I went out trying to catch some carp sight fishing this weekend. The first day I found some big fish mudding and tried to get a fly under their nose. The water was so stirred up that I couldn't really tell if I had the fly where I wanted it. I fished the next day in a much clearer spot but went at the wrong time and had bad light. I tried weighted buggers and gotchas. What do you guys like to throw at these fish?
Hi boatdrinks, sorry for the slow response but I just don't follow the board as much as I used to.
I've done a lot of flyfishing for carp and, like most fish, sometimes they seem to be pickier than other times. I like to use wooley buggers in olive, brown or black, with no weight or bead heads or dumbell eyes. I've also had lots of success using berry or egg flies, which are just a 1/4" - 1/2" diameter yarn pom-pom on an egg hook. I like to use half orange and half purple, with the orange in front to help me see the fly better. Stealth is critical. You won't always spook them, but if they know you're there it's very hard to get them to hit. It can also be a problem if there are too many fish -- you keep spooking them and it sets off a chain reaction so you can never get close enough to even try for them. When you see a fish with its nose down and stirring up mud, try to drop the fly right near its head. If you see the fish make a funny wiggle (i.e., suddenly change position slightly), then it might have just eaten your fly and you should pull the line tight and give a gentle tug if you feel any resistance. No BassMaster hooksets are required -- they have soft mouths and they are heavy enough that you will hook them if the fly is in their mouth and the hook is sharp. If they haven't eaten the fly yet, then the slight movement from pulling the line tight will sometimes get them to hit.
Thanks. I tried last weekend and got a couple of good follows. Some for 15 feet or so but no eat. I got one to eat when I dropped the fly right on him. Just like tarpon he looked happy and ready to eat. I'm going to try to chum up a spot with ground up corn and dog food this weekend to try and concentrate them and get them moving in the right direction. One issue I had was where I was fish had very little room to back cast so if the fishing was coming from the wrong direction I couldn't get a good shot at him.
This is an older thread, you may not receive a response, and could be reviving an old thread. Please consider creating a new thread.
Related Threads
?
?
?
?
?
Fly Fishing Forum
163.8K posts
38.8K members
Since 2000
A forum community dedicated to fly fishing and sporting enthusiasts. Come join the discussion about safety, licenses, tips, tricks, rivers, reviews, accessories, classifieds, and more!