Kyle
Well-known member
thats awesome. nice! fly looks great
dc410
Well-known member
Stuck two more just after daybreak this morning, including this chunky berry muncher.
dc410
Well-known member
When the Catalpa trees are blooming the berries are dropping! I was on the stream before sunrise this morning, being Saturday I had enough time to explore some more water and located a number of additional producing mulberry trees. I hooked up with five carp this morning and managed to put three of them into the net. I left my mulberry flies hanging in the other two that came unbuttoned either during the fight and taking me into some heavy debris. I also located some spots where I had enough room to backcast and take some longer range shots which is always cool and several of them produced in hook ups. I also experienced some classic refusals this morning as some of these fish are becoming pretty wary of my imposter mulberries. My last fish of the morning was my biggest carp of the year so far at 31” that was an absolutely awesome battle. If you find a pod of carp milling around fairly close to the surface there is probably a fruiting mulberry tree close by. The window of opportunity will go away quickly. Get out there and have some fun!
dc410
Well-known member
This morning’s adventures from the berry trail. I rested the fish for a week, but it really didn’t seem to matter. I was on the creek at 5:30 AM. It seems like the berries are in their peak of production right now. Lots of berries hitting the water but not a lot of carp targeting them. If they’re not coming up to hit the real berries - what are the chances of getting them to eat a fake one? Probably not great. For the first two hours every carp that actually looked at my berry fly simply flat out refused to eat it. I was mentally preparing to take home the skunk today.
Several things going against me today:
- water was up and still murky from the rain events earlier in the week - I couldn’t comfortably get to some of the spots where I normally fight and net the fish:
- windy day yesterday put a ton of berries in the creek. In the words of a popular Monty Python flick - “I couldn’t eat another bite”!
- I have been educating these fish for several weeks. Caught a bunch of them, stung a lot of the ones that I didn’t catch and spooked a lot of the other ones.
On my way back to my truck I spotted a few carp actively feeding on top. I watched them for awhile and asked myself “how would I possibly land them if I actually hooked one?”. It was a very steep muddy bank which I would have to figure a way to get down if I actually stuck one. It was one of those times where I concluded “nothing ventured - nothing gained”, so I went for it. Between 7:30 and 7:45 AM I hooked and netted two carp in a stretch of the stream that earlier in the season I probably wouldn’t have even taken a shot at them. Tight lines carpers!
Several things going against me today:
- water was up and still murky from the rain events earlier in the week - I couldn’t comfortably get to some of the spots where I normally fight and net the fish:
- windy day yesterday put a ton of berries in the creek. In the words of a popular Monty Python flick - “I couldn’t eat another bite”!
- I have been educating these fish for several weeks. Caught a bunch of them, stung a lot of the ones that I didn’t catch and spooked a lot of the other ones.
On my way back to my truck I spotted a few carp actively feeding on top. I watched them for awhile and asked myself “how would I possibly land them if I actually hooked one?”. It was a very steep muddy bank which I would have to figure a way to get down if I actually stuck one. It was one of those times where I concluded “nothing ventured - nothing gained”, so I went for it. Between 7:30 and 7:45 AM I hooked and netted two carp in a stretch of the stream that earlier in the season I probably wouldn’t have even taken a shot at them. Tight lines carpers!
dc410
Well-known member
I snuck out for a quick outing this morning before work, only had about 45 minutes to fish. I wish I had more because it was a perfect morning. Overcast skies made it very easy to see the carp and there were many of them working berries on top. However, as I had mentioned earlier they are becoming extremely selective. I had more refusals than I could count. Some fish even seemed to be sucking in my fly but in a split second spitting it back out making the actual timing of the hook set very challenging. I even saw multiple carp come up, inspect and actually reject a real mulberry this morning. Just before I had to leave I did manage to fool a smaller - maybe 4 pounder. A couple of weeks of the “berry hatch” still remains but they are definitely onto the game! It’s been a total blast!
hooker-of-men
Well-known member
They won today
dc410
Well-known member
Looks like you tagged one!
dc410
Well-known member
Previous to this morning my last two carpin’ outings I got completely skunked! The berry hatch is still on and the carp are still actively feeding on them. However, over the past few weeks I have educated a lot of fish by either catching, stinging or spooking them. They have become extremely selective and the number of total flat out refusals I get continues to increase with each outing.
This morning however, for whatever reason was different. I snuck out at daybreak for a quick carpin’ outing before heading to work. They were sucking in the berries today! I caught three carp this morning on my deer hair mulberry fly. In doing that I managed to put 74 inches of carp into the net in less than a half hour. Another interesting observation was there was a pretty decent trico hatch on my local warmwater carp stream this morning. The fingerling Largemouth bass were absolutely working over the trico spinners and I even saw some carp sucking in spent spinners in some of the eddies (I guess a carp can only actually eat so many mulberries!). The berry trees are still producing, but before long it will be over and the carp will revert back to conventional feeding by mudding on the bottom. Over the next week or so I may try to target some outlying mulberry trees that I never actually fished this season as the berries are starting to wrap up. Tight lines and screamin’ reels!
