# Went Down to the Creek--And a Q..



## Steelhead Fever (Dec 31, 2009)

Hit the creek for about a half hour(I know it was a tease, but better than nothing I guess) Was targeting bass of carp, I caught my first crappie on the fly! Man them things are aggressive towards flies! After that I hit a baby largemouth...I hooked something huge, it was either a carp or a giant holdover trout, because it stayed down for the most part...After missing some other fish, it was just about time to go....My Question is-How do you guys catch all of these carp!!?? I threw at them for awhile, with little interest in my fly...I think its best to catch them when they are rooting around or tailing right? Some of these fish were sort of suspended I think? That makes it really hard, because you kinna have to strip the fly...just looking for some help on getting my first flyrod carp, thanks in advance ! s.f.


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## Andrew S (Jul 7, 2011)

My experience is that a carp that is suspended (or near the top) but very still is not very likely to take a fly.

Carp that are moving along pretty quickly seem to usually be a waste of my time, but sometimes one will veer off and follow a fly.

A carp that is clearly feeding, i.e. rooting around in the mud, or slowly cruising along, side-to-side, and clearly sucking up stuff (you can often see the mouth flare when they suck something in) can often be very, very easy to hook. Those carp will often move fairly aggressively towards a fly. But, and this is important, you still have to put it fairly close to the fish. I like to aim for a region about 10-12 inches in front of the fish. Then, I slowly move the fly and hope the carp will take. I prefer to be able to see the take, but sometimes you can't and just have to watch the line for a twitch, or hope they take it hard. The other thing about serious feeders is that you can usually get pretty close without spooking them.

When I first started, I'd also often chum an area with a few handfuls of canned corn first (but never found the need for special 'corn' flies). This would bring more fish into a small area, keep them concentrated, etc., allowing more shots at them and a nice chance to really watch how they feed, take flies, etc. I don't chum much anymore, but will on occasion if I want to get some really nice video footage in a specific area.

It's also possible that you're spooking more fish than you realize. I've gotten much better at spotting good carp water from a distance, and I approach and start scanning the water from quite a distance before I approach closer. The stream I fish is loaded with carp, yet a friend of mine who fished it for smallmouth bass for years said he rarely if ever saw them. I think this is probably because by the time he got to the spots he was going to fish, he had long since spooked the carp away. So, consider spending some time just carefully watching. I've even been known to carry binoculars!


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## Steelhead Fever (Dec 31, 2009)

thanks for some help, that puts me a lil closer, what do you consider good water for them?


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## fallen513 (Jan 5, 2010)

Steelhead Fever said:


> thanks for some help, that puts me a lil closer, what do you consider good water for them?



Long stretches of shallow water are good early morning & on cooler or overcast days. On hot days you may find them in deeper water, near the edge...slurping insects off the greenery. 


I think my number 1 hope would be to have the long stretch of shallow water. Makes spotting them much easier. The only downside to catching them in that type of run are the rocks. They will run you around jagged rocks & cut your fly line pretty quickly if you're not careful. 

Don't ask me how I know.


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## fishinnick (Feb 19, 2011)

I have caught 3 carp fly fishing, one on a glo bug on the surface, another nymphing with a glo bug, and one on a BH hares ear. Since you were fishing a trout stream, definitely look for the slower pools which you might see some cruising around. Or if there is a dam on the stream that is also a good spot, I know you know a trout stream with a dam on it, and I have have seen and hooked(idk if they were snagged or not) some big carp there, and the big hole downstream. I also hooked some on brown buggers, but they could of been snagged since I didn't see the take. From my experiences if they are actively feeding you have a much better chance at cathing them than if they are just cruising around. 

Also fly fish for crappie during the spawn, you'll get them on every other cast if you locate them!


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## fishinnick (Feb 19, 2011)

Andrew S and Fallen gave some great advice too, I didn't read theres till after I posted.


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## Andrew S (Jul 7, 2011)

I'd certainly echo fallen's advice, though I've never had the problem with the rocks!

Look at the kinds of places I'm fishing in my videos - you'll see a bit of everything. Like any fish, they like the heads and tails of pools. They'll be deep in the pools as well, but you can't see them there most of the time. But as fallen said, they'll come to the edge and slurp there. I see them in shallow, fast, rocky water but they can be tough to get there because it's harder to manage the fly. Shallow, moderately slow flow water over sand or mud is probably the most productive for me because the carp are easy to see, my fly is easy to see (which makes it easier to work it properly), there's not much for the fly to hang up on and it's easier to get close to them if you're walking over sand or mud than on rocks. I've spooked a lot of carp trying to approach them over gravel bars, and I'm sure it's because my walking scrapes the rocks together.

Watch for tails or clouds of mud puffing up in the slower, deeper pools as well. Sometimes a carp that is doing that might be too deep to target for a while, but then it will rise in the water column and you can make your cast, or it will eventually work its way upstream to the head of the pool or gradually drift downstream to the tail.


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## Steelhead Fever (Dec 31, 2009)

fishinnick said:


> I have caught 3 carp fly fishing, one on a glo bug on the surface, another nymphing with a glo bug, and one on a BH hares ear. Since you were fishing a trout stream, definitely look for the slower pools which you might see some cruising around. Or if there is a dam on the stream that is also a good spot, I know you know a trout stream with a dam on it, and I have have seen and hooked(idk if they were snagged or not) some big carp there, and the big hole downstream. I also hooked some on brown buggers, but they could of been snagged since I didn't see the take. From my experiences if they are actively feeding you have a much better chance at cathing them than if they are just cruising around.
> 
> Also fly fish for crappie during the spawn, you'll get them on every other cast if you locate them!


thats where i was  they are loaded at the dam, i had one swipe at a white streamer while casting for smallies, and thanks for all the help so far guys, i guess i just need to get the right fly now..


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## fishinnick (Feb 19, 2011)

I have a family event to go to in Pittsburgh tomarrow, so it looks like I may need to take a detour. So you got a largemouth and a crappie there? I've got some nice perch in there but never a crappie or largemouth. I would like to get into some carp also..


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