carp flies.

[cnlhockeyplay]

anyone have any pictures of flies used for carp? new to fly fishing. i have a 6wt rod by the way.

[GottaGo]

You're probably gonna get a bunch of guys saying any type of nymph and probably some really cool looking ones they tie specifically for carp. My personal favorite type of fly for carp is a simple yarn egg fly. Just google "yarn egg fly" or "glo bug" to see what one looks like. I really like them for their functionality. Very Very easy to tie, which is nice if you fish places like me that it's easy to lose a fly. A second very nice thing about them is they are very bright and easy to see. I tend to fish in water not exactly clear and the carp are light biters, so when I cast to a carp (I usually only sight fish) and the fly disappears I set the hook and normally into a fish. Have fun cause carp on a fly is a blast

[Comit 2]

Get the book "Carp on the Fly" by Barry Reynolds, John Berryman, and Brad Befus. It will cover flys a color.

[DEADhead]

Here's a few for starters:

[srfishin15]

this is cnlhockeyplay. im on a new name now. Thank You deadhead and others!! those are very helpful. Those are all nymphs i assume?

[DEADhead]

yes those are nymphs

[Rippinlip]

I think fly fishing for carp would be a blast, I grew up on the Cannon River and fished for everything that swam in that river, but never with a fly rod.

What would a guy have to buy for a rod, reel, line and so on to get started?

[DEADhead]

a 7 wt rod will be a good fit for carp. a reel with a good drag is recommended, more so than any other type of fly fishing done here in this state. depending on where you are fishing, you might want to make sure you have at least 150 yards of backing. If there is room to run, those carp will take you into your backing in no time. Your fly line isn't as crucial as to the type of taper you need but a few good characteristics of a fly line for carp are: a quick loading head for casting with a minimal amount of the head out of the guides; ability to make precise casts, with a fair amount of finesse as to not spook fish; subdued color to reduce spooking fish in clear water. good luck.

[OnAFly]

DEADhead - not going to throw out the CC?

[DEADhead]

OnAFly, what am I missing? what's a CC? carp carrot?

[OnAFly]

Yeah, I was checking it out on your site. Seems to be a pretty effective fly.

[DEADhead]

yeah it's a great pattern, but I prefer the Montana Carrot a lot better. It's a smaller pattern, and I like the profile of dumbbell eyes and partridge hackle better than the pheasant hackle. I also like the more earthy and subdued body colors like rust or olive. Add rubber legs and it is deadly. I guess the reason I wasn't pimping the fly was because I didn't invent it

[Comit 2]

Just to add something that wasn't said. You may have noticed all the flys were bead heads. You want to use weighted flys that will sink fast.

There is a book most of us have read called "Carp on the fly". You can get it at Cabela's. Or you could just Google Carp on the fly book. You may even find a Umpqua Brad Befus 14-Piece Carp Fly Assortment.

[carpmanjake]

what will you be fishing?

lakes rivers or streams

and what will the water clarity be like?

ive pretty much mastered fly fishing for carp in murky water. the lake i fly fish all the time, has a visibility of only 8 INCHES!

its always good to match flies, to the type of water, and clarity of the water.

[OnAFly]

Jake - in water with suck low visibility, are you casting to specific fish? Are you seeing them tail out of the water?

[srfishin15]

i will be fishing in the mississippi river mostly. maybe to some lake but most likely just the river. I did purchase some nymphs and a couple weighted larger flies. but i also have small dry flies. will the smaller panfish and trout dry flies catch carp as well? i figured they would imitate a bug on the water.

[Comit 2]

White ones the look like Cotton Wood seeds work.

[carpmanjake]

Jake - in water with suck low visibility, are you casting to specific fish? Are you seeing them tail out of the water?

sorry i didnt see this post right away.

on the lake i fish it all depends where they are located on the lake, if they are in certain areas you can see the silhoettes. other times you can see them feeding topwater, or sucking on the edge of the shoreline, or logs.

one other place, there is a caulvert and they sit at the edge of the upstream caulvert. all you can see is orange lips!

but normally, im just looking for tails, dropping the fly. and watching the tail. if they start moving eractically, it usually means they found the fly. so i set the hook. 9 times out of 10 they have it.

the carp on the lake i fish feed litterally right next to shore! 5 feet away if that. so its very easy to place the fly, no casting needed.

go with anything big and dark. i fish alot of bigger flies that i tie using a size 6 hook. bead chain eyes. and ostrich herl. just tie a little black marabou tail. tie on a thick chunk of ostrich herl (5-6 strands). i get my herl from a feather duster, because they seem to be alot bushier)

wrap the ostrich herl forward, so it builds the body into a tapered shape. and tie off. ill post pics when i get home

[carpmanjake]

here are 2 pictures of carp

one is of the carp on the surface above the caulvert

the other is a bunch feeding topwater in open water

ill try and get a few of the "shoreline suckers" "log suckers" and the tailers soon

[OnAFly]

I see a lot of carp jumping completely out of the water. Anyone know what they are doing?

I've tried casting flies to them to no avail.

[carpmanjake]

I see a lot of carp jumping completely out of the water. Anyone know what they are doing?

I've tried casting flies to them to no avail.

no one knows for sure.. could be alerting other fish they found food, searching for a mate, looking to see whats around above the water, or even just to have fun...

[Comit 2]

Quote:

I see a lot of carp jumping completely out of the water. Anyone know what they are doing?

My best guess is, Carp do not have a good mouth for sucking in baitfish. I think they may make dashes through schools of baitfish near the surface and try to stun them with there tail as they go through. The reason I think this is in the last 5 years I must have cought around 20 Carp near there dorsel fin while trolling or casting. That would be Carp 20/ all other fish zero. I don't know about you but it makes me wonder why.

[carpmanjake]

My best guess is, Carp do not have a good mouth for sucking in baitfish. I think they may make dashes through schools of baitfish near the surface and try to stun them with there tail as they go through. The reason I think this is in the last 5 years I must have cought around 20 Carp near there dorsel fin while trolling or casting. That would be Carp 20/ all other fish zero. I don't know about you but it makes me wonder why.

carp will not waste more energy to catch food than they get from eating it. thats the same for all creatures. which is why any animal will go after injured prey, way before they go after healthy ones.

so that solution would be very very unlikely.

no one knows why carp jump, it could be communication, telling other carp they found food. tell other carp they are looking for a mate. heck... even just to see whats above the surface, like sharks do.

the easiest answer.... they are just happy to be a carp.

[so haaad]

Freestyle! They are the Tony Hawk's of fish.

[Crawlerman]

The main reason I want to fly fish for carp is when they are visably active feeding on the surface on a calm day. If they are feeding on the bottom, I'll switch to a casting rod and doughbait, breadball or corn.

I've had plenty of days where the carp are only top feeding and won't touch a single thing thrown on the bottom. This is espically true when they are in extremely shallow water.

So what are some good Dry Fly patterns for Carp? I tried a piece of popcorn on a fly hook but they just ignored it. They went crazy over bread on the surface, but it is too brittle to cast with a flyrod. I'm thinking of making my own out of some foam if I can find the right stuff to look like a hunk of bread.

What works for topwater carp? I've seen them feed just as actively on the surface then on the bottom espically on hot, windless calm days. I've been thinking of running more stuff with the plain hook rig like mini Marshmellows or puffcorn, but they seem to pick a lot of other things off the surface too...