This part of Idaho is pretty desolate. The Arco desert west of town is home to the Idaho National Laboratory. It's the nation's preeminent nuclear research facility and the site of the world's first reactor meltdown in 1961 - an event which killed three people and spewed radiation across the surrounding landscape. Was the meltdown responsible for producing our massive mutant bulldog carp? The world may never know. What we do know, however, is that this place is one heck of a good time. Welcome to Idaho's atomic playground. Welcome to mirror carp country.
The first things you notice upon arrival at Blackfoot Reservoir are the swarms of large midges in the air and the steaming piles of crap at your feet. A quick scan of the horizon reveals you're surrounded by large cattle, including the horned, ball-toting, ornery variety. You'd best mind your distance while stalking carp here. The reservoir is an 18,000-acre pool of biomass surrounded by BLM, tribal and national forest lands. Raptors own the skies above the lake, wolves own the surrounding forest to the east and carp own the world below the surface.