Well, in my last post I asked how you all did it. There must me a carp god, and carp skills involved. Because I ordered from the site that was suggested to me (Flies haven’t arrived yet) but I had also went to a local fly shop and purchased a few flies.
Anyways, I was out today, and seen quite a few carp feeding. So, I thought to myself “Haha, I’m catching a carp!” Guess what? Not a thing, I was out there for hours, targetting carp. I seen a couple giants, like sharks, 4-5’ in length. Ok, more like 2.5-3’, well, maybe just 2-2.5’, but they were big nontheless, and I didn’t catch a thing.
Those carp are frustrating. I’m going to catch me some carp before winter, I hope. You guys have skill, that’s for sure.
Shane, carp can be very frustrating. They aren’t called “freshwater bonefish” for nothing. If the carp that you observed weren’t feeding, then you might look for some carp elsewhere on that body of water. Good luck with the carp. You’ll feel the satisfaction when you get one. The more that you work for it, the sweeter the reward.
OD - Hang in there. Last Friday I saw a Carp feeding (actually saw him move to food) just below a riffle. I spent 2 hours trying every fly in my Carp arsenal and ZIP, NADA, ZERO! As long as you are getting the fly in the feeding zone without spooking the fish, you are doing it right. The rest is up to the fish.
sometimes they feed, sometimes they dont give a crap about our flies.
it all comes down to DELICATE presenting, and flies are usually an after thought for me.
i always use something thats just like a fuzzball on a hook soo that the carp just thinks its food and sucks it up.when they are feeding i tie on my fuzzball fly and start the PRESENTATION game.
Google Ian James and find his site…Best help anyone can give ya…He guides for carp and his site is very informative, and you can email the man himself…Stealth is key in catching carp…and as noted, Presentation…If your casting to them and not spooking them…just keep on doing what your doing…Just a matter of time till one turns and takes your fly!!!
Give an in the round hares ear a try as well, Great fly no matter where in the world you are…It’s a Joe Brook’s style of tye…and a google may turn up info if you do not already know of this style of tying nymph’s…
Thanks for the information and tips. I was casting to the carp, they weren’t getting spooked, but they weren’t feeding either, at least not that I could see. I’ll keep plugging away, I’ll email Ian and see what he says as well. I have to be doing something wrong. I’m going to head out again next week.
if they aren’t nose down in ‘rooting’ on the bottom, or sipping stuff off the top, they probably arent feeding, and not likely to be hooked.
casting to cruising, or loitering carp is largely a waste of time.
1- the fly needs to find it’s way right in front of the carps nose. Sometimes they’ll move to get it, but more often than not, they are a vacuum cleaner and wont really move from their feeding station / path.
2- watch your fly…they will suck it in, and spit it out, very quickly…if you see you line move unnaturally, or see the fly move, set the hook.
3- patterns…wooly buggers, crayfish patterns, grhe’s, dragon fly nymphs, etc…if it lives on the bottom in the stream/river/ditch/lake of choice, it could be a decent fly option.
In all honestly, I don’t know that this will help you very much. He made a presentation in Wisconsin a few years ago and he had more misinformation that not. There were several guys in that room who fish a lot for carp around here and they just left shaking their heads. Some of it can be explained by the different locations (he guides in Canada), but some of what he said was just plain incorrect for anywhere. Try if you like as he seemed to be a decent guy. I would just be very careful with his advice.
OK. I know that the next post will ask me for an example, so I might as well give one now. He totally badmouthed any type of tapered leader (whether extruded or knotted) and recommended twenty feet of straight 4lb test for a fly fishing leader. No further comment should be necessary. And there were plenty more.
To the best of my limited knowledge, I don’t know anyone better at carp fishing than Brian Flechsig from madriveroutfitters.com in Columbus, Ohio. Brian has put on dozens of seminars on carp fishing, and has a great DVD if you’re serious about catching carp. He does tell you right up front that carp are extremely skittish, and require a high degree of stealth to catch them. Brian did a carpin’ talk for our FFF club, and it was so interesting nobody made a peep through the entire presentation (they’re usually a chatty bunch even when someone else is talking). Here’s a link to his DVD: http://madriveroutfitters.com/pc-958-362-carpin.aspx
Good post JR! I’d heard some of the same from another source too. Just not correct…
Shane, don’t be put off too soon. I’ve never taken one but my son has, and he’s a very fine caster and can stealthily present a fly. As you’ve been told, they aren’t easy.
