Lake Michigan 2013: Prelude and Day1

Last weekend I met Miles and Ty (THE Carp Aficionado) for our first fly fishing for carp pilgrimage to Lake Michigan.

In telling the story I would prefer to skip straight to the end of Day1 but I can't.  Triumph without struggle is like Superman sans Lex Luther.  

PRELUDE

On the way to the airport my phone was giving it to me from both ends.  On the one hand Miles and Ty simply couldn't wait.  They were starting the party early in the Detroit area.  The carp pictures showing up in my inbox (including a nice pre-trip 20-something pounder for Miles) were bitter-sweet torture that only a punishment-loving carper can enjoy.   

At the same time Delta Airlines was sending me a steady stream of emails.  It started innocently enough.  An hour delay here.  An hour delay there.  That is travel right?  Well, eventually my flight would be delayed almost 8 hours due to a mixture of mechanical issues and lack of stewardesses.    

I didn't end up getting on the road out of Detroit until 5:00AM the next morning.  The delay cost me a rental car, a full night of sleep, the first two hours of fishing and my first red-bull binge.

DAY1:

I finally met up with the crew around 10:00AM Friday morning in the far North-West reaches of Michigan.

We were starting in an area with countless bays, fingers and cuts - all of which were as empty as our rapidly fading delusions of grandeur.  Between the freakish wind direction out of the NE, the four degree cold front and lack of intel or experience with the area we appeared hosed.

We walked.  Then we walked.  Then we drove around a little.  They I think we walked a little more but that part is lost in a sleep deprivation haze.  By the time the day was nearly gone all we had to show for our trouble was two shots at surprisingly spooky carp and eight or nine nice small-mouth bass.  I would show you a picture but I didn't bother to take any.  Who reading this gives a damn about a 2lb SMB?

Now, we are a little slow but not stupid.  Eventually we loaded up and headed for an inlet in an Easterly opening bay.  We prayed to the carp spirits that lining up an on-shore wind with warm inlet water would set us up to finally find some carp.  And we did, or I should say Ty did.

Ty's new personal best 26lb beast of a carp saved the day and brought a sense of energy and purpose to the entire team for Day2.  Now, this begs the question: "If Lake Michigan is the fly fishing for carp promised land what does this fish mean for Lake Huron!?!?!?"