A Big Fish Story about Tiny Gear

So there I was, peacefully fishing a small Northern ;;Colorado pond from a belly boat with that 4.8-ounce Fenwick rod, a 1000 series Daiwa reel spooled with4-pound Nanofil braid and a fluorocarbon leader, tied to a barbless 1/32-ounceMule Fishing mushroom head jig. Just hoping for a nice bass or bluegill, with no warning I found myself confronted by the biggest carp I'd ever seen:34-inches long, just a tad under the Colorado state record. ;;

That bruiser and I battled it out for well over half an hour, likely longer. At least I thought of it as battle; the fish seemed indifferent as it tugged me around and around that pond in a Colorado equivalent of a "Nantucket Sleigh Ride." Nonstop, the rod was bent like a pretzel and yanked from side to side. From the outset, I was pretty sure I was about to test the replacement warranty on that Fenwick.

Anyway, though it was terrifying to see that $160 rod being putto such an ultimate test, the sweet little thing just wouldn't break. When part of the fish was finally crammed into my net, I was exhausted, my right wrist was bruised and sprained, but the carp and the Fenwick were unharmed. Over seven-plus decades of fishing, I've managed to torture and snap my share of rods: tried to pull a jig free from an overhead tree, mishandled more than one rod while landing a fish, dropped a couple over the side of my belly boat, even had the wife slam a trunk lid on three rod tips all at once. Also had a kinda costly, heavier rod snapped by a much smaller carp a decade or so back. ;;

Anyway, I'm sold on the progress being made at the ultralight end of the fishing industry, and thinking I really should add that little Fenwick one-piece 5-footer to my arsenal. Father's Day is coming.