Cyprinius carpio

5/6/17
Missouri River, Montana
YES! Finally, after 4 years of dreaming, short windows of chance, and zero success, my dream came true! Here's how the story goes: It was about 11AM on a sunday of our trip. My dad and I were counting on catching one more Channel cat before we were going to leave. Well, I had a big bite and my rod was bending more than it had the whole trip. I set the hook and began fighting this fish. For the time of year we were fishing the Missouri, the water visibility stopped at about 3 inches. It wasn't until I brought this magnificent creature to the surface when its gold color flashed and its big caudial fin swished. I went into hyper worry mode, yelling for my dad to aid me by netting the fish. Lord behold, the fish stayed on and we brought it onto land. Pictured here is me in one of my most accomplished states of mind. The beauty weighed 7 pounds, 14 ounces and was 24.75 inches in length. Thank you, Mighty MO!