District Carp: Happy Fish = Happy Angler

I don't like getting skunked. I had to rectify that situation, so I went back out to the C&O Canal yesterday. I walked the entire stretch 2.5 mile stretch from Lock 8 to Lock 6. The water was even muddier than yesterday. Most places had less than 6 inch visibility. I am still trying to figure out what drives the water clarity on the Canal. There was no rain and no changes in water depth suggesting no releases of water into or out of the canal. The only thing I can think of is the wind. It was a bit breezy yesterday. The good news, though, was the fish were extremely active. Fish were mudding everywhere, and I didn't see a single fish just floating.

Most of the afternoon was simply spent looking for fish with a couple futile casts. Finally, I stumbled upon a perfect stretch of water about 50 feet long. Clear water about 2 feet deep with several feeding fish. I pick out the one in the best position and dropped my fly a couple feet in front of the fish. It glided over, opened it's mouth, and inhaled the fly. Fish on. A few minutes later, my first carp of 2015 was in the net. I ran into a fellow member of Tidal Potomac Fly Rodders, our local DC fly fishing club, while I was fighting the fish. He and his wife were gracious enough to give me the assist on the photography.

First carp of 2015

After the release, the rest of that stretch was spooked and mudded up from the fight. I had to resort to casting to fish with an indicator if I wanted a chance at another hook up. Find them was no problem. Finding ones where I could tell which direction the fish was facing was another challenge. I found a few nice fish tailing just like a bonefish or redfish. By the end of the afternoon, I was able to pick off two more nice carp using a fly under the indicator.