Ventured out to Old Mission Point on Grand Traverse Bay this morning. My goal was carp on the fly rod. Thanks to some timely advice by another online fly angler, I was successful.
The water there is extremely shallow, ranging from six inches to waist deep. I encountered carp from the instant I got there until I left. I landed nine carp to (estimate) 25 pounds. I lost three-four others. I used crayfish flies, Wooly Buggers and my worm jig fly. I was told that the schools of spawning carp would have their minds on nature and not feeding. So, as advised, I targetted single cruisers. What worked for me was to cast, let the carp swim up on the fly, then twitch it. That was how I hooked every fish. Head-on shots were almost guaranteed hookups.
I used a 6-weight rod, floating line and 10-foot, 10-pound fluorocarbon leader.
Special thanks to Tim Angeli, who turned my on to these fish, and to Kirk Novak, owner of The Northern Angler in Traverse City.
Tomorrow, I want to start out on carp, then try to tangle with some smallmouth bass.
Carp on the fly was very similar to redfish on the fly. In fact, the carp look a lot like reds in the water. The fight is almost identical (with reds being just a little stronger and heartier).
Fly fishing for carp is everything it’s cracked up to be.
Awesome, Steve!!
Traverse Bay…MICHIGAN? Or are you still in Florida?
So…did you have the fly just sitting on the bottom until a carp came in range, or was the fly cast in the path of a carp, and then sinking slowly as the fish made the approach?
For the shallow carp, I looked for those fish that were slowly cruising. I’d cast in front, let the fish approach, then twitch the fly slow like you would for a bonefish. If the carp turned and followed, I’d keep twitching the fly, then let it sink to the bottom. Most of the fish hit it as it was on the bottom.
My biggest fish came out in deeper water. I’d cast in front of the fish and retrieve the fly slowly.
I will post pics when I return next week. On Tuesday, I caught 14 carp to 35 pounds.
All fish came on 6-weight, floating line, 10-foot, 10-pound leader and crayfish flies.
I love the big pond flats! Sometimes you forget you are not somewhere on the tropical flats, until you see fish all day an not other anglers. Congrats on the trip and welcome to the world of carp fly fishing!
A couple of years ago I spent some time fishing Lake MI near the sleeping bear dunes. I saw just tons of carp in the shallow water there. Wish I would have had a bigger fly rod than a little 3-4 wt.
Someday I will have to get back up there and try it again.
Too many people sharing fishing experiences on the Great Lakes. That’s it. Heading to the Wisconsin side in a couple weeks.
The befus fly can be deadly on carp, even under an indicator or swung in a river!
Airbornemike, I suspect that you are limiting your thinking to the US, if not Michigan. I believe that the Europeans foresaw your question and opened carp lodges decades ago, may earlier.
Here in Brooklyn we have fifty pound carp in Prospect Park. after dredging the lake in Central Park, it was discovered that the lake has a large number of thirty pounders. The Plaza Hotel is just across the street. would that be an acceptable lodge for carp fly fishing?
