fishydreams

Today I caught a carp which was, maybe, the dumbest one in the river. As fish go, carp are generally considered to be pretty smart. But not this one! I suppose there is an exception to every rule. This particular fish was feeding in the shallows and a cloud of silt, produced by its rummaging, lead me straight to it. It was just a few feet away from a snag which emerged above the water surface and I managed to hook the snag straight away. This is a skill I have refined over the years. I make it look easy! There was no sign of my nymph coming out of the snag and so, in frustration, I pulled on the line by hand and the snag was uprooted from the river bed and I managed to drag it over to the side.

Any self-respecting fish would have buggered off  as a result of all of this tomfoolery and commotion, but this dumb carp just resumed its feeding as though nothing had happened. After retrieving my fly I presented it to the fish again. It took a couple of casts to put the fly in the right place and, sure enough, the dumb fish inhaled the fly without hesitation.

Then all hell broke loose before I managed to draw it into the shallows and unhook it. As I fumbled around trying to get my camera sorted out it thrashed around and threw water all over me before working its way into deeper water and disappearing.

I have no picture of this fish, or of the barbel I caught a little later, but I managed to photograph a couple of other carp. I don´t know why the fish failed to show the characteristic wariness of its peers. It was as big as any of the others and can hardly blame youth, inexperience or lack of education. One thing seems pretty clear though: when these carp are feeding actively they can become so preoccupied that they lose a lot of their usual caution.

It doesn´t concern me that I have no photographic record of the dumbest fish in the river.

I will probably catch it again some time

It shouldn´t be too hard!

One of the smarter ones

Another smart one

Pretty things, these. The reflection of my fingers detracts from its otherwise cerebral apprearance.