Fly Fishing For Carp

[tgard27]

I'm beginning a crazy habit, fly fishing for carp. It started last summer when we were catfishing and I hooked into a good sized carp on a medium action pole, it took me all of ten minutes and three runs to pull this fish in. I love to go trout fishing and being out on a stream, but the fact that these streams are at least 2:30 hours away leaves me little hope of getting out more than once or twice a month. Anyone know any good flies or spots in KC? And I would be happy to meet up with anyone else who is crazy enough to try landing a carp on the fly rod. Travis

[Poke 'Em]

I've been known to catch a carp or two on a fly...

I prefer to wade fish, sighting and stalking feeding carp. I use a 7'6" 3 wt., though I'd use a shorter, lighter rod if I had one. The shorter rod allows you to more easily maneuver into tight places, as well as allowing you to quickly adjust if a fish starts to move (specifically, if a fish starts to move toward you).

Here's a short video my friend Husky shot of my hooking a carp. That will give you a little better idea of how we do it.

As far as flies go, we generally use algae imitations, though any small nymph will work. Olive wooly buggers in sizes 18-14 work great.

Unfortunately, I don't know anywhere to go around KC, so I can't help you on that front. Good luck!

[tgard27]

A 3 wt?! MAn I think that I would break my pole on some of these carp that I see out here, but I can understand that a shorter rod would help for accurate casts. I've doing some looking and I think that I'm going to try the little blue river, I know that longview lake is full of carp and big ones, I landed a 17 pound one on a bass pole last year. Thanks for the info and I appreciate the info on the flies. Good luck and tight lines! Travis

[Poke 'Em]

A 3 wt?! MAn I think that I would break my pole on some of these carp that I see out here, but I can understand that a shorter rod would help for accurate casts. I've doing some looking and I think that I'm going to try the little blue river, I know that longview lake is full of carp and big ones, I landed a 17 pound one on a bass pole last year. Thanks for the info and I appreciate the info on the flies. Good luck and tight lines! Travis

My brother's primary carp rod is a 6' 2 wt.

[Bman]

I'm beginning a crazy habit, fly fishing for carp. It started last summer when we were catfishing and I hooked into a good sized carp on a medium action pole, it took me all of ten minutes and three runs to pull this fish in. I love to go trout fishing and being out on a stream, but the fact that these streams are at least 2:30 hours away leaves me little hope of getting out more than once or twice a month. Anyone know any good flies or spots in KC? And I would be happy to meet up with anyone else who is crazy enough to try landing a carp on the fly rod. Travis

I will be giving Carp on the fly a shot anytime now. The closest Trout water to me is a 1 1/2 hr drive. There are several boat ramps within minutes of where I live near the Meramec River. Soon the Cottonwood trees will be dropping their puffy little seeds, and in past years I have seen pods of Carp taking them from the surface. I'm thinking a size 12- 14 dry fly. I was on the river yesterday, and the Cottonwoods were just starting to drop a few, but I didn't see any fish taking them yet. I am eager to get a big Carp on the long rod!

Carp on the fly is big sport in other parts of the country/world, I've seen it on TV. Aren't there Carp fly fishing clubs in England?

Used the search button and found this http://ozarkanglers.com/forums/index.php?s...p;hl=jjtroutbum there is even a mention of the Cottonwoods.

There is a post by JJTROUTBUM somwhere on this site with a big Carp.

[Bman]

Rio's latest line http://ozarkanglers.com/forums/index.php?s...610&hl=carp

[Bman]

After some searching I found this http://ozarkanglers.com/forums/index.php?s...ic=6441&hl=

Ok JJ, Just what fly did you use??? c'mon buddy throw us a bone.

[Poke 'Em]

For grass carp I tie up a few different flies. If they're hitting on cottonwoods, I'll either tie a fly with several puffs of white cdc, or I'll make a dubbing loop and dub on the webby parts from a white saddle hackle. If they're hitting on grass clippings (if you can find a pond that's been freshly mowed around the edges, you can often find the grass carp feeding on the clippings), I'll use a fly that's just a spun ball of green deer hair, unclipped. At other times, I'll just tie in an olive marabou and leave it very "stringy" on the hook.

[Poke 'Em]

...but I can understand that a shorter rod would help for accurate casts.

As you can see from that video, we almost never actually "cast" to the carp. The idea is to see the fish feeding, and sneak up on them. You then simply drop a fly down in front of them. It sounds easy, but it's actually quite a challenge. Newbies might hook about 1/10th of the carp they see.

[Bman]

For grass carp I tie up a few different flies. If they're hitting on cottonwoods, I'll either tie a fly with several puffs of white cdc, or I'll make a dubbing loop and dub on the webby parts from a white saddle hackle. If they're hitting on grass clippings (if you can find a pond that's been freshly mowed around the edges, you can often find the grass carp feeding on the clippings), I'll use a fly that's just a spun ball of green deer hair, unclipped. At other times, I'll just tie in an olive marabou and leave it very "stringy" on the hook.

Thanks for the fly tips. Those sound great! I was thinking of CDC...