Carp, Carp, Carp

First carp...a day early.

Day 1 of Fly South's Carp Masters Tournament has ended. I jumped the gun yesterday, taking this picture of my "first" carp, not realizing that it was June 30th. Let's consider that a practice catch.

It was 102 degrees when I got to my usual spot below the Percy Priest Dam. As I made my way down to the water, I barely reached my usual perch as I had noticed a feeding carpsucker in the pool below. The fly I had just tied on was a new one for me - a size 6 palmer hackle woolly bugger. Ive been dying to try that palmer hackle, and having just picked some up two days ago, I thought the carp would be a good bunch to present it to. The carpsucker never knew what hit him, and he swam back and forth in the pool, dazed and confused as to why this piece of food had given him such a jolt. A good fight. A good way to officially start the tournament.

Carp #1

I let the carp go and turned to the pool to my right. The "must cast to" spot. I was rewarded, first cast, with a little crappie. Then another. Then another. I love seeing just their mouths open from the depths of that pool. To my surprise, I caught a little 5 inch catfish in that spot, too. Good fun, but I needed to get back to the carp.

Winds and the occasional cloud broke my concentration, so I made my way down to where the wind couldn't reach the water.

My Pink Thing on its lip

I switched over to My Pink Thing. The carp were very shy today, spooking at any noise or disturbance, so I decided to retire the palmer hackle fly for the day. This was the first carp to fall victim to...My Pink Thing.


Foul hooking carp happens. Where I fish for them, it happens more often than I'd ever prefer. The carp and all other related species in that section below the dam are the spookiest bunch I've ever encountered, occasionally foul hooking when I cast too close or when the leader line swings in their escape path. I do what I can to slack my line in the hope that my barbless hook shakes off. This gorgeous specimen, I believe to be called a Highfin Carpsucker, darted off when I plopped my fly too close to him, catching its dorsal fin on the hook. It wouldn't come off, so I landed it quickly, taking a picture simply to record such a beautiful fish.

No placard for this foul hooked fish.

Last fish of the day...and what a way to end it. It hasn't been the crazy running carp year like it was last year. This guy was my first true runner of the year, nearly taking me into my backing. The section of river was deeper than anywhere else I've fished up till that point, and he made use of the wide open space. Good fight. It left my leader fully caked with slime as we battled left and right, up and down the long, deep swim. I landed it right beforethe time I had planned on leaving. What a great way to part with the river on day 1 of my first Carp Masters Tournament.

26 inches of muscle

Day 1 is in the books. I feel like I'm off to a good start. The fish, although on nerves more than usual, have been taking well placed flies pretty readily. I am hoping my luck continues. A special guest arrives this weekend. Luckily for me (and especially for him), we will be fishing all day, every day. Carping should continue, though we'll probably try for trout at the Caney Fork and some bassin'. Hopefully, the sun backs off a little and gives us some tolerable weather.

Tight lines and fair hooks