john montana
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Posts posted by john montana
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hey paul...i haven't seen any fish in the "usual" haunts yet. Ditto for today. It can't be long now though. I've had to hunt for areas where the mud bottom has warmed up just a bit and have found enough fish in those spots to keep it interesting.
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sell the scotts, buy some echo 2s. it isn't close. to be honest, if that 6 wt was 9 inches longer and one wt heavier, i wouldn't be fishing my sage vt2 much this summer.
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nice lee! i fished a 6wt sunday as well. way undergunned for those fish, but it was a new rod (echo 2, saltwater version) and I just had to try it!
they are tough to catch during the spawn!
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Thanks boys...
the wiggle fly (i need a name) is just a simple dubbed fly, using the hareline wiggle dubbing that is interspersed with tiny rubber legs. check out my blog, pic of the fly is in there. it ain't pretty, but it worked.
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26 lbs of get your mojo back! Got out for my first trip of 2009. Water in general was cold...really cold. And the patch job on my waders, not great. I spent the day slogging through cold water, one entire leg of my waders filled with said cold water, keeping a wary eye out for carp. For most of the day, they were no where to be found. I kept moving though, moved through the rocky waters in search of some darker colored mud or sand flats, hoping that the recent sunshine would warm the bottom enough to bring some carp within range of my fly rod. When I found the water I had envisioned, it was even better than I thought it could be. There was a virtual river within a river of carp. 20 ft wide, 100 yards long, wall to wall carp. And big. I started catching them on the the san juan worm, then on a new wiggle fly I tied last night. Finished off the day looking for big white mouths in the midst of the pods of fish that I would sneak up to. I'd aim the Montana Carrot at the biggest mouth I could see in the group and pray it opened even wider. All told, I landed 11 carp, the smallest weighing in at 12 lbs, and the largest at just over 26 lbs. What a day! I also got 20lber #2 for the year (21 lbs on the nose). It is going to be a great year!
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When I first started fishing for carp, I looked in your typical "brownline" places. Then I realized that I can find bigger, more plentiful fish in water like this:
Why fish in water heavy with sediment when you can find carp in clear water and beautiful surroundings? It won't be long now here in OR and I'll be stalking the flats again.
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nice fish! i have yet to get out once this year...i am dying. going to tie some tonight and hopefully in the next couple of weeks i'll get afer some carp.
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I'd fish MI in a second. Didn't mean to offend with that comment. It seems like TX and the NE is where I see the reports of really big 40+ lb fish. I'm sure the Columbia has carp that size as well...can't wait to run across one on the flats!
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I look at the chumming thing like I do the license thing...good luck convincing the officer you are only after carp!
The one time I tested the theory I was able to point at some carp I had just been casting to, and the officer walked away saying have a good day...but I'm with you. I buy a license every year on the off chance that they decide I must be fishing for smallmouth.
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You don't need a license to carp fish in WA...I tested that out one time. I buy one anyway, mainly because with a flyrod, more often than not they'll assume you are chasing smallmouth bass. Times are changing and I don't think it would be as big of a concern now.
You can't chum in WA/OR, and they take that very seriously. If you get caught feeding the ducks with a rod nearby, they'll take your gear.
If you head to the PNW I can probably help out with some fly friendly water.
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What rod did you buy? I generally match my line to my rod weight, but the type of rod can have an impact. I don't know much about ross reels, can't help you there. As for lines, I'm partial to the Joan Wulff Triangle Tapers, and the Scientific Anglers lines have been good to me over the years.
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I would say MI as well. From what I've read the great lakes are perfect for fly fishing for carp. Tons of big flats, clear water, and large fish. I feel pretty fortunate here in OR as well. The Columbia has some fantastic carp fishing. ID is well known as well but if I could go one place in the US to chase carp with a flyrod, I'd be heading to the flats of the great lakes in MI.
I think there are much bigger carp in other parts of the country, but what makes fly fishing so unique is the water type. MI, ID and OR all have extensive shallow water flats (1-3 ft deep) in clear water where you can stalk carp more easily. I'm sure that if you know an area you could find this type of water in any carp hotspot (I know they get big carp in the northeast, and in TX) but MI would probably be easier to find the water type you need. And, as mentioned, you could hire a guide.
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I'm of the opinion that a 10 wt is overkill for carp. That said, it sounds like I'd have bought it too! You can never have too many flyrods. My collection is up to 22 (16 of those are Cane rods, so they don't see the light of day much now that I fish primarily for carp). If it was a good deal, you'll find a way to fish it.
On the topic of perfect carp rods, I'd weigh in on a 9 ft 6 inch 7wt in your choice of brand flavor. I love the 7 wt out here on the Big C because you still get great fight out of the smaller 7-9 lb fish, but can handle the 20 plus lbers. I landed a fish just over 30 lbs on my formerly favorite rod, a 9 ft 9 inch 6 wt st croix legend ultra, and it did the job admirably. That 6 wt was my favorite carp rod but it finally died this summer, a nastly carp broke it in half. I upgraded a bit to the 7 wt sage vt2, and love it. I do use my 8 wt occasionally as well and i'm fond of that.
Overall, one rod...i'd stick with a 7 wt. When you see a good deal though, you might as well jump on it! I'm sure you'll find a reason to cast that 10 wt this spring...
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I caught my first 20 plus lber on a 4 wt, but i would say the king of "light tackle carp" would be none other than Wendy Berrell:
http://fishingandthinking.blogspot.com/200...01_archive.html
Scroll down a bit and you'll see what I mean.
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nice joel! How much did those monsters weigh? On the fly? those are beasts!
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nice!
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Winter is here...but I'm dying for some carping. Just wanted to start a thread for big fish pics, memorable fish pics etc. from 2008...
Here is my big fish of the year, just over 30 lbs...I caught one grass carp that was bigger, but no decent picture, and grass carp are kind of cheating. big freshwater cows is all i can think of when I see a grasser! Commons kick their butt...
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I'd fish a lightly weighted worm and ignore the fly. I'd just cast the worm within a foot or so of the fish and watch the fish for a reaction. If you get any change in behavior, set the hook. One other thing that I focus on a lot is to cast 6-8 inches to the side of a fish, rather than directly in front of it. If the cast is good I can key on the slight head turn.
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nice pics PB!
What was your big fish of the year? you guys have some killer carping in CO.
We need a big fish of 2008 picture thread. I'm already dreaming of flats this spring.
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good luck tomorrow!
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The water is getting cold out here, and the fish are moving off of the flats. My friend David and I managed to find a few fish though...he ended up bringing one to hand, I got 6 or 7. Big fish of the day was this 15 lber, we saw a couple of bigger fish, but not a ton. In general, they are vacating the flats in a hurry as the water continues to cool.
I think today was my last carp trip on the columbia. Time to chase a few salmon, and then tie an army of san juan worms for next carp season. A few hours removed from my last carp trip, and I'm already thinking about spring. At least basketball season starts soon!
A few more details on the blog...tight lines everyone!
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nice!
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11-12...looks a bit short to me, but has a definate belly. carp vary greatly in body shape, size and density. i've noticed a major difference in pond fish/river fish etc so the length/girth measurements are tough to make work with carp in my opinion.
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good vid...they need to chuck that boga though. i used to use one and it ripped a lot of mouths/lips. carp's mouths are too soft for a boga grip in my opinion...
11 Apr 09 Sight Fishing
in Carp on the Fly
Posted
nice!