Table Rock Carp?

[esox niger]

peace

[dtrs5kprs]

Usually I see them a little later in the year, backs of creeks and pockets, esp if the lake is in the bushes. As you correctly recall, also around some of the big docks. This is mostly around 13HWY for me.

[Wayne SW/MO]

They are there, but it's a big lake, which part are you interested in? You can't fish too close to the docks without running trouble sooner or later.

Another area is the Pothole, and the creeks, Swan and Beaver, on Bull Shoals. Depending on the water level, they aren't too hard to find sometimes in these areas.

You're a long way off, but the Kings and the Elk rivers have good, easy to find, populations.

[Sam]

There are some huge carp in Tablerock. My partner and I like to make at least one "perch" trip in the fall - so last October we went out of Buttermilk Springs throwing little gitzit tubes on 1/16 oz. jigheads up to steep chunk-rock banks. In the fall we can load up on good-size black perch (green sunfish) that way. It's fun, and those little filets are tasty.

Doing that, I got a bite on my ultralight rig - and it was like being hooked to the bumper of a moving pickup truck. I figured I had a big, big catfish - and I chased it into deep water and around a lot of that part of the lake with the trolling motor. The fight (and chase) went on for 45 minutes, and when I finally got it up to the surface it was of course a big carp. It was completely wore down (on PowerPro 10-lb. test line), laying on its side beside the boat.

Thing is, we'd never seen a carp that big. I had a tape measure and we measured the fish as best we could without bringing it into the boat. It was 52" long, and I know we weren't off more than an inch or so!

We turned it loose and I wish it had been a catfish - but if you're looking for big carp, they're in there.

[abkeenan]

I fish for carp every now and again during the summer just for fun because they are so powerful and fun to fight. Great to watch a kid real one of those suckers in. Takes just about all their power not to be drug in the water. Kids can fool around on the dock and boat while you have 2 or 3 poles out. Pretty easy, I chum them with cans of soft corn for a few days then have hard kernal corn that i drill out a small hole (tedious work but worth the effort) so they can fit on a size 6 or 4 treble hook somewhat snug, hole just big enough to make the turn on the bend of the treble. I put the 3 pieces on each treble and have a bullet sinker above that and cast out into the middle of where I have been chumming. I let that sit until I get a bite and they are usually hooked 99% of the time with the trebles (especially with the super sticky Daiichi Death Traps). I used to use soft corn for the trebles but the dang perch and turtles have that stuff off before it hits the bottom and you have had your poles sitting there blank for an hour...ugh. With the hard kernal the perch and stuff cant get it off the hook. If you do this make sure you have your rods tied down with a rope because they will take off like a bullet and your rig will be in the drink before you can blink at times. They are definately more active when the water gets warm, even bath water hot in August and they are cruising the banks and shallows. They are bottom feeders I believe and very rarely if ever go after a bait. When one is hooked on a lure its usually by accident and in the tail or something. I think it would be next to impossible to get one to hit that fly on the surface. You would be better off putting a weighted treble hook on your fly rod and sight fish for them and snag them paddlefish style. My 2 cents.

[abkeenan]

The reason you see them at docks/marinas feeding like that is because they have been trained to do so, so to speak. People at the docks sell the food pellets/dog food and the carp hang around for that reason. They don't feed like that in nature or in schools/packs like a bass or something. I would say they are more like cows of the lake just grazing around the bottom for algae/grass/etc.

[dtrs5kprs]

I fish for carp every now and again during the summer just for fun because they are so powerful and fun to fight. Great to watch a kid real one of those suckers in. Takes just about all their power not to be drug in the water. Kids can fool around on the dock and boat while you have 2 or 3 poles out. Pretty easy, I chum them with cans of soft corn for a few days then have hard kernal corn that i drill out a small hole (tedious work but worth the effort) so they can fit on a size 6 or 4 treble hook somewhat snug, hole just big enough to make the turn on the bend of the treble. I put the 3 pieces on each treble and have a bullet sinker above that and cast out into the middle of where I have been chumming. I let that sit until I get a bite and they are usually hooked 99% of the time with the trebles (especially with the super sticky Daiichi Death Traps). I used to use soft corn for the trebles but the dang perch and turtles have that stuff off before it hits the bottom and you have had your poles sitting there blank for an hour...ugh. With the hard kernal the perch and stuff cant get it off the hook. If you do this make sure you have your rods tied down with a rope because they will take off like a bullet and your rig will be in the drink before you can blink at times. They are definately more active when the water gets warm, even bath water hot in August and they are cruising the banks and shallows. They are bottom feeders I believe and very rarely if ever go after a bait. When one is hooked on a lure its usually by accident and in the tail or something. I think it would be next to impossible to get one to hit that fly on the surface. You would be better off putting a weighted treble hook on your fly rod and sight fish for them and snag them paddlefish style. My 2 cents.

Wonder if you could use a few hard kernels tied up in one of those net deals the trout folks use for eggs.

[Trout Commander]

The fly pictured above is 1) a crayfish pattern and 2) has some good sized lead eyes. I bet the only thing it does on the surface is splash as it passes through!

[abkeenan]

Uhm....? NO!!!! sorry. They hit fly's all the time you just gotta know what your doing...Sneaking up on a 3 ft carp...making an accurate cast.. sensing the take, and setting the hook is far more exciting and rewarding than chucking some bait out and waiting for a fish to suck it up.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_rtitV-82ZU

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1MMExaVu0bw&feature=related

Take it easy pal. You have your way and I have mine. I didn't bash your approach, just said it would be near impossible. I bet you won't catch 1 carp on your rig by the time I have landed 100. Hell I bet you will NEVER catch a carp on TR with what you are trying to do unless you go to the State Park Marina, throw some food pellets in, then get your fly rod out and pitch it into the feeding frenzy. You don't want my advice fine, just leave it. No, need to get all pissy with attitude. Rewarding???? Seeing how young kids get super excited to catch even itty bitty bluegill, sunfish and black perch and then have them reel one of these 15-40lb monsters in....they go crazy and you can just see the pure joy, shock and awe of the size of what they have just caught. That will last forever, I know because at one time I was that kid. Now I am paying it back. Thats the "REWARD" as I see it. I was just trying to help but you know it all apparently so why even ask for info/help on this forum? You already have it figured out.

[Flysmallie]

Wow, you have derailed. Calm down.

But he's right. Guys are catching all kinds of carp on fly rods, it has a big following.

As far as what you find rewarding? That's all an opinion anyway. Everybody knows that shooting them with a bow is the most rewarding way.