Month: March 2014

Guest contributor

Pu-l-l-l-l that carp, but don’t break your fly rod!

Wait a minute ... why didn't I bring my 7 weight? (Ken Lindsay)
Wait a minute … why didn’t I bring my 7 weight? (Ken Lindsay)
By Ken Lindsay
Guest Contributor

I went down to the River today for a couple of hours and ran into a Fishermen’s Spot customer, Keith Mosier, who was fishing it for the first time too.

I had a tough time hooking fish but, the one I did hook was big and broke me off on 2X.

Keith Mosier nabs his first L.A. River carp. Oh, yeah! (Ken Lindsay)
Keith Mosier nabs his first L.A. River carp. Oh, yeah! (Ken Lindsay)

Keith told me about a group of feeders that he had found and we went to take a look. They were tanks!

Keith graciously let me have a shot at them but I could get no love. He stepped back in and immediately hooked a nice one that took him down stream about 50 yards but he finally was able to land his first carp on a fly and I was on hand to take some pics.

Guest contributor

Landing Capt. Ahab’s carp (big as a whale, mate)
That's no minnow! To get a sense of scale, check out the big Galvan reel in the lower left. (Mark Gangi)
That’s no minnow! To get a sense of scale, check out the big Galvan reel in the lower left. (Mark Gangi)

By Mark Gangi
Guest Contributor

What a great fight that day, which created a spectacle and drew a small crowd of joggers.

The fish took off downstream, wrapped me around a large rock and then headed upstream. I didn’t jump in after him until he was deep in my backing and I thought I was going to lose another carp on the river.

The water was deeper than my hip waders so I had to slosh like a maniac upstream after him, and when I had him in shallow water he was too big to pick up by the jaw so I had to go WWF on him.

I have had my best takes with Jan’s Carp Tickler and Hise’s Carpnasty, both in brown with orange. Maybe the orange looks like tilapia eggs? Both of these flies are also visible in the water.

Creatures

We love you, Howard Wong
Howard Wong saved this and three other carp from a sidewalk demise during our recent storms. (LAStormwater)
Howard Wong saved this and three other carp from a sidewalk demise during our recent storms. (LAStormwater)

Here’s a typical beauty shot, seen in fly-fishing mags in shops across America. But, this isn’t catch and release. It’s a true lifesaver as L.A. environmental Compliance Inspector Howard Wong rescues this sweet carp and three others from their waterless perch atop the bank, where they were washed up during our recent powerful storms.

Without Howard, we would be four fish short in the river. Thank you!

Hope to see you on the river, Howard. — Jim Burns

Guest contributor

Quick mends: Spring carp spawn is on!
Spring Insanity: if you've never seen a carp spawn, now's the time. (birding for Humans)
Spring Insanity: if you’ve never seen a carp spawn, now’s the time. (birding for Humans)

The Birding for Humans blog sent me this snap yesterday. From the looks of it, carp love is in full bloom.

Go down and see for yourself. This urban river phenomenon is about as awesome as it gets. Dozens of carp make their way up river.

See you on the river, Jim Burns