"Willi" wrote \



Common Carp are MUCH easier than Grass Carp. There's a group of local guys
who are REALLY into Carp fishing. A couple of them have "flat" boats
rigged up with poling platforms etc. I've gone out with them a few times
this Summer and had a ball. One guy professionally guides people on his
boat and has developed some pretty unique patterns.

We have alot of small irrigation reservoirs locally that hold carp and are
generally clear. It is alot like Bonefishing except that you get many more
chances. You should like it, it's all sight fishing. Carp have a wide
range of different behaviors. I have no idea what most of them are. Just
because you see them in shallow water doesn't mean they're feeding and if
they're not feeding you're very unlikely to hook one. Once I learned how
to tell when they were feeding, my success went way up. IMO, that's the
key. Carp are very strong and have a couple good runs in them. You need to
control them on their first long run or you're likely to lose them. Most
don't have alot of stamina. When I first started catching them, I found
them gross, but now I consider them them to be attractive fish.

Willi

This echos what GT told me, "Don't bother to cast unless he is "tailing."

And, lord knows, I NEED easy to catch for sure.

The place where I have tried them they move up out of the depths onto a flat
and I've always assumed they were searching for food, but I've watched for
fairly long periods without ever seeing one eat anything that I could tell.
Maybe that helps explain why, so far, I have only tried to catch, not
succeeded :-( The same place has trout and I usually switch to fishing
for them before long, I should be more persistent.