[AJD]

When fly fishing for carp, do you strip, twitch or just let the fly be? I have caught my share of bass, catfish and bream and always see carp swimming near or by me with no luck.

I have noticed that when they are swimming by they will turn on their side, scrubbing the bottom as if they are feeding. I could be wrong though.

Any help would be appreciated.

 

[horsehead]

I've been chasing carp for a while and have read, listened to, and watched a ton of material on it. That said, I've only hooked up with one, so I'm no expert.

A couple of things:
1. You have to pick your target. Free swimming carp are not usually feeding and should probably be ignored. You're looking for carp with their nose on the bottom, vacuuming up food. The experts I've listened to say that your chances of enticing a swimming carp are less than 5%.

2. You want to cast in front of the fish and do what they call the "drag and drop". Basically, cast far enough away that you don't spook the fish by splashing a fly right on top of him, but not so far that you spook him with your line either. Then strip the fly in until it's in an area the size of a dinner plate directly in front of the fish, in its path of movement. Then just leave the fly and wait for him to move in and suck it up. Strip set and hold on!


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[AJD]

Thanks for the input.

 

[catmaster]

Find them tailing...they will be feeding...in the shallows with tail slightly out of the water...this is your best chance...sneak up...and I mean Sneak...then cast behind the fish...using a slow sinking fly....like a wooly booger...U want to drop the fly right behind the carps eye...then...jerk it when it hits bottom...many times they will suck it down...Be patient....Catching a Carp on the fly is hard...that's why most haven't done it...

 

[catmaster]

If they are splashing hard....their spawning...Some species spawn several times a year...and they will not eat...During these times. Go in the morning....Super shallow and find them tailing.

 

[AJD]

I guess I have never seen them at the right time. They are always just "cruising".

 

[drumfisher]

Find rocks, there should be algae on them that the carp are eating. Polarized glasses help. Be as stealthy as possible

 

[Twystedweb]

I've only ever caught 2 carp on the fly, and I caught them just as horsehead describes. I cast past them with a tiny nymph and then stripped it in gently until it was near his mouth and just left it alone for a minute or so. Eventually he sucked it up. Seems like a lot of fun, maybe freshwater bonefish...

 

[Kev2380]

I like this blog post. I think it really sums up fly fishing for Carp in the triangle.
http://www.sheacraig.com/wordpress/archives/622

 

[meenyt]

Put on a fly sized doughball, with a sugar pop in middle. Cast, wait, repeat.

 

[horsehead]

If anyone has any nice spots in the Greensboro area that hold carp in clear water that they'd like to show me, I wouldn't turn you down on an offer

I've walked and paddled a lot of water and have almost always been thwarted by stained water that made sight fishing an impossibility.

 

[AJD]

I like this blog post. I think it really sums up fly fishing for Carp in the triangle.
http://www.sheacraig.com/wordpress/archives/622

Thanks, and a good read. My question is, If I see a carp swimming and turning on his side, is he feeding?

 

[Kev2380]

Thanks, and a good read. My question is, If I see a carp swimming and turning on his side, is he feeding?

I really don't know. Another great carp resource is the site CarpPro.net. It will tell you more than you ever want to know about fishing for carp.

 

[catmaster]

No...spawning. ......

 

[EvBlue]

They react the opposite to most game fish. Moving the fly will spook them. Any flash at all will turn them away. I've had pretty good luck just tying some green marabou on a hook and placing it in their path.

 

[lthrnck03]

I have been out a couple times this year and managed to hook up(though not land) 3 so far.
1. Drag and drop technique is hands down going to be your best friend.
2. DO NOT keep casting to the fish over and over....you will only manage to spook them and drive them off.
3. FOR THE LOVE OF GOD....stay out of the water!(If you must get in the water, be prepared to find a suitable spot and stand there completely still for 10-15 minutes...its the only way you will become "invisible" to them)
4. Making delicate casts is KEY.... you can splat a fly all day long and still catch LMB....splat a fly in front of a carp...your opportunity is gone.
5. Moving the fly will not always spook them....if you strip the fly.... make very very small twitches, just enough to hopefully elicit more attention from them.
6. Feeding fish are your fish to target. Catching the attention of cruisers is going to be nearly impossible. Clooping Carp are good too. Cloopers are fish feeding from the surface. I suggest tying up flies that resemble seeds(ie cottonwood).

Hope this helps


-Ian

 

[crabman00]

I think the best time to target them is when they're gulping cicadas off the surface.

 

[catmaster]

Hard.... ain't it.
Carp are not dum dums.

 

[AJD]

Thanks for all the advise. I only get to go out every once in while and the times I've seen them they aren't feeding.

 

[driver]

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