# Best fight on the fly.... Ended in tragedy.



## BassAddict83 (Sep 21, 2010)

It has always been a goal of mine to get a carp on the fly. It's one of the most challenging things I've ever attempted. The fly has to be just right, The cast has to be just right, and then there's the fight... This morning I set out with only that goal in mind. 

I went to a small lake that I know is loaded with carp. I wanted to use a brown bead head wooly bugger but after looking in my fly box and not finding any I remembered I had snagged the last one I had a while ago. I figured olive would be the next best choice. 

When I first got to the lake I immidiately saw a carp tailing near a rocky bank. Perfect! I began casting. A couple false casts were spot on where I wanted my fly to hit but of course as I let go of the line it didn't work out the way I planned. I was way off to the right. Probably a good 6 ft. or so. As I stripped a few times to get ready to cast again I ended up snagging a laydown that I couldn't see from where I was. I tried a roll cast to pop it loose but with no success. I ended up having to walk over to where I was snagged thus spooking the tailing carp and off he went into deeper water. 

I checked around the banks for more tails but there was nothing. Then I saw some bubbles back by where I was standing in the first place! I got myself situated and began my cast. This time it was right where I wanted it. I let the fly sink till it hit the bottom and then gave it a couple short strips. I felt a "tap" and saw my line move. I gripped the line, pulled up on the rod, fish on! I watched my line zig zag towards deeper water and just as I began to get excited it just popped off. I just stood there with my jaw dropped in disappointment. 

I stripped my line back in and began to study the lake again. I noticed some topwater activity going on near some cat tails. I didn't think it'd be a carp but at least it was a feeding fish. I made a pretty decent cast to edge of the cat tails and as soon as my fly hit the water it was inhaled. I lifted my rod tip and felt resistance. Before I could even think to myself, "Fish on!", a tiny little bass came shooting out of the water. Not a hard fighter but lots of heart. He must have jumped at least 5 times before I brought him to hand. 










After I let him go I saw that there was still activity going on over by the cat tails. I put the fly right up against them. Another couple of strips and I felt another "tap". I waited for a second and then saw my line going tight. Fish on again! This one wasn't coming up. It was bigger than the last fish though. Did I have a small carp? Nope. When I finally got it to the bank I had another bass. 










It was a better fish but it still wasn't what I was after. I took
a quick photo and put it back in the water. I figured I might as well keep trying the cat tails. On the very next cast I hooked a small sunfish. This thing was no bigger than the palm of my hand. I didn't even waste time getting a pic of that one. I threw it back and looked back over at the cat tails. I looked just in time to see a carp skim the surface. "This is it!" I thought to myself. By this time I had a pretty good amount of practice casting to this area so my next cast was within inches from where I saw the carp. My fly hit the water and began to sink. Not sure if I should strip it or not I just stood there. The carp answered the question for me. It grabbed the fly. I felt the pull and lifted my rod tip high into the air. The moment the hook set the carp went crazy! It immidiately pulled my excess line through my fingers and had my reel SCREAMING! I just held on and watched the line peel off my reel. It ran for a while! When it finally slowed down I began reeling. I got it turned around and coming back towards me but that didn't last long. It turned right back around had my reel sounding like the worlds longest zipper again. We did this once more before my forearm started burning. I didn't know how much more fight this thing had in it but I hoped not much. It had so much power! Finally the carp tired out and I got it near the bank. Now I'm not exactly sure what I was thinking this morning when I left the house but for some reason I didn't bring a net. That was my first mistake. My second came when I had the fish right up against the bank and set my fly rod down and grabbed the leader with my hand. I had a 15 lb mono tippet so I thought this would be ok. I got my hand under its belly but as soon as I touched it it freaked out, flipped, broke the line, and swam off with my fly stuck in its lip. I was left standing there with a fly-less leader in my hand and no fish. I couldn't believe it. 

After a while I decided to tie on another fly and see if maybe I was lucky enough to get another fish on but almost an hour went by with only a blugill to show for it. It was time to call it morning. 

It was the greatest fight I've ever experienced on the fly rod. I obviously don't know for sure how big that carp was but I would guess between 8-10 lbs. 8 to 10 pounds of heartbreak.... 

