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Topwater Carpin'

3K views 8 replies 6 participants last post by  Mattb 
#1 ·
Lips. Everywhere! I checked out a carp spot on the Housatonic section of the Housatonic River and found a bunch of little carp feeding on top. They were moving slowly along through the weeds and algae, occasionally poking just the top halves of their lips above the surface as they slurped up whatever they were eating. It reminded me of the old Pac-Man video game! There was a lot of duckweed floating among the weeds and it sort of looked like that's what they were after, so I tied on a small, bright green, foam bug with chartreuse rubber legs and I flipped it out near the weeds. I slowly dragged it into position just ahead of some "lips" and then let it float there for a moment. The lips moved away from the fly and then disappeared below the surface, but then another carp poked its lips up and ate the fly! It wasn't as though it got the fly while it was trying for something else, it was definitely after the fly! It stayed on the hook just long enough to spook the rest of the fish and then came unhooked. Although some of the carp did return and resume feeding, I never did get another one to hit the fly. Still, I consider it a minor victory to have actually hooked one on a floating fly since it adds another dimension to the game. I also tried a berry fly and a woolly bugger but had no success with them.

At another spot nearby, where the water is quite a bit deeper, there were dozens (maybe hundreds?) of BIG carp right on the surface. I watched them for a few moments and some of them did appear to be eating, although most of them just seemed to be sunning themselves. Unfortunately, the steep bank, excessive brush and poison ivy prevented me from trying for them. I need to find a place to launch my boat in that stretch of the river!

Q
 
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#4 ·
Hey Q,

I went looking for my large friends lower down on the Housatonic this past week-end and they were still there. This time I actually spotted one feeding. Large puffs of mud off the edge of the weed bed - I knew what it was but thought the fish had already left. I made a cast to smallie out in the main current and a 20lb (min) made its leisurly departure from under my rod tip (son of a ......!)

A bit later another large one came close enough to make eye contact but decided it wasn't hungry. The big fish are starting to show some occaisional interest in my flies - not follows as much as cursory glances.

These guys seem to fall into the circulating school pattern. They leisurly pass by up stream, then downstream about 15 minutes later. This is repeated, then, occaisionally, one will peel off to check out the edge of the weed beds.

They presumably get into a set feeding pattern at some point but I have not yet hit the time.

I was on the water Friday evening and the white fly hatch seems to be tapering off. Saturday I hit the water an hour before sunrise as the smallie action was non-stop - there were some very large fish about :D
 
#5 ·
Adrian said:
Hey Q,

I went looking for my large friends lower down on the Housatonic this past week-end and they were still there. This time I actually spotted one feeding. Large puffs of mud off the edge of the weed bed - I knew what it was but thought the fish had already left. I made a cast to smallie out in the main current and a 20lb (min) made its leisurly departure from under my rod tip (son of a ......!)
That sounds familiar! Isn't it amazing that such a large fish can be so hard to see? (even when you *know* it's there!)

Just gotta keep trying 'til you find one that will cooperate!

John, I'm definitely going to get that book! Pardon my ignorance, but what's CDC? I presume this fly imitates a cottonwood seed?

Q
 
#6 ·
CDC is short for cul de canard, which is literally French for duck's ass. In our tems, it refers to the feathers from that part of the duck's anatomy that are full of naturally water-resilient oils. These feathers are great for keeping dry flies afloat, and a little goes a long way.

Buyer beware...they can be expensive. :rolleyes:
 
#7 ·
Dble Haul said:
CDC is short for cul de canard, which is literally French for duck's ass. In our tems, it refers to the feathers from that part of the duck's anatomy that are full of naturally water-resilient oils. These feathers are great for keeping dry flies afloat, and a little goes a long way.

Buyer beware...they can be expensive. :rolleyes:
Thanks Mark. We've got loads of "nuisance" ducks around here that come right over to you when you try to fish (thanks to the "bread bag" brigade). Maybe I could pluck a few from a live one? That would help keep them away from me!

Q
 
#9 ·
Adrian, one thing to consider is that maybe the 'circling' carp you're seeing would like to stop and eat, but they see you and decide they'll come back later.

In the pond I fish I've found that it's reasonably hard to spook the carp without lining them or hitting them with the fly, but it's painfully easy to put them off feeding(unless they're actively mudding, in which case it's like Quentin said- they're oblivious).

I would recommend having a look at the 'carp on the fly' book as well. It didn't have any groundbreaking information in it for me, but it had a couple of subtle things that it would've taken me a while to notice, and it had some good patterns.
 
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