# need advice



## imalt (Apr 17, 2008)

I am having no luck with carp at all. They show no interest in anything I throw at them. Part of my problem is the creek I fish is very clear and wont dirty up. But I will throw the fly out in front of them and they just swim by without even paying attention to it like its not even there. Also I got into a school of little spotted bass most in the 10" range but I missed a bunch they would follow from the bank but stop short of striking. The carp thing has me frustrated though. I didnt think I could be any worse at something than I am at musky fishing; turns out I was wrong.


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## Andrew S (Jul 7, 2011)

I'm no longer seeing carp in my water. I think it's cooled off enough that they're now in the deep water. 

But, to your problem...

First, are you positive they're carp? I know this sounds like a silly question, but I've occasionally thrown to a fish I thought was a carp, only to realize as it passed me that it was some sort of large sucker. And I think suckers are harder to catch than carp.

Second, assuming they are carp, are you fishing to fish that you specifically see feeding? If they're just cruising along, they often will not bite. If they're actively feeding, i.e. rooting in the bottom, obviously sucking up things, etc, then I find them to be pretty easy to catch.

Andrew


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## imalt (Apr 17, 2008)

I think that you are correct and I am casting to cruising fish. Do you have a specific time that it is better to find Carp?(early or late). They are definitely carp. I am going to get the fly fishing tying kit from bass pro and start trying to tie my own flies. See if I have any better luck. Plus I want to tie some big flies for musky.


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## Andrew S (Jul 7, 2011)

imalt said:


> Do you have a specific time that it is better to find Carp?(early or late).


In the places where I have fished for them, they seem to feed more in the early morning...but, you can't always see them well until the sun is high. So, it's a trade off you have to deal with.

This summer, most of my carp fishing was done between sunrise and about 10am, but I've caught them all through the day and into early evening.


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## Jimijaz (Oct 15, 2007)

Wow iMalt,
Musky and Carp. You don't mess around. As for Carp, they're probably one of the more difficult fish to catch for people who actually know what they're doing, much less an aspiring new carp fisher. The name of the game is stealth. They're sensory apparatus is far superior to just about any other fish in the water. If you spook one, they give off a hormone(pheromone?) that spooks the rest for a brief time. Their mouth apparatus is almost as sensitive as ours and it can be maddening to feel them spit hooks just before you set them. Look for clouds of mud being pushed up and cast ahead of where they're moving. Cruising fish are usually moving somewhere else and hard to catch. Cast behind feeding carp and you'll usually catch following smallmouth. I like the flies that JP Lipton ties on the Roughfisher.com site. He's all about carp, etc. and has devoted quite a lot of attention to developing flies that work well on those species. His 'Carp Crack' fly is all that, AND a bag of chips. For streams, you can wrap lead or put on more chain or hourglass eyes, but they do work.
-Let us know what you tie,
-Jim


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## imalt (Apr 17, 2008)

I discovered a good carp pond yesterday that I want to get my kayak out on. It has heavy weed growth around it so walking it is near impossible. I thought I finally had my first one yesterday in a different pond but he was just playing with my emotions.


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