The several skunks before today were quite frustrating. I took some days off from fishing and waited for inspiration. During a night of drinking, inspiration struck. The river smallies! They get terribly aggressive this time of year. I swapped out my carp box for my bait binder and went fishing the next day. I didn't get sm but I pulled a nice largemouth, a good catch I thought. The spot I went to was choked with weeds and one hole was riddled with carp. It never fails that I bring my bass gear and sight active carp, but as I walked upriver I realized this a key carp area and a unique spot to the whole river. There was a big laydown upriver, providing a large stretch of stagnant weeds, even some duckweed which I almost never see in the river. I came home feeling refreshed and thought  I would try carp fishing the next day.

  There was rain in the morning and a favorable overcast sky by the time I got down there. The carp were fining right there, more downstream than the duckweed but in relation to the spot. I spooked some fish but also chummed some fish. Finally I got a scorching run and broke off. Son of a gun. My mono was not holding a knot for whatever reason. Maybe the heat and sun ruined the line. I checked my bag and I had my new spool of fluorocarbon in there. If I didn't make the decision to spool up new line on the bank it would have been another skunk. Caught a 35" and a smaller fish on a hair rig; one kernal of corn and one fake fluorescent orange corn on size 10 hook. Also caught a smallie reeling up the fake corn!

 

Here is a picture of the carp and the water.  

 

Nice! Carp are very underrated.

Nice! I'm hoping to get a little into carp fishing. There's a lot of them in some waters around me and I know they put up a fantastic fight.