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The maiden voyage with my new 2021 Native Watercraft Slayer Propel Max 12.5. Im on a local lake known for crappie - no crappie today, but a couple surprises.

Carp are a tough fish to fish for. However, they are really rewarding when you finally hook into one. They pull like a freight train, and are challenging to even hook. Many times you have to go with lighter line, and small flies, which makes it tough to bring them in. Here is a fly that is tied to swim hook point up. You are going to be fishing carp on the bottom for the majority of the time, so this fly needs to be somewhat weedless. Being hook point up really helps with that. Last time I went out fishing for carp though, I ended up hooking into a really nice brown trout, on this pattern. So it obviously will work on more than just carp. Below is a list of materials, and below that is a step by step on how to tie this fly. Materials: Hook: Firehole sticks #516 in size 10 Bead: 3.2mm black tungsten slotted bead Thread: Veevus 10/0 in red Tail/Body: Medium "ultra chenille" in red Collar: Brown Marabou Cement: Hard as Hull Tying Instructions: Step 1 - Put the bead onto your hook Step 2 - Start your thread right behind the bead Step 3 - Measure out your chenille to 3 times the length of the hook Step 4 - Tie in your chenille right behind the bead, and on top of the hook shank, and down deep into the bend of the hook Step 5 - Tie in another piece of chenille on top of the hook shank, tying it back to where you tied down the other piece of chenille Step 6 - Make touching wraps up the hook shank with your chenille stopping a bead length shy of the bead. Step 7 - Make a dubbing loop with your thread Step 8 - Pull off the fibers of the marabou feather Step 8 - Place those fibers in the dubbing loop, so the tips extend out to just past the length of the hook. Step 9 - Spin up your dubbing loop Step 10 - Wrap your marabou hackle around the hook shank, pulling all the fibers rearward with every wrap Step 11 - Whip finish your fly. Step 12 - Add a drop of head cement to keep the whip finish in place Step 13 - Burn the end of the chenille with a lighter to give it a taper Most important Step - Fish your FLY!

Carp fishing is said to be similar to bonefish fishing, just without the pristine water and beautiful tropical flats. They spook easy, require light line, delicate presentations, and smaller flies. Also they feel like you hooked into a freight train when you get one on the line! They are absolutely one of the most rewarding freshwater species to target with a fly rod. If you haven't carp fished before, you are definitely missing out. Where I went were a few small lakes right off of the San Juan River which is one of the best trout fisheries in the United States. However these lakes are pretty unknown to the general public, and there are some monster carp in there. My largest I have caught was a 30" carp when I was fishing a 5wt rod. I felt like I was going to break the rod due to that one fighting so hard. That fish took me 21 minutes to bring in, and has to be one of the hardest fights I have ever had on a fly rod. Of course this fish was only 20" or so, and I was using a 6wt rod, so he was much easier to bring in. It only took me 2 minutes on this last fish, because I could put a bit of backbone into him. Overall though, any carp is fun and enjoyable to fish for. The fights are epic, and its very tough to hook them. Lots of hiding, sneaking, and crouching while casting.

Carp are a fish that pull hard, and usually need to be fished for with an 8wt or greater. My little 5wt barely stood a chance! Not enough backbone to get the fish in, so I had to beach him with my hands. Still an absolute great day, and a giant beast of a fish to boot. I cannot believe I brought him in! For a while it seemed like the fight would carry on for hours! Instead it was 21 minutes, but it was 21 minutes of pure excitement!

So, I decided I would go fishing for carp again since that last fight was so awesome! If you haven't checked out that video yet, see it here... https://youtu.be/V5sqth9VBIo This was a 21 minute fight with a 5wt fly rod. I wasn't expecting a 30" fish when I went, and definitely wasn't expecting one of the best fights of my life. Unfortunately the fishing wasn't as good as I had expected it to be, and I didnt hook a single carp. However I was able to go get a few smaller sized trout. Overall It wasn't the best day fishing, but at least I was able to get one or two.

