It may seem unlikely that someone would travel all the way to Montana to pursue carp but when Mike Ward of Adipose Boatworks emailed me last week to see if I had plans for Sunday, I jumped at the chance to mix the trip up a bit.
Early Sunday morning I made the trip over to Helena from Missoula and was at the Adipose Boatworks shop just after eight o'clock. Mike Ward and Justin Waayenberg took a few minutes to walk me through the shop and it was neat to get a glimpse of what goes into the making of an Adipose Flow skiff.
We spent all morning and into the afternoon on a nearby reservoir and the river leading into it and between gray skies, skinny water, and an unforgiving wind we left the water blanked. We had seen some puffs of mud where a few carp had been before the boat had gotten to close but the water was just to dingy to see them. We decided to make a go for Plan B.
On our way back to Helena, Mike and Justin knew of a couple ditches where carp were known to push up from the lake and figured it was worth a try for an hour or so before heading back to the shop. What we found in the ditches made our day with carp, typically grouped in twos and threes, feeding and moving around the shallow water. A small pink and white Gotcha style was all that was needed to catch the attention of several carp and all three of us got a few very visual and exciting eats. Day saved with a carp or two for each of us.
In Montana terms, fly fishing for carp in an irrigation ditch is likely about as dirty as it gets, but it was a damn good time.
Thanks again to Mike and Justin of Adipose Boatworks for showing me around and putting me on the biggest fish I've caught in Montana so far.
Early Sunday morning I made the trip over to Helena from Missoula and was at the Adipose Boatworks shop just after eight o'clock. Mike Ward and Justin Waayenberg took a few minutes to walk me through the shop and it was neat to get a glimpse of what goes into the making of an Adipose Flow skiff.
We spent all morning and into the afternoon on a nearby reservoir and the river leading into it and between gray skies, skinny water, and an unforgiving wind we left the water blanked. We had seen some puffs of mud where a few carp had been before the boat had gotten to close but the water was just to dingy to see them. We decided to make a go for Plan B.
On our way back to Helena, Mike and Justin knew of a couple ditches where carp were known to push up from the lake and figured it was worth a try for an hour or so before heading back to the shop. What we found in the ditches made our day with carp, typically grouped in twos and threes, feeding and moving around the shallow water. A small pink and white Gotcha style was all that was needed to catch the attention of several carp and all three of us got a few very visual and exciting eats. Day saved with a carp or two for each of us.
In Montana terms, fly fishing for carp in an irrigation ditch is likely about as dirty as it gets, but it was a damn good time.
Thanks again to Mike and Justin of Adipose Boatworks for showing me around and putting me on the biggest fish I've caught in Montana so far.
1 comment:
Seems like an awesome trip. I know I'll be looking for carp when I'm MT this summer too. :)
-Oliver
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