Fly fishing for coarse fish....

[rob@home]

Being new to this fly fishing lark i've heard reports that it is possible to catch carp & other coarse species on the fly. What have other people caught on a fly apart from game fish?
Are there any good fly patterns that I would be well advised to get to stand a chance of catching these species of fish? sorry if this has been discussed before somewhere on here but as I say its all new to me & any info I can glean is useful to me @ the moment.

Rob.

[NICK R]

A standard fly rod, around a 7 or 8 weight with either a double taper or weight forward floating line will produce good results. The floating line helps, it keeps the line away from the fish who will swim under it apparently not even realizing it's there. If they do notice it, they probably assume it's a piece of floating reed or something. A rod lighter that a 7 weight does not have enough back bone when it comes to playing Carp. Remember you are probably used to fishing a rod with around a two and half pound test curve and now you have dropped to a pound or less. It is quite surprising how light a leader you can get away with. The comparatively soft fly rod provides very high levels of buffering. Start with 9 foot leader with a 6lb tip. You can use a lighter tip, but your chances of losing a strong fish will increase.


You don't have to use flies, a fly rod makes an excellent tool for casting various different types of bait. The traditional fly fisherman would shy away from ideas such as super-glue and dog biscuits. With a fly rod; you have the opportunity to cast one 20yds from the bank without controller to make a large splash as it lands. Another option is corn on a small hook, size eight for example will sink the corn with no problems. Floating baits will require the leader to be greased so that is floats, sinking baits need a sinking de-greased leader.

Conventional trout flies can be used; large whites can be mistaken for bread floating on the surface. Carp are often the curse of the American fly fishermen, who pick them up on a nymph whilst fishing for lake trout. This can also be used to our advantage. Patterns that work include; blood worm, pheasant tail nymphs, hares ears and olive nymphs, to mention a few. To fish these you will need a very slow retrieve with lots of pauses. A floating line and a sinking leader is best, provided it is not too deep. For deep water a sinking line can be used but this increases the risk of spooking the Carp. A small twitch is enough to get their attention and a small coating of diluted flavor before you cast, whilst not necessary, will help to get a strong take. One fly which is particularly effective and was designed for carp by Tom Conner is the Corn Fly. This consists of a small cube of yellow foam mounted on the hook in a similar fashion to a hair rig. The foam is dipped in flavor before casting and is allowed to sink to where the fish are.


Tactics are very similar to stalking, slow movements and a light foot fall are essential. Use what vegetation there is as cover and wear dark cloths that blend in. Location is definitely king in this game; you need to target individual or small groups of feeding fish. Random casting will not bring results. Polarized sun glassed are essential not only as visual aid but they add a safety factor when you have a hook in the air. Once the target carp has been spotted, there are three main tactics that can be used; which one to choose will depend on their behavior and your casting abilities. The first is to drop the fly "on the fishes head" and allow it to slowly sink. Don't worry about the fly touching the fish, it will feel it, and will probably turn and taste it, if it doesn't a slight twitch of the fly can often provoke a response. The second is to over cast the fish and slowly and gradually retrieve through to the point where the fish are feeding. This method is particularly effective when carp are end up feeding on the bottom, as casting direct to them will only result in the fly being "blown off-course" by their tail fining. The last method is for surface or near surface fish. Cast the fly about six to twelve inches ahead the fish. Moving the fly gently away from the approaching fish ,only an inch or two, will probably result is a definite take if only out of curiosity.


Small flies can often work better than large ones, size 12 is about right. Larger ones can spook fish. since a small hook is very sharp and has no bait in the way, it will penetrate deeply, filling the hook bend. This action combined with the damping effect of the soft rod reduces the strain on the hook and is therefor less likely to result in a bent or deformed hook. Carp don't chase flies, nor do they take and run immediately. Once they have realized something is wrong, they move off with the hook still in their mouths, you will see the line start to move with them and now is your time to strike gently, after that they really do move. You will need to give line, forget using this method near snags. Letting the fish take all your slack line so that you can play the fish off the reel is essential. Line played in the hand can be very jerky and result in hook pulls. After that is down to you.


hope this helps

[fullcreel]

I do quite a bit of this, mainly for carp and perch. Sportfish do a dog biscuit fly which works real well for me. If you fancy a trip in somerset, JP and I would be happy to take you to our favourite venue for this.
Any fish will take a fly. I have found that perch like a green nymph witha ogld head, but they will snatch at most flies, chub and rudd are also fun fish to target, small dries for rudd.
Pike, well there are quite a few guides about, and sadly I have not tried for them....yet.

[Greenheart]

Flies tied using deerhair & trimmed to the shape of a dog biscuit or floating pellet work well amongst a few handfulls of floating pellets for carp. Rud can be fun of small (Size 16) Black Gnats fished dry & their lightning fast bites will really sharpen up your response times.

[rob@home]

cheers for the replies guys its certainly something i'm going to look into more.

Rob.

[aculbert675]

i have caught rudd, roach on flie whilst fishing for trout. they will go mailnly for nymphs. it can be quite good sport believe it or not!

[blackwater]

Originally Posted by aculbert675

i have caught rudd, roach on flie whilst fishing for trout. they will go mailnly for nymphs. it can be quite good sport believe it or not!

Any specific nymphs? i want to give it ago at my local...

[aculbert675]

well i got 2 rudd the other week down in belleek, one on a pheasent tail and one on a ridiculous one which was literally made from blue tinsel, like fritz material only a small nymph shape.
the pheasent tail is really doing it for me these days for both stocked brown, rainbow, wild brown and the roach rudd and perch.
tbh any brown chunky nymph

[blackwater]

Cheers, i might give it a go tomorrow night, depending on how much revision i get done during the day lol I'll let you know how i get on, although im going to have to tie a few nymphs up now!

[aculbert675]

were will u be fishing