What a week

It was a crazy fun week.  The girls were out of school for the week of Thanksgiving so I wasn't able to fish much.  Instead, I took them to the "Refuge" a few times in the canoe.

I started the trip explaining to them if they saw something that can fly, swim, run, or magically disappear and they wanted to see it for more than 1 second.  The best strategy was to whisper and point it out slowly.  I further mentioned that the creatures in the "Refuge" are terribly afraid of children...aren't we all!

Play time in the swamp. I checked the area before I let them out of the canoe.

 As we're paddling?  Not really, what we were doing was slapping the water and banging the sides of the canoe with our paddles.   But were covering water and sure enough, I see a beaver sitting on top of its floating fortress.  Surprised to see anything, I didn't react quickly enough.  Just as I was about to whisper and point it out.  The silence was broken by the excited voices of my 2 little girls, "dad, it's a beaver."  The beaver, startled and confused, freaked at the sight of a 17' canoe that was bearing down on it and went away real fast.

Astonishingly, we didn't have any more close encounters as we explored the backwaters.  From a distance we saw lots water fowl, turtles, and whatever else brave enough to not run for cover as the kids screamed in delight at every natural wonder that spotted.  It really was fun.

In the middle of the week I got the invite to fish the Little Red and travel to Grand Isle, LA.  The Grand Isle trip got dismissed really quickly as my wife said something like, if you don't understand why you can't be in Grand Isle on Thanksgiving day, then we don't have anything to talk about.  I lost my decoder ring (wedding ring) like 3 years ago, so I wasn't exactly sure what she meant.  What I heard was..."I'll cut you if you're not home on Thanksgiving."

I thought about it for a few days (seriously-I'm not that bright) and eventually decided fishing the LRR during a flash flood warning was a safer alternative.  In spite of the constant rain and cool temperatures it was a stellar day...perfect streamer weather!  Not many pictures taken b/c I was busy throwing streamers to hungry trees and a few browns.  Of course my cousin sends me this picture on Friday with the caption, "Sunny and 80."

It wasn't sunny and 80 in Heber Springs but I wouldn't have traded the day.  I was with good friends and the fishing didn't suck.  I even enjoyed the weather but that's just me.  

I ended my last post mentioning some good news I wanted to share.  I'm excited to announce I teamed up with FROSCH Outdoor Travel (FOT) to develop a network of kayak related travel destinations.  Being on the water (canoes, boats, kayaks, the Navy, etc) has been a passion since I was a boy and I'm thrilled to be part of the FROSCH team.

FOT, “FROSCH sees kayak fishing and competitive tournaments in the kayak area growing rapidly, and we wanted to address the interest of our travelers and fan base. Drew was the perfect choice to help us design a program that would tick all of the boxes in the kayak world. We couldn’t do it without Ross organizing and assisting with logistics. He has been instrumental in picking the right waters, destinations and seasons for our 2016 launch calendar”.  

Good things happening at Looknfishy

Keeping up with the theme from last week.  Fish all I can and spend as little time as possible thinking about...anything not fishing related.  I've been fishing during day light hours.  Reading about fishing when I'm not fishing.  When I can't fish and get tired of reading about fish, I write about fish.

Grass carp rapidly departing my presence

 If you like to read fishy stuff check out my Crazy about Trout story in the Nov issue of The Fisherman's Journal. 

Just an image, click link above

Back to the fishing.  The bass have been really fired up.  There are certain times when chasing bass on the fly is better than others.  Anytime I can go is the best time.  Spring and Fall are great times also because bass are more aggressive and actively fattening up for the winter.

Photo was featured on the Orvis FB page

Meaning they'll move away from cover to eat.  Awesome for me b/c I suck casting at distances further than my shadow.  When they get on a seek and destroy mission I start throwing streamers and working them very aggressively.  My streamers come off the vise looking like "Gizmo" but end up looking like a "Gremlin" when they hit the water.  So I'm going for a reaction strike.  The results have been good.  But I hope it picks up more as they really start to key on bait fish.

Still found some time to chase grass carp but that bite is slowly but surely fading.  I went yesterday afternoon and it was more work than I'd like.  Not sure but I might call it a year on them.  Hopping ponds to keep from paddling wasn't fun.

taking a short cut...you can do that in a kayak

So Much Water and Mile High Fly Co decals...send me some swag and I'll put fish in front of it.

A few are still up in the shallows and seem willing to eat after the water warms.  Which has been lunch time for me and them.

Its been an exciting week as I had a photo (bass from above) featured on the Orvis FB page.  That was pretty cool.  I was asked to speak at the Arkansas Fly Fishers monthly meeting in April, really cool!  Plus I've been connecting to some other people on my FB page.  I enjoy talking fish to anyone who will listen...love social media for connecting those w/ similar interest.  Lastly, I have some great news I really want to share but I've been asked to wait....so when I can tell everyone I will!

