Short session....nice fish

I went out to the Gardens yesterday afternoon for a couple of hours in hopes of getting in some quality fishing.  It had been awhile since I caught anything and I needed some action.  As usual, the first thing I do when I unload my gear is to throw about two cups of dry dog food out in the area I'll be fishing.  This usually works to get the fish attracted to the area and starts them feeding.  Next, I opened a can of whole kernel sweet corn and threw about half of the contents into the same area.....there's nothing like a free buffet to get the fish excited.  Finally, I loaded my hooks with the biggest, juiciest kernels of corn, cast two lines into the targeted area and settled back to await the first strike. 

It took about thirty minutes for anything to happen.  I felt a gentle tug on one line as an underwater intruder began to play with my bait so I focused my attention and waited for the fish to make the commitment.  Instead, the line went slack and after about five minutes of anticipation, I reeled in to find the bait gone.  After loading more corn on the hook and recasting the line, I continued waiting.

This time the wait was not as long.  About ten minutes into the vigil the rod began to bounce, and as I grabbed it up I knew that a nice fish was on.  Everything went according to plan...the fish began a run towards the other end of the pond, I  increased the drag on the reel to slow the run, and, when I had the fish's head turned  I began to reel it back in.  It was a fighter and jumped clear of the water in a twisting effort to free itself from the hook.  I continued to keep the pressure on and gradually reeled this nice common carp up to the bank where I used my net to land it.

While I was playing the fish I attracted an audience of local high school students who had been enjoying the afternoon in the park.  They came over to see my catch, asked what kind of fish it was, and and seemed very interested in what had occurred.  When I had removed the hook from the carp's mouth one young lady asked if she could hold the fish up for a picture.  I took this picture (edited to protect the minor's identity), and the other students used their cell phones to take several shots while we weighed the fish and released it to fight another day.

A beautiful day, a nice five pound fish, meeting new friends.....not bad for an hour in the park.