From the North American Carp Angler, January-Febuary 1998
Well, '97 has been a really good year so far for one who specializes in jig fishing for carp. A nagging problem has been buggin' me until recently, though'. Most times my slip float techniques, as discussed previously, performed quite well; other times a standard bottom jumping retrieve utilizing only a directly tied jig proved superior. My dilemma: why did I have to remove my carefully conceived float riggings every now and then for best results? Or would my well refined standard jigging methods from years past actually prove superior? (I hoped not, because the floats and the sensitivity they offered are, indeed, fascinating to work with!) As usual, carp gave me the answer.
I've been fortunate to be at many various locales where I could actually observe them approach and take my jigs. Sometimes I'd be stalking fish, and purposely, carefully place my artificial into their line of sight. Other times the golden predators were the stalkers, attacking from hidden areas among weeds, rocks, stickups, or even totally unseen in cloudy, distant waters. From their reaction to a dropping jig, normal bottom hopping only proved superior to a slip-float technique because the former always had bottom contact and the latter sometimes did not. That is, I've concluded a jig MUST HIT BOTTOM for maximum effectiveness.
Except for the minor inconvenience of extra rigging, slip-float jigging has every other advantage over conventional bottom hopping: better control, much more casting range, vastly superior bite detection (though' with serious qualifications-more to follow), and pinpoint placement. So, to yield the ultimate in float jigging I simply make sure to always secure my stop know just a tiny bit OVER DEPTH.
To this end it's rather amazing to witness the scaly critters' reaction to a slow dropping fig: when one is sighted I carefully manipulate a float within two or three feet of my prey before spilling slack line, he'll then sometimes follow the dropping lure downward if he doesn't take immediately, but when the leadhead conks bottom you can almost see "hairs standing up on his head!" Ever so slight vibrations created by the touchdown has a phenomenal triggering effect for the take. Even when I miss the sight zone of a carp, or he disdainfully chooses to ignore my meticulously tied creation, reaction to the bottom tick is dramatic-he'll stop whatever he's doing to swim over for an immediate nose down investigation! I've even seen a few confused fish literally turning their heads left then right or swimming in circles when they have trouble locating the tasty little intruder responsible for the gentle "thunk" (much to my chagrin!).
While sight and smell are undoubtedly important to carp fishing, I'm now a huge believer in sound as a vital attractant as well. While stalking carp in the shallows another glaring truth has emerged-more often than not even a sensitive, superbly balanced flat won't indicate the take. I've watched time and again as a carp gently slurped my jig off the bottom and would just sit there holding on while the ole float bobbed completely undisturbed topside. Not a flinch or a nod beyond what waves and wind supplied; if I wasn't watching the hit unfold I'd be completely unaware. I'm sure this happens also with a standard jigging approach, probably more often than we realize, only a normal jump retrieve automatically (and accidentally, most of the time) sets the hook.
To compensate for my newfound discoveries, I started to experience greater success when I began using the float to work my jig rather than as a bite indicator-whether I spot the fish or not. Utilizing a large stick type loaded (weighted) float such as the #3 and #4 Jan Porter models (available from Nigel Griffin at Eurotackle) I watch carefully, almost hypnotically, as the delicate peacock quill submerges slightly and waggles gently while line pours though its lower ring, then bobs straight back up an inch or two when my jig bottoms. The lift on the float cautions me to immediately jump the jig to a new position, or AT MOST, to wait for a 2 count before moving it.
Yes, sometimes the float flinches or ducks under ands away on a serious take, but I'm still surprised how many times a carp is "unexpectedly" hooked when twitching the rod directly after the float's initial lift. All I really need to know by the float's protrusion skyward is that it's tie to jerk gently-mostly as the retrieve, but sometimes, unknowingly, to set a hook! In the "old days" I had to squint and try to detect when my ultra-thin line would go slack, indicating jig bottoming and to then immediately institute my subsequent jump; now the easy to see float makes this task much surer and far more direct. Plus, as a bonus, sometimes the float still does provide the visual thrill of a hearty strike!
