FishnDave
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Posts posted by FishnDave
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I fly-fished Saylorville Spillway (Saylorville Lake is a reservoir on the Des Moines River) during my lunch hour today. A couple of different friends had noticed the carp sort of "schooling" in the eddies and along the foam lines at the edge of the current for the past few days. They are somewhat frustrating because the fish appear to be sucking the foam off the surface, and seem very reluctant to take crayfish patterns near the bottom.
I've had an idea for awhile about using a nymph fly pattern set 12" or less beneath a strike indicator. I've tried it a few times in the past when there weren't carp feeding on the surface, and did not have any success on those days.
But they were still feeding on the surface today, so this is exactly the technique I tried. I was also breaking in a new rod & reel...a Lamson Konic reel and an Echo Ion 8wt rod. Both worked great!
Anyway....I'd drift the nymph/indicator rig through the eddy near the visible pods of surfacing carp. Occasionally I'd get hits and the indicator would jiggle or get pulled underwater, and I'd set the hook.
The first strike I was so excited to land the carp that I put too much pressure on the leader/tippet and broke it. Lost the fly and the indictor...bummer!
Re-rigged and repeated the drift. Strike 2 broke the line almost immediately after I set the hook. Lost the fly and indicator again! UGH!
Re-rigged and repeated. Strike 3, fish on...fought...and ...LANDED! Not an easy task amongst the rocks with no landing net. Released the fish.
Repeated the drift. Strike 4, and soon another carp was landed. Took pictures of this one and released this fish too.
I had to be patient...but this technique definitely worked! I was setting my nymph at 12" or less beneath the indicator. I don't know that there is anything magical about that, its just what I was doing because I wanted the fly close to where the visible carp were feeding on the surface. Maybe you'd get bigger carp at 18" or more?
My gear is in the background of this picture. I didn't notice the plastic bottle in the rocks there....lots of trash in this area!
Mouth shot with the fly pattern visible...this one was a #6 Hexagenia Nymph pattern. I tried 2 other patterns, that were different from this one, and both worked, so I think any nymph will work, but its a good idea to stick with #6 or #8 sizes with a reasonably stout hook.
If you see carp performing this behavior in your local streams, maybe give this technique a try.
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Wow, those are some JUMBO carpios!!
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There were 3 big Koi in this pond. So far I've seen 2 of them this year. The orange one pictured above...and this white one I spotted today. I was within a fly-rods length, and the fish was busy eating...If only I was FISHING!
This picture was taken with my cell phone, so it is crappy...but you can see this fish was pretty much in the same spot as the orange one was. Must be a favorite feeding spot? I did see the orange one today, about 20' further up the shoreline from this one.
The third koi is still AWOL.
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So, I went fishing down at the river during lunch today. I had this awesome fly pattern I had just created specifically for carp, and I wanted to try it out.
It was the most awesome fly ever, but I can't remember what it looks like now. I lost it to a snag on the 2nd cast.
You see, it was sort of windy today, and my first cast fell just short of the water's edge and landed on the rocks. Something makes me think the fish liked it, though.
Totally kidding. I found this picture on-line today, and it was too awesome to pass up making up a story for it.
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Saw the same fish today as we were heading out to go to lunch. As we walked over to look closer, 2 big bullfrogs jumped from the bank into the water near this koi. It took off, of course. Then, my coworker said,"Look, its coming right back." And it did!
Its haunting me!
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One of the koi that haunts me....was spotted as I was leaving work last Thursday. Didn't have time to fish for it.
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There were a trio of BIG koi in the pond between our office buildings. I've had my eye on them for years, only managed to get a fly in front of them once, with no interest on their part. They are big enough, that I zoomed in on Google Earth and spotted one of them!
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Will you be posting links to the stories here in the bulletin boards? The most recent one I see is 2010 Q3?
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That is a JUMBO mirror! Awesome!
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Good luck to you, Colin! Let us know how your trip turns out (and share some pictures, please)!
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There's a fly-fishing guide in Miami named Cordell Baum...goes by the name "BonefishWhisperer" on his own website and various fly-fishing websites. He grew up fishing along the New England (US) coast. Then he guided for trout/salmon in Alaska for a period of time.
Now he divides his time between saltwater flats in Florida and the freshwater canals around Miami. He has posted pictures of grass carp he has caught on flies. In fact, he posted one earlier this week on the Fly Anglers On-Line website. Here's a link to that, and you can probaby contact him for more info through there if you wish to do so.
http://www.flyanglersonline.com/bb/showthread.php?40574-carp-el-tunnel
I have fly-fished with him for Peacock Bass and other exotics (Oscars, Mayan Cichlids, Spotted Tilapia) around Miami. He's a good guy, and he knows where to go and how to catch fish.
