I walked around the pond twice before I saw any signs of a carp. Then, there it was. A tail as big as my foot flashing up from the bottom. I shot a quick 20 foot cast and pulled the fly back until it was about two feet from the tail. I saw the fish turn for a split second, then it shot away. I held the line tight and set the hook, and almost immediately the fish got on the reel. The first run was powerful and went about 80 feet into my fly line. I almost got to meet my backing for the first time.
Every time I worked the fish to within 20 feet of the bank, it would make a 20 foot run again and i'd work it back. My forearms were burning and I was tired. Not wanting to horse the fish in, I let it run when it wanted to. 15 long minutes into the fight, I got the fish in. Maybe a net would have helped. Maybe I needed an 8-weight. Maybe I needed tippet stronger than 12-lb test. Who cares? I got my second carp and my biggest fish ever on a fly!
The fish weighed 12 pounds and 4 ounces and was 29 inches long. I took as many pictures as possible, then called Bobby and had him come. We took a couple hero shots. The neighbor that lets us fish at the pond wants the carp out of the pond because they eat the bass eggs. I've never heard this as a problem, so we found ourselves unable to kill a fish that big without a solid reason, so we took it to the main pond to revive and go live with the koi. It took a couple minutes, but it finally swam off.
After that I was pretty happy and wasted a little time catching some bluegill. Best day ever! Finals are next week so I probably won't go fishing this weekend. Tight lines!!
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