09-12-2007, 09:44 PM
Lisa,
[cool]Thanks for your kind words. The carp behavior you observed was likely what is called "clooping" among avid carp fishers. It's the carp's version of the trout's rise. Kind of a lumbering, half-effective slurp. Actually the word "cloop" is one of those onomatopoetic words that is made up at first to resemble an actual sound, then it becomes a word. When they are presenting this behavior it is a real challenge to try to get a dry fly placed in such a way that their random movements will intersect it. They can be selective to certain items as well so "match the hatch" is sometimes involved.
Carp can be very spooky, which gives them the reputation of being smart. They have very highly developed sound/vibration capabilities and are naturally wary - much more so that trout or bass. They often hang out in "shoals" (carping lingo for schools) and communicate alarm well with one another. Like sheep, when one of them freaks, others in the area do also. In fact (and it took me awhile to admit this) I think carp are harder to catch on flies than most other fish in fresh water. I've enjoyed pursuing them and learning about them. It took me a few trips to actually connect with one on a fly, then some more before I started getting them regularly. That kind of a challenge is a lot of fun. Since I nearly always C&R, the type of fish isn't an issue for me as long as it takes flies and fights hard. They do.
Since carp have that "trash fish" stigma with many, I've endured some frowns and tisk-tisks from regular fishermen. When I tell them that I catch carp up to 30 pounds on a fly rod however, they usually settle down and grant a litte respect. Here's a recent shot of a "little" ten pounder.
![[Image: dave-1r.jpg]](http://bp3.blogger.com/_cOAONruqtAc/RrP9mkNsonI/AAAAAAAAAQU/n9RAyGeRwbA/s400/dave-1r.jpg)
My favorite way to pursue the species I like to fish is in the tube and I really like mixing it up with other tubers. There are some great people here. Obviously you're one of them.
z~
[signature]
[cool]Thanks for your kind words. The carp behavior you observed was likely what is called "clooping" among avid carp fishers. It's the carp's version of the trout's rise. Kind of a lumbering, half-effective slurp. Actually the word "cloop" is one of those onomatopoetic words that is made up at first to resemble an actual sound, then it becomes a word. When they are presenting this behavior it is a real challenge to try to get a dry fly placed in such a way that their random movements will intersect it. They can be selective to certain items as well so "match the hatch" is sometimes involved.
Carp can be very spooky, which gives them the reputation of being smart. They have very highly developed sound/vibration capabilities and are naturally wary - much more so that trout or bass. They often hang out in "shoals" (carping lingo for schools) and communicate alarm well with one another. Like sheep, when one of them freaks, others in the area do also. In fact (and it took me awhile to admit this) I think carp are harder to catch on flies than most other fish in fresh water. I've enjoyed pursuing them and learning about them. It took me a few trips to actually connect with one on a fly, then some more before I started getting them regularly. That kind of a challenge is a lot of fun. Since I nearly always C&R, the type of fish isn't an issue for me as long as it takes flies and fights hard. They do.
Since carp have that "trash fish" stigma with many, I've endured some frowns and tisk-tisks from regular fishermen. When I tell them that I catch carp up to 30 pounds on a fly rod however, they usually settle down and grant a litte respect. Here's a recent shot of a "little" ten pounder.
My favorite way to pursue the species I like to fish is in the tube and I really like mixing it up with other tubers. There are some great people here. Obviously you're one of them.
z~
[signature]