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Extremely high water in our local reservoir the entire summer put a kabosh on most of my flyrod carping for the year.
I finally timed the "mulberry hatch" just right, and did catch a couple small carp on a purple boa yarn leech pattern under an overhaning mulberry tree.
While not my biggest fly rod grass carp, this turned out to be the ONLY grassie I caught this year. It was 33" and calculated at ~17.5 lbs.
And for "other rough fish", I was able to get my first couple of shortnose gar on flies this summer. That was FUN!
And, I caught my biggest Freshwater Drum, a 26-incher, tossing lures with spinning gear. It was big enough to earn a Big Fish award from our state (Iowa).
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Wow, that is indeed a chunky carp! Well done!
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Excellent! That's a chunky fish!
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Excellent, McTage!
I failed miserably at my goals. The local reservoir that I was hoping to fly-fish more for carp this year was 30' above normal pool for almost the entire spring/summer. When it finally did drop to normal water levels, there were construction projects going on near the places I was hoping to target carp. Even though the reservoir water level DID finally drop, the river and a spillway area that often has carp remained high and/or fast currents.
So...I made very few carp-fishing trips. Here's hoping that will change next season.
Goals I DID accomplish:
-Catch at least one common carp on fly gear this year. (I'm not going to admit how few I really did catch, but let's just say....) CHECK.
-Catch at least one grass carp on fly gear this year. CHECK.
-Catch carp under a ripe mulberry tree this year. CHECK.
I've got a long way to go before I feel like I really know what I'm doing when it comes to fly-fishing for carp. It sure is FUN, though!
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Great report, John!
I have that XL reel on some 5wts, might have a 7wt laying around here, too. Its always worked well for me, but I haven't tested it on Carp, which is probaby the best way to test ANY reel! ;o)
I hope you get out a couple more times at least before the end of the year!
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That's pretty cool, Mr P!! Great job on editing the film!
I think another solid opportunity for carp on a dry fly is when they are under a Mulberry Tree eating the ripe fruits that drop in the water. Mulberries float...at least for awhile.
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Mike, my corporate office is in lake forest (moving downtown this spring). I am in Chicago several times a year and would love to chase some fish! If you are serious, shoot me a pm and we can get some contact info exchanged. I know you guys have some big carp out there!
Serious bummer about your fly reel. That bad news is you'll have to buy a new reel. But the good news is...you get to buy a new reel!
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That is a big Mirror, John! I love the close-up of the scales, too! From the first pic, it looks like some of the scales are nearly as long as your finger!
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How would you fish it? Just let it sit there?
Not usually, but it depends on the situation.
If the fish are feeding on the bottom, you can cast out just ahead and slightly beyond the fish...and then work the sinking fly into the area close to the fish's mouth, then you can let it sit on the bottom, maybe twitch it a few times. This should get some sort of response. Hopefully the carp will move forward and take the fly.
If fish are feeding mid-depth in still or slow water, you can slowly swim a wet fly or nymph pattern near the carp's head. In other words, make the fly look alive, but also like an easy meal. If fishing faster current, you can cast upstream of the fish, and let the fly drift past the fish as it sinks to near the fish's level.
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Whoops. I meant pheasant died green.
Oh, OK. I tied one up last night with regular pheasant. I think it looks like it'll fish. Now...I just need to put it in FRONT of some big ol' carp!
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Not a great picture but the fly is really simple.
Erstaz body and peacock hackle died green. Basic, but it has been deadly this year.
Looks good! I'm familiar with peacock herl. Where does one find peacock HACKLE?
If I substituted other hackle, I'm wondering if the color is important...have you experimented with other hackle colors on this pattern?
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I fly-fish a lot of local public parks too, Rick. It is fun and relaxing...back-casting is worry-free (almost) over nicely manicured lawns with few trees. But most of the ponds are still relatively young, and only have bass, catfish, crappies, bluegills...and maybe a grass carp or two in them. And the grassies are SKITTISH! They almost always see me before I see them, and they don't stick around.
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That is some TOUGH fishing, Rick.
Cool fly, though! I can't quite make it out...is that a glass bead near the hook eye?
Foam Line Carp
in Carp on the Fly
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You're right, and that is a very good point. I'd prefer to cradle the fish horizontally, but fishing alone and without a net I had little choice but to keep the fish controlled and somewhat immobilized so it didn't hurt itself on the rocks.
I'll try to exercise some better options in the future.