esox niger

Here's a couple...the carp are hard to photograph but heres a grass carp i took on a "similar" fly i call the Creeping Muskrat.

I tie size 6 and 8 for Grass Carp and Common Carp....when the hybrids,drum, and even catfish are around they will take these too. Got a massive bass a few years back on same size as well slow crawled over mud bottom while i was "blind fishing for carp". Mostly a carp fly...size 4 would be great for largemouth but I tend to fish smaller flies...and take everything around. If i did any small mouth fishing i'd use these a bit too. the weedless variety of this fly is killer for dragging bottom and taking fish. Thats one of my early season drum tactics where i fish...put a craw on bottom and slow slow crawl im.

Hi guys, just finished up tying some new crayfish in a slightly different style than normal and thought i'd share. All are tied on stainless, with bead chain eyes, dubbed with squirrel tail claws which i find to be the most appealing material for crayfish. hope you enjoy. I'll pop in a couple of images and you can view my blog post at http://missouriflies...rp-fly-patterns and the video at Enjoy... questions, comments are welcome, or post some of you favorite crayfish patterns.

For those interested in fly fishing for carp i have a website up dedicated to carp and carp flies . I primarily use 3 patterns for both Common and Grass Carp. I've found the grass carp to be the most selective and wary, especially when fishing a floating fly, though there are times when thats the way to go. 90% of the time I use a small black fly I call the Black Ops in size 6 or 8 with XL or L bead chain eyes, regardless of weather the fish are feeding on the surface or not...even(especially) when mulberries are dropping, this is my fly of choice. With a good presentation to a feeding fish the fly is almost never rejected. I would also highly recommend a small crayfish pattern for both species of carp. Smaller the better for grass carp, size 6 and 8 are best, size 8 to be on the safe side for the grassies. I particularly like the crayfish to have a weed guard, you be amazed at how much a weed guard can help improve your productivity and peace of mind, though its not always necessary. I like these flies because not only are they good for Carp, they take just about everything that swims. #3 fly in my arsenal is a floating pellet fly. Sometimes its the best choice depending on the fish and other conditions however it will receive the most scrutiny, is tougher to set, and can't be moved without spooking the fish, and is usually a one shot deal. With the previous two flies, repeated casts can be made to a single fish often times amping the fishes excitement as it searches for the tasty morsels it hears plopping around him. Typically, if the fish doesn't hit the fly he hasn't seen the fly....try try again, leading just ahead and across the fishes path by a foot or so. Note: it may also be wise to place your fly out of the fishes sight, just to the side and behind head. Sometimes you have to make a few cast to a fish before you get the right placement.

Thats a nice fly, and i can tell its not a berry tied to a hook. ...i have a little trouble fishing / setting the hook with the floaters... i prefer flies like this...seems to ring everybodys bell...just bead chain, dubbing, some turkey feather for a tail on a gamakatsu sl45 bone fish hook...its a fan with the fish....then you can take it with you to the bluegill pond or the trout steam and it works just as well there too. Even though in the first pic the hook is broken ..these are great hooks. much stronger than anything i've ever fished.

Davin at http://www.fish-bones.com/ gave me a reply as to why he likes the no slip mono loop and how to tie it so it doesn't slip...I'm very very jealous of his location on the planet! Hi Christopher, Nice video. You know, I’ve never tried the perfection loop to attach my fly. I’ll give it a shot, though, just to see. As for the non-slip loop, here are the things I know about it. I’ve used it exclusively for my flouro bite tippets while tarpon fishing–40, 60, and 80 pound–and have never had it slip or work loose. I’ve caught 90-100 pound tarpon on it, no worries. For these heavier lines you only need a 2-3 turn knot, whereas the lighter bonefish leaders (say 10-16 pound) need 5 turns to be darn near 100%. (I’ve personally tested in on my Boga-Grip.) The knot is straight, small, VERY easy to tie (I can retie and still keep my eye on the fish, I can retie while walking down the beach chasing fish, etc), and very, very strong. The key is you MUST leave a short tag because the line will work back into the knot on a heavy fish. This is because it’s almost impossible to fully seat the knot when you first tie it. But, no worries; leave a 1/8″ tag and you’re good. The fact that the knot is straight and not kicked to one side like the perfection loop can be is key for fishing tarpon. A bend or kink anywhere in the leader system can cause the fly to ride funny, and then the tarpon won’t eat it. Finally, unless I really need the fly to sink or I’m fishing for tarpon or snook, I never use flouro. It’s stiff, brittle, sinks (which is bad for bonefish over turtle grass) and knots can be weird with it. Also, due to the fact that it’s round, it can’t be invisible to the fish. I find the suppleness of mono gives my flies more life and gets more bites (at least for bone) than flouro. However, if I’m fishing somewhere with deeper water and sandy bottom, I will switch to flouro because it will help the fly sink faster and get down to the fish. I can definitely see where it would be an advantage in river with flowing water and bottom-feeding fish. Anyways, nice site and thanks for touching base. Always good to hear from another hardcore fly-guy. (Love the pic of the opened hook… I’ve seen those a time or two.) Tight lines, Davin

yes the grass carp are all over the missouri...and meramec rivers here in the stl.... probably the mississippi too. Good Question... the yak is an Ocean Kayak....(i think thats the brand) 13 ft er, forget the name from, west marine. When i got it it was bright yellow... I love the konic! I've always fished "trash" reels, 40$ and under...I got a new 3wt some time back and needed a reel, i went with the konic for the 3 weight and i also got an orvis batenkill barstock for my 8 weight. took the 3 out for some gill action but saw huge grassys feeding and ended up hooking one....couldnt believe how nice the drag was, almost landed the carp on 5x ...had to trade in the batenkill barstock for the konic. store owner thought i was nuts...."you want that for a drag"...he dumps drag out on counter...".the body is not machined!!" he says . well, when all is said and done I still go with the konic! for the money....i'd get another for my 5wt if I made any money at all. what i notice is that with alot of reels you need to break surface tension on the drag and then it feeds out easier than the preasure it broke free at. the konic breaks free at the same pressure it feeds out at and is therefore super smooth. for me thats helpfull in landing tough fish. ( if that makes any sense at all)

http://missouriflies.com/?p=2336 .....my bad lol had to... Attached thumbnail(s)

http://missouriflies.com/?p=2336 .....my bad lol had to...

