By Kirk Deeter

Many of my carp nation friends from coast to coast are reporting that the fishing has turned on—in a big way. Al Quattrocchi and Conway Bowman tell me the annual "Throwdown" tournament held at Lake Henshaw near San Diego was a great success. I am going down to fish the Dirty South Platte in Denver today to see what's happening. Will Rice reported that flows have dropped, the water cleared, and the fish are happy.

By Kirk Deeter

Thanks to those of you who have been reading my dispatches from Russia and the Ponoi River. It was, in every sense, an epic trip of a lifetime.  

But there is some backstory worth sharing. KLM airlines lost my luggage in Amsterdam before I could fly from Helsinki to Murmansk. I cleared Russian customs with my computer, camera, and a plastic bag filled with six pairs of underwear, two pair of socks, and a bottle of scotch I bought at Duty-Free. The perplexed customs agent stared at me for a bit, and I simply stared back, implying only "I'm here to party." I got stamped through...and I think even Hunter S. Thompson would have been proud. (Fortunately, the guides at Ryabaga camp outfitted me for the week with everything I needed, clothes and all, which I think is further testament to what a top-notch operation they run on the Ponoi.)