Wet flies for carp

[john montana]

just signed up for this board, looks like a great group!

my experience with carp is that they can eat pretty much anything they want. with that in mind, they feed when they want to, on what they want to. unlike trout, steelhead, bass, etc. it is difficult to force a carp to bite out of aggression. they have to want to eat the fly. that said, sometimes motion will make them eat, sometimes it will spook them. i've caught sunning carp by casting just inches from their gill plate, and i've spooked a ton of fish with the same cast. i generally use buggy nymphs like rubber legged hare's ears, crayfish patterns, small leeches. i rarely use anything bigger than a size 10.

carp have so many food options, that you really have to find one actively feeding, and make an accurate presentation. then comes the really hard part (unless you can still see the fly.) you have to detect the strike.

carping is a dangerous addiction!
[url=http://carponthefly.blogspot.com/:ec69a]http://carponthefly.blogspot.com/[/url:ec69a]

Thanks. What kind of retrieve (if any) usualy works?

And what approch do you take to fly fishing an area that has tons of small carp actively feeding but you cant see any?

[john montana]

long story short anthony, i wouldn't fish that area. it is really tough to feel the take of a carp with a fly. they just don't hang onto them. i've seen a carp inhale and exhale the fly in one puff of his gills. i generally fish only to fish i can see. as for retrieve, i catch most of my fish when the fly sinks to the bottom withing 4-8inches of the carp's mouth. when it touches down they usually flare their gills/pounce forward and take the fly. if i have to retrieve, i hop the fly along the bottom in small strips.

i know you are catching fish, so you must be doing it right!

Actually, I have only caught one on with a fly. The other 19 (whisper) I caught on a fly rod with bait.
I went to back cast and the fish ate it right at that time so I was lucky.

I guess I wont use flies at my murky river then.

I know of a cruddy liitle stream that is a bout a foot deep but there are tons of small carp in it.

And I still have to catch those infamous koi. They either spook or show no interest. Just like you have traffic cone, i have whitey bulger(the white one), spice (orange), colonel common( the common), and spice2(orange and black), and warren(ornage and white)



[This message has been edited by Anthony (edited 14 May 2006).]

[Eich]

Anthony,
Using the strip-pause method has worked for me, with emphisis on the pause. Watch what a carp's reactions are to your particular retrieve. Experiment until somethings works, then be willing to change your retrieve to match the mood of the fish on any particular day. Some days you would run a mile to Mcdonalds to get a burger and other days you would say no thank you to one right under your nose. Same with fish and flies. That's what makes catching them on a fly so special.

[stephenjay]

When fishing the murky waters of the Red River in Manitoba, I have found that a jig fishing like retrieve works for carp. A gentle lift and pause followed right away by another lift and pause will allow you to better detect the very gentle take of the carp. Let the nymph drop back to the riverbed and repeat. Sometimes I jig-jig-pause, sometimes jig-jig-jig-pause. Important point is to not jig too much (maybe a quick 4 - 6 inch line strip), and to apply the second jig within a second or two so you have a chance of hooking the carp. Be ready to set the hook if you feel resistance in one of your jigs.

While this tactic will not guarantee you will hook every carp that inhales your fly, it will help. The benefit is that the carp will sense your nymph moving and by the second lift may have inhaled the fly and you may set the hook.

I have also found dapping to work for carp fishing near the shores of a much cluttered shoreline.

Works for me, hope it works for you.

EDIT: btw, my go to fly for carp in murky water is a Bead Head Prince Nymph

[This message has been edited by stephenjay (edited 18 May 2006).]

[DieKatze]

I was fishing a pond near my home a couple of weeks ago for blue gill using a HEN in about 4 feet of water. As I watched a 30" grass carp (they were put in the pond about 6 years ago to keep aquatic vegetation under control) came to the surface, rolled, and tried to take my orange and yellow strike indicator! I was using a 3 wt. with 7X tippet so if he'd taken my fly the fight wouldn't have lasted very long. Maybe I need to tie a hook to one of those strike indicators, and try it for the carp.