Tuesday, February 14, 2012

The Year of the Dragon means The Year of the Carp

Since we're still fresh into the Year of the Dragon (my birth year by the way), I best post this now. I wasn't always a huge fan of the carp but knew it to be strong and capable of showing up all over the planet. Sure humans have helped it along but its persistence has earned it respect in my book even though I never have caught them deliberately. So what is this post REALLY all about? Two things: It's the fact that Chinese legend has it that the carp's reward is to become a dragon. This means that I have a carp in my ancestry in some cool heritage-meets-mythological fashion. I confess I get a kick out of it. Here's an interesting thread which discusses the myth at the China History Forum. Second, there's a great event in June that celebrates this fish... As follows: Conway Bowman down in San Diego has been a fan of targeting these fish and Al Quattrocci whipped up this solid poster for an event later this year. America's love/hate relationship with the carp gets put aside as cool cats target these fish with flies on a summer day in California. How can you say no?

Details here: http://carpthrowdown.com/
And if you aren't sold on it yet, it's only a matter of time before carp anglers start getting all the babes. Our friends in Europe clearly have somehow brought these elements together (I remain skeptical). Click here for carp-flavored-pinup

Thursday, February 9, 2012

The Beach Hugger


Through the fog of a flu-like bug and just prior to a nice swell which has sent some of the best looking waves I have ever seen in So Cal in my life, I snuck in an AM session with fello anglers. Perch hookups galore. Photo cred: Al Q. Click on th eimage - it blows up nicely.