Good stuff on the web:
The Fisherman's Journal http://www.thefishermansjournal.com/
So Much Water http://somuchwater.com/
Mile High Fly Co http://milehighflyco.com/

Get out...stay out...I'm out

Most people know me as the guy with the kayak on his truck.  I feel like they've accepted me for who I am...intense, not social, and don't make small talk.  Unless you want to talk about kayaking, camping, fishing, floating, and other related outdoor stuff.  If it weren't for my wife I'd probably be wearing old, smelly, and ragged clothes.  Phrases like this would be much more common (I already hear it weekly), "hey are those your boxers I see through the holes in your shorts."  My response being, "these are my fishing shorts."  Plus, I've safety pinned the holes closed.  What they might not understand is I only own fishing clothes...if I can't fish in it, I'm not interested in wearing it.  I've lost several of my favorite fishing outfits over the years.  Hmmm....wonder where they went since I do the laundry?

If my wife isn't around to check my behavior I end up fishing everyday.  She's been of town this week.  So the time between when I walked them to school and when the school says they must come home I spent fishing.

Turkeys at the ramp

I always remember to make it to whatever event I have scheduled, Veterans Day lunch at my kids school, and various other children's activities after school.  Since I don't particularly care how I look or smell when I'm in public...as long as it's fishy...I fish up until that time.  Aside from my wife being gone...I'm human...it's been a great week.  Fish all day and hang out with my girls all evening...awesome!

I fished all day Tuesday, until lunch on Wednesday, and all day Thursday.  Gonna post this b/c I've been slacking on the blog lately (only so much time in the day - sorry) and head out for some carp.  The week went like this:

Bass Tuesday and Wednesday.  Tried again on Thursday but after 2 hours of nothing and hearing the strangest noise in the refuge (Felsenthal NWR) I paddled up on a electroshocking boat.

I decided my first choice wasn't going to work so I went searching for carp and surprisingly found a very active group in a shallow pond.  I had pretty much decided the cool temperatures had shut them down....I was wrong.

Check out my Facebook page Looknfishy for more timely posts and pictures.  A few of my photographs have recently been featured on the Only in Arkansas FB page, http://www.onlyinyourstate.com/arkansas/ar-best-photos-4/  Wish I had that kind of luck with fish.  My luck puts me fishing behind the shock boat. I apologize for all the typos, bad grammar, misplaced commas (my motto-when in doubt comma out), spelling errors...and whatever else offends you.  I'm going fishing now!

Last minute trip to the Little Red River

I was sitting at the dinner table Sunday night when the school called and left a message.  Lots of school activities going on this week and they were updating parents on the times and such.  I'm sure there was some important information on that message.  However, what I heard was a field trip I had planned to be at on Tuesday was really on Wednesday, meaning I could fish Monday and Tuesday.  I looked at my wife and asked her what her plans were for Monday and Tuesday?  We decided that I had some time free as long as I was home on Tuesday before 5pm.  Done!

Pre-dawn start

I threw some stuff in a bag, grabbed my hammock, and went to bed.  I woke up at 12 am and started driving to the Little Red bright and early Monday morning with plans to camp anywhere I could find 2 trees or sleep in my truck if needed...we have lots of trees so I wasn't concerned.

I arrived around 4 am and was on the water around 5.  I wasn't expecting the skinny water that I found.  The COE hadn't generated in a few days and the water was about as low as I have ever seen it.  I drug through every shoal and had to walk a few.  Good news was I probably wouldn't see any boat traffic (only saw a canoe on Monday).  Bad news, I like fishing moving water more than dead calm...and there wasn't much in these conditions.  I decided to basically leap frog all day from shoal to shoal hitting all the moving water I could find and skip the in between flat sections.

The fishing was off and on all day.  But from 3 to 6 pm...epic.  It was so good I think I could have caught a fish on the bank.

Fished until I couldn't see, no chance I was leaving that bite, and paddled out in the darkness.  Found those 2 trees I needed and was out before 9 pm.  Woke up to a heavy mist on Tuesday.  It was so thick I thought I was being waterboarded.  It was 4 am and I was excited about searching for the browns I hadn't located on Monday.  I packed up my camping gear.  5 minutes later (the beauty of hammock camping) I was rigging up my 5 and 6 wts and driving to a different section of the river.

I only had until noon on Tuesday so I skipped to a place I thought might hold some browns.  As I got close to the area I could see and hear that I had made a good decision.  Browns were jumping out of the water, waving huge "come catch me signs."  Done!

Now you're probably hoping for a awesome fishtale, but it was a day of disappointment...sort of.  I caught several browns but the big brown I stalked for an hour got the best of me.  Fly fishing from a kayak has it's up and downs...this was a down.  I got the eat, the brown went real far, real fast, jumped over a tree...not really.  But high enough to get a good view of an angry ~22" brown.  It's powerful run put the kayak in motion...but I was moving perpendicular to the run and straight at the pod of browns.  I didn't want to spook all those browns.  Time wasn't on my side.  I didn't have much time left to fish.  Certainly didn't have time to scout new areas from my kayak.  And the kayak was easing closer and closer to the other browns.  What to do....