Some may question the oversized float mentioned above, in light of the fact that ideal dropping speed (very slow) is achieved with a tiny 1/32 oz. jig (20 years' intense experience with ultralight jigging has absolutely convinced me!). But the extra float length is essential to clearly demonstrate its lift. At a distance this old man may not see a mere 1/2 inch rise, but even with wind and waves I can see the float nod upwards 2 or 3 inches. There's just no telling how many carp are missed if this "window of opportunity" passes by! Now, to be sure, Mr. Carp is a bit better about his taste testing than, say, panfish or bass. Our old pal will usually mouth the jig, especially if tipped with a kernel of corn, for several seconds. For this reason I've often felt that ultralight jigs were made for carp! Also the laze old bugger sometimes ambles over in a rather aloof manner-no hurry-to pick up a jig.
So I sometimes pause the jig on bottom for a brief period before jumping it. Still, never prolong this rest-it's been proven to me that a better bet is to ALWAYS ASSUME the float's pop up indicates your bait "dwells in the mouth of fishes!" Every time I gently snatch the lure upward I'm really "setting the hook." Rigging consists of one of my homemade 1/32 oz. jigs, usually in a chartreuse and gray craft hair/chenille pattern, a small sliding bead, a running bead link (Eurotackle) snapped to the float, another bead, and up line, a stop knot tied with a uniknot using old 12# test casting line. The jig, float, and beads all slide to the end of your line for very easy and accurate casting. This rig can actually be chucked into a small distant pothole in a weedbed with, of course, the jig dropping straight down into the small clearing without hanging. (By the way, this directly vertical drop also prevents line from prematurely touching a carp-as often does an angled line-to spook him.) The forward bead prevents the running link form sticking on the jig eye, while the running bead link itself has a very substantial opening for line to glide through.
It is absolutely essential that the lightweight jig be given almost no resistance to be permitted an instant descent into the depths. Surprisingly, if anything is omitted form this et-up, it's the stop know; remember, it's set over depth, anyway, and doesn't really function to anchor the float-besides, a hard strike is often easily detected without it. This float set up is dynamite when stalking carp in clear shallows-just overcast and stealthily retrieve to head level before feeding slack line to drop down the payload. Or you can cover water and reach unseen carp by jigging each float lift and assuming a carp has taken every time your lure seemingly hits bottom: you'll be amazed how often you're right as water boils to your twitch!!! John McKean PA
Joe Shea has agreed to discuss how to use a fly rod to catch carp. He does this reluctantly because he gave up his fly fanaticism years ago and is afraid he will be spending his winter nights tying flies to the wee hours of the morning. "Besides", he says, "I don't need another hobby." Nonetheless, here are a few basic ideas. MJ Keyes. Editor
Q.: Why should I fly fish for carp?
A: For fun, for the challenge, and because sometimes the only way to present a bait to a carp is with a fly rod. A good example is carp feeding on the top of the water. In North America this usually occurs because someone has been feeding fish or the ducks with bread or floating catfish food. When carp are spooked easily (which is a lot of the time, ed.), any unnatural presentation will put them off. You can use a controller float or you can drift bread out, but no technique gives you the combination of flexibility, and stealth that fly fishing does. In addition, you can emulate a number of other techniques such as float fishing or legering (bottom fishing) with a fly rod although, admittedly, it is not the same thing. The main reason, though, is to have an alternative when nothing else works. Fishing for carp on broad inland lake flats is ideal for fly fishing or jig fishing. You can cast to tailing or rising carp, or you can throw a fly in a group of fish rooting in the bottom. Fly fishing offers the chance to vary presentation by changing the type of line or the weight of the bait. It does have it's limits, however.
Q: What are those limits?
A: The obvious ones, of course, are the problems with casting. Your distance is limited to thirty or forty yards at most and you have to have a clear area behind you if you want to do any distance casting at all. In addition the technique has to be learned over a period of time usually with the help of a teacher. Of course, baitcasting is the same, a difficult technique (more difficult than fly casting in my opinion, ed.) that has to be taught and practiced. Fly fishing is not as "natural" as spinning or spincasting. By this I mean that you know that the bait is the casting weight and that you throw it with the rod. In fly fishing you throw the line and not the bait. The idea of fly fishing is that a very light bait is carried along with the line and lands gently on the water emulating a natural event such as an insect falling on the water. This takes a little doing and a lot of practice. But since we are not throwing dry flies, your technique doesn't have to be perfect except when you are casting to rising fish. If you place the line right across the nose of a carp, she will probably take off and never come back. But this is true of all styles of fishing for carp. Other limits include the cost of the equipment, the amount of preparation that has to go into a trip, and the lack of familiarity that most anglers have with fly fishing.
