Went out again yesterday and found the carp all happy and swimming around and totally not interested in me or my offerings. I’ve yet to see them rooting around in the mud. What time do they do this? I hope I don’t have to go out at daybreak.
They can do it anytime. They definitely come extra shallow after dark. So you have a good chance catching them staying shallow and mudding early morning . You also have a good chance of catching them feeding their way off of the flat. They do it all day though. The trick is learning the areas that they actively feed in. The feeding flats so to say.
This is usually an area that is 1-5 feet deep and has a variety of rock size and has puff marks. Those little lightly colored cleaned areas about the size of a paper plate on the bottom are puff marks. Sure crayfish burrows account for a few. However a lot of them are puff marks. This helps identify the carp feeding area. Identifying their feeding flats is a big first step.
This step is important because the areas you see lots of carp in, are the staging areas or resting areas. They are either staging to come onto a feeding flat or they are resting. Resting or staging fish rarely if ever bite. These aren’t the areas you usually want to target. They are usually deeper or have lots of shade and the fish are suspended and not in an active feeding mood.
Ideally you want a fish with its face in the mud kicking up silt. Even better if it is shallow enough to be tailing with fins sticking up the air out of the water. Look for mud, but also look for bubbles and tails breaking the surface. Hopefully you can identify the direction it’s moving and make a cast out in front of it. As to not spook it with splash noise and vibration from the fly landing. Try to intercept its future path by casting a little ahead and a little past it’s predicted path. Wait until it gets within 3-5 feet and make a single strip or two about 4-6 inches long. You want to catch its attention and let it fall all the way the bottom.
If the fish stops mudding and swims for your fly to investigate you got its attention. During that period it is closing the distance between its last puff and your fly I like to react accordingly. Baby strip baby strip pause. Leave it on the bottom. Like a crayfish or nymph ducking for cover. If visibility allows it you wanna wait until you see its mouth open and close on your fly before strip setting. If visibility isn’t there, you want to crawl your fly gently until you feel pressure. Nothing too erratic or hurky jerky. You want it to seem like an easy meal and sudden or drastic movements scare carp. If it seems like the carp has lost sight of your fly give it another small strip to catch its attention. On a successful hook up keep pressure low and to the side and let it run. You have to let go of the line rather quickly after a hookup. If you get excited and death grip the fly line you will likely beak it off.
Keep leaders light but reasonable. 8-10lb flouro is great for tippet. 6 or 12-15lb test work also, but carp are smart and definitely line shy. So lighter line is gonna get a few more eats and less refusals. Lighter line is also gonna cost you some fish on break offs . Carp are extremely familiar with their surroundings and have it all mapped out in their heads. They know exactly where a log is and how to run to it and around it.
One last tip, their sense of smell is phenomenal. This means no sunscreen, no chapstick, no hand sanitizer and no pumping gas the day of carp fishing. All of this leaves bad scent on your hands and if you touch your fly, it transfers to the fur and fibers. Carp can smell this and will refuse a stinky fly. Keep your hands clean and chemical free when handling your fly and tippet.
Hope some of this helps and good luck!
~5footfenwick
