Fly Fishing Forums > Warmwater Fly Fishing
Detecting takes with carp!
Phoenix2112:
Hi Frank!
I fish, rivers, lakes and canals. The clarity of the water varies between bodies of water I fish, mostly it is off color to stained. There are a few spots that have clear water, some of the tribs of lake Erie have very clear water.
A standard day out for me would walking the banks searching for feeding fish. Obvious activity such as tailing is one thing that I look for and another is mudding. If I see mudding in deeper water I'll watch for a few minutes to see if the fish moves to a more shallow location, easier to see to cast too. If not, I'll make a few casts and either slow strip or figure of eight retrieve the fly through and around the mudding area. If not takes I move on.
I love casting to the fish that are actively cruising the banks, I find that if you put a fly about two to three feet in front of them, allow it sink a bit and then strip it a few times to get their attention. If they are aggressive and feeding, provided they do in fact see the fly, they will quickly turn and check it out. If they pass it up after several attempts I carry on looking for other fish. When they do turn and chases the fly I typically set the hook if they so much as come near the fly because of the their subtle takes. If they are hooked, happy days! If not they typically turn and bugger off with a vengeance. When this happens I'm not certain if they have not yet ate the fly or if they are just after spitting it out. either way it does spook them. I have also recorded this behavior with a percentage of tailing fish!
Regarding my gear: I use either an 8wt or 10 wt rod. The 10wt is for Lake Eire or any other horribly windy place with huge fish. Tippet: I typically use 6 or 8 pound fluorocarbon and after many years of trying various products I have settled in on Berkeley's Vanish. Maybe I'm just nostalgic about my bass tournament days, either way it's all I use for all species of fish that I am after. The 12lb makes nice furled leaders. Leader: I use either a 7 foot furled leader or a three section tapered that I tie: 2' of 12 lb, 3' of 8 lb, 2-3' of 6lb.
My fly box is full of nymphs, which are my go to fly, size eight with loads of lead weight, claret, natural hares mask or rabbit and olive I find most productive. http://fliesoffancy-nikkipage.blogspot.com/2012/04/claret-wiggly-nymph.html
My second go to fly is a size 4-8 double bunny craw with crazy legs, krystal flash, lead eyes and lashings of lead in black, chartreuse and olive. Bass, drum, carp all love it.
Nikki ;)
jhammer:
All the carp I catch usually hit like a freight train. :o
Phoenix2112:
jhammer, I'm jealous! :P
qualey99:
Thanks, Phoenix,
That is a great explanation. that sounds a lot like red-fishing down here, but we have to do that from a boat. Otherwise you are up to your but in mud, and then when the gators come by, it is really hard to run. A boat makes life much more comfortable, whether it is a yak or a flats boat. If I ever venture that far north, I will have to try my hand at those. I know in Arkansas, they have some carp in the streams there, but I have never targeted them. Are the canals and streams all on public land, or is it private land that you have access to?
Phoenix2112:
I prefer to fish from a boat! No trees eating my flies, no people telling me "the only thing in there is carp" ugh I hate that, no banks to fall down, did that yesterday!
I can imagine running form crocagators knee deep in mud would be stressful lol!
The canals are pretty much all public, the majority of the rivers and lakes are as well.
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