these carp are like women... hard to figure out.

[carpmanjake]

so today was an absolute cooker. humid as heck. i sat inside until 3. i was going insane, i hate staying inside!

so despite the heat, i went out fishing. i stayed close so i could avoid the thirst and exhaustion that comes with biking in the heat.

i hit this large flat. and i found tons of carp feeding, but i could not present to a single one of them. they would move quickly, feed for a couple seconds, then move again.

i decided to follow the fish. and i found litterally hundreds of carp packed in pencil reeds, they were either sunning or feeding. but i could not present to them because of the UL tackle i was using. there would be no way i could land one with all the reeds. they will wrap me around the reeds and all that. i also had my fly rod with. but i could not present to them with all the trees around me.

i kept wading, and i went out onto this HUGE flat around a point. this is when the real story starts

i was wading, and there were clumps of pencil reeds in the middle of the flat. and i was casting a tiny nymph for panfish. as i waded closer to the pencil reeds, i began seeing large,dark shadows around the reed edges. there were tons of carp there! i waded closer, and tied on a bigger fly. and tossed it out to them. i could not get a single fish to take it. i had many follow it, but none take it. i began to get frustrated and i made a stupid move (at least i thought it was) i waded closer in. i was now within 20 feet of the fish. and i kept tossing flies. no takers. they werent even interested. they were interested in me! i was having carp up to 20lbs cruise right up to me and check me out. but no matter what i did i could not get one to hit.

so now im sitting here. confused. i cant figure out what these fish want. i tried everything i had. i got one to hit a tiny jig, but the line snapped as i set the hook. and they all spooked. but what really suprised me, was how fast they came back. i wasnt gone 2 minutes and they were all back there

so.. im trying to plan out how to avenge myself. im gonna bottom fish tomorrow, ill wade all the way out to the edge of the reeds, and place my bait right outside a major funnel that they use to travel through the reeds, and out to bask and feed. then open the bail, and walk back to the point, and set the rod in my holder and wait. i will use crawlers since there were very few panfish.

what do you guys think about the plan?

normally i can figure the fish out right away. but these fish have me stumped. i am resorting to drastic measures now that i plan to still fish for them. i havent still fished for carp since last summer. i usually catch many of them while stalking, but these fish wouldnt have any of it.

i am gonna tie up some new flies as well that may appeal to them more than what i was using.

if you have any other ideas how to catch them, but not still fishing. tell me!

[broken_line]

sounds like a blast!! my buddy always catches a carp on a 1/4 oz jig witha minnow laying on the bottom.. ive got a few on carlos 3 weeks ago on a road runner just drifting around.. they seem to change day to day and cant establish a pattern on them.. just like women.. no offense...

[mainbutter]

My advice is be confused for 3 weeks and then things will normalize.. at least that's my prediction, they have me stumped pretty good.

Also, skip the UL tackle. Bring a med rod and some braided line, and allow yourself to fish in those spots with snags

[carpmanjake]

Also, skip the UL tackle. Bring a med rod and some braided line, and allow yourself to fish in those spots with snags

ya lol. i only brought my fly rod and my new Okuma UL. was gonna put her to the test with some smaller carp. but i couldnt find any under 8lbs

[roughfish29]

i had a simmilar situation happen to me yesterday.....

dead, old, stinky, rotten crawlers did the trick

[carpmanjake]

i had a simmilar situation happen to me yesterday.....

dead, old, stinky, rotten crawlers did the trick

glad you joined roughfish29. good to see another fellow finner on here

[roughfish29]

yeah well i'll confess.....i'm still looking for my first fin. I used the BAG forum to try to get some tips on leading me to my first

[carpmanjake]

yeah well i'll confess.....i'm still looking for my first fin. I used the BAG forum to try to get some tips on leading me to my first

come up to alex. i can get you into quite a few.

[roughfish29]

i'll let you know next time i'm in the area

[kittycatcher16-2]

im from clear lake MN and i cant get a single carp to bite and im pretty sure its cause they are still spawning so it might take a couple weeks til they get active but thats up here so it might be different there, but thats the only thing we can think of up here...??