Lookin' back - at some Carpin'

[dc410]

codym21 has a very valid point about them having soft mouths. However, I have never experienced any difficulty in extracting a fly on a barbed hook from any carp I caught. They are generally hooked very cleanly in the upper lip and by reaching in their mouth with the hemostats and grasping the bend of the hook and a quick twist is usually all it needs. I am very particular about the sharpness of the hooks that I use. That's why I like the Daichii hooks. They are readily available and IMO are very sharp right out of the pack. I have caught some carp on such a short line that I have witnessed them actually hook themselves as they quickly try to spit out the fake. I attribute this to the sharpness of the upriding hook and the shape of their mouths and not on my quick reaction time. I am certainly not opposed to barbless as they surely would make hook extraction cleaner. I have just never saw it as an issue while carpin'. As a rule I feel pretty good about how I handle the fish (especially compared to how I used to treat them with my bow). IMO catching carp on a fly rod is a ton more fun than shooting them with a bow ever was and I would never go back.

On the weight side I also tend to favor the use of bead chain eyes because they produce a more subtle presentation. But again, depending on the mood of the fish that you are fishing over a variety of different weights and presentations could be the ticket for the day. Sometimes it is a very fine line between the "plop" that sends them into the next zip code vs. the "plop" that rings the dinnerbell. I like to experiment with many different types of flies of varying weights. Sometimes the most subtle change in weight can absolutely be the difference between a pod of spooked fish and your next hook up.

 

[jkilroy]

I'm not trying to bust on you dc410, it's just the experiences I've had catching fallfish when going for SMB. A barbed hook is a major pain to get out easily from their fleshy mouth, that's all. When trout fish 99% of the time is barbless unless it's a special hook not readily available w/o barbs.

 

[dc410]

jkilroy wrote:
I'm not trying to bust on you dc410

No problem. It was not taken that way at all. Just trying to share some of my thoughts and experiences with you.

 

[jkilroy]

Cool

 

[geebee]

v cool DC.

just a thought about the cicada's - have you tried throwing a hopper anyway ? - carp are opportunists aren't they ?

 

[dc410]

geebee,

Ya know, that's a really good idea. I have to believe that there are times during the dog days of summer where carp would jump at the chance to suck a big old hopper off of the surface. This past year I have seen a lot of surface feeding carp. They have me a bit perplexed. I really don't know what they are taking and they have totally skunked me so far. However, this year is another year and I am hoping to take my first carp on top. I am definitely going to try to hook up with some during the mulberry hatch but with your suggestion I just might try throwing a hopper pattern at them as well. Seeing one come up and suck your offering off the top would be the freakin' bomb! You got me thinking now. I may come up with a specific carp hopper pattern - maybe call it the "Carpper". Hmmmm .... good stuff!

 

[geebee]

carp hopper = copper ;-)

you could drop a small nymph off it too - copper dropper.

 

[dc410]

Wow! This is getting serious. Might have to beef up the tippet up to 0X. Now I'm thinking about dropping one of my subsurface mulberry flies off of the "copper" for the "copper-dropper". If you drop that combo into the vacinity of some really actively feeding carp you could possibly double up on them. What a hoot! Heck, that may have been why the 8wt. was invented.