Flyfishing for carp

[Quicksilver]

On a another website folks are chatting about fishing for monster carp. All of the fishing spots described so far are in Massachusetts. One of the locations is the Concord/Sudbury area. I would like to try this, but I am having difficulty getting definitive advice on where to park and fish. I have a good idea of where to fish, but I am still doing research. Would anyone here like to make a contribution to my research? :)

[Lurch]

There is an area off of 117 where you can park and launch a cartop boat. If you go left there is a very shallow area with trenches where in the springtime the carp are all over the place. The good thing is that the area must be nice and deep with all of the rain that we have had in the past couple of weeks so the extra large carp may be in there...good luck

[Slappy]

One of the great things about carp is that they are everywhere in the river. I have caught them all over the condcord/sudbury rivers. There is parking almost everywhere a road crosses over the river. There are a number of launch spots that people use, including the one in the previous post. There is one on route 20 and another in Bedford. The one off 117 is a canoe launch. The next road downstream has an unofficial boat launch for a bigger boat.

Don't overlook the Charles either. Fish sizes tend to be grouped and similar in rivers. Sudbury/Concord seems to have a wide range of carp, many small fish 2-6 lbs and a few at 15+. Charles tends to have good numbers in 5-7 lbs and 10-14lbs. Biggest fish will be in the biggest rivers--merrimack and CT, there are lots of 20+ fish in these waters.

Know your sources when you hear people talking about how big the fish are. Carp look huge and tend to shrink a lot when put on a scale.

If you spook the fish, throw some canned corn and leave, then come back later.

[Slappy]

quicksilver, check your PM.

[Quicksilver]

Gentlemen! Thank you all for the great info! I came home today and found feedback from all directions. If I don't succeed with this experiment it certainly won't be due to a lack of superb advice!

[cat]

Hello Carp fisherman, Many years ago i fished carp alot. What Slappy said will work but using corn is bad bad bad. It will catch carp but when smaller fish eat it, they can not pass it through and then die. I use to make dough out of white bread. Peel off the crust add a little water to the white and work it into dough. Us a No.4 hook and bury it in a dough ball. Good luck.

[Slappy]

Dough baits work well too. Oatmeal/strawberry with cornsyrup and a dash of water. Doughbaits make great chum, liquidize them or liquidize bread and spread it out so the scent is in your casting zone.

Cat--don't believe that about corn--old wives tale. There wouldn't be any fish in europe if that were true.

Bait fishing for carp is relatively easy because populations are so high.

Flyfishing for carp is very difficult. This is not a fish that is going to actively pursue your fly very often. They are very sensitive about what they eat and spit things out quickly. I have done a lot of sight fishing with bait and watched them take. When they are finicky, which is often, they suck it up and spit it out quickly. I would think that they would spit a fly fast, but the few times that I have tried, they wouldn't eat the fly. I think the key is to drop the right fly next to them and watch the take, which means clear water and close in fishing to a very easily spooked fish.

[ruge13]

Should also mention this is peak spawning time for carp. You weill find them in pods rolling around together, and jumping clear of the water from time to time. This time of year, getting them to look at anything but another carp is going to be tough..

[Tuna]

As posted on NJ/NY, had a shot at singles and spawners yesterday behind where I work in Livingston NJ.

Had a touch on a small clouser - spit out quick? Yea, real quick.

Buddy Bob got a slightly more significant hit - rod bent before "corn" lure got spit out.

One of these years I'm gonna catch one!

[Mark Dougherty]

Dave Whitlock and Brian Fleshig did a carp flyfishing video....worth looking into.....can be picked up at Mad River Outfitters.com

[JAY420]

Flyfishing for carp is easy. I begin by prebaiting a handfull of shallow water swims a couple days in a row before I go out. I do this from shore. I use mostly bait balls and wonderbread pinched between my fingers so it sinks. The carp get used to a food source and will return for easy food. When I do finally go out I use a push pole in my canoe and slowly pole into those areas I previouslly baited. If no fish are around I will throw a few pieces of bread to get there attention. When the fish show I cast a bread fly I tie that sits just below the surface. You need to cast close to the fish so it sees it, but be carefull, they are spooky. The key is patience. The Charles river is a good spot to start, i've landed plenty of fish in the lower twenty's. Good luck...

