Fly-fishing for carp

[Guest Mike Connor]

I came across this while looking for something else. Might be of some interest.

 

http://www.flyshop.com/centers/midwest/09-99carp/

 

TL

MC

[Guest Nightwing]

Thats my gig Mike! I live about 25 miles from Lake Michigan, and ply the flats from early May until October. I learned the craft form the author of the article you posted, Dave Whitlock. He used to be a consultant for the retail hunting/fishing store I work for, and I had the pleasure of fishing with him on several occasions. Nothing else like a 40lb long, lean wild common on an 8wt, stalked on the crystal flats of Lake Michigan.

[Guest Mike Connor]

Well I have never had anything like a forty pounder, I believe my largest fly-caught carp to date was about the twenty three pound mark, but it was not actually weighed. To be perfectly honest, it was also a complete fluke.

 

I was trying out some fairly large ( 4" )

"wounded minnow" type lures with hard foam heads, and white bucktail wings with a bit of silver tinsel, red hair "gills", "fins" etc., for pike, mainly to see if I could cast them well enough with a nine foot six, # six weight, and a fairly short "blunt" #8 shooting head. I don´t like using heavy gear all the time, and I like experimenting anyway, so I often have a couple of rigs in the boat. ( I only ever use a single rig when fishing on foot).

 

I got a bit of a tangle in the backing line after shooting one cast over a patch of lily pads into a stretch of fairly deep clear water near the bank.

 

I was simply stripping line ( bricklayers polypropylene chalk line), into the bottom of the boat, without a tray, or bucket, or anything, and a loop had caught up on the shoot, and jammed against the butt ring.

 

While I was sorting it out, the line started slowly disappearing through my rod rings, and then there was a hell of a pull on the rod.

 

I struck instinctively, and all hell broke loose. I was not certain at first that I had not got a very large pike, but after the second very long run, still without seeing the fish, I was fairly sure that it was a carp, and so it proved to be.

 

It had taken the static floating lure. It took a very long time to boat it, certainly more than ten minutes, probably nearer twenty,

 

( although it is extremely difficult to be accurate about playing times, I have watched somebody catch a large very active seatrout on the Baltic in less than three minutes, and swear afterwards that the fight lasted half an hour !!!!),

 

and it actually pulled the boat along for a while, with maximum pressure on the rod, and practically no backing left on the reel, before I managed to turn it.

 

Once the fish gets too far away from you, it is well nigh impossible to turn it, even with heavy side strain, as the angle of attack is just no use, and the fly-line streaming out directly behind the fish prevents you achieving much anyway. The longer the rod, the better your chances, but the fish must not get too far away.

 

On foot, I would run along the bank if possible, to achieve the appropriate angle, but alone in a boat, this is just not possible.

 

With anything less than the pike leader I was using, it would have broken me in any case. There would have been nothing I could have done.

 

I have been broken twice at the same lake, by large carp, that stripped me down to the arbour knot. These were fish that I had intentionally stalked though, and actually cast to. In both cases I managed to get my fly-line back, simply by dragging an anchor through the weeds on the side where the fish disappeared.

 

Pike don´t behave like this at all, and the only reason many people lose them is bite-offs. Or they fail to hook them properly in the first place, because they do not strike ( set the hook),hard enough. ( Many also strike from the rod, instead of from the line hand, which is very inefficient in any case, and rarely gives a good hookhold).

 

Although large pike are powerful, they simply are not capable of the sustained powerful runs that a carp can deliver. Even a five pounder.

 

If this one had gone into the lily pads, ( which they usually do! ) I would never have got it at all, but for some unknown reason, it headed straight out across the lake.

 

My largest carp before that was exactly thirteen pounds. I have not caught many double figure carp on flies, a few ( I don´t know exactly how many, perhaps a dozen or so), most of my fly caught carp have been between five and ten pounds. More than a handful, on a #6 weight, and a five pound tippet. Most carp ( and most of the big ones ), I have caught, have been either on sweetcorn, potatoes, dog-biscuits, or worms.

