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Carp were bitin' yesterday!

2K views 11 replies 8 participants last post by  Quentin 
#1 ·
Yesterday I took the boat out on the local lake to stalk some carp. I saw loads of fish and they were quite cooperative. I managed to get three to the boat, broke off one other and had a few other hits and misses. All of the fish were over 10 lbs and the first one I landed was a legitimate 15, maybe more. I'm pretty sure it was the biggest carp I've landed on the fly rod to date :cool: . They were all caught on #6 or 8 brown woolly buggers. Here's a photo of the big one:
 

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#7 ·
Thanks guys! Can't wait 'til I hook up with my first 20+ fish. I've seen them (some look as big around as a basketball :eyecrazy: ) but I haven't managed to hook one yet.

MCorder - If you enjoy sight fishing for fish that are virtually invisible in even a foot of water, trying to place a fly in front of a fish that will spook with the slightest sound or shadow, trying to "guess" at when to set the hook by watching the fish's movement or behavior, and battling strong, stubborn fish that pull really hard, then you will probably enjoy carp fishing! But . . . be prepared for plenty of frustration between hookups!

Steelies - I haven't landed any carp that were not hooked in the mouth, but I can imagine that a foul-hooked carp would be very difficult to land, especially with the way they like to hunker down in the weeds :hehe:

Q
 
#12 ·
Re: What tackle

t_richerzhagen said:
do you use for these?
My favorite carp fly is a #6 or 8 brown woolly bugger with no extra weight except for the copper wire rib. I also catch a lot on "berry" flies, which are made of yarn and look almost like a small strike indicator that sinks. I usually make them half purple/half orange but I bet any color would work. I have also caught carp on a small crayfish imitation.

For gear, I use a 5wt or 7wt rod with floating line and a 6' leader of 12# or 20# fluorocarbon. The fluorocarbon helps to get the flies to the bottom.

The trick is to get the fly to the bottom in the path of the carp before the fish gets there, or land the fly on its nose if it's "mudding" in one spot. Sometimes the fish will eat the fly while it's motionless, sometimes you need to pull the fly slowly away from the fish to get a hit (and sometimes they spook or ignore the fly completely :devil: ).

Have fun!

Q
 
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