....Feeder of the Missouri River...

from today...June 7th 2011. It was a good day...two big channel catfish, a blue, some grassies...what more could you want?

uni knot looks huge and it slips down to no loop...improved clinch is not a loop(I like the loop) the knot i was using was the no slip mono knot...even if i went back to mono id still use the perfection loop. its so easy, small and strong, has never once slipped or broken and i fish alot....I catch catfish, hybrid bass in the 2 ft range and lots of grass carp up to 3.5 ft, or more. if i tie on 15 lb tippet I always get burned. try landing a large hybrid bass or a large grass carp near snags in a kayak with anything less...its a bitch..20 lb it is then. Best not to mess around where i fish. photos of said fish at http://missouriflies.com/

Squirrels, raccoons?...birds, everybody loves a mulberry... Thanks for the compliment Chris. There's now a bunch of mulberry inspired flies tied and photographed with photo links at the top of the page http://missouriflies.com/ if anyone's interested. I just can't tie enough! Im going to go into withdrawal when these things stop dropping.

This is both a heads up and a question....with a redirect (oh no!) Heads up! the mulberry trees are dropping berries in the Stl, If you know of any please tell me their location (little joke) so i've been to the trees on 3 occasions now and the fly i've been using is a little black fly tied on size 6 or 8 bonefish hooks...looks sorta like a nymph... you can see them on this page http://missouriflies.com/ part way down (called Black Ops) ...towards the top of the page there are photo links too blog posts with more pics of the action under the trees. Question. any thought on why Grass Carp, Catfish, Common Carp keyed in on mulberrys are going after, literaly chasing down, a little black fly being stripped, not dead drifted. just a case of opportunity? big fish ...tight lines

I've been using this knot since I moved from 20lb mono tippet over to 20 lb fluorocarbon tippet. The fluoro wouldnt hold my mono loop knot that i had been using and i thought to myself...the perfection loop is commonly used to connect leader to tippet why not tippet to fly? I never ever lose a fly at the knot unless the line is wrapped around something then it will bust, otherwise my hooks bend out before the line breaks at the knot....seems good to me, any opinions on this. its real simple to tie too. thanks ... for the how too if you're interested

Sweet. Thanks for the tips. Much appreciated

Yeah I think I may be changing over to "bronzed". looks like I will have to start buying my hooks from the UK. Gamakatsu has a nice line of Carp hooks but they are only sold in the UK. or do you have suggestions for 2x even 3x strong bornzed sizes 4-8 at least. I realy don't know alot about hooks. Im guessing they are all about the same in terms of corosion? I have to say i do love the stainless....im not big on fine points like drying flies....they get wet i open the box a week later and what a frikn mess. good flies gone bad! and the stainless will bend out of snaggs and such quite frequently. I don't want to be killing birds and fish though, so maybe i should make the change....some of these new coatings out there might work about as well as stainless.... Working on a Carp Pack. take a look if you want. http://www.youtube.com/user/Missouriflies

Thanks for the help...Why not stainless for trout? or bluegill or what not? danger to fish and birds?

I seem to recall having one trout fly that was stainless several years back. I've searched the net quite a bit but havent found what im looking for, seems like most stainless hooks stop at size 8. anyone know if i can get them in 10 and 12? Thanks for your help anyone seen any big carp lately...Id like to hear about it.

peace

well to be honest, its not always easy. this past weekend as i said the limb liners were getten em left and right and I got mine casting just off the base of a standing submerged tree. The idea is usually get up tight to structure, either large rip rap or timber. ive gotten as many as 27 good fish in one day but often im lucky to get 3 or 4. this weekend i only landed 2 fish in two days fishing, im still learning to find and locate fish and present them with what they want. not always an easy task. look for feeder creeks into the missouri and mississippi rivers or fish in the rivers themselves. I typicly throw streamers to catfish ...leeches or minnows, but my two cats from this weekend were caught on a large beadhead caddis with legs and a flesh fly respectively, both dead drifted under an indicator. its easier to fish tight to cover like that. and seems semi productive. i will definitly be using this tactic again. also try drifting a frog imitation, drowned mouse, or minnow/leech flys under indicators as well. a boat and or a kayak you can stand in is a big help, but is expensive and takes a good deal of work to get where your going.

counted the rays in the photo as best i could and it had about 30, plus more expert opinion, and my own instinct. yes its a channel cat. got this blue today on a flesh fly under indicator, and there's no mistaking them for each other. note: both fish released in good condition.

yeah, I think so. thanks for your help.

took about 2-3 min with my 8 weight, was plenty fun. id like to do it again tmrw it was caught about a mile up a very minor tributary of the missouri river, here in st. louis. some local guys said they were catching alot of smaller blue cat...like 20-30 (looked like channels to me) with their limb lines, said it was weird cus usualy they catch the channel cats( they shoulda known). i caught one blue last year about 7inches long. it had a distinct flat anal fin.... I thought this was a channel cat when i landed im. i paid special attention to that fin...and it was not straight but also not broadly arching. i did not notice dark tips, might have been the light. I might have a better pic of the fin. let me check.