photo by Mark Vandehey
[Editor’s Note: Oregon angler “John Montana,” who runs the Carp on the Fly blog sent me these amazing photos and the story behind them today. All I can say is “Wow.”]
On Sunday, I was on the flats chasing carp with my buddies David Nakamoto and Mark Vandehey (the man behind the camera), when a good day quickly turned into an incredible day. As we walked along looking for carp, I spotted a big tail breaking the surface and a cloud of dark big, black fish. I pointed the spectacle out to Mark and David, and then like a complete idiot, I cast at a roughly 15-pound carp. With me hooked up for the next few minutes, David and Mark stalked the bigger fish.
photo by Mark Vandehey
As they got closer, they saw that it was a group of four sturgeon, feeding and basically tailing on a thigh-deep gravel bar. David slipped into position and cast a size 8 Hybrid Carp Fly to the lead sturgeon. Unbelievably…the fish ate it.
photo by Mark Vandehey
By this time, I had joined them (silently cursing the carp I had just released), and the three of us sort of stood there stunned while the fish headed for deep water. We knew that we were not even going to think about keeping the fish, so David absolutely put the wood to it. Rod straining and 10-pound fluoro tippet creaking, he pushed his gear to the limit trying to bring the fish to the shallows. I took off my camera and got ready to wrestle with this fish, if necessary.
On its second trip into shallow water, I managed to stick my woefully small carp net over the head of the sturgeon, and then quickly jumped onto my knees and got hold of the tail. We got the fish under control, snapped a few pictures, and smiled as she darted back out into the river.
photo by Mark Vandehey
What a moment…a feeding sturgeon eating a size 8 carp fly in the shallows. It was an unbelievable catch by my friend, and something I won’t forget.
Toll us more about the number 8 carp fly?