Flush with recent success, I took my new “Carp Death Physics flies” down to Starbuck’s… That really wasn’t the plan, but someone mistakenly ordered a Mocha Cappuccino Frappe instead of my beloved creek.

Note to self: Record the date of success, as some farmer upstream obviously turned something off to make the water so clear.

Now I am looking at a rich brown mess that supposedly has fish in it.

A quick test of my special Neutral/Dark Food fly yields visibility of 4 inches, after that the fly was just some afterthought you toss out with your empty cup.

Back to the drawing board. I need whirling propeller blades coupled with “Scent of 1000 Nightcrawlers” to make anything find and eat these flies.

I am not at all surprised as it’s a rule of angling that all great chest pounding successes are met with your demise on the next sortie. The only solace was that I hadn’t called all my buddies and promised them, ” a fish a cast, call in sick.”

I’m surveying the area looking for something to prevent me from walking back to the car, and I see some small movement on a fork of the stream. It’s a large carp tail, giving me the “Bonefish Flats – I’m Eating” sign.

I replace my bug with a #8 florescent red bead chain eyed shad dart, it gives me all of 6 inches visibility.. I crouch into my best Mark Sosin posture and fling this unwieldy mixture near the carp..

I figure a couple of tugs as it nears the fish ought to do it, and on the second I feel resistance and set hook. Yep, fish on – only something isn’t quite right as the fish moves 4 feet and stops cold. I see the tail occasionally and its a big fish, but other than the initial movement – nothing. It’s still there but something just isn’t right..

I realize what the problem is and I can’t help but laugh. First, I have the fish foul hooked somewhere near the tail, but the reason the fish isn’t moving – is he can’t see any better than I can.

Nope, there will be no scorching runs today, 6 inches of visibility isn’t enough to avoid slamming into whatever is in your way.

I wade out to where the fish is, reach down and grab the tail remove the fly – and call it a day. I just hope I didn’t step on any of them enroute.

del.icio.us Tags: carp on the fly, brownlining, abject failure