STILL looking for help with carp in lehigh valley pa

[hookedonthefly]

STill looking of help, in learing to fish for/ locations to try. i have posted a copule of times over the past year.. with no response.

someone close to me has to be willing to help.

 

[Fishidiot]

hookedonthefly wrote:
STill looking of help, in learing to fish for/ locations to try. i have posted a copule of times over the past year.. with no response.
someone close to me has to be willing to help.

Hooked,
We have some serious carp FFing enthusiasts around here. Folks like this often regard carp as fine game fish and they can be tight lipped about their favorite places to fish...just like small stream, wild trout enthusiasts. Oftentimes, these carp enthusiasts have put in their time and paid their dues to find good spots where they can target carp with a fly. I'm sure you understand.
With respect to flies and techniques, there are many threads on the topic of carp fishing on this forum as well as stream reports. Have you taken the time to read any of them? There can be a lot of good info. You might send a polite PM to some of the folks who post carp pics and reports and gently inquire privately about their efforts. They may help you out (or they may not, which is their right).

With that said, why not do some exploring yourself? Carp can be found in every large river system in PA. Shallow rivers with consistently clear water and wadable flats and rock ledges are prime places to look for cruising carp. I'll tell you one of my tips for learning warm water rivers: hit the bridges on sunny days with a pair of polarized glasses and binoculars. Assuming it is safe to park and walk out, get out on the bridge and mid-day when the water is clear - you will be amazed what you can see. It's like a glass bottom boat. Look for schools of carp and pay attention to where you are seeing them as they often cruise around on sunny days. If you don't see carp from the bridges, they're likely not in that area in good numbers.
DaveW

 

[dc410]

Hookedonthefly,

I am not from the Lehigh Valley and don't know anything about any good "carpin" waters out that way. However, I am into my second season flyfishing for carp and it is a lot of fun. FI was spot on with most of his comments above. I use a 9' 8wt. outfit and my tippet is usually 2X (I will go to 1X if I know there are larger fish there). Don't be inclined to use too light of tippet, as a rule they are not leader shy. Much of what I have learned so far about "carpin" has been by trial and error on my own part. Some things work .... some things don't. Carp are very spooky, so stealth is very important and they catch on real quick if you continue to fish over the same fish. Your first cast at any fish is your best chance of hooking up with it, any cast after that your percentage of it taking a fly diminishes quickly. Laying a fly between 6" and 12" in front of a carp's nose takes pinpoint accurate casting so it will make you a much better caster and flyfisherman in general. Be prepared to put some boots on the ground and scout for areas where carp hang out. You will find them in the same places generally year after year. Carp that are rooting or mudding are in a feeding pattern and are usually good fish to target. If you see a mud cloud and bubbles it is probably a carp feeding (could be a snapper), but probably a carp. Don't waste your time casting at carp chasing each other around when they are in their breeding ritual. My experience is that these fish are not interested in eating at all. When you see a carp take your fly and you lift your rod tip and the rods doubles over and your reel starts to sing ..... you will be hooked! I have attached a photo of some of my favorite carp patterns. Do you see a theme? Good luck, don't get frustrated, each time you hook up with a carp on a fly rod it is a victory and a serious adrenaline rush.

 

[jdaddy]

hookedonthefly wrote:
STill looking of help, in learing to fish for/ locations to try. i have posted a copule of times over the past year.. with no response.

someone close to me has to be willing to help.

Kind of hard to understand the first sentence or two.

"STill looking of help,"

Don't understand that.

"in learing to fish for/ locations to try."

What?

"i have posted a copule of times over the past year"

Excellent.

"someone close to me has to be willing to help. "

No, not really. Maybe a paid guide. But no one HAS to be willing to voluntarily help you.

If one really would like a solid response I would suggest a more humble, approachable request. It really seems like you are putting forth an ill positioned demand.

Carp in the Leigh Valley? EVERYWHERE.

 

[hookedonthefly]

mr.jdaddy. sorry for the bad typing!

 

[hookedonthefly]

thanks DC410!

 

[afishinado]

hookedonthefly wrote:
STill looking of help, in learing to fish for/ locations to try. i have posted a couple of times over the past year.. with no response.

someone close to me has to be willing to help.

No response? carp thread

I'm not sure what more you are looking for? The links have a lot of great info about carp fishing. There really is only a handful of guys on here that regularly fish for carp, to my knowledge anyway.

The podcast suggested has a lot of great info on carp.

It's just a matter of actually getting out there and giving it a go. Rarely does one have instant success...especially with fly-fishing. Good luck. Post a report.

 

[brookieaddict]

The best way to learn how to fish for and catch Carp is to just do it. Many moons ago I caught my first Carp by accident while dryfly fishing,the fish hit a #18 Elk hair caddis. I was hooked for life. Ask questions,try some blogs like flycarpin,carp on the fly,brownlining ,bluecollar bone fish,etc,pick up some basic info and go fish. You will find Carp a very wary game fish,harder to catch than most Bone Fish are. Learn by scouting for fish and give it a shot,who knows what will happen next.

 

[Mike]

There are big carp in the Lehigh R, and I mean big. But I don't know where one would go to sight fish for them. I have seen them when boat electrofishing, which causes them to come to us. Many stretches of the urban Lehigh are shallow, so those areas may be good places to start.

 

[marcq]

I think its safe to say almost every warm water stream in pa has carp in it. I am not a carp guy but I have caught them on the fly and its pretty basic. the hard part is finding them and not spooking them. the easy part is making them eat. anything big and hairy works. if you really want a one on one experience you are probably going to spend a little.

 

[Mike]

If you can't find them with a fly, just use your fly rod to fish with canned corn as bait. Just keep a close eye on your rod, however, if you place it on a stream, river, or lake bank as it may just take off on you. My friend's Orvis is somewhere in Nockamixon Lake. Chumming with corn in rivers is very effective, as the scent drifts downstream. It is like ringing the dinner bell. I used to do that from a dock on the Delaware in Monroe Co. to attract carp to my light action spinning rod loaded with 4 lb test. It is a great way to learn how to successfully fight big fish.

 

[afishinado]

Mike wrote:
If you can't find them with a fly, just use your fly rod to fish with canned corn as bait. Just keep a close eye on your rod, however, if you place it on a stream, river, or lake bank as it may just take off on you. My friend's Orvis is somewhere in Nockamixon Lake. Chumming with corn in rivers is very effective, as the scent drifts downstream. It is like ringing the dinner bell. I used to do that from a dock on the Delaware in Monroe Co. to attract carp to my light action spinning rod loaded with 4 lb test. It is a great way to learn how to successfully fight big fish.

:-o

 

[marcq]

one trick I learned for carp non fly fishing is to mix peanut butter and flower together and make balls with them. killer bait. IMO way better then corn.

 

[sandfly]

go to tohickon creek in bucks county and fish stonefly nymphs, light cahill wets, and crawfish patterns in the state park. lots of rubber lips in there that will take flys. also below the base of noximixon dam on the creek is a good spot.