Fly Fishing for Carp: August's Favorite Gamefish

Big Fish Options in the Summer

Carp are my new King Salmon. While I’ve fished for them a little here and there over the last 15 years, carp have recently become a regular target. In Alaska, I fished for King and Silver Salmon to get my large gamefish fix. Here in Montana, carp are the big fish option.

The Gold Standard

Known as golden bones, carp present many different angling challenges. I prefer to hunt and sight fish for carp, so similarities to bonefish, redfish, and permit fishing are certainly there. Carp are a wary fish by nature with highly developed senses. When you have wary fish in shallow water, stealth is in order. When you spot one, you’ve got to get into position to deliver a fly without being seen. Then you’ve got to get the fly right in front of the fish so they discover it when they are ready to eat. You can’t cast at them. A splash down is going to send them ghosting away. Timing is everything. If you put the fly in front of them as they are mudding, they won’t see it. If you put it too far outside their feeding zone when they are moving, they will ignore it. It has to be just right. That, to me, is the fun. Sight fishing for carp is similar to dry fly fishing, only you are watching your fly under water.

How To Catch Carp on the Fly

I know some carp fisherman that go out early to swing and retrieve nymphs. The setup is a light sink tip or intermediate line. You want to get the fly down to the fish zone and slowly swing or retrieve it there.

This can be a very effective way to catch carp if you fish in areas where fish are concentrated and spread along the bottom.

Using a canoe, drift boat or fishing kayak is also a great means to ease through carp infested waters. Just make sure you really do ease up to them. Once you spook a group of carp, you will have to go hunting in a new area or wait a considerable time for them to settle down. While you can go solo, it’s best to have a buddy position the boat, just as you would when fishing shallow saltwater flats. A push pole can be useful when you are in a fishing zone.

I particularly enjoy hunting for carp from the bank. For me, it’s a casual pursuit. I’ll walk a shoreline in my flip flops until I find a fish working in close. I enjoy the walking and searching as much as the catching. When I find a fish, I will dab or slide the fly right in front of their mouth until they vacuum it in. I seldom cast more than 20’. It’s pretty cool to watch them suck it up. Pause for just a moment before setting the hook and you will find an easy purchase in Mr. Rubber Lips. Then its game on. Make sure you’ve got plenty of backing. I’ve been nearly spooled numerous times. A typical run will be 20-50 yards, but sometimes big fish will just keep on going, especially if you hook them on a shallow flat. Several consecutive runs can put them quite a distance from the angler as they head for deeper water.

While I’ve landed several large carp on a 5 weight, a bigger rod makes more sense. Even smaller carp are generally large fish. Many will be over 10lbs and fish eclipsing 20lbs are in the mix. If you’ve got a favorite streamer or bonefish rod, you’ve got just what you need. In clear water I will drop down to 2x tippet, but I typically run 0X Fluorocarbon off my tapered leader. With 0X, you can put some major pressure on the fish and land them quickly. If you go lighter, be prepared to battle for a long time.

When to Fly Fish for Carp

August is a great month for carp fishing. When the trout have the warm water blues, carp are getting fat and happy grubbing up on nymphs, crayfish and minnows all day long. I often go out for an hour before or after work. Morning and evening are great times to find them feeding in shallow water, but you can also find them working river edges in the middle of the day. As long as I can see into the water, I will try to find them.

Here is a photo of a 5 weight mistake. I had my favorite balanced leech tied on from a perch fishing day at Holter Lake. My 8 weight was set up with a sink tip, so I grabbed the 5 weight for a quick outing after dinner. I spotted a fish just after 8 pm.

Twenty minutes later, the sun was dropping. After 40 minutes, the sun was down.

Twenty minutes after that, it was rather dark for a picture, but Kyle managed to snap this with my phone. The best part was I enjoyed an hour long conversation with my son and that never happens.

Gotta Catch 'em All

I think it’s pretty cool to have world class big game fly fishing right here in the City of Great Falls. Especially when the weather is hot. If you’d like some tips, flies and gear to get after them, stop on by. We are happy to talk about chasing any fish, anytime, on the fly-including carp.

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