Carp on the Fly

A quick trip to Trinity County left us with about an hour to fish in Redding. We went to a little bluegill pond I know of in hopes of catching a couple in the heat. As soon as I walked to the edge, I saw a few gills milling about. I flipped a white simi-seal leech out in front of me and this carp came barreling in from deeper water. It didn't even hesitate, it sucked in my fly and the fight was on. It was quite a battle on my little Eagle Claw Featherlight. The gills didn't want to cooperate much but I managed one bluegill, and Kayla got a sweet bass, her first on a fly! Not too shabby for an hour of fishing.

New Eagle Claw 6'6" 5/6 weight Feather Light

I was able to make a Craigslist deal on a new (to me) Eagle Claw Feather Light fiberglass fly rod. With the super windy weather last weekend, I wasn't able to test it out until today. It was an absolutely beautiful day in Reno today. High in the 70's, no clouds, and best of all no wind. I went to my local pond expecting to catch a ton of bass. That's NOT what happened. The fishing was very tough, I tried my simi seal leeches. No takes. I tried quick strips, slow strips, let 'em sink, across the surface. Nothing! I was finally able to get one bass on a Arizona Wanderings mini hopper. That's right. First top water of the year, who would've guessed?

I enjoyed fishing the new rod. It was a little tough to throw the streamers into the wind, but when I switched to a light hopper with a longer leader, it cast like a dream. I was able to make long casts with a soft landing. That is key at this pond, these fish are super nervous, and won't eat a hopper pattern that plops too hard. I can already tell that this is going to be my "go to" rod this summer. The best thing is...it fits in my Suzuki Samurai strung up and ready to go.