The Jesse James Lake Monster

Attention residents of Kearney, Missouri, may I have your attention please!  You have a horrible, and potentially deadly problem on your hands.  Right now, I mean right freaking now, you have a monster in your midst.  I saw it with my own two eyes less than a week ago and it is somewhere that people frequent and assume they are safe due to the pretty and natural surroundings.  In the very water that is at the center of your fine soccer fields, rodeo arena, playground, shelter houses, walking trail and amphitheater, there is a monster lurking just below the surface.  I saw the beast with my own eyes and I know what I am talking about.  Sure I was dehydrated, sleep deprived, on perscription pain medications, and the sun was in my eyes, but I know what I saw and what I saw was...wait for it...a HUGE grass carp.

All joking aside, there is a monstrous grass carp living in the lake at the Jesse James Fairgrounds in Kearney, Missouri.  I first saw it about a year ago when it was lazily hanging out around the fountain in the center of the lake but I saw it again a few days ago.  It was acting in the same manner this time, but slightly more active.  It's back was sticking out of the water and it seemed to be casually grazing from time to time, but mostly it just sat there.  The first time I saw the fish, it would just out of casting distance and I couldn't get a fly close to it.  This time however, I managed to drift a couple of flies near it and I think I might have got its attention once but it ultimately spooked.  I'm not sure if some green yarn and maybe some chenille would do the trick or if maybe a crayfish or mayfly imitation would do the trick, but someone needs to catch this sucker and share a picture of it.  Good luck to all that go after it and I hope this is not the end to this story.  Also, if anyone out there is thinking it was just a log or some brush, brush and logs don't spook when a fly line nearly hits them!