I did not realize it until talking to a couple of fly tyers and fly fisherman a little while ago, but this is my 50th. year of fly tying and fly fishing!!! Wow! Where has all the time gone...
I caught my first carp on the fly back in the 70's, back behind Pensacola Dam, to the area that is now a golf course.
My second place to catch a carp was below the spillway at Spavinaw, then various creeks here and there.
I also caught a big stringer of channel cats in a local farm pond, not long after catching my first carp, plus several stringers of crappie and sand bass wading the creeks.
More that a few gar were also put one new over the years, plus more drum than what could in the back of a full size pickup.
Perch and bluegill were my first fly rod catches, followed by largemouth bass.
Small mouth bass were caught many many years later, and that has been so much fun!
Then there my third or fourth favorite fish to catch, and that is trout. I have caught trout here in Oklahoma, Arkansas, Missouri, New Mexico, Colorado, Wyoming, Idaho and couple of other states.
Given a choice species though, it would be carp first, then drum, then flip a coin between catfish and gar. All great fighting fish to catch on the fly.
My first fly that I tied was an unpainted cork popper that the bluegills absolutely loved.
My first carp fly was tied to look like a mulberry than my grandpa showed me how to tie, and carp would hit these flies under nearly every tree that I fished it around. The first carp that I caught on a fly, I had no idea the power that these fish had. Next to a big drum, a carp is one of the hardest fighting fish there is around here, and also one of the funnest fish to catch.
Catching carp in the 10-20 pound range is quite common, and happens nearly every carp fishing outing that we go on. Common carp are the norm, with an occasional grass carp or mirror carp thrown in for good measure.
And stripers!!! The first and only striper I ever caught weighed 26 pounds and I thought it was going to destroy my "little" 8 wt. fly rod! While fun to catch, I have no desire to do that again. That fish didn't taste that great, at least to me anyways. I would rather be wading in a creek somewhere, catching a mess of sand bass, cause I know they eat good.
Sorry for being so long winded.
Here are just a few of the flies that I tie, and if you see one you need a better picture of, just ask and I'll be glad to show it off.
Any yes, I also mold my own hellgrammite lures that I use for both carp and small mouth bass.
I caught my first carp on the fly back in the 70's, back behind Pensacola Dam, to the area that is now a golf course.
My second place to catch a carp was below the spillway at Spavinaw, then various creeks here and there.
I also caught a big stringer of channel cats in a local farm pond, not long after catching my first carp, plus several stringers of crappie and sand bass wading the creeks.
More that a few gar were also put one new over the years, plus more drum than what could in the back of a full size pickup.
Perch and bluegill were my first fly rod catches, followed by largemouth bass.
Small mouth bass were caught many many years later, and that has been so much fun!
Then there my third or fourth favorite fish to catch, and that is trout. I have caught trout here in Oklahoma, Arkansas, Missouri, New Mexico, Colorado, Wyoming, Idaho and couple of other states.
Given a choice species though, it would be carp first, then drum, then flip a coin between catfish and gar. All great fighting fish to catch on the fly.
My first fly that I tied was an unpainted cork popper that the bluegills absolutely loved.
My first carp fly was tied to look like a mulberry than my grandpa showed me how to tie, and carp would hit these flies under nearly every tree that I fished it around. The first carp that I caught on a fly, I had no idea the power that these fish had. Next to a big drum, a carp is one of the hardest fighting fish there is around here, and also one of the funnest fish to catch.
Catching carp in the 10-20 pound range is quite common, and happens nearly every carp fishing outing that we go on. Common carp are the norm, with an occasional grass carp or mirror carp thrown in for good measure.
And stripers!!! The first and only striper I ever caught weighed 26 pounds and I thought it was going to destroy my "little" 8 wt. fly rod! While fun to catch, I have no desire to do that again. That fish didn't taste that great, at least to me anyways. I would rather be wading in a creek somewhere, catching a mess of sand bass, cause I know they eat good.
Sorry for being so long winded.
Here are just a few of the flies that I tie, and if you see one you need a better picture of, just ask and I'll be glad to show it off.
Any yes, I also mold my own hellgrammite lures that I use for both carp and small mouth bass.
