Need idea for Koi flies??

[Bill in VA]

I have seen a good sized koi swimming in the local pond. He is a good 15-20 inches long - been close enough to make out the orange colors and the darker spots in the dingy water.

Does anyone have an idea of what might be something good to try?

Thanks,
Bill

[Eich]

Bill,
I have been fortunate enough to have caught 2 koi on the fly. They are a real spooky fish. For this reason I enlisted the help of a friend who bait fishes for them quite often. (He has a pond containing over 60 koi that he has caught from the "wild". Probably from people who got tired of them and released them into the stream.
Flouracarbon leader is a must for fishing for these guys. Seaguar brand is the best in my estimation. 2 pound test is what I use. It is actually pretty tough. It is expensive, but well worth the money for the results.
My fly of choice is a bread fly made up of white glo bug yarn. If you go to the carp anglers group website (www.carpanglersgroup.com) and look up an article written by Lowell King (kingfisher) titled "Creating flies for Carp" it explains how to make this version of the bread fly. I tie them on a #4 mustad 3366 hook. If you PM me your address I would be more than glad to send you a few.
Stealth is also very important when fishing for these spooky fish. Stick with it and I'm sure you will be successful too. Good luck there sir!

Ray

[john montana]

ray can catch koi! i've caught 3 total, two smaller ones and the highway cone. they are really spooky. it isn't that they blast out of the shallows when they see you but they quit eating for sure. there is a nice 10 lb koi in a pond that i fish that i have still never hooked, and i've used every fly i can think of. i think ray has it right, and i think i've been underestimating how much effect tippet size has on koi. i'm going to go to smaller floro tippet and see how that works...thanks for the tip ray!

[rockymountain_brown]

Cool. I have seen koi on a local pond-very spooky.
John-I checked your site, very cool!
I caught my first mirror last week here in Montana.
rmb

[rrhyne56]

I am no koi angling expert but I can say with surety that if you do some advance reconnaisance, spend some time in hiding watching the brute, it might be possible to get an idea of his dietary preferences. That could go a long ways towards the rigt fly. Then of course stealth skills and such as that come into play.

[billknepp]

I've never fished for Koi...But I fish for carp a good bit...and stelth is prolly your most important key...I may at times spend 15 to 20 min. just working my way into postion to make the cast I want...and it's often the only cast I'll get...I do best with nymph's and wet flies of general pourpose type's, Like grhe's nat/olive/black,brown, cahill's light/dark, the Atherton's Light and dark...If Koi, Like carp feed on top at times...I've had luck with adam's, sulpher's,Grith's Gnat...I find I spend a good amount of time in stalking for feeding fish on the banks...

[john montana]

RMB, i grew up in whitefish, mt...had no idea you could even fish for carp in MT! now that i discovered carp on the fly here in OR i've pretty much given up on my trout, salmon and steelhead fishing. they are a great fly rod species...

here is the link for the highway cone saga...scroll down a bit:

http://carponthefly.blogspot.com/2006_0 ... chive.html

[Bill in VA]

Tied up a couple of the bread flies. I saw the Koi again yesterday, just swimming by the bank - a good sized fish.

Several folks where I work want the fish for their ponds - any idea what a big Koi is worth?

[chavez]

I enjoy catching carp very much but haven't found a place to catch koi (except for this Chinese restaurant I know but I'm sure they would dislike me dropping a line in their pool for one) .

Anyone caught or seen one of those Ghost Koi that are metallic gold in color?

[Eich]

Tied up a couple of the bread flies. I saw the Koi again yesterday, just swimming by the bank - a good sized fish.

Several folks where I work want the fish for their ponds - any idea what a big Koi is worth?

A koi of that size would easily bring a $100 price tag with it. In my opinion it is worth far more as a target species to catch. If you think they are tough to catch the first time, try to recapture them. JMHO! Take care!

Ray