2025 Carpin’ thread

[Shalom]

Would a 6 weight rod be sufficient for carp? I have never fished for them but am planning on giving it a try this year. Also, any leader/tippet recommendations would be greatly appreciated

 

[dc410]

Would a 6 weight rod be sufficient for carp? I have never fished for them but am planning on giving it a try this year. Also, any leader/tippet recommendations would be greatly appreciated

It kind of depends on how big of carp you may actually get hooked up with. My “go to” outfit for carp is a 9’ 8 wt. I really like to be able to drop the rod tip and apply some serious side pressure to be able to quickly turn a big carp mainly to keep it out of debris that it is heading toward. I have caught carp on my 5 wt as well but usually feel pretty undergunned depending on the size of the fish. For average size (22-25”) carp you may have no problem with a 6 wt. However, if you get into a 30 incher you may feel undergunned a bit. Either way it would be a blast battling carp on a 6 wt. outfit.

As far as leaders go, I tie my own carp leaders. Three sections - 30 lb. Maxima Chameleon for the butt section ( I like the Chameleon because it stretches a bit and acts as a built in shock absorber), 20 lb. test mid section (Maxima Ultragreen) and generally a 10 lb. test tippet section of Maxima Ultragreen. All sections are approximately 3 feet long to create an overall 9’ leader that pairs up nicely with my 9’ rod. I generally never thought of carp to be very leader shy, however I’ve been struggling with spooking an abnormal number of carp so far this year so I may drop down to 8 lb. test tippet to see if it has a positive effect on hook ups. Carp are very smart fish. Be very stealthy in your approach to a feeding carp. If you have any other questions don’t hesitate to reach out. Good luck with your carpin’!

 

[Shalom]

It kind of depends on how big of carp you may actually get hooked up with. My “go to” outfit for carp is a 9’ 8 wt. I really like to be able to drop the rod tip and apply some serious side pressure to be able to quickly turn a big carp mainly to keep it out of debris that it is heading toward. I have caught carp on my 5 wt as well but usually feel pretty undergunned depending on the size of the fish. For average size (22-25”) carp you may have no problem with a 6 wt. However, if you get into a 30 incher you may feel undergunned a bit. Either way it would be a blast battling carp on a 6 wt. outfit.

As far as leaders go, I tie my own carp leaders. Three sections - 30 lb. Maxima Chameleon for the butt section ( I like the Chameleon because it stretches a bit and acts as a built in shock absorber), 20 lb. test mid section (Maxima Ultragreen) and generally a 10 lb. test tippet section of Maxima Ultragreen. All sections are approximately 3 feet long to create an overall 9’ leader that pairs up nicely with my 9’ rod. I generally never thought of carp to be very leader shy, however I’ve been struggling with spooking an abnormal number of carp so far this year so I may drop down to 8 lb. test tippet to see if it has a positive effect on hook ups. Carp are very smart fish. Be very stealthy in your approach to a feeding carp. If you have any other questions don’t hesitate to reach out. Good luck with your carpin’!

Thank you!

 

[dc410]

Well, when you’re in a carpin’ slump like I’ve been in this season, one of the best ways to break that slump is to inadvertently forget to put the net in the truck. That’s exactly what happened to me this morning. The water had a lot of turbidity so it was a bit tough to see them but I did locate a few carp close to the bank and I flipped an egg pattern to the side of one fish and saw it turn directly toward the fly. I couldn’t actually see the take but it was that sixth sense thing that kicked in and I stuck the carp. It was a really fun battle but actually landing a carp on the fly rod without a net is a serious challenge. Just about when you think they are tired out and you actually get a hand on them - they’re not really tired out! I lost my grip on the fish and it shot straight between my feet and was now behind me. I was standing in the water on some very slippery rocks about 1 inch from the tops of my muck boots. The carp came back around in front of me and I grabbed it by the gill plate and one stiff head shake later he popped the fly off of my tippet and sunk back into the depths with my egg fly still stuck in its upper lip. What a circus!

However, the good news is - the “berry hatch” has started! Some mulberry trees are producing ripe berries that are already dropping into the water. Carp are starting to stage around these trees. Other trees have lots of berries but they have not ripened up yet. I did manage to stick my first carp of the season this morning on my deer hair berry fly. I also spooked a few with some premature hook sets. Timing is everything on a berry hook set. The take is generally a very slow calculated take by the carp. The sweet spot for the hook set is the time between when it actually takes the berry fly into its mouth and the point where it has determined it to be fake and quickly spits it out. I educated a few fish this morning. The next month could be a lot of fun if you get sucked into the berry action. Get out there and check your berry trees. If you don’t have any berry trees - find some. Good luck!

