Surface Feeding Carp

[john montana]

i have yet to catch one on the surface, but a lot of the carp out here feed on midges when they are hatching. i've also seen them chow down on cottonwood seeds...quite the sight!

one thing i've found is that the carp where i fish are leader shy. if i fish 2x or 3x i don't get as many takes as i do with 4x. of course 4x and a 20lb fish make for a dicey combo!
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[OkieBass133]

That 5 weight is plenty. It's not the size of the boat, it's the motion of the ocean.

[jargo432]

I've yet to hear of someone catching a carp on the surface. The concensus around here is that they are cleaning their gills by breaching the surface. I've seen it a lot over the years and have given up catching them on the surface.

[lee s]

There is a local pond where we have pestered carp on the surface. This pond has an abundance of people feeding bread to the ducks. Clipped white deerhair works well, as does a piece of styrofoam glued to a hook.
....lee s.

[john montana]

carp do feed on the surface regularly, but when they are leaping from the water i think it is spawning behavior, or just because they don't have middle fingers. when they feed up top it is pretty apparent...if the cottonwood seeds are on the water you'll see tons of mouths just vaccuming that stuff down...
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[darrell]

here's a reason we're up to 20lb tippets
[url=http://i43.photobucket.com/albums/e381/mikefisher99/Fishing2006027.jpg:35da9]http://i43.photobucket.com/albums/e381/mikefisher99/Fishing2006027.jpg[/url:35da9]

This one on gear at nite by a local fellow over the weekend - however ..... same area we're tossing flies. This guy tickled 27lbs.

5wt ..... hmmms, not a good idea here

thing about carp surface feeding on cotton or elm seeds - they are so danged good at it - it is very hard to see the takes. A 24" brown's finesse has nothing on the carp.

[This message has been edited by darrell (edited 14 June 2006).]

[john montana]

that is a great fish!

i've caught 4 fish this year over 20lbs, and a 20 lb carp on the fly is no joke. i mostly fish a 10 ft 6wt, but i should go up to a 7 or 8 wt for the bigger fish. i do use mainly 4x tippet as the fish are pretty spooky, but with all the recent weed growth i am going to 3x now...they break the 4x just by running into all the weeds.

i'm hoping to get one on the surface this summer. i see them feeding up top regularly, but they are ultra spooky when they surface feed.
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[markgraumlich]

around here in July & August I regularly see them feeding on spend Tricos, although they will still take a #14 humpy during that "hatch"

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cheers,

markg

Hate to break it to you guys, but carp are NOT LEADER SHY.

Use whatever tippet allows you to make a good delivery.

I have fished with guys when they've been using 30 pound mono and/or 65 pound braid to catch the fish on top with bread, bagels, etc...

I personally use 8-12# test to carp fish with. The only reason I don't go heavier is I'm usually fishing on the bottom, where carp spend 99.9% of their time eating, and, heavier tippets don't let my flies sink fast enough... get the flies heavier to compensate, and they splash too loudly on entry.



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--playin' with my piscatorial pals--

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[john montana]

some carp are absolutely leader shy. when fishing with bread and other bait i'm sure the scent will get them to strike, but there are plenty of carp out there that are leader shy. some of the water i fish the fish are spooky enough to require 4x...3x or bigger and you won't get 1/2 the number of takes. i do use 2x often on other pieces of water, but i have no doubt that there are locations where 4x is the way to go if you are fishing an artificial without any scent. that might not be the case everywhere, but it applies where i fish.
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