Q: Tell me about fly rods.
A: There are a lot of myths surrounding the selection of a good fly rod. Remember, fly fishing is thought of as an upscale market by the rod manufacturers. As a result, a good intermediate rod will cost about twice as much as a comparable spinning or casting rod. In addition, you will find $1000 dollar rods for those who can afford such luxuries. But you don't have to go that route.
A decent graphite or a good fiberglass rod may be preferable to an expensive rod. And there is no reason to get a bamboo rod for carp fishing. Fly rods are designed to cast a line of specific weight. Lines weights are determined by the first thirty feet and are numbered 1 through 12, the higher number being heavier. The average trout line is rated as a 6 and the rod used to cast a 6 wt. line may be seven to nine feet long. A six weight rod can handle a small carp, but an 8 wt. line is more likely to bring the fish in. So the higher the line weight., the more robust the rod. Most rods have an all-through action similar to a typical English carp rod but are less stiff than the carp rod because they are designed to wear the fish out without pulling the bait from the fish.
Recently there has been a trend towards a progressive action with a fast tip in order to throw the line farther and faster. You will have to look at a few rods before you make a decision on the one you want. I make my own rods and have an 8 wt. nine foot rod with an extended butt (called a fighting butt) to fish carp. It has the guts to work a carp without fully loading up. It is a little heavy, but it gets the job done.
Q: Tell me more about the line.
A: You are probably use to having a single monofilament line of known weight on your reel. Fly fishing systems use three different lines, often more, in order to achieve their goals. The first is the fly line itself which serves as a throwing weight and bite indicator. The fly line also determines how fast the bait sinks or whether it sinks at all depending on the type of line you use.
There are two basic types, sinking and floating, but this is complicated by the selection of sink rates right up to lead core. Fly lines come in a variety of casting configurations designed for specific types of presentation. The most common type used in carp fishing is probably the so-called weight forward lines which put the majority of weight in the front of the line by increasing the diameter of the line in the first few yards of line. The angler is able to cast this type of line farther and faster but the bait is usually going faster when it hits the water.
The next type of line is the tippet. Usually made of a series of loop to loop lengths of varying sizes of monofilament, the tippet attaches the fly to the fly line and can be up to nine feet long or longer. Tippet design is an art in itself but as a beginner, you can buy ready made tippets. The tippets run from very light to very heavy in line strength. Monofilament is the most common material, but now there are tippets made from braided line which have incredible strength for their diameter.
Look at a tippet as a long leader which is the fighting part of the line. Since there is a lot of changing of bait in fly fishing you should be prepared to change the last section of the tippet out frequently. I use a loop to loop tie to make things easy. The third type of line is the backing. Most fly lines are too short to handle a carp without running out, so you have to tie the other end of the fly line to a narrow diameter, low stretch line to help avoid these problems. Most reels will take between 100 and 200 yards of backing and you should make sure that the reel is full in order to be able to cast well and not run into problems with a carp running to the end of the line.
Q: What about reels? I thought all they did was hold the line.
A: That is true for the most part, but if you get into a big fish, you will want a reel with a drag or at least the capacity to palm the reel to slow the fish down. You can get a reel for $20 or one for $500 with corresponding bells and whistles. You are better off with a quality reel, even if it is a simple pawl and click drag. The salt water reels have built in drags which allow you play the fish on the reel. These cost more, of course.
Q: How would I fish for carp with a fly rod?
A: For a beginner, I would select a rod with some guts, an 8 wt. fiberglass, for example, and fish sweetcorn on a hook over a groundbait of sweetcorn. I know this is fly fishing heresy, but you want to learn what it feels like to catch a carp on a fly rod before you get too fancy. Carp are not trout. Carp fight harder pound for pound and they weigh more on the average. Fly rods are inefficient levers compared to spinning rods or bait rods and tend to put a lot of pressure on the angler. Line control is crucial with fly rods and since there is no drag on many of the reels, you have to control the output of line manually. This takes some practice so it is best to learn on smaller carp. Once you have mastered the small carp you can move on up to bigger ones. But this takes a little more style and technique.
