john montana
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Posts posted by john montana
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Thanks guys...here is another picture. I was amazed at how deep and broad this fish was. I couldn't get many pictures though as I was by myself.
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lonestar, i tried to reply to your pm, but your inbox is full...
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My goal the last two years has been a 30 lb common. Pretty much all of last year was spent just figuring out what type of water the bigger fish hang out in, and where I could expect to find a really big carp. I had a few shots at big fish, but didn't really put it together until this season. This year I fished specific water types, and really hunted for bigger fish. I had landed 9 fish over 20 lbs before today, but still hadn't managed to land a 30 lber. I think i've had 3-4 fish that size on the line this year, but they have straightened my hook, broke me off in massive weedbeds, and sawed through my leader in rock piles.
It finally came together today! For some reason, the water was teeming with carp, many of them large. On the day I landed a 15, 17, 18, 18, 19 22lb carp, plus one more. The biggest of the day didn't fight the hardest, and I really didn't think he was that big until I actually put him in the net. The digital scale read 34 lbs when i first lifted him up, and then settled in at 31.2 lb. My net weighs just under a lb, so it was a 30 lb fish!
I caught him on a small san juan worm, with a tiny red bead head for weight. The fish was holding in about 2 ft of water, not really tailing but when I put the worm about 8 inches away from him he simply turned his head and ate it. A fairly subtle, but at the same time obvious take.
All in all...a pretty good day!
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good stuff...i love catching mirrors.
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They look good...can't wait to test them out!
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Nice fish!
Rick, not trying to poke at you here, but did that really take 25 minutes to land? I read all of these fishing boards and here 20 minute, 30 minutes, 40 minutes fighting a fish (be it a carp, steelhead, etc) and I always scratch my head. Maybe the fish I catch out here are soft, but I rarely take longer than a few minutes to get a fish to the net...maybe 10 for a particularly tough fish. Just like to hear other people's opinions on this, as I see those type of time estimates all the time.
Great fish, congrats to you son's friend on his first carp. I remember my first fly rod carp well (wendy berrel had drag it out of the catttails for me.)
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Nice buffalo!
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I've caught 9 fish this year over 20 lbs (one massive grass carp). Biggest common was 23.5. My goal is a 30 lb common this year, and I've hooked a few that i'd guess were in that range that straightened hooks, broke me off etc. I've noticed that big fish seem to need certain conditions. First, they were all caught in areas where they had almost immediate access to deep water. I've caught big ones tailing in the shallows like the 9 lbers you can find anywhere, but almost always there was deep water just a few feet away. Secondly, no mud flats. All the big boys seem to be in cobble/gravel flats, and many times near bigger rocks boulders. I think that is a protein issue. Rather than chase nymphs, etc. in the mud, they chase more protein in the rocks (crayfish). Third...nearby obstructions such as weed beds. The big ones like cover, so they seem to stay near deep water and almost always have weedbeds nearby. I've lost tons of big fish this year in the weeds. I don't think that is a complete list, but it is what i've observed this year in hunting for 20 + lbers. One more thing I've noticed is that when I specifically target big fish type of water, I don't see nearly as many carp. They hang in different water than the average size fish, so you have to sacrifice opportunities for size in my opinion.
23.5 lber:
22lber:
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I had a rough outing yesterday:
http://carponthefly.blogspot.com/
After a day like that...i don't think I can help much!
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good stuff. you guys are killing me. i need to get back out and put a few fish on the bank.
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carp wooley...not a true dry fly, but when they are high in the water column it seems to work. even on sunning fish.
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Great fishing with you...my dad and i both enjoyed the trip!
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nice fish jim!
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nice! You are lucky to have that water so close by...
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Just the facts...the fishing was tough, but we all caught enough to be satisfied. Kind of. No huge fish this weekend, but we were into mirror carp left and right. We all landed at least one and I landed 3, including a 13.5 and 12 lber. Both good fish for mirrors out here. They tend to be smaller than the commons in my experience on the columbia. I lucked into a 3 day green light, mainly because my wife is a complete and utter saint. We fished a variety of water, chasing carp everywhere we could find them. The catching was only so so, but the fishing was great. Day one Mr. P and I fished together and hit a couple of areas, just poking around. We each landed a handful of fish, but not huge numbers. Most of the day was shot before we really got going. Day two was a marathon day, but the fish just were not around in big numbers. We all ended with around 10 each, but trust me...we worked for them. Day three, found lots of big fish, but couldn't connect/hold on. It was frustrating to see big tails, hook up and then snap them off in the massive weedbeds nearby. Still, the take is the premier moment!
