final exhaustion. I circled in the tube to get my hand in position and finally lifted the fish onto the float tube apron, measured it more out of reflex than anything else, slipped the fly from it's mouth, and released back to the pond, the largest of it's species I have ever taken on a fly rod. Actually the only of it's species I have ever taken on a fly rod. In fact, this may even be some sort of state fly rod record in the 5 lb class, or something like that. Cliff, who had seen me hold up the fish excitedly from a distance, paddled over. "What was it",he asked. "A carp. A damn, big, strong, 6 pound carp. I thought I had the biggest bass I had ever hooked." Cliff laughed, sort of, and I laughed, sort of, but there it was. I had just had more fun that I had had in several days of spectacular rainbow fishing, all because of the mystery, the unknown pull, the unidentified creature. But what would we do with that knowledge now secure? Well, one possibility is that there is a fishery sight casting nymphs to spooky schools or individuals of fish that, in the ponds along the Columbia, run considerably larger than 6 pounds. I would hate to think what a 10 or 15 pound fish would have done to my 4 weight rod. Will I find out? That depends. What is "sport" anyway? Humph! Trump Doyle McKenzie Flyfishers June 1990
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