Downpours and Redemption

Typically I have my fishing game pretty tight for the fishing I mostly engage in, trout and carp.  That doesn't mean I have off days but this year I have two off months.  On the water I've been sloppy and inaccurate with my casts, either too fast or slow with my hook sets and generally out of sync with the demands needed to connect with fish.  Generally it's been an ugly funk whenever I've been on the water. 

Given the warm temps, carp was on the menu and the opportunity to tighten up my game presented itself.  On the water I focused on moving slowly and quietly, moving into position carefully and crucially making the first cast the right cast .  I found that too much fly movement spooked the carp so little or no fly movement was the key.  What unfolded was a magical two hours of only messing up two fish, one to lining and one to hooking a stick near the fish.  All the others were spot on presentations and hook sets.  In my journey on water I saw tons of Killdeer, a water snake hunting in the shallows, three or so dozen Cedar Waxwings working the bugs over a riffle, an Osprey, an immature Bald Eagle, a Red Tailed Hawk, plus Eastern Kingbirds, Crows and the typical assortment of resident birds.  Then came the thunderstorms and bad light that ended the magical afternoon of redemption.