Q: Like what?
A: As you know, the bigger a carp is, the smarter and more experienced it is. At some point you will have to learn how to hunt the larger carp and stalk them for the capture. This will involve more stealth and a lot more preparation. The best way is to groundbait an area where you know fish are eating and then wait until there are signs of fish before you start casting.
The way the carp are feeding will determine what type of presentation you use. If they are feeding on rising larvae, you might want to use an artificial that emulates the target food and a slow sinking. If they are feeding on the top, do the same but with a floating line. Top feeding behavior can be triggered by proper groundbaiting with bread or floating food. I'd wait until the fish are in a frenzy until I put a fly or hookbait on the top.
One of the things you will need to learn to do is to cast without upsetting the carp. Rising carp are usually moving and you have to get the bait in front of them. You don't want to "line" the carp or they will be gone and so will their friends. There is a narrow area in which your bait will be seen unless you add flavor or taste to the bait. If you see fish tailing or rooting on the bottom, use a sinking line and place the bait of to the side of the baited area nearest to you. Again you don't want to spook the fish with the line.
Carp eat crawfish, baitfish, insect larvae, worms, snails, and insects in addition to the corn you have laid out. If you are groundbaiting properly, you will have picked a place where the fish normally eat. This means that the occasional crawfish in a field of corn is not unusual and the variety might attract a good fish.
None of these ideas should be foreign to the carp angler as they are variations of other techniques. But the advantage of fly fishing lies in its ability to be very specific to a specific fish. You will need to either pick out a fish or an area you know has larger fish and then find what the fish will bite. If it is that same groundbait you have applied to the fish's environment then you need to either use bait or an artificial that looks, smell, and acts like the groundbait. If you think that the carp will eat a nymph or a crawfish imitation, then make sure you put the fly in the right place with he right action.
Q: Gee, this all sounds very complicated.
A: In the beginning, it is not. Like all styles of fishing, the more you know, the more you learn. As you get into the details of fishing you will begin to discern patterns of fish behavior and you will get better at presentation and predicting the fish's reactions. All fishing is learning to stay one step ahead of the fish. Fly fishing can offer a wide variety of presentation styles and techniques which you have to be familiar with in order to implement them. The same is true of legering and float fishing.
Fish don't always bite the baits you put in front of them until they act either in an expected way (aggressive fish) or an unexpected way (neutral and negative fish). You have to find a way to get the fish to take your bait or to change behaviors and then take the bait you offer. Groundbaiting is a method which changes some fish to an aggressive mode as does making your bait look lie a fleeing fish. Sometimes the cues are by smell, lateral line, sound, or salt content. We never know exactly, but we can give good educated guesses and work from there.
So fly fishing, like all angling, can become complex, especially if you are after large fish.
Q: What about fly tying?
A: Because there is such a large variety of triggers (read baits) out there, you cannot possibly have or afford the number of artificial baits it takes to fish in a variety of venues. So you learn to make your own baits. You do it with bait legering, so why not with artificial baits. I know people who only tie flies, they don't fish them, just tie them and then give them away. You don't have to be like that, but sometimes only a specific pattern will work, even with trout who are not as picky at times as carp. The advantage a carpist has is that it is all right to tie a fly whose primary feature is that it looks and tastes like a piece of corn. Since the idea is to "match the hatch" and the hatch in this case is a groundbait of sweetcorn, you are still in the spirit of the fly fishing ideal.
So, bottom line, learn to tie if you want to, there are plenty of good books and great ideas out there.
Q: So what do you recommend for equipment?
A: If you have a fly rod and reel already, try them. Most likely you have a 6/7 wt. rod with a cheap reel and forward weight line. Get a beginners fly fishing book and learn to cast without putting a know in the fly line. Then try the legered corn using the line as a bite indicator. Once you learn what a carp is like on the end of your line you will see if you have adequate equipment. If you are new to fly fishing and want to try it out, I suggest getting a beginner rod and reel set in the 6/7 wt. range.
