Terry Murphy
Well-known member
On the board in North Dakota.
2026 Carpin’ thread
- Thread starter dc410
- Start date
Finally did it! 30” on the Conestoga. Broke 2 off earlier in the morning - which has never happed before. . Snapped my 1x tippet as I beached it and I jumped in and chucked in on shore (hence the muddy head) dropped my phone in the process and had to wait for my mud cloud to clear in order to get my phone and take the pic. It’s the most fun I’ve had fly fishing. Passed up multiple large smallies to get the shots at the carp!!
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dc410
Well-known member
Congrats!! That’s an awesome way to kick off your carpin’ career. That’s a really good fish! I assume you felt the adrenaline rush, you probably caught the bug!! Was it actively feeding? Sometimes Smallmouth Bass will hang out in the silt cloud of an actively rooting carp picking up the leftovers.
Thank you and absolute a huge adrenaline rush! There was whole school actively feeding, they didn't even spook after I broke off an even bigger one about 10 min earlier. The bass were definitely following the carp
I broke off another huge carp this morning - on 1x tippet. I'm now 1 for 5 this week. its not the knots. one was on 3x and the other 3 break offs on 1x (all flourocarbon). I've never had issues with break offs before...I literally can't think of the last trout or bass I've lost on a broken tippet
dc410
Well-known member
Wow! You’ve had a great couple of days of carpin’! Are you absolutely sure that your knots aren’t failing? 1X tippet should hold a real good carp (3X - maybe not?). The other possibility is that there may be some sharp debris located in your honey hole. A hooked carp may immediately run to wrap you into the debris. Folks don’t generally give carp the respect they deserve - they are very smart!
I use the non-slip mono loop knot to tie on all of my carp flies. In 13 years of catching carp on the fly I honestly don’t think I ever had that knot fail on me. I’ve broken tippets and straightened out many hooks on fish before the loop knot let loose. However, I wouldn’t use it with fluorocarbon (that’s why it’s not called the non-slip flourocarbon loop knot). I use Maxima Ultra Green for tippet (usually 10 or 12 lb test - Maxima uses lb test not X for labeling their products) on all my carp leaders and I just have a lot of confidence in it. If you’re consistently braking off fish you going to need to try something different until you dial in a system that works for you. Keep at it! You’re gaining a ton of experience.
I use the non-slip mono loop knot to tie on all of my carp flies. In 13 years of catching carp on the fly I honestly don’t think I ever had that knot fail on me. I’ve broken tippets and straightened out many hooks on fish before the loop knot let loose. However, I wouldn’t use it with fluorocarbon (that’s why it’s not called the non-slip flourocarbon loop knot). I use Maxima Ultra Green for tippet (usually 10 or 12 lb test - Maxima uses lb test not X for labeling their products) on all my carp leaders and I just have a lot of confidence in it. If you’re consistently braking off fish you going to need to try something different until you dial in a system that works for you. Keep at it! You’re gaining a ton of experience.
dc410
Well-known member
I was on the stream at 5:30 am and literally couldn’t locate a carp for the better part of an hour. No silt clouds, no bubbles, no nervous water - no nothing. I still find it hard to believe that I couldn’t locate a single carp in that stretch of stream this morning. As I was about to throw in the towel for the outing, I stopped at one last spot for a last look. As I checked it out I noticed a very heavy swarm of tricos over the creek in the early morning sunshine. Just about that time I saw one lone carp cruising around in the pool just under the surface. As I watched the fish I witnessed it sipping something off of the surface numerous times. This carp was feeding on trico spinners! I have seen this before and two times over the past number of years I actually hooked a carp on a trico spinner but never had a chance at landing either of them. I haven’t been able to figure out a way to successfully target carp on trico spinners so I was just content to watch the fish cruise around feeding on the little bugs and then called it a morning.
Cougarbaby
Well-known member
Been there
it seems like the tippet is breaking above the knot but I guess I can't be sure (I am using the non-slip mono loop btw) so I guess I'll try Maxima. It's also certainly possible they are running me into some woody debris on the bottom. gonna keep working on it - I'm totally hooked lol
rancid waders
Well-known member
I was reminded by a large one earlier this week to make damn sure my line ain't wrapped around the reel. These are seriously large fish.
laurelhighlander
Well-known member
This past Friday
dc410
Well-known member
That’s freakin’ awesome! I’m loving the mud and carp slime caked under your fingernails! Good stuff!! Nicely done.
lol- I can also still feel the stinging nettles all over my legs hours later! Used the trilene knot for the win btw
dc410
Well-known member
Yes sir! Find a system that works for you. Set your carpin’ parameters as you build confidence in them! Nobody’s going to tell you you’re wrong! 😉
rancid waders
Well-known member
Well done sir! I need a new spot, the carp I had found has been inundated with bait fishers , these fish are educated
dc410
Well-known member
Way to go! Your confidence has to be hitting another level. My experience is that fish that are in the active spawning mode won’t eat anything, but if you can locate some fish away from that activity you may be in the game! Just curious, what are you getting them to eat?
yeah I found this guy off to the side cruising/hunting. It moved pretty aggressively for my fly. I've been mainly using a size 8 black carp bugger.
