is it time for Carp?

[RBKizzel]

I hear that the carp are coming soon and I said to myself that I was going to catch one this year on a fly.

However I don’t know where to start, so I am turning to the board for help.

Normally I use corn and leave it on the bottom in about 6 feet of water

Does anyone have a time line of when to start fishing for them?
What flies to use?
And where to go (west end) (south end)

Or is when someone goes out can I tag along?


thanks for the help.

[Todd B.]

RB,

There have been a number of FH posts (with links) on carp fishing on the fly. A quick search of the Float & Flyfishing forum should locate them. If they don't pop up just let me know and I can send them to you.

Things to keep in mind:

• Fly fishing for carp is an exercise in sight fishing. If you can't see them, it's not worth trying to fly fish for them.
• Stealth, stealth steath... you have to be able to make accurate casts without spooking them. Fishboy can probably attest to this.
• If they're spawn don't even bother. I've been told that spawning carp won't even look at a fly.

As for locations, a number have been posted in the regular FH fishing forum. The arboritum at Dow's lake, as well as the shollows around Dow's lake can be good.

Cheers,
Todd

[Hookup]

http://www.riseformstudio.tv/fly_fishin ... _carp.html

Check that vid out. It is a "how to" on carp fishing on the fly... It definitely looks like fun... and you can see the sight fishing part in action...

[Fishboy]

I fly fish carp regularly these days. It is an exercise in patience and, to some extent, stealth. It's also wicked fun!

Depending on the size of the fish you target, you'll need a rod from a 7-wt or heavier - I use a fast action 9-wt and I'm glad I have it. I use full floating line mostly because I'm fishing fairly shallow water, less than 2 meters deep and in most cases under half a meter. I use a 9 foot long 1X tapered leader with 3X tippet. If you're fishing a 7-wt, make sure you have at least 150 yards of backing in case they decide to take you for a ride.

Fly selection includes many of the standard nymph patterns in sizes #8 down to #12. I've also had success with egg patterns in natural colours. If you're fishing faster water, use weighted flies. Try to use heavier wired hooks as I've had carp snap hooks in half.

The technique is not too difficult: spot the fish, toss the fly ahead of the direction in which the fish are swimming and leave it on the bottom, hope they suck in the fly, quickly set the hook, hang on for dear life. Be prepared for misses and be prepared to rest the spot. If a fly is refused, or your hook-set misses and you spook the fish, sometimes the fish turn-off for about 30 minutes to an hour.

These fish can spook easily and sometimes I have to sneak-up on them or hide behind a fence or a rock in order to avoid being seen. As well, carp tend to swim in "herds" and they "graze" the river bottom, so you want to be careful to avoid touching them with your leader or tippet. If you do, sometimes they turn-off for a while. I've also found that carp have very good short-term memory and they'll turn off of a particular pattern for a day once they been spooked by it.

A fly I've had the most success with is a surface fly made from a size #10 egg hook, short bunches of orange glow yarn, and a short foam post at the head for bouyancy. This works gang-busters if they are keying on surface food like bugs. It's a case of casting the fly so that it drifts close to the fish. If they see it, they'll attack it fairly aggressively. They suck it in and you have to time the hook set just right because their mouths are very sensitive and they'll reject the fly just as quickly as they'll suck it in. You'll want your drag set fairly high - carp are extremely powerful and will take your line with relative ease if you let them.

If they are sipping the scum from the surface, a smaller surface fly would be better. However, scum suckers usually reject the flies I offer.

You might want to take a fairly stout net to help land the fish. I don't and it can be a little awkward at times. As well, hemostats or pliers are necessary even with barbless hooks. Carp mouths are very tough and it's sometimes difficult to remove the hooks cleanly.

Good luck with the carp this year. They've become one of my favourite species to fly fish.

[RBKizzel]

i can now check off one of my goals for this year. My first carp on a fly

MAN they are a pain to try and catch but fun to fight

i had 3 hit and 2 break off

but after some time, i was able to land one

thanks for the help

hopfully more to come

[Fishboy]

Nice fish! What kind of fly did it take?

[Evan]

if this works right, you should be seeing my first carp ever, caught this past tuesday in cassleman. and yes it was released after the photo.