I know that I told you that an 8 wt. I best for carp, and I stand by that, but not until you have decided to dedicate a rod to the sport. Berryman in his book, Carp on the Fly states that a 6 wt. is ideal. Of course, he may never have caught a large carp and doesn't have a clue, but he is right in that you can catch and bring in a 10 pound carp on a 6 wt. rod with a strong tippet. Sinking line is best at first as you are gong to be legering most of the time anyway. Once you have the confidence to go after larger fish you can learn the other presentations. Joe Shea
Browsing through your site I noticed that CAG is aware of most or all of the developments of Carp-fishing in the United Kingdom. Because the United Kingdom is the place where modern Carp-fishing is born, it is also a pressured Carp country. The Carp-fisher has to invent the most complicated rigs and the fish is getting smarter every day. For us here in The Netherlands it's much easier. We can use most of the tackle used in the UK but we don't have to go extreme. Simple rigs will do the job most of the time, and if you're forced to use difficult setups, you can always choose to fish somewhere else.
Although the Dutch waters don't contain as large Carp as France or the USA, I still find myself in Carp-heaven. Because you are familiar with the concept of boilies, I would like to contribute my opinion in the way to look at them and especially, the way to use them correctly. First of all the invention of the boilie gave us the first bait ever to withstand the interest of other fish for a long period. Not because you can make them BIG!!!, but because you can make them HARD!!!. As you well know, a Carp has grinding teeth, and is therefore a unique fish which can feed on mussels or other hard particles. Probably it will prefer soft bait, but mussels are a (or the most important) part of its food.
The first thing to do now is to locate the Carp. Find out where the natural food sources are, observe the water and watch for leaping Carp or bubbles on the surface. Those spots are most likely to be visited frequently by Carp, and therefore a good spot to start feeding. Try to find out what kind of bottom situation you got there (mud, sand, rocks, clay or mussels). You can use a fishfinder for that purpose or a rod with a running lead and a big float.
If you want to use the rod, here's how. Put the running lead on the mainline first, secondly put a (hard) rubber bead on the mainline, then a 4 cm peace of hard tubing, another (hard) rubber bead, and finally the float. The beads and the tubing will prevent the float from getting stuck. When you cast, the lead will sink to the bottom and you pull the mainline tight until the float hits the lead. Now pull the mainline from the reel to the first (starter) eye and count. Repeat this until the float hits the surface. The number of times you pulled the mainline from the reel multiplied by the distance from reel to starter-eye is the depth. Now you reel in the mainline again until the float hits the lead and you reel in the whole a few meters and start this process all over. While you reel in, you can also feel on the rod tip what kind of bottom the lead is sliding over. If you drag the lead over sand you feel a steady resistance, if you drag the lead over mussels you feel regular ticks on the rod tip etc. So with the use of the rod you can measure the depth and find out what kind of bottom you have to cope with.
Back to the boilies now. Preferably we need a flat hard bottom so the boilies will stay right on top of the bottom instead of sinking in the soft mud. There are many solution for soft mud situations, but I'll keep that for another time. My mate and I use a computer program to calculate our boilies (we are working on a English version). It gives us the possibility to add all the essential ingredients in our boilie that a Carp needs to grow and stay healthy. On the other hand, it gives us the tool to know exactly how much protein there is in our mix. For us this is the most important factor. We use 4 sorts of boilies which we recalculate for summer and winter use. So 4 x 2 = 8 different boilie-mixes. I won't go into this subject right now because that's a complete different and long story. To keep it simple for now you can use ready-made boilies if they are available in the USA. We mostly use 18 mm boilies and sometimes smaller.
I assume CAG members are hopefully aware of how to make boilies yourself by hand or with the accessories available in Europe and the UK. I will give two simple recipes at the end in case there are no ready-made boilies available in the USA. Back to using the boilies again now. Find the right spot. Check what time the Carp (or other fish) start feeding. Start feeding 1500 grams boilies (2 hours before the natural feeding time) on the first day. Another 1500 grams the second day (same time, same spot). Another 1500 grams the third day (same time, same spot). Start fishing the fourth day (same time, same spot).
