My buddy @Engee went scouting today, like the DA he can be, he went scouting without a flyrod. Oh my, Randy! What he saw were carp busy mudding, slowly cruising and dipping their snouts down into the bottom sediment, he saw this on a partly cloudy day when carp are hard to see. No fly rod? Sounds like something I'd do.
Last summer @flywiese came over to the Basin several times - I tried to get Jerry into carp but he'd timed his trips after that awful hot spell and the fish were mostly just gone. Given Engee's discovery today, I thought maybe I ought to look at my carp fly boxes (yes, "boxes") and tie up a few bugs. I suppose with only 400 or so carp flies I can always use a few dozen more?
Twenty-four years ago, Darc Knobel turned me onto carp fishing. We'd been trying to get them to eat fishing from the shores of a big lake, it wasn't working. Anyway, somewhere along the line, he started putting it together. Boats help. One morning we launched his boat and motored up the lake to the Highway Flats. Carp were in this relatively shallow bay by the thousand - some were in spawn mode but many were mudding. The sediment was so stirred up you couldn't see bottom in two feet of water; visibility was probably less than a foot. DK put me on the bow and slowly poled his 14' boat along pointing out fresh "poofs". Poofs (not to be confused with puffy jackets) are fresh mud plumes that are swirling and caused by carp actively digging into the bottom in search of something to eat. When the water is so cloudy you can't really see fish, poofs are a sign the fish is there. Back to the point - I had shots at several fish, felt two but my timing was off (it sucked). Each time I missed the fish, I'd let out a loud hoot. After the third missed fish and third loud hoot, Darc pointed out that we could see dozens of waking fish fleeing from me making so much noise and if I didn't shut up, he was going to hit me with the push pole.
I listened. I learned and the next fish I hooked and landed: I too was hooked. I don't keep a diary or tally of carp caught - hundreds for sure. They're a blast. As Basin lakes become too warm for trout angling, carp waters warm up enough to get their juices flowing, mine too. 70F water is ideal, at least in my experience.
Standing on the bow of a boat in murky, muddy water, look for that "poof", or look for the tail if the fish is tilted - sometimes I see a carp tail waving underwater so I have a good idea where the fishes mouth is. In muddy water, I don't think the pattern is too critical - in the early days, the go to carp fly in mud was a black woolly worm with webby grizzly hackle and weighted so it would sink.
If the water is so muddy you can't see the fish, how do you know when the fish might have eaten? Here's what you won't usually feel: the take. In my experience, carp take the fly and spit it out very quickly, so fast you most like won't feel them eat. I look for a change in the "poof" column or if the tail is visible, the tail to move sideways - that's a very good indicator the carp has eaten, set quickly!
As the years have gone by, I've mostly moved away from fishing the muddy water, I much prefer wading clearer water. In clear water, the carp are easier to spot; same for the carp - they can see me much easier. Slow, steady, quiet, stealth. Generally, I wade with 30 or 40 feet of line looped in my left hand (I cast right handed) with the fly line out the tip of the rod and my rod over my left shoulder so the fly is behind me. This technique allows me to launch a cast quickly if I'm lucky enough to see a feeding fish that doesn't see me first.
Clear, warm water. Carp are easily spooked, especially in conditions as shown above.
I fish with an 8 weight and a floating line. My leaders are generally about the length of my rod, my tippet is Maxima Ultragreen 10 pound minimum. Last year I started tying "trouser worm' patterns. What an interesting idea for a fly: a big floating tail that helps keep the hook point from fouling.
@Jim F. was good enough to send me a foam cutting tool that I use to cut/punch the 2 mm foam. I really like the little bit of orange to help me see the fly.
Another fly I've found that works well, sometimes, is a Clouser Swimming Nymph - I had a couple great days before the major heat wave. Several years ago I got into the "jig fly" craze; man - sometimes a little jig under an indicator will fool a trout, smallmouth and carp all on the same day. That will put a smile on my face every time.
Clouser Swimming Nymphs
I really like bright sunny days for carping. A little "W" can help, sometimes. Sunblock: SPF 55, a hoody, a big floppy hat and a buff are my attire when carping. I also wear long, quick dry pants. Subtle colors help.
I've never actually weighed a carp - and I never see behemoths that are as deep as they are long like I see on some of the British sites, but between DK, Engee and yours truly, we've all hooked carp that had the backing knot out the tip in a second or two. It's common to have a carp make multiple long, fast runs.
A long run, it takes time to get a big carp to the boat or to the bank.
A little too much wind, sometimes it comes up quickly. Darc and I had to beach his boat one time, it was a long walk to the park to retrieve the truck and trailer.
Who but a carp fisherman would ever call a big smallie "by catch"?