There’s a book my son has, the title of which I can’t recall just now but it’s a paperback and contains very good info. Barry Reynolds “might” be the author but I could check if need be. I suggest it. Nate learned to fish carp from that reference!
Good luck and …be patient. Keep it fun. Also bone up on your casting skills. Not distance but more, gentle accurate presentations. And keep low! Lower!!!
Steve_A Is giving you good advise. Think of carp fishing as hunting. You are not just hunting for carp but feeding carp. We have great success for feeding carp with a crayfish fly. Feeding carp will actually move a little to pick it up. If you a can find carp in river laying in current they will sometimes take a nymph if you can drift it right to their mouth. If you see them roll slightly as you fly goes by gently set the hook
I’ll second Joe on this one. Brian seems to be a very seasoned carp angler. A lot of the stuff in the shop is geared around carp. I’d say he is a carp expert for sure!
Is the book you’re thinking of Carp on the Fly by Barry Reynolds, Brad Befus and John Berryman? Is so I second the recommendation very highly. Great book with a lot of good info, especially on how to recognize which carp are likely to be feeding and which ones are just hanging around. The fly suggestions in the book have also been right on the money for me so far.
Try fishing the flats on one of the Great Lakes for carp. It is spectacular fishing, being very close to bonefish and redfish on the flats. I only cast to spotted fish and the water is gin clear. I even use some of my bonefish flies on them. The best book to learn about that type of fishing is “Carp are Game Fish” by George von Schroeder. It has been out of print for awhile, and was only published in a softbound version, but it’s worth trying to find a copy.
Also, Flip Pallot did two Walker’s Cay Chronicles segments carping on the flats of Lake Michigan. Those you should be able to be order through any flyshop.
carp onthe fly by reynolds is a great resource. another book that is not nearly as well known but an excellent source is “fishing for buffalo: a guide to the pursuit, lore and cuisine of buffalo, carp, mooneye, gar and other rough fish” by tom dickson and rob buffler. I enjoyed that book a lot and got some great information about carp. the best advice i’ve seen though is to key on the fish. you basically have to feed them the fly, but if you do they’ll probably eat it. detecting that take can be tough though. i’ve seen carp suck a fly in from 8 inches away without moving. if the fly is in position and the fish does anything (tail speeds up, gills flare, head moves, goes more/less vertical in the water) set the hook. carp have really sensitive mouths and they’ll take and eject the fly in the same motion.
He totally badmouthed any type of tapered leader (whether extruded or knotted) and recommended twenty feet of straight 4lb test for a fly fishing leader. No further comment should be necessary. And there were plenty more.
I can see the logic in this. The smaller leader gets down much faster- right where you want to be. In my limited experience with these bottom dwelling trash fish, it’s just a numbers game. Not all carp are willing to eat no matter what the fly or how perfect the presentation. 1 out of 20 that you present flawlessly to will eat the fly.
This certainly hasn’t been my experience. I think carp take the fly extremely well. If I can get the fly to them without tipping them off that something is amiss, they take. Not all carp move well to a fly, and virtually none of the carp I’ve caught grab a fly and swim off like a trout or steelhead, they pretty much eat it, then spit it back out. The toughest part for me is detecting the take and timing the hook set. They spit the fly really fast, all the british carp fisherman talk about carp “ejecting” the bait, and it is even worse with an artificial. I fished for an hour today, and dapped a fly on 4 fish without spooking them…all four ate almost immediately. stick with it ottaditta!
This certainly hasn’t been my experience. I think carp take the fly extremely well. If I can get the fly to them without tipping them off that something is amiss, they take. Not all carp move well to a fly, and virtually none of the carp I’ve caught grab a fly and swim off like a trout or steelhead, they pretty much eat it, then spit it back out. The toughest part for me is detecting the take and timing the hook set. They spit the fly really fast, all the british carp fisherman talk about carp “ejecting” the bait, and it is even worse with an artificial. I fished for an hour today, and dapped a fly on 4 fish without spooking them…all four ate almost immediately. stick with it ottaditta![/quote]
I concur with John’s assessment of carp taking a fly extremely well. I have even had carp that I did not see while casting to a feeding carp take the fly just as my targeted fish was starting to turn on my presentation. Not spooking the fish is the key to a successful presentation.