Now I'm more than determined!


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## fishinnick (Feb 19, 2011)

Nice post. I'd say you had a successful outing! Hooking into two carp in a day(especially if you're a beginner at carp) isn't easy at all. I think I have the carp thing figured out for the most part, but there's still days even at my go-to spots when they want nothing to do with my flies. Just keep at it, and bring a net next time 

And you can't beat their power.


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## ejsell (May 3, 2012)

Great post. I hooked into my first one a few weeks ago in a very small creek with high banks using a leggy fly I tied myself. After I got him to the bank and reached for him he broke off. I was using a 5 wt. with a 6lb. tippet. I'm kind of surprised he didn't break off sooner but I let him run quite a bit. I haven't gotten a chance to get back out and target carp specifically since but if the rain holds off I'm going to try tomorrow morning. I've got a nice spot staked out in my local river if it doesn't rise too much.


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## Riverbum (Jan 27, 2013)

Great post! After the spawn , I like to stalk them when they feed up in the grass. They are hard to sneak up on,
But sure are a lot of fun


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## ARReflections (Jan 7, 2011)

Great story BA. Carp are definitely fun on the fly. Hopefully some of the more well versed carp fly fishers can provide some additional pointers concerning getting to hand.


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## TheCream (Mar 19, 2009)

Having a net is a big help on the carp. I hooked one on Saturday in the Hocking, no net, and had to beach it in a shallow spot. It took 4 tries to get it beached because every time it would feel the gravel it would peel out of there and head back for deep water.

You're on the right track!


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## ducman491 (Oct 31, 2011)

I have been thinking alot about carp on the fly lately. I've heard to throw a handful of corn into the water and put a few pieces on a small hook and cast them into the middle of the corn. Is that cheating?


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## fishinnick (Feb 19, 2011)

ducman491 said:


> I have been thinking alot about carp on the fly lately. I've heard to throw a handful of corn into the water and put a few pieces on a small hook and cast them into the middle of the corn. Is that cheating?


I've done it with bread once or twice, and then caught fish on a "bread fly", pretty much just a light colored sucker spawn. I'd give it a try, even if you think it's cheating


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## ejsell (May 3, 2012)

fishinnick said:


> I've done it with bread once or twice, and then caught fish on a "bread fly", pretty much just a light colored sucker spawn. I'd give it a try, even if you think it's cheating


Didn't someone have a Cheetos fly?


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## fishinnick (Feb 19, 2011)

ejsell said:


> Didn't someone have a Cheetos fly?


Yeah I think remember that too. TheCream??


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## imalt (Apr 17, 2008)

fishinnick said:


> Yeah I think remember that too. TheCream??


You would be right cream has that Cheetos fly

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## ARReflections (Jan 7, 2011)

TheCream said:


> Having a net is a big help on the carp. I hooked one on Saturday in the Hocking, no net, and had to beach it in a shallow spot. It took 4 tries to get it beached because every time it would feel the gravel it would peel out of there and head back for deep water.
> 
> You're on the right track!


I was hoping our resident carp fly fisher would chime in


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## TheCream (Mar 19, 2009)

fishinnick said:


> Yeah I think remember that too. TheCream??


Hey...it worked.


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## anglerNpurgatory (Jun 17, 2010)

Dude, I live a few miles from Dillon Lake and the upper end of it should be crowned the carp capital of Ohio. In the heat of the summer I kill the boredom by splatting foam beetles on the surface and watching orange bugle lips suck them down. Carping on the fly is a hoot, but you don't tell your friends about it.


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## flytyer (Jan 3, 2005)

I personally don't normally carry a net with me unless I'm trout fishing. I catch carp in my local creek all the time and just fight them until I can get them to hand. I use a 4X tippet (6 lb) most of the time. Now let me also say these aren't monsters but some of them are well over 5-6 lbs. 
I don't even try to beach them anymore, just get them close enough to get a hold of the line and pop the hook out and they're off. 
They're just like any other large fish, if you try to horse them or land them to soon you'll break them off. 
I only target them if I see them when I'm fishing for smallies and what ever fly is on the end of the tippet is the fly of choice. If they aren't spooked a lot of time they'll take what ever is put close to them!


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