Biggun For Christmas

Yeah, Santa has brought us a little snow and has not been overly generous on the weather lately.  I can't complain though.  Can't complain one bit, because yesterday he brought a:

I may have to talk with Santa about a new camera too because what followed was ridiculous.  Combine my state of adrenaline rushed anxiety with a 12 second timer and you get a comedy of errors.

Picture 1:  Obligatory and boring "in the net" picture.  I do this with every big carp now so that I have at least SOMETHING to remember it by after the "19lb Mirror Debacle of 2012".

Picture 2:  Biggun wriggles wildly while trying to lift it into position resulting in the ever charming "have you hugged a biggun lately?" photo.

Picture 3: Biggun wriggles wildly while extracting it from the net resulting in the penultimate action-style "have you dove head-first into freezing water to rescue your biggun lately?" photo.

Picture 4: Angler is now nervous (and cold) and goes for a safe 12 seconds or less pose resulting in a truly classy "have you been pictured in a compromising position with a biggun lately?" photo.  Thankfully the photo was out of focus saving both parties (whoever they may be) considerable embarrassment.

Picture 4: Biggun finally recognizes my considerable resolve to get a halfway decent photo of my personal best DSP carp.  The picture snaps halfway through the process of lifting it but I have just enough time to say cheese and it comes out half-ass decent anyways.  Somehow it looks twice as big in the "have you hugged a biggun" picture.  That one gets posted to facebook.  Naturally.

So, you may be frothing at the mouth wondering why I am wasting your time with bad photography instead of giving you the dirt.

I caught this carp on Friday blind casting an Olive McTage's McLuvin.  Between a trace of snow-melt stain in the water and a complete lack of sun nothing else but blind-casting was an option.  I was stripping the fly in as slowly as I possibly could while maintaining contact with the fly when suddenly I made contact with something else.  Something large and in charge.  Something with HEFT!  The battle lasted at least two minutes which is extra-ordinary and when I lifted the net I knew immediately that it would go 20+.  As a matter of fact it was 22lb and 32" which is my largest DSP carp to date by two pounds.  In December.

Thanks Santa.  In return I promise to not eat your cookies this year. Well, maybe just one.