Carp On the Fly
By Chuck Robbins
Fly fishing these days comes with a lot of hype, much of it unwarranted. Such as casting flies is somehow superior to tempting fish with hardware or, perish the thought, bait. Or that trout are somehow superior to other freshwater fish. If it ain’t spotted and wearing an adipose fin…for…get…it.
Bunk!
For example take carp: I submit carp are smarter, speedier, stronger, spookier, as selective and secretive and more durable than any trout; or any other freshwater fish for that matter. Challenging, I think fits rather well. And while few would call carp beautiful you must admit they are colorful. Whew! Talk about hyperbole… If all this sounds like idol-worship, you’re close, but stay with me, for I’m prepared to lay out facts to prove my case.
For starters carp, especially the river dwelling variety, are stronger and fight harder than any freshwater fish, including trout and smallmouth bass. I honestly cannot recall hooking a single river carp on a fly failed to run all the fly line out and most run well into the backing. Lake-dwelling carp are tough customers too but don’t quite measure up to their moving-water cousins.
Typically river carp make one long, sizzling, powerful run (often 100 yards or more) and then try to finish you off with several no less sizzling, powerful though shorter runs. In the end, lacking a big enough net about the only way to subdue one is toss the rod aside and, water and mud flying, give ‘em the old two-hands-heave-ho onto the beach—no kidding. To carry this strength thing to its zenith, even modest sized carp, say 7-10 pounds, are notorious tackle-busters. At peril to your rod DO NOT high stick ‘em. Most urgent are reels with sound drag systems and anything less than 2X tippet is asking for trouble. Finally I’m no Hercules, no 90-pound weakling either, but trust me a day of mud wrestling carp hurts.
One thing carp are not native. Introduced to U.S. from Europe over100 years ago, carp today are widespread and plentiful. Able to thrive in just about any sort of water—warm, cool, cold even polluted to the point of wiping out most other fish species— actually carp are nearly indestructible. In most situations we would better off without them but at this point not much to do about that—carp are here to stay. So why not haul out the fly pole and enjoy their many sporting traits?
In Montana, as in most places, carp are illegal aliens. And just like everywhere else Treasure State carp are indeed widespread and plentiful. All the major rivers drainages east of the Continental Divide contain carp, as do many on the west side. Most reservoirs—Clark Canyon, Canyon Ferry, Fort Peck, Tiber, Nelson, you name it—have healthy resident populations.
Common as they are and despite a recent rise in popularity among fly anglers one thing you won’t find is a crowd. Unlike many of our best trout fisheries even the very best carp fisheries are woefully underutilized. My favorite is the upper Missouri between Toston and Townsend. Peak season is July and August—peak season on our famous blue ribbon trout waters—yet to see even one other angler is rare.
Carp are very aware, thanks to acute senses: sight, smell, touch and especially hearing. Most uncanny is how they seem to “feel” being stalked. Unlike other fish with two hearing devices—inner ear and lateral line—carp have a third mechanism; consisting of small bones and ligaments connected to its swim bladder. Thus carp are able to detect sound vibrations in a much wider range than other fish. Spooked carp give off an alarm phemerone sends other carp in the area scurrying for cover. One minute carp everywhere, next the whole pack is flat out gone.
There are two ways to catch a carp on a fly—sight casting and blind casting. The former works, the latter in my experience is largely a waste of time.
I usually pick a section of river and launch a boat. The boat allows easy travel point to point, whereupon I anchor up, get out and wade. Depending on conditions reservoirs sometimes demand a boat, sometimes not. In either case the hunt is for feeding/cruising carp as opposed to resting carp. Resting/sunning carp can be caught but those actually on the prowl make better targets.
Sight fishing is not only exciting but demanding in the extreme. Typically you have but one shot to make the sneaky approach, execute a soft, pinpoint-accurate cast, elicit a take. But even a perfect pitch does not guarantee a hook-up. Carp are lightning-quick to detect a fraud and spit it out. Par for me is about one hook-up for six takes, yours might be better but don’t count on it.
Often found in pods, tailing in shallow water, carp probe the bottom silts snarfing up just about anything animal or vegetable fits in those lovely lips. The idea then is to pick a single target; like casting blind, I find flock-shooting is largely a waste of time. Stalking from behind is tough also so my approach is always from the front or to the side.
