Fish On! Urban Carp Extravaganza TR
Author: Will Rice
The temperature: 102 degrees
The sky: clear blue
The sun: high and scorching
The fish: present and accounted for
The exchange:
Michael Gracie (MG): “You see the fish?”
Greg Moran (GM): “Yup.”
MG: “Can you make that cast between the two trees?”
GM: “Yup.”
Prior to this Michael and Greg had spent some time talking about carp feeding behavior and the body language of a fish that will eat a fly vs. the body language of a fish that most likely will not participate.
As they stood high on the top of a thirty foot bank and looked at a pod of fish, they thought they had found a player.
After two or three false casts Moran punched out a a forty foot cast and let the Egan’s Headstand drop into the water.
MG: “Perfect. Great shot. Strip it twice. Let it sit... strip it....wait... he’s on it.”
Moran strip-set the fish and lifted his rod tip and the big carp immediately took off. The spool on the Redington Delta 7/8 hissed and line peeled off the reel.
The fish quickly barreled across the wide river and then held in the current for a few seconds. It then turned back toward the bank and high-tailed it back toward the angler. Greg reeled fast in effort to keep the line tight.
MG: “OK, let’s get down the water and land this thing. You good with that?”
GM: “Yup.”
Guide and angler quickly slid down the sand bank, Greg reeled furiously the entire time in effort to keep the fish tight and secure. After a few more bull dogging runs the fish came to hand.
The Urban Carp Extravaganza was on.
We plan to post a full trip report and more photos from the day once we’re fully recovered. A big thanks to everyone who joined in on the fun, fishing, and adventure.
If you are interested in a private fly fishing trip for carp on Denver’s South Platte River give the shop a call and we’ll set you up.
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