 

[dudemanspecial]

If there was ever a fish that I wouldn't be suprised if it started talking to me, it's a carp.There is something uncanny about their eyes and facial expressions.

 

[hooker-of-men]

Coincidentally, I was also dealing with high turbidity the past couple hours. The water was about 100% opaque, so I was just fishing to mud plumes.

Lost two that came tight for a couple seconds, but, with these conditions, I'm not even 100% they were fair hooked.

We're looking at 2 inches of rain over the weekend, so things aren't getting better anytime soon.

 

[dc410]

Coincidentally, I was also dealing with high turbidity the past couple hours. The water was about 100% opaque, so I was just fishing to mud plumes.

Lost two that came tight for a couple seconds, but, with these conditions, I'm not even 100% they were fair hooked.

We're looking at 2 inches of rain over the weekend, so things aren't getting better anytime soon.

Yeah, it definitely has been a challenging Spring fishing season with the wind, cooler temps and intensity of the rain events.

However, I think the carp may still cruise around just under the surface near producing mulberry trees and suck in the dropping berries, even in seriously off colored water.

 

[hooker-of-men]

Yeah, it definitely has been a challenging Spring fishing season with the wind, cooler temps and intensity of the rain events.

However, I think the carp may still cruise around just under the surface near producing mulberry trees and suck in the dropping berries, even in seriously off colored water.

My spirits aren't broken yet. Heck, today was the first time I saw more than a single random fish here and there. By this time last year, every fish I was seeing was in spawning mode.

 

[barrybarry]

Against my better judgment, I thought I would try the Carp/Mulberry hatch again. I struck out last year, but I did learn a little bit.
These are tied on a TMC Size 8 - 2x strong bronze hook. I just used what I had. If I were to tie these again, I think it would be on a size 6 with a little more hook gap. There are also quite a few lead wraps to get the "Plop."
Wish me luck.

 

[mt_flyfisher]

Against my better judgment, I thought I would try the Carp/Mulberry hatch again. I struck out last year, but I did learn a little bit.
These are tied on a TMC Size 8 - 2x strong bronze hook. I just used what I had. If I were to tie these again, I think it would be on a size 6 with a little more hook gap. There are also quite a few lead wraps to get the "Plop."
Wish me luck.View attachment 1641242845

That’s a nice Mulberry berry berry.👾

 

[dc410]

Against my better judgment, I thought I would try the Carp/Mulberry hatch again. I struck out last year, but I did learn a little bit.
These are tied on a TMC Size 8 - 2x strong bronze hook. I just used what I had. If I were to tie these again, I think it would be on a size 6 with a little more hook gap. There are also quite a few lead wraps to get the "Plop."
Wish me luck.View attachment 1641242845

Nice job, they will definitely work. You could maybe trim them a little bit more on the bottom to open up the hook gap as much as possible but I’m not sure I would go up to a size 6 for a mulberry fly. I tie most of mine on size 10 hooks. Be a little bit patient on that first hookset, the adrenaline will be flowing. Good luck!!

 

[dc410]

I went 2 for 2 this morning as I’m dialing in the timing on the mulberry hook set. I quietly slipped into position on the upper section of my berry honey hole that I call the “shark tank”. There were multiple fish working both trees on the upper and lower section. I took a shot at a carp that ventured close enough to me on the upper area of the hole and it ate the berry fly without hesitation. After I hooked it the fish took off directly downstream and blasted right through the middle of the lower section of the hole, effectively blowing up the whole area. However, my MO was to get into position to stick one carp and I managed to accomplish that.

I continued downstream to check a few other areas before pulling out for the morning. A decent sized tree had recently fallen completely across the creek creating a vegetative dam stacking up a lot of debris, leaves and scum upstream of it. I figured there were probably some mulberries caught up in the scum slick as well. I noticed some disturbance along the upstream edge of the scum line and determined it to be several carp clooping just under the debris. As I got as close as I could just upstream of the blowdown a carp came out from under the debris, swam upstream a bit and circled toward me as it appeared to be heading back to the scum. As it was coming toward me I flipped my berry fly slightly in front and a bit beside the carp. It turned and solidly took the fly. I immediately applied pretty hard side pressure to turn the fish directly upstream to battle it where it wouldn’t take me under the fallen tree. This fish was a male and was discharging a lot of milt as I netted it and released it. Some of the carp are really getting zoned in on the berries right now. The next two weeks will be the peak of the berry fishing at least in my neck of the woods. Get out there and give it a shot. Good luck!

 

[albatross]

Look out for simultaneous mullberrry and cicada hatch in the next few weeks. Could be epic...

 

[dc410]

I don’t often go carpin’ in the evening but I did go out tonight at about 6:30 to see if I could get into any carp on the berries. I covered my good berry trees and actually didn’t even spot a single carp. I’ll probably hit these spots tomorrow at daybreak to assure myself that there are still carp there.

