Some say that carp are garbage fish, others say they’re the most under-rated game fish in fresh water. Fly fisherman often compare them to bonefish for their long, reel screaming runs. Also, much like bonefish, they feed off the bottom on shallow flats where you’ll see their tails sticking out of the water while their face is in the mud sucking food from the bottom. This feeding behavior is referred to as “tailing” among anglers. When you see a carp tailing, it’s a sure thing that it’s feeding, and if you can put a fly in front of it without spooking it, most likely the fish will suck the fly right up.
Lately, my buddy Adam and I have been curious to find out for ourselves what the carp hype is all about. In the last couple weeks we’ve tried some local ponds hoping to connect a line with the golden bonefish. I managed only one fish in a pond full of tailing carp. It was much harder than I had expected; these fish are SPOOKY! The one fish I caught was only a couple pounds, and when I set the hook the fish made a 100 yard run without stopping! Adam also had some luck at a different local pond, and from the way he described it, I think he enjoyed it. Fly fishing for carp is becoming more and more popular, and I can see why. The other perk to carp fishing is that they’re in almost every pond, lake, and river just about everywhere. No matter where you live, most likely there are carp near you.
Here is Adam with his first carp on a fly rod.
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