Carp... (flyfishing)stl

[SteveP]

Mocarp not to try and step on your toes but I spent the better part of two years in a row working with a grad student helping him develop a thesis on the fact that though these asians are filter feeders they still make a huge impact on the prey fish population due to the fact that they eat things out of curiosity and yes after fishing for them nonstop for two full summers and throwing to specific fish that were seen cruising in still back waters and having flies run down like that fish was a craized maniac I can't buy the fact that they don't and or wont eat a fly like any other rough fish species. I'm not saying that these fish are eating bait fish as a main source of food intake but they will strike them rather violently just to see what happens.

That aside I would like to say that yes nymphs and such work really well but my favorite is a small (10 nymph size or so) craw pattern works really well and I like to stay away from flashy flies but color changes are always needed so don't be afriad to tie some really weird looking craws just don't use the flashabou.

Steve

[esox niger]

thanks everyone for your contributions. I spent today fishing femme Osage creek / and backwaters.this is the place i see so many carp...that wont look at my fly! I was using a blue and white deciever today...I got three gar....a couple little white bass and a decent one...and a catfish. I had a huge wake come up behind the fly in the morning. the fish seemed to hit short and i missed him...wonder what the heck that was! later in the day I started to see lots of carp...Id cast past and strip the fly to the fishes nose and a couple of guys turned and looked, however i wasnt using the violent strip...something to try..i think it might work.? I just remembered ...while i was paddling up the creek i heard this ruckus in the brush up the bank and then i see this huge mamal bigger than a dog.! like a wild boar crash into the water and disapear...I thought to myself.."what the F... was that! then i hear more ruc us and ill be darn if it wasnt a 100lb beaver go crashing into the water. I tell you what, someone's eating good in the neighborhood! good god, Ive never seen anything like it.

Ive spent a lot of time after these carp and not much to show for it...the hunt continues.

[drew03cmc]

MoCarp, bigheads and silvers can be caught on a fly. We have a guy here in Kansas who catches a lot of them during high water. He loves the pull of them on his 8wt. In high water, if you go to a spillway of a lake, you can jig heavy Clousers on the bottom along the ends of the wingwalls.

[esox niger]

I went to rend lake today and fished the spillway below the rip rap section. the gar were thick in the am. got a few of them. I didnt fish the "black mass" till later in the day when i found it. there were some huge mofo carp "rising". however, I got absolute Zero carp response from a blue and white deciever type fly swung into where the big boys were rising. I also caught some little catfish, a nice largemouth bass, some drum, and a "snake" fish (snakehead?). and dont let me forget the high point of the day was getting two carp to sucumb to well placed mini bugger. i got those two, almost three , in a shallow pool outside the main channel that must flood durring high water. all in all it was a fine day fishing...accept that i was after some big boys but rome wasnt conquered in a day. probably try carlyle next time....its closer. im just stoked to hook a couple of carp in the mouth the way its supposed to happen. very satisfying .

[trizkid]

please tell me you killed the snakedhead fish if thats really what it was.....are you sure it wasnt a bowfin?

[snagged in outlet 3]

Nice Esox!!

That area is what we call the garden.

SIO3

[SteveP]

Try going to an all white or maybe an all chart. clouser I've found that with the bigheads and silvers you really need to make the fly seen and if given the chance make them work for it a little. I'll bet dollars to dimes the huge wake was either a big catfish, bigmouth buffalo, or maybe a gar the size of your boat. Atleast you have the right attitude and you're keeping at it. Best of luck to you and I hope you get a monster soon, though it took me three years to break the 20lb mark it was a good day when I finally did. Oh yeah might try an all orange clouser too I've had a lot of luck with that over the years.

Steve

[drew03cmc]

Ok, time for me to stick a reel on my 5/6 Redington and have some fun on the Wakarusa. You all have me wanting to catch some darn carp, and cats.

[esox niger]

Thanks everyone. im going to keep at it , every chance i get. keep you all posted.

hey snaged, why do you call it the garden? lots of different fish? i think thats the most different species ive ever caught in one day, two of which were firsts.

do you have a preference between carlyle and rend lake?

thanks steve p

ive had good luck with orange as well.

and

Trizkid... I dont know if it was a bow fin but i will figure it out soon. i dont kill anything when i fish, should that change? id rather not..like some fishermen are going to dent the population? i might be wrong.

the thing i liked least about the garden was people leaving fish to die and rot on the bank. maybe im naive.

[esox niger]

Hey Trizkid...pretty sure it was a bowfin. they look alot like the snakehead but i think it was a bowfin. it was a pretty good fighter about 18-20 inches long.