I have never caught a Carp on a fly rod before, so I wanted to give it a try. Last time I went on the San Juan River I saw quite a few carp feeding on the bottom in a shallow section of the river. I wasn't setup for carp at that time and only had a 3wt fly rod with me. So I decided come back with my 5wt and come back for them another day. Turns out a 5wt is not really enough as well and this carp fought me for 21 minutes! Which felt like forever. By the end of the fight, I was so exhausted, I felt like my arms were gonna fall off. He was so large, and I was so tired, that I had trouble picking him up. They say carp fishing is like fishing for bonefish. They are finicky fish, that spook easy. You can site fish for them, but you need long, thin leader. They fight hard, and feel like your hooked onto the back of a freight train when they run. SO they make for a very formidable sport fish, one that many say is even tougher than bonefish. This is the first time I am fishing with my new vest, neck gaiter, and gloves. I love them! The vest helped by allowing me to bring water with me, and put extra things in the backpack. And even though the sun was in full blast, the neck gaiter and gloves kept me from getting burnt.

I've been tentatively planning a trip to NC for the last year or so to chase some more carp on cicadas. Anyone from that area that give me some tips on good fishing the hatch? I am looking at coming down the week of June 5 for a few days. I would like to find a nice lake loaded with carp cruising the banks looking for cicadas. I also wouldn't mind a day of chasing trout on cicadas if they are keyed in on them as well. I am down for river options as well. I know the French Broad runs through there. I don't know what the carp population is like in that river though. Any information is appreciated, along with how the hatch is and if the fish are focused on them where you are.

So this is a relatively easy-to-tie carp fly, that can imitate either a clam or a just act as a basic bottom fly for tailing carp. It uses... A size 6-10 hook - I just use hooks designed for bass poppers, because I have a ton of them Any sort of thread - white is probably the best, but I always use a gold-ish color White furry foam - you can get this at any craft store; it's not actually buoyant, it's more like felt Eyes (either dumbbell or from a bead chain) - the pattern that I derived this from used pink ones, so that's what I use Chenille - tan or pink *Sorry, all the pictures somehow ended up in weird sizes. I must have messed something up while uploading them to Imgur and from there to here* Tie on your eyes Tie in the chenille. You want to tie it all the way past the bend in the hook, so it will stick up when the fly is upside down. Cut a strip of furry foam a few inches long Tie in the felt Wrap the foam forward like a chenille and tie off. Then whip finish and pick out the body with a dubbing brush. Trim the tail and hold a match near to singe the chenille And that's it! This fly sinks semi slowly, and lands hook point up. Whether or not there are actually clams in your waters, fish it slowly. It's not that close looking to a clam, but if there are clams present, it will look like food to a carp! Even if there aren't, this fly will still work if you get it in front of some tailing fish! Note - there are many different types of furry foam, but the type I have has long-ish fibers on one side. If you can't find a type like this, a dubbing loop with white dubbing will be almost the same.

Finally sat down at the vise over the weekend. Its been a few weeks. Just too nice out and too many projects going on. In any case here is a bunch of carp flies.. all patterns I found online. I forget most of the names but they all looked pretty good. I changed some things based on material I had. Going to be fishing the flats in Traverse bay in a couple weeks so I am gearing up.

Today I went down to a cousins ponds here in Alabama, I didn't bring the long rod because I wasn't sure how grown up it was around the ponds, I caught one bass on a top water plug, and lost a HAWG on a black and blue tube, drag screamed all the way across the pond then she jumped and spit it out! :'( I walked up to the upper pond and saw it was open enough to fly fish, and had a nice dock. While tossing a baby bass colored crankbait, I saw a rather large carp! I was STOKED! I've been wishing they were in the area I live in in Georgia, and now I was watching one chase down my crankbait, which is wired, it would chase it until the last instant then turn and swim off, I then just put the rod down to watch him Hoover stuff up and he swam right into another one! I got pictures of them, I edited the photos to make it easier to see them, by turning the brightness down and the contrast up the fish really pops, I've tied up some flies and I hope to get out after them soon!

The carp (and catfish) in my neck of the woods are feasting on Elderberrys. Would like a pattern for an Elderberry. I searched the flypattern database, but came up with no results. So I'm either doing it wrong or there is no elderberry pattern in there. I was thinking about wrapping some purple estaz over some foam on a size 8 mustad 3366 because I want them to float. Thanks

made up a few simple crawfish flies for the local residents. hammered the trout on tues. next bass and carp.

In Maryland, we have a bunch of canals that are loaded with carp that feed on the mulberry hatch each year. I've been tying a few berries, but wanted to know what's your favorite fly for Carp? And if anyone else has a fav mulberry pattern? Materials: MFC Scud Hook Size 8 GSP 75 Denier 3mm Purple Foam (Tied in sections) 2mm Light Green Foam (Tail) Sharpies