Details and more pictures on my blog, but it was great fishing with Mr. P and my dad!
More pics here:
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Nice Paul! I was thinking of heading that way, but hit some nearby water instead. I'll get a report up shortly. Fun fishing weekend, but I didn't get into a berry hatch.
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In general, the fishing was pretty good! The fish were extremely spooky, the old stand by super worm was an exercise in futility this trip. There was 0 wind, and high sun so the plop of the fly had to be pretty subtle in order to keep the tailing carp from fleeing the flats in a hurry! I went to a smaller, slimmer sjw with a small nicks walking rubber legged hare's ear dropped off the back, and that seemed to do the ticket. If you could put the fly right on a tailer without spooking the fish, you were pretty much in business. Nearly every fish that was still tailing when the fly hit the bottom would eat, but waiting a 5 count for the lightly weighted flies to get down took some patience! All told, my dad landed somewhere between 15-20 carp in a day and half. He got the big fish of the trip (18 lbs, his biggest fish on a flyrod!) I managed between 40-50 fish combined, but I covered a lot more river. The fish were all at least thinking about feeding, and many were outright tailing.
Great couple of days chasing carp, and I'm eager to get back at those fish! I did see several fish in the 20 lb range, but man...those big boys are tough. I had a couple of really nice presentations to some bigger fish, but I just couldn't get a take before they would spook. I swear, you get one cast at the big fish, and they either eat or spook. Next time...
Some more pics on my blog...
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I love the mulberry hatch major geek! No berries for me this weekend, but I got into some fish with my dad. I'll get a report up later.
The general...we really need to get a picture of that beast.
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Believe it or not JP...i've fished that spot!
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I fish anywhere from thigh deep, to inches deep. That fly is much to heavy to cast at suspended fish that are sunning, but when possible, I avoid fish in those positions. If that is all i can find, I usually fish a lightly weighted carp wooly to the sunning fish. The tungsten is too heavy for fish that are up in inches of water, and will often spook them but the big boy are usually in knee to thigh deep water out here, and I need to get down to them. Most of the fish I chase are on firm sand/cobble bottoms, and they are usually slow cruising. The heavy bead allows me to target them much more effectively than having to wait for the fly to sink and guess which way they'll move.
I do spook fish with that huge bead...no doubt about it, but overall, i fish the heavy bead more often than the light ones (I tie and carry both.)
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Those are nice JP...I'll take a dozen!
I'm not much of a tier, pure function for me. Your flies are much more artistic. I like the wire body, I might try that on a few. are you securing the chenile to the wire body or just leaving it along the top? Nice finishing touches with the match work...yours look like worms, mine look like chunks of chenile!
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In light of all the recent SJW discussion, I figured we should put together a thread. Here is my version, with the bead through the chenile and the hook. For the record, I was not a SJW fan until Zen Piscator introduced me to the fly. He ties his with the chenile through the bead (which I love). The only real difference...that is a pretty serious tungsten bead on that fly. I tie mine much bigger, and MUCH heavier than most. I like to be able to put the fly right on the fish, and know it will get there. I absolutely spook fish because at times it seems like I'm throwing rocks at them, but I'd rather spook a few than the fruitless casting trying to predict a random path I run into with lighter flies. I don't bother burning the ends to make them pretty...frankly, the carp don't care.
All you need:
Chenile through the bead (big old tungsten there):
Bead/Chenile on the hook:
Securing the thread behind the bead/chenile:
I pull the chenile back to the bend, and wrap the thread forward, criss crossing to make it more durable, then finish behind the bead:
Whip finish, and you are done. I used to use scud hooks, but have fallen for this hook in a serious way. Heavy duty, great gap, etc.:
That is it...It ain't pretty, but it is simple and so far has proven not just effective...but deadly. I tired several times to get those two pictures oriented right, no go. I figure you guys get the point.
Let's see everyone else's versions!
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Conditions look tough for this weekend Paul. I think I lucked into the perfect storm of carp fishing last weekend.
30 lber
in Carp on the Fly
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I caught him on my 9 ft 7 wt albright EXS. good rod, fun to cast but i've broken it twice. i get nervous every time I hook a good fish.
as for pics alone, wendy berrell introduced me to the gorilla pod. i love that thing!