New Yourk Times Article On Fly Fishing For Carp

[Addicted to Creeks]

http://www.nytimes.com/2012/02/13/sports/carp-now-a-worthy-fly-rod-target-in-united-states.html?_r=1

Thought it was a pretty cool article since Carping in something I have Been trying with very little success with a fly rod.

Also someone please tell me i invented the phrase carping

[Feathers and Fins]

Nope Carping is common in Europe lol... Ive fished for them for many years and yes with a fly pole. Ive said it many times they are the freshwater bonefish or as the author said Golden Ghost paying homage im sure to the Silver Ghost of saltwater flats around the world.

San Juan worms work well as to ants, berries and a host of other lure presentations. I use both my 8wt and 4wt depending on size of carp in the area. The most silent approach is best. I have spent 30 minutes slowly wading up to a school as to not spook them only to have my first cast do it. When they are tailing it will take everything you have not to move to fast or put the fly on them. They are IMO as much fun as Bonefish, Permit and Redfish to catch.

[ozark trout fisher]

I'm planning on trying to fly fish for carp in some of the local creeks around here as soon as spring comes. The streams around where I now live in central MO are mediocre at best for smallmouth, spotted bass etc, but I always see big schools of carp...Would like to try to catch a few.

[Brian K. Shaffer]

Carp... ahh.. I broke a good 9'6" 5wt 2pc Penn IM6 rod on a 20+lb'er ... right in front of a carload of people at a local golf course pond. Fell right on my butt when the rod snapped... and they snickered at me.. ugh - my pride.

Although they are not easy by any means.. sometimes they are not smart -- like brook trout. Catch them feeding just right and be prepared for a serious tackle tussle. Landing them is the real battle.

Funny thing is - I have caught them on dry flies... over 15lbs on a dry White Miller mayfly size 10. I have witnesses but no pictures, and that was at night.

I do know them to take clousers and crayfish patterns.. I have caught them by accident on T/R while smallmouth fishing deep.

Reynolds has a neat book about Carp on the Fly.

I read half of it and got far to excited to complete it.

[mic]

Funny thing is - I have caught them on dry flies... over 15lbs on a dry White Miller mayfly size 10. I have witnesses but no pictures, and that was at night.

NO PICS, NO PROOF

[Wayne SW/MO]

I suspect they are the most overlooked adventure fly fishing Missourians have available. I keep saying I'm going to make a bigger effort, but I haven't yet. Of the 3 I've caught on the long rod 2 were on a Griffiths Gnat. I found a large school feeding on something on top and they took the Gnat, but the whole school was made up of small fish and not any rod snappers.

Esox Niger, a member here, has lots of experience and a web site.

[strangercreek]

I have gotten to the point that I would rather chase carp, gar, drum, and buffalo (I have never gotten a buff to so much as even look at a fly but...) than fish for trout. I guess it is because I don't have to drive as far, and can make a day trip of it, which helps with a 1 year old at home.

Anyone that lives near KC should take the trek up I29 to Squaw Creek NWR, Nodaway Valley Wildlife area, Bob Brown Conservation Area (these all have marshes with rough fish). You can only access the water from the road sides at Squaw Creek but you can wade or boat at Bob Brown and Nodaway. This is where I really cut my teeth on casting to carp, lots of long days, but it was always fun, fish or no fish.

I love going to RR, Taney, and have even fished Roark a few times as well as the White and Norfork tailwater, but there is just something about fishing in these marsh areas that clicks with me, not to mentioned I don't think I've ever seen another fisherman, but would love to see the awareness of these areas grow. I did a fly casting demonstration at Squaw Creek for a kids day and one of the refuge staff was a fly fisherman also, so it was interesting to talk with him about taking carp on a fly in the refuge. I just wish I could go into the interior of the Squaw Creek Refuge (they have an airboat but I haven't been able to talk them into it yet

It seems like the average fish are big also, 6-8lbs at times, with gar being smaller alot of the time in these areas.

Bean Lake north of Weston is pretty fun as well. If the water is right you can float up into the Bean Lake Marsh and there are some real monsters up there, unfortunately there are asian carp as well, not sure how it will look after the 2011 floods. I have pulled a handful of nice crappie out of the brush piles in that lake also. It is usually pretty quite, no real accessible boat ramp and the whole lake is pretty shallow.

Another spot if you are in the KC or surrounding area is to go out to the Milford Lake spillway (the Republican River). It is wadeable and rocky alot of the time and I have spent days casting to carp, gar, buffs (eyeroll, I can't fool them), wipers, and smallmouth (the smallie population is actually pretty healthy there).

I just got a new 7wt that I can't wait to use this year.

I haven't been real technical on fly selection. I usually just carry some black, white, and olive Wooly Buggers. I was able to take a carp of the top with a damsel fly pattern once as well (emphasis on "once")

[Brian K. Shaffer]

I remember a time seeing carp by the hundreds at Beaver Creek .. spawning.. right off Slough Hollow. (off Fisherman's Nose really; in the grass)

Seeing so many giant lumbering carp in the shallowest of shallows seemed unfair.. like I would hook up or more to the point foul hook one on every cast.

So I just watched them.... plus the road to get in to them was under water. Or I might have tried.

[skiburd]

I remember a time seeing carp by the hundreds at Beaver Creek .. spawning.. right off Slough Hollow. (off Fisherman's Nose really; in the grass)

Seeing so many giant lumbering carp in the shallowest of shallows seemed unfair.. like I would hook up or more to the point foul hook one on every cast.

So I just watched them.... plus the road to get in to them was under water. Or I might have tried.

Is that a Carpela or Carp Pro rod you are using?

[Wayne SW/MO]

One thing to remember is that carp rarely feed when they are spawning. The difference is generally obvious because they are very agressive during the spawn and it normally occurs in a shallow weedy area.