those of us chasing carp in Denver.  After all, it can occasionally be difficult to find an open hole on the Denver South Platte.  The reasons are pretty easy to understand.  First of all, Colorado has the highest concentration of fly fishers in the country.  The more trout fly guys the more bored trout fly guys looking for a new challenge.  Additionally we have had our own in-state fly fishing for carp living legend Barry Reynolds spreading the gospel to local guys for over 15 years.  On top of that, Denver hosts Carp Slam - one of the oldest and most successful fly fishing for carp tournaments.

Instead of looking at the raw participants we should probably look at the number of participants on a per-capita basis though.  Colorado still comes out on top but the next biggest (Idaho) may be a big surprise to some .  Colorado and Idaho have allot in common though.  Primarily Idaho also has many bored trout guys and also hosts a carp tournament with a long and proud heritage.

The next one in line (Vermont) is a big surprise - especially since it sits smack dab in the middle of a region where the fly fishing for carp revolution doesn't seem to have much of a foothold.  I have no idea why, perhaps we can blame Lake Champlain which is reputed to be an excellent carp on the fly fishery.

Of course, the truth is that 200 participants is not enough to really split 50 ways.  Some of the states that are high in the per-capita list only had a couple of participants but don't have allot of population.  Instead we should step back and look at the big picture, so I re-calculated the per-capita by region instead of by state.

The trend is clear. The western mountain states region is the current epicenter of fly fishing for carp by a large margin.  I cannot say how much of this is due to the fishing and how much is cultural but it is interesting.

The Chicken's Motives

The absence of something often goes unnoticed.  I doubt you have realized that I have never once tried to justify my love for carp on Fly-Carpin.  No top ten reasons my favorite fish kicks your favorite's ass.  No discourses on all the very real advantages carp have as a gamefish.  No knicknames designed to borrow cool from other species.  Just a celebration of fly fishing for carp and the cultural revolution it represents.

Why do I feel so utterly uninspired to justify my (our?) love of carp?  I saw a random shirt on a random dude today that explains it perfectly:

"I dream of a world where chickens can cross the road without having their motives questioned"

Fly Fishing For Carp Survey

UPDATE:  The poll is closed as of August 24th.  Stand by for processed results, although auto generated results are available at the link below.

I want to know more about the fly fishing for carp Revolution.  No.  I NEED to know - so do me a solid and fill out this survey.  You can either go to this link or fill it out below.  It is probably a little easier if you go to the link.  If you fill it out here you just have to page up to the top everytime you submit a page.

The current results can be viewed here at any time.

Can McTage Even Cast?

Dapped

A friend who knew Fly-Carpin before he knew McTage recently told me he used to wonder if I could even cast.  That blew me away at first, but upon reflection most of my posts and videos talk about getting close to carp.  Getting REALLY close.

No surprise there.  You see, I learned how to fly fish where the Rockies meet the sky.  We are talking dry flies upstream to rising trout on bamboo in 10,000 foot high creeks small enough to jump across.  It is a game of stealth, guile and finesse.  It is oddly similar to how I fly fish for carp on the fly, just on much smaller water for much much smaller fish.

I learned at a very early age that if I had more than three feet of fly-line out I was doing it wrong.  I learned to crouch, to crawl, to dink and dunk and dabble and bounce my fly off a grass bank and drag it into the seam.  I learned that sometimes they like it when your dry fly sinks or even makes a wake being dragged across the top.  I learned that pride has no place in fly fishing and that the ends justify the means and those lessons have never left me.

So the question hangs out there - can McTage even cast?  Beats me man.  Beats me.

The Carper Former Known as McTage

So what is up with the McTage thing anyways?   Who in the flock of seagulls is McTage?  And who do you think you are, Prince?  I agree - it is weird.  It is confusing.  It is a little odd.  It is, however, me.

My full name is Trevor McTage Tanner because my father is a bit of a duck.  Odd duck that is.  Before I was born he was pondering names and invented McTage (pronounced McTegg) out of the hippy nether.  His favorite politician was named McSomethingOrOther and he wanted to put a tag on me.  Thus McTage.

He intended McTage as my first name.  Wiser heads prevailed at birth but weirder heads won out over time and I went exclusively by the nickname "Tage" (Pronounced like Tegg) for most of my life.  I stuck with it through thick and thin and baffled teachers and bullies and you name it.  I didn't switch to "Trevor" until I was 24 years old and figured out that both co-workers and women would always find it less confusing.

On the internet I have always been the one and only "McTage" though, and that is simply how I think of myself.  In my own head Trevor Tanner is almost just a nickname.  Tage or McTage is just who I am.

