Carp on Fly - From Kayak

[rwar1423]

After working a few days without any days off, I was able to get one night off, so I went fishing. I just spotted a grass carp lurking in the muddy water, when something caught my eye to my left. It was a common carp that was feeding into a feeder creek. I switched from a green plant fly, to a fl pink or fuchsia SJW. I cast past the common and did a quick drag & drop. The common homed in on the SJW & ate it without a second thought.

R&R Common:

https://youtu.be/wTDFbDUDLOI


The last 3 videos are flyfishing for carp on a kayak. My fishing buddy and I decided to take a trip to Lake Ogallala SRA, NE from 17-21 JUN. In AUG of last year, we volunteered to help guide 2 veterans from the Project Healing Waters program in KS or MO. This year we took the kayaks. I used a Jackson Coosa HD, and my fishing partner used a Kaku Voodoo. I caught fish on day 1 & 4 only, while my fishing buddy caught carp on all 4 days. I spent more time trying to stay in position using a stakeout pole & anchor trolley. Hopefully I'll fix that with gear I ordered. My fishing buddy was using a Yak Gadget quick stop anchor along with a Yak Attack park n pole to keep in position with the wind.

Lake Ogallala sits to the east of Lake McConaughy. Water is released from Lake McConaughy into Lake Ogallala, which releases water into a canal system for irrigation. It's the closest thing to a saltwater-style fishing, with tides. When the water is low, carp stage in the closest deep water (knee deep), and wait for the water to come up. When they open the gates, the dinner bell is rung, and the fish get active, waiting to get back into the reeds, to feed or take cover. The 2 flies that worked for me were the Clouser Swimming Nymph & the Stupid Simple Carp fly. I had a few takes, lots of follows, and I probably missed a lot of takes, because I wasn't paying attention to the body language. But, the ones I landed put up a good fight. Fighting carp from a kayak takes some getting used to. I learned to keep a clean deck, so there's less of a chance to snag the flyline on something, and to prepare to lift the stakeout pole, when the fish doubles back on you. You're also on something that's rocking, if there's any wind, which we had alot of. We fished during the spawn, but we still managed to catch fish. Best advice is to target the fish that look like they're in a feeding mode; single fish, swimming slower, with head tilted down more. The more aggressive eaters weren't swimming in a straight line. Tight lines!

Day 1:

https://youtu.be/HDzmGl-g3Qc


Day 4, Morning session:

https://youtu.be/lRZMKKtBZGQ


Day 4, Afternoon session:

https://youtu.be/lXVuoYpgcDo

[Sleddog]

Thanks for posting. I’ve yet to land a carp.
Are you installing a Yak Attack quick anchor too?
I’ve got a Jackson Mayfly that I’m considering installing one.

[rwar1423]

Give carp a try. Probably one of the hardest fighting freshwater fish out there.

I installed the mount for the Yak Gadget quick anchor, and got a 6' Yak Attack Park n Pole. I have the 8' one, but when I hooked and fought a fish, I would have to pass the rod around if the fish moved in a certain direction. My fishing buddy had an easy time with the wind we had. He just lowered the quick anchor, then drive the park n pole thru a scupper, and he stayed in position. Install only took a few minutes. Just got a scuba reel to use to raise/lower the pole. Just have to pick a location to attach it to. Planning to test it out this week depending on the weather.

How do you like that Jackson Mayfly? Looks super stable. Started looking into that, because it's made for flyfishing, and has a cleaner deck look.

[Sleddog]

Oh, I’ve tried! Just haven’t had any cooperative fish! That & my lack of experience.

I like the Mayfly a lot. It’s perfect for what I do. I fish small lakes & ponds for panfish & Bass.

[rwar1423]

If you've made some casts to them, you may have been missing the take. I usually violate this rule: If the carp does something it didn't do 5 seconds ago, set the hook. It may have already inhaled your fly & spit it out in half a second. Setting the hook is free. Losing the fish of a lifetime is agonizing.

[Sleddog]

While looking for Bull Bluegills I noticed several Carp tailing. Rembering ?tailing Carp are feeding Carp? I laid the 3wt down & picked up my Carp rigged 8wt. I cast, dragged & dropped to many, many fish! Changed flys several times! I was determined to catch my 1st Carp on the fly, after all there were ?hundreds? all around me! Finally I had my fly in front & about a foot ahead of one...his mouth opened & I felt the tug...instantly thought MY FIRST CARP! Then it was gone. About 30 minutes later I had another fish approach the fly..watched it disappear into the mouth & nothing! No tug, no pull!
Here?s the fly I was using, notice anything?

34DC7078-B37F-4125-B3FD-E98FE97FA0A7.jpg

[rwar1423]

Hook snapped? At least you got to see the eat. Next time you get the eat, better hang on. We saw many fish going by us, and we made many casts, but I started focusing on the fish that look like it would eat. What kind of hook are you using? I normally use a curved nymph hook, but for the Clouser Swimming nymphs I tied, I used a Mustad 3366. It held up to the carp I caught