For most of us who live and or work in the country, the idea of urban fishing  goes on the back burner as there are many more beautiful serene places to fish and that hold fish with a better reputation than the one I fish for.  I am an avid  semi professional carp fisherman.  Yep that’s right  the four letter word of the angling community CARP.    Carp a much maligned fish in the angling community can trace its urban roots back to the 1800s  when it was brought to the united states(Baltimore) as a food fish for the increasing numbers of immigrants and non immigrants  who  were building the infrastructure (hi ways and railroads) of the United states.  When the holding ponds in Baltimore filled up, they were transferred to  the lakes on what is today the national Mall  and  those carp   were distributed to every state in the country by the department of fish and wild life.   The Potomac river and the tidal basin  are two of the best  carp fishing areas in the world.  The tidal basin holding the largest carp ever caught in the  USA and weighed on a certified scale(1983) for  many years at 57.13 lbs.   In Europe where carp fishing is a multi billion dollar industry  the record is  I believe 80 plus pounds.    For those of you fly fishermen and women   if you really wanna have fun  try fly fishing for carp.  Think of it as a freshwater bonefish  on steroids.  Imagine the screaming runs  of a 30lbr  that will test your knot tying , drag settings  and get you into the backing before you blink an eye.  No charters to belize necessary .

The picture is  in Austin texas   and that fish is about a 25lb   White Amur (aka grass carp)  I was in Austin for the Austin City Limits  music festival  and scheduled an extra day  just for some urban fishing.. Since  2004  I have traveled to town lake ( now called lady bird Johnson lake).  to fish  for some monster carp  in the annual Austin Team Championships held by The Carp Anglers Group ( CAG) . Town lake is also in the top ten of carp fishing lakes in the country if not the world ,  yielding the current texas state record fish a few years back  with a $250,000 prize.

It is an adventure to fish in the middle of a city, from the comments from passerbys  to the shadows of the big buildings  it provides a unique backdrop for  one of Americas favorite pasttimes.

Wanna try your hand at it  come visit me at the store  and  lets plan a quick getaway to DC  to fish for what mark twain called “queen of the river “  and In -Fisherman  Magazine called “the worlds greatest sportfish”..