Carp question

[drlaser]

So I went out again today and saw lots of carp this time they were tailing but for some reason nothing i had peaked their interest. But these guys were acting weird they were tailing / motionless near the surface when the water was 6 feet deep and then tailing near the surface when the water was 6 inches deep. Are these fish mating or could they possible be eating insects of some sort? A couple of these carp propelled themselves out of the water and they are by far the biggest fish in this small creek. any advice would be greatly appreciated...

 

[ak allen]

I wish I had some advice for you on catching one with a fly rod. My only experience with carp was bow fishing, which I highly recommend for a GREAT time!

 

[nomadic piscator]

The carp spawn is definitely on right now. Give them a couple weeks, then try again. Right now they've only got one thing on the mind....

 

[brookfieldangler]

If they were just laying motionless, near the surface then they probably weren't spawning. If you have ever seen a carp spawn, you would know that it's NOT a peaceful event. Those fish bang like porn stars

I think if i was there, I would have looked at a surface fly or something that would really suspend well like an unweighted carp carrot or soft hackle fly.

 

[stl_geoff]

Tailing only refers to when the head is down and the tails are up out of the water. If they are just floating about with the fins out of the water, then they are just floating about with fins out of the water. If you saw them jumping a bunch, they are spawning. Thats how the males show themselves off, by leapingout of the water. Give them a while, you wont catch the spawners very easily.

 

[BigCliff]

Tailing only refers to when the head is down and the tails are up out of the water. If they are just floating about with the fins out of the water, then they are just floating about with fins out of the water. If you saw them jumping a bunch, they are spawning. Thats how the males show themselves off, by leapingout of the water. Give them a while, you wont catch the spawners very easily.

Yep, "tailing" in reference to any fish has more to do with where their mouth is rather than the tail sticking out. When a bottom feeder- carp, redfish, bonefish, etc is nose down feeding, they're "tailing". The act is just MUCH more easily identified when they're doing it where the water is so shallow that their tail protrudes above the surface.

 

[tbblom]

I've only caught 7, all this year. I went out recently to a spot where I've hooked a couple.
Same story, lots of fish moving about. Some were eating, but not 'gorging' or actively mudding with their snouts, where it is easy to get them to eat whatever is in front of them.
Carp were chasing each other around doing their spawn thing. I tried to cast to those that appeared to be slow cruising and eating by themself, but no luck. Lots of denials. I did get to cast a few times at a ~40"+ monster though, landed the fly on his head and he took off leaving a wake like a small boat!
Went back to another pond where the water is still cooler, no spawn yet, and I caught a carp within 1/2 hour of being there...
it seems carp is all about timing

Good luck out there, Even a missed hook up is a thrill when they bolt in a swirl of silt. Look up Mr. P's videos, they discuss nuance that will help catch carp. The telegraphed body motion of the take is SOOOOOOO subtle. (bold and italic for emphasis...)
TB

 

[jhammer]

The carp spawn is definitely going on here. They definitely do make quite a commotion when they spawn. I went down to my carp spot a few times recently and they were going nuts.

 

[bucktail]

Ok just because the spawn is in swing you should definetly not stop fishing. The first thing to understand is that not all carp spawn at the same time. Now when the big pods of spawning carp are splashing and rolling all in the shallows what happens? Alot of mud is kicked up which becomes a feeding frenzy for non spawning carp to come in and eat all the junk being kicked off the bottom. I have landed some where in the neighbor hood of 20 this year and in the first two days of the spawn I had muti fish days. The water is so muddy and the fish are so charged up they have no fear of your fly and arnt spooky one bit. All you have do do is look not at the spawners but at less active loner fish that seem to be feeding and I promise its like taking candy from a baby. In the second day of the spawn I landed my largest ever on the fly which was estimated between 15 and 18 pounds and the next day landed one near ten (I put the pics up in my thread and in the picture thread) . Do your self a favore go tie a few back stabbers grab your 8 weight and get to the lake cause the spawn is your best chance of the year to l;and a HOG!! amen.

 

[nomadic piscator]

Hahahaha loving the "banging like porn stars" remark. I was just asssuming the carp spawn was going on in most places right now because its going down here right now. Full blown. I actually had a carp pick up a pretty decent sized pike fly this weekend when they were cruising around. It followed it for a second then Jake let it pause and the fly hit the bottom and that dood just picked it up. The fly was so large that the hook didn't get on the inside of his mouth so the fish was only hooked for maybe 4 seconds. Very un-carplike behavior for these parts. But I'm not the carp guy either, not a very good carp angler.

 

[jhammer]

Ok just because the spawn is in swing you should definetly not stop fishing. The first thing to understand is that not all carp spawn at the same time. Now when the big pods of spawning carp are splashing and rolling all in the shallows what happens? Alot of mud is kicked up which becomes a feeding frenzy for non spawning carp to come in and eat all the junk being kicked off the bottom. I have landed some where in the neighbor hood of 20 this year and in the first two days of the spawn I had muti fish days. The water is so muddy and the fish are so charged up they have no fear of your fly and arnt spooky one bit. All you have do do is look not at the spawners but at less active loner fish that seem to be feeding and I promise its like taking candy from a baby. In the second day of the spawn I landed my largest ever on the fly which was estimated between 15 and 18 pounds and the next day landed one near ten (I put the pics up in my thread and in the picture thread) . Do your self a favore go tie a few back stabbers grab your 8 weight and get to the lake cause the spawn is your best chance of the year to l;and a HOG!! amen.

I'd have to agree. I've seen some beasts when I went out lately. I've had a few follows and takes and I could have probably landed a few had I not goofed up. Adrenaline and presenting a fly don't mix well sometimes.

 

[bucktail]

I'd have to agree. I've seen some beasts when I went out lately. I've had a few follows and takes and I could have probably landed a few had I not goofed up. Adrenaline and presenting a fly don't mix well sometimes.

Good to see someone else who dosn't hang it up when the spawn is on. Carp can be caught all year and personaly belive that the best fishing is in the spawn. Not to mention all this fish are jacked up so even the feeders have longer and more wild runs!

 

[jhammer]

Good to see someone else who dosn't hang it up when the spawn is on. Carp can be caught all year and personaly belive that the best fishing is in the spawn. Not to mention all this fish are jacked up so even the feeders have longer and more wild runs!

I get a little discouraged sometimes, but I haven't gave up yet. I get a little confused though lol. The biggest problem is the water. It's got so much scum and stuff in it, I have to clean my fly and line off after every cast. If it clears up, I'll be in business. Plus, I've only been able to fish for a short amount of time every time I've went out. I plan on trying to get out today or tomorrow.