If you catch Carp, try to gently squeeze the belly of the Carp towards the anus. Look at the feces that probably will come out, and see if there is a comparison with the ingredients your boilies are made of (we use edible coloring dye in our mix only for that reason). If the color of the feces indeed looks like your boilies, you know for sure this Carp has been eating your boilies at least the day before. This means the Carp found your spot, did like your boilies and most important, came back this day again to feed on your boilies (only). If you catch a Carp on your feeding-spot without feces that look like your boilie ingredients, you caught a Carp which spontaneously visited your feeding-spot, also liked your boilies and was probably attracted by the other feeding Carp.
For us this is a reward for the work we put in making good boilies that will work every time we use them for a long period. Looking at the feces we can also determine if the boilies are properly digested and the feces have the desired solid mass. If the feces are to liquid, we know we need to add more fiber or reduce the amount of fat. This way we are able to make a well balanced boilie. On this first fishing day (the fourth day to feed), we fish for 4 -6 hours at the most. If we don't catch any Carp in that time (that happens seldom) we quit completely. This means we consider the spot as worthless for this time and start all over on another spot (same water). If we do catch Carp (even one) we make this fourth day the fourth feeding day also. We pack our stuff and again feed about 1500 grams of boilies. (If we baited the spot the whole time and the catches were poor, we feed a little bit less than 1500 grams because we don't want kilo's of boilies laying there, rotting on the bottom).
Feed 1500 grams boilies the fifth day (same time, same spot). Start fishing the sixth day (same time, same spot). By the way, if we start fishing on that fourth day, we throw in about 10 boilies per rod. It can take some time before you get your first bite, but don't start feeding again until you catch your first Carp. Remember there are already 40 boilies in the water if you fish with 4 rods. After every catch we throw in another 10 boilies per rod. If you feed too much boilies when you fish, you reduce your chances the Carp picks up your hook-bait.
This is how we fish and I must say with a lot of success. This doesn't mean we or you can't fish instantly, but we prefer this approach. There is one thing for sure, our boilies are laying on the bottom 24 hours a day, they keep in shape, hard and tasty. The boilies are doing there work while we are working and sleeping. If you try this method of feeding and fishing for two weeks at the same spot with the same regularity, you can be almost certain to catch the most and probably the biggest Carp in that area. After two weeks or even a little bit earlier, you can build-up another spot a few hundred meters away and do the same thing all over again. The most important thing is to keep feeding on a regular basis and preferably the same time. Don't skip a feeding day and then throw in twice as much boilies the following day.
If we don't know anything about a water, we explore, find the best site and depth, feed for three days and start fishing there for 36 to 48 hours. This way we going to now the feeding time of the Carp and we have the opportunity to watch the movement of the Carp in the area. I'll hope this little article will have helped (some)
CAG members to become successful boilie users.
Catfood Boilie recipe (not calculated but successful):
3 whole eggs.
One tin of good quality catfood.
Add ground sheep or pig food (grains). (Cattle, horse, or chicken feed will work too ed.)
Start mixing the whole and add water if necessary until you get a solid dough. Don't make the dough to wet. Make one big dough ball from the above and let it rest for 15 minutes. Make your boilies, cook them until they start to float, scoop them out and let them dry on a big towel (24 hours) until they're hard. Pack them and store them in a freezer until you need them. Work hygienically and keep things (especially your hands) clean because we don't use preservatives and boilies mold easily during the drying period. Avoid any unwanted smell that might contaminate your boilies (soap, detergents, aftershave etc.).
Fishmeal Boilie recipe (calculated) (28 grams to an ounce ed.)
290 grams maizemeal
125 grams whole wheatmeal
35 grams semolina
10 grams wheatgerm
25 grams fishmeal (herring)
15 grams fishmeal (south-american)
3 eggs (appr. 180 grams without shell)
water
PS We personally don't use any flavors in our boilies.
Especially not in our fishmeal boilies. Over time we found out that we
didn't catch any more or less Carp by adding flavors. So for us it's a
waste of money. Don't forget Carp have a good sense of smell. If you really
want to use flavors for your own confidence just add 2 ml maximum to a
500 gram dry mix. If you can smell your flavor slightly it is more than
enough for Carp.
Good luck and tight lines.
Mike van Zij,
Amsterdam, The Netherlands.