All this talk of Carpin'...

[jamie shard 0]

I didn't want to divert the corncob fly thread

 

So, here's the scene:

 

I'm out for a paddle in N. Illinois with the lovely girlfriend, 5wt on board just in case.

 

Turns out the carp are spawning in the shallows. So we get into position and I start throwing my mostly largemouth collection of flies at them. Of course the carp are a little distracted , but I figure they were catchable, right?

 

The water was very muddy from all the writhing in the shallows, visability <6", so they weren't seeing anything thrown sub-surface (I think). I only had one take and that was off a big crane fly imitation, sitting on the surface. Got a big bend in the rod, but I didn't set the hook

 

So, two questions: do you think that throwing something sparkly sub-surface would have worked (I was only using natural, muted colors). Biggish ice-dub nymph or the like? It seems like sparkles scare off carp from what I've read, but I don't know... maybe it would make sense in this case?

 

What would have been a better top-water fly?

 

Oh, and I guess I need a lesson in setting a hook

 

It was pretty exciting out there, that's for sure! When the carp finished spawning they would swim out toward deeper water. It was like jaws was coming at us! And putting your paddle down on a carp has to be one of the spookier things in the world!

 

-js

[Pujic 0]

Hey Jamie,

 

I find that subtle nymphs work the best. Crane or caddis larva immitations work great in yellow, brown, black or olive. Also Dragon fly nymphs can be deadly. I've personally never been able to get carp to bite on the surface.

 

Don't bother casting at the cruzing carp. Pick out the ones which are laying fairly still in the shallows or the ones which are visibly feeding. Drop the fly in front of the carp's nose, no more than a foot away.

 

I would strongly suggest using something a lot stronger than a 5wt. If you have to use a 5wt, please be very careful. Carp can make short work of light tackle. I usually use no less than an 8wt, not to say it's absolutely necessary, just be careful.

 

As far as setting the hook goes, once you bury that hook point into a carp's mouth it's never coming out unless you want it to. They have some of the toughest rubbery mouthes I've ever seen. Once a carp inhales your fly, wait about 1 second and pull up. 90% of the time you will hook a carp in the top lip or in the roof of their mouth.

 

Have fun and good luck!

[MIKE*A 0]

I'm not sure how it is in your area, but where i live, the cottonwoods are blowin' every which way which the carp love to sip off the surface........I haven't been able to get into any myself because my rivers are blown out (4" of rain on Friday!). Mulberries are starting to come in as well.......find a mulberry tree hanging over the river/lake and there are sure to be carp underneath waiting for the berries to drop......I believe theres a tutorial on this site somewhere for making "eggs".....I use a longer shanked hook and double up on the yarn.......you don't get the "plop" that you would from a real berry, but still works ok.

 

Mike

[MIKE*A 0]

Oh yeah..........welcome aboard!

[FFNC 0]

My question is what SIZE fly would it take to keep one of those on, and what size tippet are you using on that 8wt?

[Pujic 0]

Size 8 nymph hook is the smallest I'd use.

 

The tippet depends. 8lb test fluorocarbon in clear water, and 12lb test mono in murky water if you can get away with it. Once you hook a carp the chances of the hook pulling out are slim (although the thing may snap if it's too light). It's the tippet and the carp running around things you have to worry about. LOL

[jamie shard 0]

Thanks for the info!

 

I hear you about the 5wt. I would have felt much better with an 8!

 

Pujic, I actually had some nice peacock herl dragon fly nymphs, but they were heavily weighted. The tricky thing was trying to keep a sub-surface fly visable, since the the water/bottom was soft and so stirred up.

I'm thinking that if I had to do it again, I'd suspend my nymph under a small float/big dry fly. I'd cast away from the spawning fish, six feet outside of the action. That way when they were finished and looking to smoke a cigarette, they would see the nymph instead

 

Sounds like natural tones are best... At the bookstore today, I saw a rubber legged hare's ear that seems like it might suspend well and attract well.

 

Anyway, there's some carp that swim in the canal by my apartment each summer. I often see them surface feeding. I look forward to trying cottonwood seed and mulberries this year.

 

Thanks again,

 

-js

 

[Guest]

Jamie,

 

Spawning fish are a bit reluctant to bite, being somewhat otherwise distracted As Nick proved, you can catch them, but it's a luck issue more than anything. If you can find a feeding fish, that's the ideal target.

 

I do have to disagree with Nick, as cruising carp *are* catchable, but not easy. I like rubber leg GRHE's for cruisers, and even then it's usually a 10% or less success rate. Don't target them over active feeders, but if that's all that's available, they are gettable.

 

Jason

[jamie shard 0]

It seemed like all I could do was approach cautiously, cast cleanly, and try not to have a heart attack while these big fish swam around my fly! After the first take (about 10 minutes into casting), it was hard to cool back down and do it all over again!

 

Thanks for the legged GRHE suggestion/confirmation. It does feel like there is a lot of luck involved. They're not really thinking about feeding. I can't deduce what made the carp take my one fly or ignore the others.... ah, fishing!

 

-js

 

 

[Steeldrifter 0]

Ok fellas long as this thread was posted it's on the right subject so that i can ask this stupid question do carp normaly take mayflys that are hatching

 

Reason i ask is while fishing over this past weekend after i was done trout fishing i got back to the cabin and still had a hour or so before dark to kill....so i went down to the river below the dam to see if i couldn't find a *cough* *cough* bass (dont tell will i did that )

 

Well i didnt find any smallmouth but for the entire hour i was there i saw at least 2 different carp both over 18-20# coming half way out of the water and crashing back down

 

The only thing i saw on the surface was some mayflys that i am not sure but looked a heck of a lot like light cahills. Think they were taking the mayflys hatching? or something else going on

[MIKE*A 0]

I can't say that i have seen them gulping flies during a hatch.....however.......I have witnessed them on several occassions (at one of my "urban" spots) stacked up shoulder to shoulder w/their heads out of the water fighting for insects/whatever spilling over the lip of a big (10' diameter) storm culvert which dumped into the river........

 

Mike

[Guest]

Steel,

 

Carp will definitely rise to a hatch. Try hooking a 10+ pounder in the dark during the miller hatch on the Susky

 

Sounds like what you saw wasn't feeding fish, though. Carp will breech for a variety of reasons, predominantly to rid themselves of parasites, but it's been observed that they do it just as a matter of "play" as well. I'd guess that's what you witnessed.

 

Carp tend to feed on spinner falls more than hatches, as it's a lot easier to fill up on protein hoovering the dead bodies off the top, as opposed to trying to chase down the live ones, when you've got an underslung mouth

 

Jason

[Steeldrifter 0]

C&R that's kinda why i was wondering because the way they were comeing out of the water was strait up in the air and then falling backwards on to their backs.

 

Looked like a damn orca whale the way they come out of the water at sea world

 

Would be fun to hook them though,they were very large.....might give it a try this summer.

 

Thanks C&R

 

SD