I love it When it Rains.

Yesterday morning my area received the first significant rain fall in almost two weeks.  The water levels were getting so low that all my ambush points were bone dry.  The only fish I was seeing were in the main river, far from shore and almost impossible to sneak up on in the shallow, clear water.  All that changed though with one thunderstorm.

I tied up a bunch of new flies while I waited for the water to return and this was going to be my chance to try them out.  It is based on the Clouser Swimming Nymph but modified for carp by the guys at Mad River Outfitters.  I took it one step further and swapped out the hen hackle for the thorax and used rabbit strip tied in a dubbing loop.  I don’t have any hen hackles small enough but I have a butt load of rabbit strips.  I knew it would work but I wanted to try it out and see if I needed to tweak it any.  So far all I need to do is secure the tail better.  After several carp the tail was pretty much gone.

My first couple of stops proved to be difficult to catch any fish.  With the rising water came the turbidity and trying to see anything was going to be a struggle.  At the first couple of spots I could see silt trails but I couldn’t figure out where the the fish were that were causing them.  At the next spot I could see a lot of activity so I snuck in and just waited.  Eventually I saw bubbles of a feeding carp right in front of me.  I got a glimpse of his tail so I took a guess as to where his head was and lowered my fly.  I guessed right.  Off he went and I went into the water after him.  There was a log jam just downstream and I didn’t want him getting tangled up in it.  I took awhile but I was able to get him into the net. I really need to get a long handle net.  When I’m waist deep and wading my short handle net works fine.  When I am on shore though they really don’t want to cooperate.

At my next spot the water was clearer and unfortunately there were a lot of carp in there.  I knew this was going to be a one and done shot because if I hooked one he was going to scare out every fish in the area.  I got in close next to a tree and waited.  It didn’t take long and a pair of cruising carp came into range.  I dropped my fly into their path and they both went for it.  The larger fish won out, or so he thought.  Once he felt that hook he took off for the main river.  It was at this point that I slipped down the muddy bank and went into the water.  With my right hand holding my G Loomis IMX-PRO high in the air my left hand was trying to grab a branch to stop my slide.  I ended up sliding in up to my waist.  Fortunately my phone was in a waterproof case and I was able to get my feet under me.  I climbed out and eventually got the fish landed.  I never did get a pic because while I was digging my phone out he flipped out of the net and back into the water.  As expected every fish in the area disappeared.  Probably more from me than the carp but it really didn’t matter, they were gone.

It was starting to get late so I decided to head back to the original spot I started.  I could tell there were a couple of fish their earlier but I couldn’t see them.  I was hoping more would have joined in and maybe I could see a tail or something to give me an idea of where to cast.  When I arrived I could see a lot of silt clouds and air bubbles.  Near as I could tell there were about half a dozen fish feeding in the area.  I waited until one got close enough and after a few minutes I could see the tail of a carp on the surface.  I could see the bubbles from him rooting around so I placed my fly just ahead of them.  I saw his tail twitch and I figured he saw the fly.  I slowly lifted up, felt the weight and set the hook.  He immediately took off downstream and into the main river.  I could tell this was a bigger fish and there was no stopping him.  He took me all the way into the backing of my reel, the first fish I’ve had do this to me on The Huron.  Eventually he turned around and started swimming back towards me as fast as I could reel.  Once he got close he spun around and shot off downstream again.  This went On for about 10 minutes or so.  Every time I though he was done he would take off again.  Eventually I was able to get him into some shallow water and get him under control.

This guy measured around 27 inches long and probably went about 9 or 10 pounds.  He was definitely feisty.  After I got him back in the water I headed home.  It was getting dark and I was soaked to my underwear.  Dry clothes was sounding pretty good right now.  I just wish the water levels would remain up for another night but I know it won’t.  The dam operators have been playing keep away with the water all summer.  I’m sure the places I was catching fish in last night won’t have any today.