[Slamdance]

While some may choose to chase the schoolie holdover bass, real men venture into the tick-infested swamps of their souls, in search of the beastly carp that lives within all of us.

http://im1.shutterfly.com/procserv/47b4da05b3127ccebd21a31c46540000001610

http://im1.shutterfly.com/procserv/47b4da05b3127ccebd21a312465a0000001610

http://im1.shutterfly.com/procserv/47b4da05b3127ccebd21a329c7510000001610

http://im1.shutterfly.com/procserv/47b4da05b3127ccebd21a321c7590000001610
http://im1.shutterfly.com/procserv/47b4da05b3127ccebd21a33bc7430000001610

[Quicksilver]

Way cool! I'm going to give it a go tomorrow.

[Quicksilver]

The carp quest was realized today with a 28" beast caught in the Sudbury River. Photos are in the film camera. When the film is developed I'll make an effort to post an image here. (Although Slamdance and friends are catching much larger fish)! I started fishing at 9 am. As I drove up to the river many pods of amorous carp were visible. The splashing fish didn't seem hungry. I found it difficult to spot cruising fish. The conditions were great for sight fishing, but the carp blended in so well with the bottom that they were tough to spot. I chummed with bread and threw a sparse white bunny fly. The best shot I had all day was the fish I caught. The fish had come up off the bottom to eat bread. The fish turned on it's side as it ate. When the fish turned I saw golden orange which became white as the fish kept turning. The cast was good, I even saw the fly disappear in it's mouth. The hookup was solid and we were off to the races- sort of. Imagine you are walking a dog on a leash and that the dog is the size of a Buick. That is what the fight was like. No blistering runs. (Well I may have run once). I was fortunate in that the fish for the most part stayed out of the brush. I fished till around 2 pm. Slamdance came by so I was able to watch and learn. Thank you all for your help targeting this new species! --127-3-

[Slamdance]

Good to see you you. I fished till around 6 p.m. and landed 12 out of 15 today (broke-off three brutes) with the largest to hand a little over 20 pounds.

[teflon_jones]

there's a ton of carp in the charles river by the esplenade (sp?). if you go to the section where the banks are made of concrete/stone blocks, around exeter street or so, on the side by storrow drive, there's a ton of carp in the shallows there. i saw a good 24"+ one there last week one day, and another day there were at least 50 of them hovering about 50 feet offshore. they looked to be between 14-24" or so. some of them looked even bigger, but it was hard to tell. i've never seen that many carp before!

[Slappy]

I run home along the charles fairly often. As things warm up you often see them basking along the river--there is that one pool with a fountain in it, it frequently has big schools. That said, it is hard to find a bad spot for carp in the charles!

[Bugmaster]

I am counting fish at the Turners Falls dam(Conn. R.) for the anadromous fish study and had around 15 grass carp swim by my window today. Two looked to be close to 40lbs. They took up half my window. THe rest looked about 15-25lbs. They were all moving upstream. Bartons Cove may be a good place to try for them.

[Quicksilver]

With thanks to my teckknowledgeable brother Mark................

[Slappy]

Very nice fish.

There must be a story behind it! Fly?

[Haden]

Im going crazy (#$119) I WANT TO GET ONE ON A FLY SO BAD IT HURTS --124-3 If anyone want to bring a beginner along that would be awsome. I have done so much research on these monsters it isn't even funny. My rod should be set up by Wed. Or maybe i will try a spot of my own :rolleyes:

[Quicksilver]

That carp is my first, to date only, and biggest all wrapped into one. Ya gotta remember it was caught on a fishing trip last spring. The fly was white crosscut rabbit wrapped around the shank of a #4 hook. I was chumming with bread, even so you need to throw the fly right into their mouth. A special thanks to all of you here for your help and assistance. It's great landing a new species, super when the fish is a beast like this one.