 

The beasts are incredibly leader shy, and why this one decided to take the floating minnow with a length of kevlar tippet and the

heavy leader hanging off it, I have no idea.

 

I have tried this a couple of times since, and apart from two smallish pike, it has never worked again.

 

It works well for perch when they are actively "herding" minnows, just cast the lure into the disturbance, and wait. Slowly tightening invariably results in a perch, sometimes a large one, and occasionally in a ( usually small) pike. The small pike often seem to hang around and profit from the "organised hunting tactics" of perch shoals.

 

I definitely agree with Mr.Whitlock that carp are indeed a very worthy quarry. They are much more difficult to catch on flies, than practically any other fish I know of, excepting eels, and they are far more "intelligent" and powerful than trout or fish like that. I have never caught a barbel yet on a fly, although I have heard that it can be done. There are none here which I could have a go at. It would be pointless anyway, as the law here states that catch and kill is mandatory, and as I once tried a barbel as a young man, ( caught on cheese!), there is absolutely no way I would ever eat the stuff again!

 

Unfortunately, my "casting floats" don´t work very well for carp, as the "splash down" from the float spooks them immediately, and this makes sight fishing with such gear more or less impossible. One can disguise this to some extent, by simultaneously casting and hurling a handful of dog-biscuits, or bread, and the method is then successful, but this is hardly fly-fishing!

 

I also agree with Mr.Whitlock that "fishing blind" for carp is largely a waste of time. Another reason why the "casting floats" are not much use for them. Being able to cast considerable distances is not a lot of use.

 

Long distance "over-casting", and very careful and slow "drawing-back", has worked occasionally, but not enough to make it a very worthwhile technique. Here, the fly-line delivery is definitely superior.

 

I certainly would enjoy catching a very large carp on fly gear, but I am also perfectly well aware that this is unlikely to occur.

 

There are not many such fish where I live, they are difficult to find, and using my "normal" gear, it is extremely unlikely that I would be able to land such a fish in any case, even should I hook one.

 

It would be most interesting to hear some reports on your favourite methods, flies etc.

 

TL

MC

[Guest Nightwing]

Very cool report Mike. I have not talked to many from your side of the pond who went for carp with fly gear. Over here, it is actualy a rather quickly growing sport. I use a number of different sets, depending upon the water and size of the local fish. My most common rig for small waters(would likely be considered big over your way, at 100-400 acres), is an 8wt ST. Croix L.E., with a Reddington AL7/8 disc reel. I use a basic wt.forward floating 8wt line with 9-12 ft leader/tippet. Flys match local food source, usually small crayfish patterns(no better big carp fly, IMHO), or a variety of slow sink nymphs. I stalk and sight fish the margins for active feeding(tailing) fish, most casts are less then 30 feet. Extremem stealth is required, as our wild fish are very shy, and an erant cast will put them down, even the shadow of a bad cast will mess things up. Fish in our local lake are very plentifull, and virtualy ignored by the locals, so fish to 30lbs are common, and 20-25 just average. A good day will put 10-20 fish on the bank. My favorite fishing is done, however on the vast limestone flats of Lake Michigan. The physical description of the area is exactly as Dave put it, so I won't boor you with a rehash of the beauty of stark white flats, gin clear water to the horizin, dark pine forests behind you and 30-50 lb fish cruising by in the dozens:-).

But, it's all true.

