Golden Hour
Most fly anglers find themselves wishing they were saltwater fishing. Why is that? Simple answer, they want a fish that pulls hard, takes backing and to land a big fish right? Well what if I told you that, you can find a fish just like that in freshwater. A fish that is found in almost every body of freshwater, Lakes, rivers, ponds, canals etc. Whether you are on a lake in the middle of nowhere or fishing in a canal in the hustle and bustle of a big city. That my friends is the one and only carp. I know I sound crazy but just stick with me here
Poor Man’s Bonefish
Carp feed very similar to some of your favorite flats species. With their tails up a head down rooting around the mud looking for their next meal. As long as you drag and drop the fly in front of their face so both of their eyes can see it they will most likely take it, and when they do hang on! Sounds pretty cool doesn’t it? Although these fish are looked down on for whatever reason, these things are incredible. They eat topwater, smaller streamers and even your classic trout nymphs, I mean what’s not to love about these guys. On average these fish are anywhere from 8 to 25 pounds.They get even bigger pushing past 35 pounds. Now just think of 25 pound fish that give blistering runs like a bonefish and also bulldogs like a redfish. Now let me point you in the right direction as far as what they eat
Big Fish Smallish Fly
The common carp are often thought to be only caught on bait. Well they do but, also they need to find stuff to eat when they are naturally feeding. A carp’s diet has a pretty large range. These fish are very opportunistic feeders, meaning they will eat whatever is in front of them that can fit in their mouth. The majority of the time you will see carp sucking up the mud, filtering out the dirt and eating the invertebrates within. So yes they are bottom feeders, eating aquatic insects and crustaceans such as crawfish, hellgrammites, stoneflies and a variety of critters. But they also have a predatory side to them as well. They will chase after smaller baitfish, tadpoles, leeches, and even frogs. Dry flies and fruit flies also make for an epic eat. The flies I am normally throwing range from size #6 to size #16. It is all situational, you have to figure out what works on your waters
Chaos in the Mud
When I am fishing for these golden beasts, I find targeting them in super muddy shallow water to be the most exciting way to target them. Sight fishing these fish is an awesome time. What I normally look for is a deeper channel with long flat shallow sections off the sides of it. If it has tall grass or flooded timber even better. If you find one the chances of you seeing more are veryhigh. They like to stick to the same area as their buddies. These fish will “shoal” together meaning they aren’t tightly packed together but they like to be in the same vicinity. Most of the time you can see anywhere from 4 to 80 fish all on the same flat feeding. If you can’t see their body’s cruising, look for their mud clouds while they’re feeding, use that to indicate where they are at. So keep those eyes peeled. Carp are very spooky by nature, these guys have a double lateral line running down their body so they are very sensitive to sounds and movement in the water. So if one spooks good chance the majority will spook along with it
Reel It Up
There isn’t a right or wrong setup for carp, but the gear I normally like to use is a 6-8wt rod depending on where and how I am fishing. I pair it up with a large shooting head weight forward line with a 10-14 foot leader anywhere from 3x up to 16lb. So after all that do you still think these fish aren’t worth going after? Next time you see a couple go ahead and tie on a buggy looking fly and give her a shot. I think you might find these belly crawling, mud suck'n, tail waving, golden beauties to be a hell of a lot of fun.
Tanner Schmidt - 828 Flies
Recommended Gear Listed Below
(6-8wt) Rods: Winston Air 2 Max, G Loomis IMX V2, Lamson Cobalt, Redington EDC, Orvis Clearwater.
Reels: Nautilus X series, Ross Animas, Lamson Liquid Max, Orvis Hydros, Redington Run
Leader: 3x-16lb Nylon 10-14 foot leader, Umpqua X HP Carp Leader
Flies: Barry’s Carp Fly, Smith’s Scaprion, Slum Lord, Detroit Mop City, Ball Peen Craw