[Slappy]

That is a pretty hefty fish. Today I caught 10-12 pound fish on bait, they were much, much smaller! To date I have only gotten 1 on the fly, a black bunny, only by accident, but it was about 20#.

Haden, you fish around the Merrimack right? There is no better big fish water for carp...you should be telling us about spots!

[Quicksilver]

Love that free Picasa2 photo software from Google!

[Haden]

Slappy, i dont know what to look for. I really want to go but it is such a big river. What should i look for, and most important how far up the river do i have to go? I have a kayak too. Capemike and i will probably be out shad fishin a Rocks tommorow early. OH and last year i swear i saw a big pod of huge, carp or stiper. Im pretty sure they were carp but i wasn't 100%. Plus they were right under the route 1 bridge in Neburyport :eek: I dont know, just have to get out more --124-3

[Slappy]

Haden, bridges are great structure for carp. They really like any current breaks. There is a perception that they are not a fast water fish, but they will hang in some pretty serious rapids--but you can't effectively fish there for them.

Are there any backwater shallows that you know about? Look on the down current side of islands too. Bring corn and chum the area, chumming is key to catching fish. Bring your polarized lenses too and look for fish. You can also scout areas at sunrise. Carp often gulp air at sunrise. They also do this during the heat of summer and often jump, so look for moving fish.

Quicksilver, you duped us. Thought you were quite an angler for a minute. --125-3

[Haden]

Sounds good Slappy. I will try to get out this weekend and find some shallow water. I will have my fly reel by the 16th, my birthday --127-3- I cant wait!!!

Ya good one Quiksilver :)

[albacized]

I also have yet to catch one on the fly. My closest call came several weeks ago when I was revisiting my old haunts in Waltham and was taking a look down at purgatory cove. I had a 5 wt rigged with an olive wooly bugger and I was looking for anything to catch, primarily calicos and small bass over there. Well I spotted a fair sized carp mulling around in a corner cove and just for kicks, cast the fly in it's direction, not expecting any kind of reaction. Well I'm almost bricked when the fish actually tracked on the fly. But ultimately, it turned off it and never showed interest again. As a side note, I did once catch a small 2-3 lb carp on an ultra light and a very small mepps spinner meant for panfish.

[Slappy]

Well I'm almost bricked when the fish actually tracked on the fly. But ultimately, it turned off it and never showed interest again. As a side note, I did once catch a small 2-3 lb carp on an ultra light and a very small mepps spinner meant for panfish.

This is almost the sum total of my fly carp experience. They follow all the way back to you but don't eat. I don't understand why I haven't been able to get these guys to hit. I catch quite a few every year on tube jigs while fishing crappies--fun on the 4lb!

[Irish Rover]

True about the corn we use it all the time in ireland and it is a super bait for carp you could also try dog bicuit the small mixer kind when the air temperature increases and the carp come to the surface they go ballistic for them they are great when fishing on the surfacewith a bubble float. :brow

[Slamdance]

The carp fishing has really improved the last couple of days. I exploded a 6-weight on one that went 25-30 pounds last evening. 5-6 fish landed and a lot of snapped leaders has been the average.

[Slappy]

Steve, You are the carp king! Any help for us bait fishermen?

[Slamdance]

Sorry Slappy, I've never tried to catch them with spinning gear. I wouldn't know where to start.

Unless I misundertsood your question, and you are a spinfisher looking for advice on how to fish them with a fly?

[Slappy]

Unless I misundertsood your question, and you are a bait caster looking for advice on how to fish them with a fly?

Right you are. I can catch all I want with bait, but haven't had success with the fly. I haven't tried the chum n cast technique, I figure if I am going to use bait, I will do it all the way. No success in casting to fish--followers, but no biters.

I had to change your wording--"spin" just sounds so ugly!