A little Carpin'

[dc410]

It has been over a month since I've done any of it so I went out early this morning for a little Carpin'. One of my favorite carp spots has been real popular with the bowfisherman over the past few weeks and I haven't fished it since mid July mainly for that reason. Well, I did prove to myself that trying to lay a fly in front of a carp that has had arrows flinging at it for the past few weeks adds another whole level of "SPOOK" to 'em. In late summer the burn hazel in the meadows along this creek gets to be about armpit high. I usually creep through it using it for cover and slowly stand up to cast to a feeding carp. This morning every time my head got above the vegetation the carp were outta there in cloud of mud. I was forced to peer through the burn hazel and cast from my knees to even have a chance. I did manage to hook three and bring two of them to the net. The third one wrapped me so tight around some aquatic weeds that I couldn't even winch it out with the 8 wt. and 1X tippet. The two I caught were both about 22" long (average size carp), but the one gave me the best fight that I think I ever had with a carp on the flyrod. This fish literally tore me up for a good ten minutes. A whole lot of fun! I even caught a few little Green Sunfish and Redbreasts on my carp fly. They certainly aren't much of a battle on the 8 wt. but they sure are pretty. All in all, a very nice early morning outing.

 

[J55tyger88]

Nice DC! Thats good work getting those fish to bite with their super spook level at 11. I like the green sunfish too, but could imagine what it would feel like to yank in on an 8wt.

Good work.

 

[codym21]

Nice dc looks like fun, Its crazy how spooky they can be after being bowfished.

 

[wgmiller]

"Burn hazel", "Stinging nettles"... Call it what you want, but that stuff is merciless! It's like a razor slicing your skin and sweating only makes it worse!

 

[The_Sasquatch]

I've gotten to the point where burn hazel no longer irritates me. I don't know if thats good or bad!

 

[sandfly]

maybe you need to shave those hairy arms squashy !...lol

 

[BrianMyers67]

sandfly wrote:
maybe you need to shave those hairy arms squashy !...lol

If hairy arms helps with stinging nettles , KEEP THE HAIR !

 

[The_Sasquatch]

I carry all my hair on my face unfortunately. My limbs are fairly bald!

 

[jifigz]

I still haven't caught a carp on the fly...I really want to though. I wish that I had a small warmwater stream as I think it would be easier for me to hook up with one there as opposed to the Juniata. The Juniata does have some bruisers though and I almost caught one tonight....

I was casting a small bass popper and hooking up with some smallmouths when I saw the distinctive carp snout gently sip my motionless popper from the surface. I set the hook and could instantly tell that it was a hefty fish. After about 5 seconds of fighting, however, the hook just popped out and I was filled with excitement and frustration...so I walked home and had a sandwich lol

 

[dc410]

jifigz wrote:
I still haven't caught a carp on the fly...I really want to though. I wish that I had a small warmwater stream as I think it would be easier for me to hook up with one there as opposed to the Juniata.

Try scouting some of the creeks that are primary tributaries to the Juniata in the area where you fish. I would think that any of them upstream from their mouths with the J would hold carp and they would be much smaller water to focus on. Try scouting early in the morning to locate feeding carp. Look for mud clouds, lines of bubbles or tailing action to locate the feeding carp. Not all spots are practical for flyfishing for carp so you need to locate an area where you can sneak up on them and fish for them without actually getting in the water. If you stay out of the water your chances will be increased greatly in hooking up with one. Don't get frustrated with it, keep at it and eventually you will hook up with one, play all of your cards right and bring them to the net. A long handled net IMO is invaluable in closing the deal on a carp. They are just really tough to handle with their weight on standard fly gear without the assistance of a net. Good luck and keep us up to date with how you are doing.