So I continued down stream and covered about 3/4 of a mile of stream. I only saw two carp tonight in the new stretch of stream. I found a new producing mulberry tree that had a carp actively working the berries but it was in an extremely tough spot. I worked my way down a pretty steep muddy bank choked out with briar bushes then waded through an armpit deep patch of burn hazel to get near the feeding carp. I negotiated all of the electric fences - except for one! When I finally got to the spot to possibly take a shot at the feeding carp it was one of those areas where you wonder how the heck you are ever going to land a carp if you happen to stick one. I learned early in my Carpin’ adventures to not worry about that until after you actually hook it. You would be surprised how many times you actually find a way to make it work. It wasn’t a very big fish but it definitely was a chunky one and a challenge to get to the net in the extremely tight conditions.

When the Catalpa trees are in full bloom - it is peak “berry time”. I think the flowers on the Catalpa trees are just absolutely beautiful! The new section of stream that I fished tonight has a riparian buffer between the stream and the agricultural fields that has expanded over recent years. The buffer is extremely thick this year - almost impenetrable in some areas. I’m glad to see these conservation efforts being put in place by the farmers.

Good luck carpers!

 

[hooker-of-men]

Had a few shots at some cruisers this afternoon. One turn, no eats. They're starting to get jumpy - feels like the spawn is right around the corner.

I thought I posted this already: last week, my daughter and I were fishing the neighborhood pond for panfish. I was "guiding" her tightlining a squirmy worm, when all of a sudden a big, big silhouette sucked the worm. I thought the rod was going to get ripped out of her hands before it broke off 😂 Straight bulldoggery.

I didn't get a clear visual - just saw the movement of a much larger fish - but I'm pretty certain it was one of the maybe 2 carp in the pond. It's super pressured with kids, so I've never even seen these carp actively feeding, let alone got them to look at a fly. It was so cool to see my daughter hook up on a 5 wt and get both freaked out and so pumped.

 

[Striperbobby]

Got a real nice perkiomen puppy drum right before the storm hit today!

 

[Striperbobby]

Forgot to attach the pic

 

[dc410]

Well it’s been awhile since I’ve been out chasing carp so I hit one of my favorite stretches this morning starting about a half hour before sunrise. The carp are seriously kicking my butt this year. I saw a lot of actively feeding fish but couldn’t entice a single one of them to eat my fly. Our creeks are a very dynamic systems and many of the spots where earlier in the season I used to target, hook up and bring carp to the net are now clogged up with some major debris from our recent heavy rainfalls and flooding events. Being able to adapt to these changes is key in finding a way to still hook up with the carp, just not like you always use to do it. I had a perfect set up on a feeding carp in close and had presented my fly and just as I was getting ready to drop the fly in front of the carp when a pumpkinseed sunnie came screaming out of nowhere and crashed the party. Pretty little bugger, though! Still good to get out even though I was handed the skunk again from the carp.

 

[SmittyTheSquatch]

Hey fellas. Need some help. Cicadas have got me hooked on the carp top water game. I was out on my local water the other day and came across around a dozen carp that were all near the surface cruising and eating off the top. I couldn't make out what they were sipping on off the top, so I tried a damsel fly and a decent size foam pattern, but they all turned away with no interest. Any ideas on some top water flies that I might try? They were in a spot that the wake was moving something to, but I have no idea what they were eating. I know mulberries are a thing for carp, but I have no clue about other top water flies for carp. Any one have some advice on flies to try or a resource that I can look into? I'd like to be better prepared next time because I didn't have any of my typical dry flies on the boat while we were out.

 

[hooker-of-men]

Hey fellas. Need some help. Cicadas have got me hooked on the carp top water game. I was out on my local water the other day and came across around a dozen carp that were all near the surface cruising and eating off the top. I couldn't make out what they were sipping on off the top, so I tried a damsel fly and a decent size foam pattern, but they all turned away with no interest. Any ideas on some top water flies that I might try? They were in a spot that the wake was moving something to, but I have no idea what they were eating. I know mulberries are a thing for carp, but I have no clue about other top water flies for carp. Any one have some advice on flies to try or a resource that I can look into? I'd like to be better prepared next time because I didn't have any of my typical dry flies on the boat while we were out.

In my local water, the only time I've seen carp clooping they were eating algae or something microscopic mixed in with the algae. The only thing I had that remotely made sense to throw were egg patterns, though they were obviously the wrong colors. I tried to just put them in the path of the feeding fish, but they were ultimately in a spot I couldn't get good casts to. Could your fish be eating something vegetal like algae or cottonwood seeds? (You can find algae and cottonwood seed patterns on the Google machine.)