Seizing the Day in the Dirty South Platte

What do fishing writers and photographers do when they are looking for a little offbeat excitement?

Simple. Charter a hot-pink, mini, Hindu-themed school bus, load it with a couple of coolers, throw in the fly rods, and spend a 95-degree Saturday bombing around urban Denver fishing for carp. Hunter S. Thompson would have been proud. We not only fished the Dirty South Platte River, but also several secret industrial spillways, golf course ponds, and other waterways I was told I could not list here due to the threat of possible retroactive misdemeanor charges.

The “Carpe Diem 2010 South Platte Invitational” indeed went off without any major glitches, although, after wet-wading in some of those spots, I went home and soaked my feet in Bactine, then checked my immunization record.

I will say that I am particularly proud of having knocked another challenge off my Don Quixote list… the latest windmill to fall was a common carp I managed to land on a Spey Rod, using a double glo-bug steelhead pattern. Not sure if that’s a first, but it might be.

Thank you Will Rice. You may also want to check out reports from our esteemed colleagues at www.busterwantstofish.com (Bruce Smithhammer), www.michaelgracie.com, (Gracie), www.drakemag.com (Geoff Mueller), and www.fishexplorer.com (Rice). –Deeter