Firstly if you are not from Texas I will have to let you know that the average (24 hour) temperature in Austin in June was over 87 degree's. The high has not been less than 90 degrees since the 15th of May and we have had something like 31 days with the high over 100 already this year.

Anyway last Sunday it was supposed to rain and have a high of 94 which is the lowest high in many days. Anyway I start fishing about midday and had covered my face up with sun screen. I sat in the shade of a tree and waited, the sun got higher and higher. there was hardly any wind and I had a constant stream of sweat just dripping off of my forehead.

At about 3pm (when there was no shade left) I had a screamer, it ended up being about a 10lb common. Catching this fish had brought over some visitors who I found out were named Bill and Jazz. I just got the rod out again when I had another screamer this one tore off through the other 2 lines by the time I got it in the landing net all the lines were pretty badly tangled so without a choice I unhooked it by the bank in the landing net and then carried it over to the carp matt for weighing and pictures. It was a common carp weighing just over 17lb I believe. Anyway I had just put the Carp back in the water when the landing net started heading towards the lake as I had unhooked the fish in the net and the lines were tangled with the net as well. I managed to somehow free the landing net and grab the rod, the fish was on though I could only reel in as far as the tangle so I asked Bill to grab the rod while I went to grab some scissors to try and cut the other lines out. This didn't work as I couldn't tell which line had the fish on. (this scene was ending up like one out of Laurel and Hardy.) I always carry a wooden chair leg in my rod holdall as you can get some not so nice charactors on the east side of I35, so I grabbed that and started wrapping the power pro around it (as it would cut your hands to bits) once I had a few turns on it I cut all the lines from the other rods grabbed the rod from Bill and passed him the chair leg with the fish still on. I crawled out of the lake and back on the bank and Bill brought the fish in using the chair leg. See replies for other pics as I can only upload 1 pic per post. I'll see if I can change that.

This is Bill with (I think it was) 15lb common which he reeled in with a wooden chair leg see next reply.

The wooden chair leg.



After that I had 1 more fish that I lost when I let of some of the pressure on the rod passing my camera over to get some shots. I ended up swaeting all the sun screen off and burning my face. when i got home I was red as a beetroot and today (wednesday) my face is peeling pretty well lol

Nice story, thanks.

Well here is mine:

I went to my local lake and had two of my poles in the water and one of my sons. My son, who is seven, also wanted to put in the Tigger the Tiger fishing pole he got when he was three. It is about two feet long and who knows what pound line it has. My kids (boy 7, girl 3) were swimming while I fished.

I had pulled out a couple of three pound carp and every time I got one my son would handle the net. I was taking a catfish off one of my hooks when my son had decided to fish a bit too. But he grew tired of it quickly and handed the Tigger fishing pole off to his sister. Right then she started crying and saying that she was "lonely" out on the pier. I told her I would come out to her in a second but that did not calm her fear.

A women had just pulled up and was unloading a canoe and she noticed that my daughter had caught a fish and was afraid of what to do: she wasn't feeling "lonely" but "alone". So the woman starts pulling the line in with her hands because the drag on the fishing pole wasn't doing a thing. I dropped the cat and went over to help.

I don't know why but this fish was not putting up any fight at all. I pretty much thought that we had snagged a branch. But when it came close I could see that it was a carp a bit bigger than most of what we take out of the lake.

I yelled for my son to get the net and he came over to help. When he saw what she had on the line he got excited and reaching out for the line promptly fell off the pier. He had never fallen in before so I didn't know how well he would respond and actually use his relatively new swimming skills. But he did ok and swam over to the shore.

By now I had the carp in the net and had a small audience. We held it up and I just kept saying that I couldn't believe that my three year old had caught it with a Tigger pole. The people around were amazed as they usually are when we take carp out - they are sooo used to seeing panfish. You all know and I know that carp are easily much bigger.

Anyway we weighed it (8 lbs.)and snapped a pic of my daughter and her first fish. Not bad for a first fish. (I remember my first it was about two inches long.) It was almost as tall as she is and I am sure she we will all enjoy that pic for years to come. She was all smiles and very proud of herself.

When I fish at my local reservior I am often joined by local youngsters. Last time out they caught two smallmouth Buffalo and a common at 11 lb, 11 lb and 8 lb. As you say, they are used to catching panfish so this is a major thrill for them. It is totally worth the tangled lines to watch the splashing and general mayhem that ensues with a hookup!