Newbie Question: How many fly sizes & colors to tie for next season?

"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.

On Oct 16, 10:28 pm, Willi wrote:
Larry L wrote:

Some interesting musings.

The things that capture my fishing attention seem to change over time.
Lately I've been most interested in new places and new species.

This Summer I futility attempted to catch a Grass Carp. There's a small
shallow pond about a mile from my place that has about a dozen Grass
Carp ranging from 10 to 30?+ pounds. Huge, handsome fish. Although some
people have reported some success with traditional flies, mine have been
totally ignored. They're plant eaters and I think it's tough to imitate
plants. I probably tried for them about a dozen times. I'm casting to
actively feeding fish but mostly they move to avoid my fly. A fly
falling too close to any one of the fish, sends it on a tear which in
turn blows up all the other carp. Fish that size freaking in water less
than two feet deep is pretty wild. Obviously that puts an end to the
fishing. Most sessions last about ten minutes.

Willi

I have a fly customer in the Marines posted at camp liberty in Iraq.
They found some success in catching those carp with the "Green beauty"
pattern. I don't know if they are grass carp though.
He said a slow steady retrieve seemed to work, but was experimenting
with patterns and pausing retrieves.
He sent me some nice pix.

Lloyd M
http://www.mainetackle.com

On Oct 16, 9:28 pm, Willi wrote:

This Summer I futility attempted to catch a Grass Carp. There's a small
....
actively feeding fish but mostly they move to avoid my fly. A fly
falling too close to any one of the fish, sends it on a tear which in
turn blows up all the other carp.

IIRC I once caught a grass carp, maybe 10-15lbs. It's wasn't shallow
water but a bunch of them were lazing on the top in the late morning
along a weedbed. After spooking different groups a few times, I
eventually dragged a small (#14 maybe) nondescript fly (unweighted but
sunken) right past the nose of one, and he turned and sucked it in. I
would cast maybe 1/2 the leader length past the front of one, and try
to drag it past and meet up with his nose as he lazily swam.
Eventually worked.

Which reminds me they turned off irrigation a few days ago down here,
so water levels will be down to fishable, and the carp will still be
there...

Jon.

wrote:
On Oct 16, 9:28 pm, Willi wrote:


This Summer I futility attempted to catch a Grass Carp. There's a small

...

actively feeding fish but mostly they move to avoid my fly. A fly
falling too close to any one of the fish, sends it on a tear which in
turn blows up all the other carp.


IIRC I once caught a grass carp, maybe 10-15lbs. It's wasn't shallow
water but a bunch of them were lazing on the top in the late morning
along a weedbed. After spooking different groups a few times, I
eventually dragged a small (#14 maybe) nondescript fly (unweighted but
sunken) right past the nose of one, and he turned and sucked it in. I
would cast maybe 1/2 the leader length past the front of one, and try
to drag it past and meet up with his nose as he lazily swam.
Eventually worked.


Nice job, sunning Grass Carp are "supposed" to be impossible!

One of the local carp guys told me his "secret". He feeds the Grassies
hand fulls of grass clippings for several days and then casts a fly he
ties that looks like grass. Not my cup of tea but I'm sure it works.

I'll have to keep plugging away.

Willi