Okie; good point on the furled leaders. I used some last year for carp fishing for that very reason.... Also had a tendency to lose less fish at my feet; since I no longer had the problem of a stiff mono loop in my leader hanging up in the guides.
Okie; good point on the furled leaders. I used some last year for carp fishing for that very reason.... Also had a tendency to lose less fish at my feet; since I no longer had the problem of a stiff mono loop in my leader hanging up in the guides.
I agree with Poke, this is a good thread. A really nice exchange of ideas is going on here with some very civil and thoughtful disagreements. I hope it keeps going. I too am learning some new and good ideas.
A couple more tips just to keep the ball rolling:
1. Keep your ears open. Often, you'll be alerted to feeding carp by the sucking noise they make before you ever see them.
2. Always be aware of which direction the sun is shining. Keep the sun in front of you and your shadow behind you as you move forward. If you're still, a carp will swim up and almost bump your boot but if you throw a shadow over him, he's almost always a goner.
Robert,
You can hear stripers feeding at night too. I used to really enjoy this. IT is the ONE reason we concider hearing aids.
However, it does seem quite to our advantage, often, to have only visual manifestation of some frequent "discussions" with our bride. It IS easier to close one's eyes than one's ears.....I think. However it is also harder to know when to duck!
......lee s.
I only use two patterns for carp, and both work everytime. If there is carp there, I will catch them with these.
1. Rainy's Snail
2. Clouser Swimming Nymph
Both patterns are on this website in the Fly Archives.
Good Luck!
Caught my first carp of the year Saturday, a personal best (27" length with a 16" girth) which computes to a little over 9 lbs. Okie, I was fishing my favorite carp strip. There were carp everywhere, mostly cruisers not many tailers and I only managed two hook-ups. They were really stubborn. Dave, following your post, I sized up to #8 in an olive pattern and that's what I caught him on. I may start experimenting more with larger patterns. Gig, I've seen those snail patterns before and wondered how they would do for carp. I'm going to get some and give it a shot. I spent Sunday afternoon scouting some likely looking carp water in some nearby lakes and rivers and found nothing. Can someone tell why carp will hang out consistently in some structure in some lakes but the same exact structure in other lakes is null and void of any carp?
Poke,
Congratulations. That's a nice fish. Concerning your query, are you sure there are carp in the lake? Is there a good population? I'm a big believer in scouting new lakes or new spots on a lake when conditions are "prime" and I think right now conditions may be less than prime for scouting in shallow water. If it looked good to you, don't give up. Go back again another day or another time. Another possibility to consider is water temp. The water temp can vary quite a bit this time of year depending on the clarity of the lake and which side of the lake you fish on. Example: My friend and I fished a bass tournament yesterday and the creek we started in was on the South side of the lake and was murky. The temp was 47 degrees. We fished a couple of hours there with no bites. We moved to the North side of the lake and fished a creek arm that was considerably clearer and the temp was 52. We started catching fish immediately and stayed there the rest of the day and weighed in a limit of fish. Also, from the time we got there until the time we left, the water temp rose another 3 degrees. I carry a pocket thermometer when wading. In Spring and Fall, a thermometer is one of the most important tools I have because the fish will seek out the warmest water in the Spring and the coolest in the Fall as the water warms up and cools down respectively.
Poke, are you scouting any rivers for carp? As you know, I had several good river outings last year. That's fun and quite different. Unless you find the fish in a small oxbow where there's no current you have to fish the current just like a trout fisherman. I thought about trying strike indicators and split shot to drift my fly to the right depth but as yet have not done so. Any one else river fishing for carp?
I'll be river fishing for carp this summer when I move home from school. The new house is only a couple miles from the Canadian.
Robert, yes both the river (North Canadian) and the lake (Overholser) have carp. And I was also scouting the north cattail-lined shallows of Overholser. I do think I'll take my thermometer to where I was catching fish Saturday and compare water temps to where I was scouting for carp on Sunday. That's probably always a good thing to do this time of year as different bodies of water warm up differently.
Poke and Okie,
Keep me posted on your river adventures. I really don't have my river carp fishing refined to the point that I feel confident yet. I'd like to hear about your successes and failures on the river and anywhere else for that matter. Good luck.
Robert
Posting Permissions
Reply With Quote