I fish primarily in Grand Travers Bay, MI., and on the Southern Coast of the Upper Peninsula of MI.(thus, the north shore of Lake Michigan). This area is mostly large limestone flats, from 2-6 ft deep, extending out a mile or so from shore and then dropping suddenly to very deep water(300+ feet in many areas). Grand Travers bay is similar, but the flats only go out a couple hundred yards before the drop off occours. My Best fish to date(Grand Traverse) is a tad over 44lbs weighed. These fish are simply power personified, and I now use a heavy 10wt tarpon rod, with a 10/11 Reddington AL(large Arbour) disc reel. I use a multi-tip Cortland line(use the clear int. sink tip most often on the flats), backed by 300 yards of 40lb braid backing. Because I stalk instead of using a flats boat, I loose as many fish as I hook(kind of difficult to follow a fish when it dives over the sheer rock drop off where the water goes to over 300 feet deep!!). I fish in the same way as mentioned in the artical, casting bonefish-style to tailing or cruising fish. Flies used are essentialy the same as I use inland, crayfish(again, the best overall pattern), but with a healthy mix of wet patterns, nymphs, and the ever popular wooly bugger.

The fish usually run in pods or schools of a half dozen to a dozen, but anything from singles to hundreds is possible. I prefer targeting singles or small pods if possible, so as not to put the entire area down. 100 20's screaming for the depths is impressive as He**, but it can take an hour or more for the fish to come back if that happens! Casts here tend to the long side, and 60-70 feet is not uncommon. It is difficult to get much closer in the open environment these fish frequent. Stalking is usually done into the winc if possible, as the fish tend to orient with the wind driven currents, again, almost like bonefish or redfish on the reefs. Casts must be placed fairly close to the fish, best within 2-3 feet of the fish ahead and slightly to one side. A short, quick strip of the fly is somtimes needed to cause a slight "puff" of silt, enticing the fish to take. Once you get a take, the fun starts, and often lasts a half hour for a big fish!

Since I usually cast to the largets fish, passing many "small" fish, I average only a dozen hookups or so per day, but most will be with fish of 20lbs or better, with 30's fairly common. The very largest fish I have hooked here was while I was still using an 8wt rod, and was likely over 50. Needless to say, I did not land it. That fish, more than anything else, convinced me to use the saltwater gear, and I have been pleased with it so far(makes a great salmon rod for surf casting also, anothere real fun fish!). While a 10wt seems overkill for freshwater, this is much more akin to sea fishing and the big rod allows you the chance at a big fish, as well as allowing casts into the normal stiff winds here.

Anyway, hope I did not boor you too much.:-)

Can you tell that I really get into this stuff?

[Guest Cranfield]

Nice interesting posts you two.

 

I,m enjoying this!!...and learning.

[Guest Mike Connor]

Originally posted by Nightwing:

[

 

Sounds like wonderful fishing. I doubt I will ever see a fifty pound "wild" carp, let alone hook one!, much less land it , if ever something so unlikely were to occur. As much as I would like to.

 

There is too much angling pressure here, and most fish are caught and killed, (it is of course the law!), the fish simply do not have the opportunity to grow that large.

 

I can appreciate the necessity for such "heavy" gear. Such fish are definitely not to be trifled with. To be quite truthful, I am hardly able to imagine the fight a fifty pound carp might deliver, and I am certain that "normal" fly-gear, would be a complete waste of time,

 

It is of very considerable interest to hear such reports.

 

I am considered a bit eccentric, because I even fish flies for carp, among other things,( it may of course be That I really am a nut !!! ))and doubtless some of your "trout brethren", consider you a bit of a nutcase as well.

 

Just wait till some of them discover the possibílities. You will suddenly be a "guru", and an expert, and God knows what else, and two hundred books will appear, from all directions, telling how they caught carp "way back when ".

 

Oh well, such is life!

 

I expect an invite to fish for freshwater "bones", if ever I manage to get out your way!

 

Thanks very much for the interesting and exciting descriptions of your fishing.

 

TL

MC

[Guest Nightwing]

There is a standing invite for anyone who wants to give it a go! You have to pay your way over here, but I wont charge a thing for the guide service, and all out waters are free!(no such thing as a syndicate here, and our fisheries are all in the public domain).