Stand up straight, move slow; keep arm- and rod-waving to a bare minimum. With all the guile and stealth (avoid crunching gravel or other foot-fall noises) you can muster stalk into comfortable casting range in order to present the fly, softly and accurately—remember first shot counts all the rest are warning shots. Make every effort to land the fly softly with as little surface disturbance as possible. I like to drop the fly directly in the path of the feeding carp, close but not too close; or back alongside the carp’s tail or across the “bow” a couple feet beyond the nose. Let it settle to the bottom then twitch it slightly, causing little puffs of silt similar to those a moving crayfish, or insect or minnow might make. Continue twitching, moving the fly ever closer and into the carp’s line of vision. Most times as soon as the carp sees the fly it’ll pounce. But don’t be surprised to come up empty, like I said carp are uncanny, quick to detect a fake and spit it out.
Equally exciting and no less intriguing are surface feeders. Like trout carp are quick to take advantage of drifting insects, especially heavy aquatic insect hatches—mayfly, caddis, etc. Windborne beetles, ants, hoppers and such also catch their attention, as do small fruits and seeds sometimes litter the surface. During a hatch carp often pod up, presenting a sight and sound to behold; all those adorable lips pressed to the surface, collectively and loudly “slurping” whatever enters. Unlike trout and bass, hatch-feeding-carp don’t move to the fly instead let the fly come to them. To catch one drop the fly so it drifts right down the “pipe” so to speak. Nothing to it then get the cast and drift right and…
Carp hunting the surface for individual bugs (fruits or seeds) require long leaders, accurate, often long casts, and a healthy dose of luck doesn’t hurt—like the carp are cruising willy-nilly and you must guess where to land the fly in the exact right spot at the exact right time. If you can see whatever it is the carp are dining, cast to it and wait. Other times the best idea might be to forget the whole thing and go looking for carp feeding in a more predictable manner. In any case, just like hooking carp on underwater patterns once the fly disappears things happen quickly so…
I don’t find carp to be super-selective but fly patterns mimic the foods carp are used to feeding seem to work better than tossing generic or “impressionistic” patterns. In other words better to pitch a crayfish fly looks like a crayfish than one of those near-enough patterns in the trout box.
Day in day out the workhorse method is sight fishing to tailing/cruising carp. The workhorse patterns are wet—streamer, nymph, crustacean, terrestrial, eggs, worms, corn, seeds, fruit and such. Small and wiggly, dark flies and/or flies ape the bottom color seem to work best. My favorites include crayfish, modified Crazy Charlie (a popular bonefish fly), small Clouser, aquatic worms, scuds, a variety of nymphs—rubber-legs-, dragon- and damsel-fly, Hare’s Ear, Prince and Pheasant-tail, even canned corn- and cottonwood seed flies work. Regardless of pattern, style or color most have one trait in common: weight on top the hook to ride point up, less chance of snagging bottom during the retrieve; hook sizes 6-10 are most useful.
Bowing to carps’ sensitive taste and smell it pays to rub the fly with mud, algae or one the many commercial scents now available to help mask human odor.
It should go without saying but this is no time to trot out that new 2-3-4 or even 5 weight for a test drive. In my opinion 9-feet, 6-weight is the minimum but 9-feet, 7- or even 8-weight, work better. Quality large- or mid-arbor reels with reliable drag systems, clear fly lines and stout tippets—0X-2X is about right—spooled with at least 150 yards backing help to even the odds. As mentioned previously “high sticking,” is not recommended (want proof? ask Leeming, the guy in the photos). In my experience strike indicators tend to spook rather than help. A broad-brimmed hat and polarized glasses will greatly enhance your ability to spot carp in the typical glare of a hot, bright sunny day—the best sort by the way.
A decade ago any mention of carp on the fly brought snide remarks. Not so anymore as more and more fly anglers discover carp possess the very traits we’ve come to admire in our most coveted game fish. In many places casting flies to carp is nothing less than a growing rage. So popular has the sport become some major wholesalers, such as Rainey and Umpqua, now offer a wide selection of carp flies.
And since no carp tale would seem complete without mentioning eating, here goes: The old saw—to cook a carp place on a green board cook until well done, throw away the carp, eat the board—perhaps best sums up Americans’ idea of carp as table fare. I too admit carp are not high on my list but... Are we missing something? Recently I read of a well-heeled businessman who, having been honored by his peers, was expected to throw a lavish dinner party in appreciation. Commissioned a European chef who prepared poached carp as the entrée, which the guests (so the story goes) nearly unanimously agreed were Alaskan sockeye salmon!
So there you have it.