Mirror, mirror on the lake.......
Time to clean my carp fly line, adding four new flies to the box.
A couple fuzzy carrot nymphs and a couple soft hackles.
Last summer @flywiese came over to the Basin several times - I tried to get Jerry into carp but he'd timed his trips after that awful hot spell and the fish were mostly just gone. Given Engee's discovery today, I thought maybe I ought to look at my carp fly boxes (yes, "boxes") and tie up a few bugs. I suppose with only 400 or so carp flies I can always use a few dozen more?
Twenty-four years ago, Darc Knobel turned me onto carp fishing. We'd been trying to get them to eat fishing from the shores of a big lake, it wasn't working. Anyway, somewhere along the line, he started putting it together. Boats help. One morning we launched his boat and motored up the lake to the Highway Flats. Carp were in this relatively shallow bay by the thousand - some were in spawn mode but many were mudding. The sediment was so stirred up you couldn't see bottom in two feet of water; visibility was probably less than a foot. DK put me on the bow and slowly poled his 14' boat along pointing out fresh "poofs". Poofs (not to be confused with puffy jackets) are fresh mud plumes that are swirling and caused by carp actively digging into the bottom in search of something to eat. When the water is so cloudy you can't really see fish, poofs are a sign the fish is there. Back to the point - I had shots at several fish, felt two but my timing was off (it sucked). Each time I missed the fish, I'd let out a loud hoot. After the third missed fish and third loud hoot, Darc pointed out that we could see dozens of waking fish fleeing from me making so much noise and if I didn't shut up, he was going to hit me with the push pole.
I listened. I learned and the next fish I hooked and landed: I too was hooked. I don't keep a diary or tally of carp caught - hundreds for sure. They're a blast. As Basin lakes become too warm for trout angling, carp waters warm up enough to get their juices flowing, mine too. 70F water is ideal, at least in my experience.
Standing on the bow of a boat in murky, muddy water, look for that "poof", or look for the tail if the fish is tilted - sometimes I see a carp tail waving underwater so I have a good idea where the fishes mouth is. In muddy water, I don't think the pattern is too critical - in the early days, the go to carp fly in mud was a black woolly worm with webby grizzly hackle and weighted so it would sink.
If the water is so muddy you can't see the fish, how do you know when the fish might have eaten? Here's what you won't usually feel: the take. In my experience, carp take the fly and spit it out very quickly, so fast you most like won't feel them eat. I look for a change in the "poof" column or if the tail is visible, the tail to move sideways - that's a very good indicator the carp has eaten, set quickly!
As the years have gone by, I've mostly moved away from fishing the muddy water, I much prefer wading clearer water. In clear water, the carp are easier to spot; same for the carp - they can see me much easier. Slow, steady, quiet, stealth. Generally, I wade with 30 or 40 feet of line looped in my left hand (I cast right handed) with the fly line out the tip of the rod and my rod over my left shoulder so the fly is behind me. This technique allows me to launch a cast quickly if I'm lucky enough to see a feeding fish that doesn't see me first.
Clear, warm water. Carp are easily spooked, especially in conditions as shown above.
I fish with an 8 weight and a floating line. My leaders are generally about the length of my rod, my tippet is Maxima Ultragreen 10 pound minimum. Last year I started tying "trouser worm' patterns. What an interesting idea for a fly: a big floating tail that helps keep the hook point from fouling.
@Jim F. was good enough to send me a foam cutting tool that I use to cut/punch the 2 mm foam. I really like the little bit of orange to help me see the fly.
Another fly I've found that works well, sometimes, is a Clouser Swimming Nymph - I had a couple great days before the major heat wave. Several years ago I got into the "jig fly" craze; man - sometimes a little jig under an indicator will fool a trout, smallmouth and carp all on the same day. That will put a smile on my face every time.
Clouser Swimming Nymphs
I really like bright sunny days for carping. A little "W" can help, sometimes. Sunblock: SPF 55, a hoody, a big floppy hat and a buff are my attire when carping. I also wear long, quick dry pants. Subtle colors help.
I've never actually weighed a carp - and I never see behemoths that are as deep as they are long like I see on some of the British sites, but between DK, Engee and yours truly, we've all hooked carp that had the backing knot out the tip in a second or two. It's common to have a carp make multiple long, fast runs.
A long run, it takes time to get a big carp to the boat or to the bank.
A little too much wind, sometimes it comes up quickly. Darc and I had to beach his boat one time, it was a long walk to the park to retrieve the truck and trailer.
Who but a carp fisherman would ever call a big smallie "by catch"?
Mirror, mirror on the lake.......
Time to clean my carp fly line, adding four new flies to the box.
A couple fuzzy carrot nymphs and a couple soft hackles.
Last edited: