2024 Carpin’ Thread

I think I caught the same Mirror carp that I caught less than a month earlier yesterday morning. I’m pretty sure I never did that before. It was caught at the same spot and was identical in length, but I only have photos of the opposite sides of the fish so I really can’t be sure. I caught it on a silt sifter fly which was a different pattern then a month ago. I’m done carpin’ now until I get back from my AK trip. I wiped all the carp slime off of my Cabelas 3 Forks 9’ 8wt and it is packed away ready to fight some Pacific salmon! Good luck, carpers, August is a great month for carpin’!
 
A couple of bycatches while chasing carp this weekend. I absolutely love those Green Sunnies. Very aggressive with a voracious appetite. When a fish that’s 5 inches long can put a bend in your 8 weight they got something happening.

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How about the LMB? I don't target them much, but I used to a lot in my younger days. Since I've been on the lakes a lot lately, I've been catching them. Granted, I haven't caught any hogs, but they fought like CRAP compared to so many other fish in the sunfish family.
 
And obviously carp! The mop fly is . . . What it is! Good stuff, I never tear down any fly or technique. Let er rip!!!
 
Anybody doing any carpin’? It’s been almost a month since I’ve been after them, so I went out this morning at daybreak because it’s just been too long. I only managed to get one to eat this morning, a decent Mirror carp that ate a fuzzy damsel type of nymph that I tied up last evening. I downsized a bit on this nymph but was mainly focused on using materials that were going to give the bug lots of movement. My carpin’ season is winding down. There is still plenty of time to get into actively feeding carp but once bowhunting season starts I pretty much pack up the carp stuff for the year. Good luck if you’re still chasing them!

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I went out this morning a little before sunrise. The carp were definitely feeding pretty consistently. I really didn’t have very many quality shots at them and instead of taking low percentage shots and risking spooking them I waited for the best opportunities. I only actually took two shots and they both ate my fly without hesitation. That’s a pretty good average when it comes to carpin’. I brought both of them (both mirror carp) to the net. The first one was a real scrappy 27 incher that took my backing knot almost out of the tip of my rod. It was a really fun battle. I caught both fish on a damselfly nymph pattern. As fall approaches things will start to slow down but right now the carp bite is on! Good luck, carpers!

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Generally the Saturday before the traditional PA archery opener is when I wrap up my carpin’ for the year. I went out this morning well before sunrise and it was very overcast and fairly breezy. My goal for the outing was try to put one more carp in the net while wrapping up my ‘24 carpin’ campaign.

I went to one of my local spots that I had put a fair amount of pressure on the fish over the past 6 months. I had caught quite a few of them at this location and no doubt spooked the majority of them at some point. I went with a totally different pattern this morning in a size 6 unweighted backstabber pattern. I intended to try to achieve a very subtle presentation to these fish. Very early on it was quite clear that it was not subtle enough! I had many fish look the fly over but none willing to eat it. I was literally seconds away from accepting the “skunk” when I caught the shadow of carp out of the corner of my eye. My leader and fly were in absolutely perfect position so I very slowly dragged my fly right in the direction of the carp. The carp turned toward the fly and I saw it open its mouth. Game on!! It was a great way to wrap up the year battling the feisty 25” common carp and putting it into the net.

My 2024 carpin’ season ran from mid March through the end of September. The highlight of the year for me was definitely the mulberry season (May 29th - June 26th) where I brought 15 carp to the net on mulberry flies during the “berry hatch”. What a blast!

It was very challenging at times but also very rewarding. I’m already looking forward to the Spring of 2025 to kick it all off again. Maybe somebody will keep the thread rolling by chasing some carp on the fly throughout the fall season. For me this pretty much wraps it up as my focus is shifting to putting some venison in the freezer. Thanks to all who participated in the 2024 carpin’ thread. It was fun. Tight lines carpers!!!


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