This morning however, for whatever reason was different. I snuck out at daybreak for a quick carpin’ outing before heading to work. They were sucking in the berries today! I caught three carp this morning on my deer hair mulberry fly. In doing that I managed to put 74 inches of carp into the net in less than a half hour. Another interesting observation was there was a pretty decent trico hatch on my local warmwater carp stream this morning. The fingerling Largemouth bass were absolutely working over the trico spinners and I even saw some carp sucking in spent spinners in some of the eddies (I guess a carp can only actually eat so many mulberries!). The berry trees are still producing, but before long it will be over and the carp will revert back to conventional feeding by mudding on the bottom. Over the next week or so I may try to target some outlying mulberry trees that I never actually fished this season as the berries are starting to wrap up. Tight lines and screamin’ reels!
G
GlenmooreJohn
New member
- Joined
- Mar 17, 2017
- Messages
- 15
G
GlenmooreJohn
New member
- Joined
- Mar 17, 2017
- Messages
- 15
Hey DC410, I've been thinking about coming over to the dark side this summer and targeting carp but have a few questions. I was on the Schulykill river last week fishing for smallies and saw some big carp cruising around. I may bring my 7 wt next time and give them a go. My questions: Do they have to be actively rooting in the bottom to catch them or do you toss your fly in their path as they are cruising by? Do you simply let your fly sit on the bottom or do you impart movement (the river flow was very slow where I was fishing). Thanks for any insights.
dc410
Well-known member
I’m sure the Skuke has some absolute tanks in it. Targeting cruising carp is definitely not a real high percentage shot, but I certainly wouldn’t hesitate to take it. I have occasionally hooked up with cruising fish. The one that sticks in my mind the most was a big cruiser that I nonchalantly flipped a Clouser minnow in front of while fishing for SMB with my 5 weight rod. The big carp inhaled the streamer. I questioned my sanity for a bit while I was fighting the big carp in moving water with my 5 weight bent practically in half and no net available. Somehow I found a way to get it done. Your 7 weight outfit would be a great choice for carpin’.
Your highest percentage chance of hooking up with one would obviously be to target actively feeding fish (head down, tail up, rooting on the bottom with a mud cloud flowing). If you can stealthfully get a fly in the “zone” in front of a feeding carp and they see it without knowing you are there - there is a really good chance that they will eat it. I try to tie my carp flies so that they have some natural movement just with the materials that I use. Imparting some subtle movement can be beneficial, but I generally don’t do a lot of that because it can blow up the deal in a heartbeat.
My biggest tip for you is to make the commitment if you’re really into giving it a fair shot. It is very challenging and I feel many guys give up on it after a few failures. Be persistent! When you set the hook on that first carp and your reel is screaming and the adrenaline kicks in - you’ll understand!!! Don’t hesitate to reach out to me if you have any other questions. Good luck!
John (dc410)
dc410
Well-known member
Yes sir
hooker-of-men
Well-known member
New scenario for me: Tons of fish around and moving. I wouldn't be surprised if there were a hundred or more in the stretch I was walking, which I've never seen so active. But they all seem to be guarding fry balls. They're just circling huge clouds of minnows.
No consistent feeders. I couldn't get anyone's attention.
No consistent feeders. I couldn't get anyone's attention.
G
GlenmooreJohn
New member
- Joined
- Mar 17, 2017
- Messages
- 15
Thanks John. Appreciate your thoughts.
dc410
Well-known member
That’s really interesting. I’ve never witnessed carp doing that.
dc410
Well-known member
The berry season is quickly coming to a close. I was out at daybreak this morning. There are still some berries on the trees but only very few fish actually working them. It seems to me in my area that the bigger carp have already maxed out on the berries. However, there were a couple smaller fish still actively feeding on the berries on top. After just watching for awhile, I targeted the most consistent feeder and it took my berry fly without hesitation.
One productive aspect of the latter part of the season when there are a whole lot less natural berries on the surface is finding a fish that is still actively working the top. Presenting a mulberry fly in the vacinity of this fish will result in a real good chance of catching the fish. (So long as it hasn’t been educated in any respect sometime earlier in the season).
I’m thinking this Saturday may be my last real legitimate shot this year at targeting carp on the berries. The last four weeks has been a ton of fun! July, August and September are all great carpin’ months - but will require getting back down on the bottom for those mudding carp. Get after ‘em - good luck!
One productive aspect of the latter part of the season when there are a whole lot less natural berries on the surface is finding a fish that is still actively working the top. Presenting a mulberry fly in the vacinity of this fish will result in a real good chance of catching the fish. (So long as it hasn’t been educated in any respect sometime earlier in the season).
I’m thinking this Saturday may be my last real legitimate shot this year at targeting carp on the berries. The last four weeks has been a ton of fun! July, August and September are all great carpin’ months - but will require getting back down on the bottom for those mudding carp. Get after ‘em - good luck!
dc410
Well-known member
The berry season is pretty much done. I was out at daybreak this morning and although there are a few berries still on the trees I did not see a single carp working the surface. All the carp I saw were back down on bottom and churning up the silt.
So after a solid month of catching carp on top on my berry pattern I changed tactics this morning and went back down to the bottom to target the active feeders. I was fortunate enough to stick my first two mirror carp of the season this morning. Both of them were taken on a size 8 Foxee Redd Minnow pattern.
So after a solid month of catching carp on top on my berry pattern I changed tactics this morning and went back down to the bottom to target the active feeders. I was fortunate enough to stick my first two mirror carp of the season this morning. Both of them were taken on a size 8 Foxee Redd Minnow pattern.
mt_flyfisher
Well-known member
Here is a carping thread on a Washington state forum that I’m a member on. I found it was interesting to compare carping there to here. Some pretty pictures too.
www.washingtonflyfishing.com
Fishing carp flats
www.washingtonflyfishing.com
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