On a last minute decision, I went down to a local swim. I picked up some white bread on the way. I really wasn't prepared, but I wanted to fish bad. I only had two hooks with me, one standard rig I made and another, a hair rig that Rob gave me on Saturday at the fish-in.

Once at the swim, I took a stroll around the lake and noticed a spectacular sight: carp were eating bugs off topwater! So, I pulled off some peices of bread and tossed them into the area. The carp started taking the bread!

I then put a peice a bread on a hook and lobbed it out there. I could literally see the carp come up and lip the bread then swim away. I learned from Brooklyncarper that the carp may be smelling my hands, so as he recommended I do in such an instance, I washed my hands with the lake water. But, the carp were still on to me. I squished the bread in different ways to make it float or sink in different ways as suggested by team sorano, but still nada. My inexperience really showed tonight. So, I decided to sink the bait entirely by doughing up the white bread.

In time, I got a hit, but much to my chagrin, it was a big ol' bullhead catfish. This was going to be a problem because it had engulfed the hook! So, I was down to one hook - the hair rig, my first ever (thanks Rob!). Now, I knew the bullheads would continue to be a nuisance, but I realized that the beauty of the hair rig was that the bullheads could nab the bait and although I'd lose the bait, I wasn't going to have to worry about them engulfing anymore hooks (Not that this was what the rig was created for, I knew). I got a few more hits from the bullheads. Thankfully, they would just bite and run with the bait, saving me the anxiety of possibly losing the last hook and my first hair-rig to them amidst this carp blitz. As night began to fall, I waited anxiously, then BAM the run-off I was waiting for!!!! At first, in the darkness, I thought it was enormous bullhead, but then it ran hard. I had to fight it off the reeds to my right and the overhanging tree to my left, but I was finally able to get her in - a 28" common carp!
  

  

How-To video on tying a hair-rig:

 

While on the mat it was still pretty energetic and managed to get some grass on it. I turned on my video camera, put the night vision on and snapped a quick pic before the release. Although not a multi-carp night, it was probably one of the most memorable in terms of what I had to do to get this one fish.
  
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I know the hair-rig wasn't designed to fight off catfish, but tonight it sure did it's thing. Thanks tons to Rob for the hair-rig and for especially getting me addicted to European-style carp angling!! This is the real deal. I look forward to landing some big 'uns soon!