Fishing Forum

I have read on this board of people catching Carp on the fly...How is it done?[cool] On the surface? On the bottom? Both? I am interested if some fun fertilizer for the garden and this sounds like the most fun. What time of year? Early spring sounds good. Or maybe when they are spawning in the shallows..[fishin][fishin][fishin]
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Carp spawn in the Spring in the shallows. While I've never tried to target them, I understand they are difficult to catch because they are focused on other things. Carp on the Fly is a good book (by Barry Reynolds, Brad Befus, and John Berryman). Carp are diverse and fun to catch. However, you'll have to pry my spots out of my cold dead hands, even though they are a trash fish [] I typically start targeting them after they spawn.
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This is the best way to target them in the shallows.




The final take


(I was only shooting a camera this day...not the bow. I believe the take was 86 if I remember correctly)
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Thanks for the replies. But what I am really needing to know is what sort of fly do I use. I don't know how to tie a fly that looks and smells like a dough ball.[]
I have read Flygoddess posts, how some help.[angelic]
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They will take the same flies you use for trout. Wooly buggers, stimulators, beetles, HE's etc. Egan's Headstand is another great pattern that is specific to carp. Carp eat a host of things ranging from minnows, plants (seeds that fall in the water), nymphs, terrestrials, etc. Hope this helps.
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I agree with any fly for trout. Color can matter though. I do my bets with yellow, but black woolly buggers always are a great choice along with olive and brown. You don't really need to be all technical.
BUT, in the same breath, on the Jordan, I do fantastic with two flies made for carp. Rainy's Carp Hex and Popcorn Ball.
Utah Lake....Bead Head Nymph with Prince being a champ.
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do you remember the carp fly that zonker posted.. it was made with colored resin I think.. was designed to bounce off the bottom I believe.. I used to have the link but seem to of misplaced it (okay lost it)..

MacFly [cool]
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I don't remember the fly.
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Ill have to see if I can find that link again.. he had it on his blog if I remember right but it has been a while...

MacFly [cool]
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Thanx for the response. I have noticed in the spring the carp are in shallow water hanging out making baby carp. Are they also eating? Are they receptive to a fly then?
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I am no expert on their habits. I just know, the spot I fish, they will turn their nose up, but keep at it. I don't know if they end up hitting because it bothers them....LOL
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You can catch spawning carp on the fly, but sometimes they just aren't in the mood. However, not every carp is spawning at the same time. I have done my best around the spawn by looking for "rooters" just on the edges of spawning groups. There are usually a lot of them..

Ignore the big splashes and look for the classic signs of feeding carp. Those fish will hit.
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Thanks E. Everet uses black Woollys also, right?
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Oh ya and the standby prince like you already mentioned. Up here on the Snake the carp are really dumb though. You can use size 2 crayfish so I hardly ever use smaller stuff unless I'm in Utah.
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How do you unhook them without touching them? Those things are like swimming turds.
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here is that fly that I was talking about that Zonker tied up a while back.. they are called yellow bitters but if I remember right he also tied them up with a brown coloring and a dark red coloring..

[center][inline yellowbitters-1.jpg]
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Any instructions with them?
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I've done really well with glo bug type patterns too. It's a good fly for tossing in front of a cruising carp. If you time it just right so that it sinks to the fishes level as the fish reaches it, they will usually suck it in.

I used to fish some ponds where people fed ducks, and the carp would come up and eat the bread too. So I made some bread flies and they worked like a charm.
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Thanx for the responses. Glow bugs, thats a great idea.
So I see that Carp eat anything and everything. Maybe a little sent in it would make them hold on long enough to be detected. Well I will check it out as soon as the water is right. The garden is waiting.[]
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I could not find any on his blog.. Ill have to look back in my pms and see if I can find anything.. I know the head is colored epoxy .. the "eye" are small bead chain that is covered in that epoxy.. the rest I am not sure..

MacFly
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