I made the decision to correct the kayaks path and maybe save the hole I had found.  I made a bad decision.  I picked the paddle up with my right hand and tried to play the fish with my left hand.  As soon as I did it ran again and I couldn't manage the line properly.  Wasn't long before I was holding a kayak paddle with my right hand and a tension free fly rod with my left.

Oddly, I wasn't bitter.  Yes, the feeling was about as enjoyable as drinking spoiled milk.  But I got the eat, played a beautiful fish for a minute or 2 (seemed like a lifetime), and learned something valuable.  Don't be a dumb a$$...catch the fish you have on the line before you think about the next.  I made myself repeat that phrase over and over again on the 3.5 hour drive home.

Techniques for targeting grass carp on the fly

Below is a collaboration from myself and a buddy** covering nearly 3 years of chasing grass carp.  They're a very challenging fish to take on the fly and it's taken some time to learn their behaviors and develop some techniques that offer repeatable success.  Over the years I'd estimate we've caught hundreds, if not more, grass carp on the fly.  I'm not an expert but here are some techniques that have helped me bring grassers to hand with regularity.   

The first thing I do is look for aggressive behavior and eliminate the carp that won't eat.  In life, there are situations that no matter how hard you work or what you do...you have ZERO chance of being successful.  Searching for carp in the right mood and moving past the ones that only offer rejection will help you in your quest for success.  Some things to look for include:

Caught this sequence of a grass carp porpoising...

If you see this and your w/ a buddy...you throw his fly rod in the water and move fast b/c that's an eat in waiting

Tailing - Fish feeding on the bottom, tail out of the water. 

Tailing in the shallows

Cruising - When you see them shining or porpoising in the distance.  But don't confuse with fleeing.  When a large group of carp are spotted moving in the same direction, away from your general direction, they've decided they don't like you.  In my experience these carp are on guard and grouped for protection.  Pack up and find new water.

Feeding on a hex hatch - epic days!

Feeding - Obviously if you see a grasser come up and eat something...bees, wasps, water bugs...go that way fast!  Feeding carp are aggressive and seem oblivious to their surroundings.  Example, a few weeks back I saw a group schooled up eating water bugs.  The water looked like bass schooling on the surface (hope you've experienced that situation).

After I find a target, the next part is getting a fly in front of the grasser.  I never blind cast.  I always sight fish them.  Having a kayak is a huge bonus in my opinion.  I've chased them from a boat using a trolling motor and feel like they can sense the motor turning.  The kayak allows me to access the skinniest water without making a disturbance.  The small footprint of a kayak allows me to get close (20-30 ft) to them and make accurate presentations.  I don't have much success outside of the dinner plate area.  They just don't go far to eat in most situations.  

I try to go in the middle of the afternoon with the sun high and when the wind is calm.  The water I chase them in is usually clear so spotting them is easy.  Conversely, it also helps them spot the kayak ninja.  Dressing to match your surroundings will help but it really doesn't matter how many buffs you wear, you'll never blend in all the way.  In the end, I still look like a a$$ clown standing behind an island in the picture below.  

Kayak ninja in action...can you see me?

What I've noticed and feel is vital to my success is how close I can get when I don't move.  See pic below.

2 grassers within 10 ft.  I was eating lunch and drifted into them.  They never knew I was there...until I stood up.

I'm convinced they pick up quick movements very well and react to them in sheer panic.  I try to avoid witnessing such behavior by doing my best to move slowly and being deliberate with my movements.  Example, if I need to squat to put my paddle down, I'll be casting from a squatted position...it's good for the glutes!   

Small bream poppers have been fantastic when they're looking up.  If you can make your own upgrade the hook and you'll lose fewer fish to straightened hooks.  Start with no movement and let it sit motionless on the water.  If that doesn't get any interest I'll give it a little twitch or drag it slowly across the water.  It's 50/50 on freak out or eat.  If they won't eat on the surface I drop something off the hook.  Droppers are typically small bugger types, nymphs, and other slow falling carp patterns.  I've had very little success dragging anything to a grass carp.  They don't like to see things moving around them.  A slow fall seems to elicit a better response.

One of several grass carp posts I have on my blog.

http://looknfishy.blogspot.com/2015/08/poor-mans-redfish.html

If any of these tips (cough), help anyone land a few I'd love to hear about it.  You can post directly to my facebook page https://www.facebook.com/looknfishy. Or send pictures to me here: looknfishy@gmail.com and I'll share if that's cool.

**My buddy goes by ark_salmotrutta on Instagram.  He's got some killer pictures from fly fishing around the US...if he'll ever share them.  He just got on social media (has a real job) so keep an eye out for future posts.