CARP ON THE FLY

I have a long distance friend (He's in Oregon , I'm in Ontario Canada) whose exploits have convinced me to try persuing carp with my flyrod. If you go to this link:

http://zonkersfishingblog.blogspot.com/

you will see that he has been having a great time targetting these fish. The rubber legged nymph in the picture is my first attempt at a carp attractor. Now to get out and see if I can make this work. I'll keep you posted.

BIG NYMPH

Sent a photo of this fly to my friend and he asked where I got the pattern. I actually just started fooling around with some materials and a #4 hook and this was the result. I'm trying to give some finicky suspended crappies something different to look at. With my sonar rigged to my kayak or tube indicating schools of fish right below me it's kind of intimidating to only catch one or two fish. But thats what makes it "fishing" rather than "catching".

FLOAT TUBING

A good float tube is a fishing machine with some of the features of the most expensive bass boats. Fins on your feet take the place of the expensive bow-mounted remote controlled electric motor. You can fine tune your casting position with subtle movements of your fins. The tube itself swivels quickly in any direction at the thrust of a fin just like the swivel seat on the expensive boat. No need to worry about launching fees or line ups. No gas to buy. Not much to maintain. No storage worries. Super quiet and stealthy. (Fish will rise right beside you and can often be caught vertically jigging right below the tube.

The tube in this picture is my portable tube. It folds up quite compactly weighs only 6 or 7 pounds and can be stored aboard my kayak or carried in a backpack. Float tube fishing is highly effective . To learn more about it do what I did and visit this site.

BIG FISH TACKLE TUBING FORUM

Fishing Kayaks

The purchase of my Tarpon 120 was motivated by having paddled a friend's Pungo 120 which is also built by Wilderness Systems. I used this kayak to tow my float tube to the hot spot on the lake one windy day. (That's it along side my tube in the "Fishing Vessels" picture.) It was a long kick which we did every day but the wind complicated things that day. I'm glad for that complication as it led to me investigating what has happened in the kayak world since I bought my first yak many years ago. I was actually looking to purchase a Pungo which is a sit-in-kayak but with a very large cockpit. A Pungo 120 would be an efficient kayak fishing vessel as well. You can check out different options at:

WILDERNESS SYSTEMS KAYAKS

KAYAK FISHING STUFF

KAYAK FISHING

My latest "passion" is paddling and fishing my recently acquired Wilderness Systems Tarpon 120 seen here atop my vehicle waiting for the next adventure. This is my first sit-on-top kayak and it is really efficient. It handles just as well as the kayak I have fished and camped with for years. However it is so much more enjoyable to fish from. At this point I have tried river running wavy conditions etc. and the kayak has impressed me in all situations. I am hoping to soon get it out on a multi day fishing/camping trip to really put it through its paces. When I do, my tube will be tagging along. As much fun as it is to fish from the kayak, nothing beats the positioning and stalking ability of a modern float tube

Flyrod Rules

My favourite method of fishing for anything that swims is with my flyrod. The creativity involved in tying and fishing your own flies adds much pleasure to my preferred way of fishing. I am definitely no purist though and love to think outside of the box. So I guess you could say I'm not your typical dry fly guy. Don't get me wrong though if I can get fish on dries that's what I'll be using.