Welcome To The Revolution Part III: Revolt in the Land of Plenty

When I lived and fished in Michigan I tried to keep a written fishing journal.  The earliest recording I have appears below.



Thursday 8/10/00:  Little Muscamoot.  Water Temp = 58deg.  Hoping for Pike.  Missed one fish with a large white Deceiver.  Fish hit as I was picking up.  Scared the snot out of me.

And so it began.  This outing, or a similar one around the same time, marked my first conscious and deliberate steps down the road to revolution.  In the fall of 2000 I finally abandoned the idea that Trout (or even Salmon and Steelhead) are anything more than just another option on the fly rod.

 



The next year turned into the most exciting year of my life from a fishing perspective.  It couldn't have happened in a better place.  The options in Michigan are endless.  I caught carp, LMB, SMB, silver bass, pike, musky, striper, perch, bluegill, and steelhead.  I also bought a 17' Carolina Skiff, took my first saltwater trip and built a 13' spey rod by hand.

I found the idea that I could set out to intentionally target and catch so many species of fish intoxicating.   I will probably never fish that often or that hard again.






Although carp slowly asserted themselves as my favorite I continued to target many different species on the fly until I moved my family to Colorado in 2007.  Michigan has too much quality and variety to ever focus completely on one species.  As I read through that old journal though, I noticed that my current state of obsession was written in the cards.  Those believe in the carp spirits and read prophesy will know I was doomed from the start:

 

Monday 5/7/2001:  Bay south of Clinton.  Caught one 30+" carp.  He hit in dirty water on a size 8 olive mmf.  Fought like a mad-man.  Love this.  Took me 100 feet into the backing.  What do people dislike about carp?  Short 2-6" strips the key again.



Doomed

Apathy of The One-dimensional One-species Specialist

For many years I have had a passion for catching anything and everything on a fly rod.  Words such as trashfish and bottom feeder have held no meaning for me.  Being told "you can't catch that on a fly" felt like a challenge even when it was just plain good advice.  In those years I caught 43 species on the fly and felt intense pleasure with every one of them. 

Yesterday I was out fishing with a friend and was stunned to discover just how far I have moved towards a one-dimensional one-species specialist.  Late in a fruitless outing we arrived at the same lake were there have been grassies tailing lately.  Either the carp gods were not with us or the low pressure front had put them down but there was nothing to be found.

No big deal.  This lake is an excellent LMB fishery.  Tie on any number of carp flies and work it blind and I almost guarantee a decent bass or two.  Unfortunately I found I had absolutely no interest.   Zero, zilch, nada.  When Mike caught a decent 14" LMB blind casting I could barely muster a twitch of the eyebrow and a smile.  I made a couple of half-hearted blind casts but for the most part the hook never left the keeper.

It has been 7 months since I have caught anything but a carp.  It has been 10 months since I could even muster up the energy to try.  It may be time to shake it up a little.

Welcome To The Revolution Part II: A Bad Case of The 'Nids

I remember the exact moment I caught the 'nids.  It was the fall of '98 on the Grand River in downtown Grand Rapids.  Or was it '97?  Actually I can't really remember that much about it,  Experiences that intense have a way of getting fuzzy.

What DO I remember?  I will never forget the pristine beauty, the fresh smell in the fall air, the isolation and the raw thrill of a fly-line flowing through the guides......

Have you been to the Grand River in Grand Rapids MI?  Heard about it perhaps?  OK, I will cut the romantic crap then.  That smell was probably the homeless guy fishing next to me for hours on end.  Forget about isolation, you fish shoulder to shoulder or you don't catch fish.  As for the fly-line, well you may have a fly-rod but you don't actually use fly-line.  The method of choice is called chuck-and-duck.  You typically use amnesia running line, large (occasionally a full ounce!) lead weights and some sort of egg pattern with a spawn-sac hooked on.  To call it fly-fishing is a stretch.

Which brings us to beauty.  What the surroundings and methods lack the fishing has in plenty.  There are so many varieties of Great-Lakes Salmonid runs in the Grand that there is something long and strong running at least 7 months out of the year. 
 

Not just Steelhead and Salmon!  Lake-Run Brown, Grand Rapids MI, Fall 2003

Welcome to the Revolution Part 1: Lessons in Fly Fishing Humility

I am the 4^th generation in a very specialized fly fishing family.  My family has had a cabin near some of the best small high country trout streams in Colorado for over 60 years.  As a result the local trout tremble at our name.  On his home turf Grandpa could paste anybody.  The man had a renegade and he knew what to do with it.