Lightning, camera, action!

I almost stayed home today. Wind, rain and thunderstorms were in the forecast, but if there is one thing I've learned about fishing this year, especially fly fishing for carp, it's that persistence is key. So I went. It began to rain almost immediately and I soon gave up looking for carp and tied on a little popper. I waded along shore, casting to fallen trees and big rocks and watching feisty little bluegills attack my fly.
Soon though, the rain let up and the post storm calm was magical. The lake looked like a pane of glass, the forest was still and wet and I was utterly alone on the water. Also, I began to spot carp, tailing and rooting in the shallows. I switched my popper for a nymph and the hunt was on.
The sun poked out for all of five minutes, just long enough for me to catch sight of a drum working along the bottom of a rocky ledge. I dropped in my fly and the fish rose gratefully off the bottom to meet it (the toe of my boot snuck into the pic for size reference):
I explored farther than I had ever been before, and found some cool spots. The rain fell off and on all morning. I alternated between catching sunfish on the popper and trying to put my nymph in front of carp. The sunfish proved cooperative, but it wasn't until the way back that the carp joined in the fun. I spotted a trail of mud clouds parallel to shore and with some stealth and patience I was able to feed my fly to the culprit. I held on to this fish for probably 20 minutes before it finally let me get it's head into my net:
The fun didn't stop there! I was just across the bay from the car, soaking wet and elated when two things happened - I hooked up to a second carp, and the lightning started. Moments later, two more things happened - I realized that I was standing in the middle of a lake with a 9 foot fishing rod in the air during a thunder storm and the carp on the end of my line decided it would swim to the other side of the bay. Needless to say I ended the fight as soon as I could, snapped a quick photo and booked it back to the car. An epic day!