Fly fishing for carp is an activity that many people enjoy. It is an activity that is popular in the warmer months. Small bodies of water like rivers and ponds become warmer as a result of the sun’s heat. This causes the carp to gravitate towards the warmth in search of food. However, carp can live in a wide range of water temperatures. For this reason, you will find carp in many locations.

So, what are carp, and what is fly fishing? Freshwater fish are generally known as carp. These fish are appealing to recreational fisherman. While they can be used for food, most carp are caught and released back into the water.

Fly fishing is the act of attracting fish by utilizing an artificial fly. Flies are designed to encourage the fish to bite. When a fish bites into the hook, it can be reeled in.

How to fly fish for carp

Fly fishing requires patience, just like any other sport. You will have to experiment to find the right technique. Fishermen with experience know that it is vital to scan the water for obstacles. You should also keep an eye out for overgrown vegetation and tree branches where fish can hide. 

There are times when you can find a carp near the edge of the water. It is important to act quickly in such situations. At other times, you may notice a school of fish. This increases your chances of catching something. It doesn’t matter the angle at which you cast. Choose the method that feels most comfortable for you. 

Timing is important

Timing is everything when you are preparing to fish. When your approach is abrupt, you will scare the fish away. However, if you are too gentle, the fish will not notice your flies. Finding the right balance is essential. A carp will realize what you are doing if you try to hook it too quickly. As a result, it may escape. 

What to do when you hook the carp?

You will likely need to use strength if you hook a carp. Some fish are larger and stronger than others. You will reduce the carp’s ability to fight by demonstrating your strength. You will have a better chance of securing the fish because of this. 

Buy the right gear

In order to go carp fly fishing, the first thing you need to do is buy the gear. First and foremost, you will need rods. The kind of rod that you need will depend on the size of cap you want to catch. Moreover, the fly reel should be able to support the weight of the fish. Check out these cheap fly reels for an example. 

Aside from rods, you will also need flies. Rods are used to cast artificial flies into the water. In order to catch fish, you have to get them to bite on an imitation fly. These flies can differ in size, material, color, and pattern. Furthermore, some flies float, and some sink. What fly is best for you will depend on your preferences and where you plan to fish. We suggest using flies made of steel. During a fight, the fly will need to be strong enough to support the larger carp.

Don’t forget to dress appropriately. When fly fishing for carp, you should wear clothing that is lightweight and loose-fitting. You will get wet. For this reason, we recommend wearing clothing that will dry quickly. Also, wearing light clothing will give you a greater range of motion. Polarized glasses are another excellent accessory to invest in. In extreme sunlight, they will help you see the water clearly. 

Conclusion

Fly fishing is a challenging sport that requires practice to master. After a few attempts, it becomes much more straightforward. Carp are easily spooked. When you catch one, however, it’s a rewarding experience.

Sources: Wikipedia, Pinfishing.com

The Common Carp’s History in North America

Cultivated as a food source in Eurasia for nearly 4,000 years. The Common Carp has been raised for thousands of years in Europe and China, was well known to the ancient Romans. Immigrants to the USA could not believe there were no carp in North America.  Julius A. Poppe was one of the first (and most successful) to import carp to the US, cultivating a stock of five common carp imported from Germany in 1872 into a thriving California farm by 1876. U.S. Commission of Fish and Fisheries began an intensive effort of carp cultivation in 1877. By 1883, State Fish Commissions introduced carp to many area watersheds. By the turn of the century, the introduction of the carp was such a “success” that both public agencies and sportsmen had come to regard the fish as a nuisance. The rapid spread appeared to threaten both water quality and native species, as commissioners nationwide noted a deterioration of formerly clear and fertile lakes and waterways upon the arrival of carp. made a correlation – albeit the wrong one – between the rise of carp and the fall of game fish.

As the carp is both a prodigious reproducer and highly tolerant of pollution, it spreads quickly through waters in which most native species cannot live. In the early 1990s, for example, biologists exposed control groups of carp to 1600 chemicals commonly present in United States waters; only 135 of the pollutants killed all the fish.

A bottom-feeder, it roots along the floor of a body of water, frequently uprooting vegetation, and sucks in mud and other matter — after filtering out nutrients, it spits the restout. This increases the turbidity (muddiness) of water, which in turn reduces the ability of predator fish (such as pike or walleye) to see their prey. The amount of sunlight received by plants also decreases, reducing their growth — as plants disappear, so do the waterfowl which depend upon them for food. Carp can quickly crowd out other fish with sheer numbers, as well, as females lay up to 2 million eggs when spawning, and fry can grow as large as 8″ in the first year. Thus, the health of numerous small lakes and fisheries has suffered from the presence of the carp. However, the fish’s impact upon larger bodies of waters remains minimal when compared to that of human activity. Concentrated state efforts to permanently eliminate the fish by trapping, seining and poisoning were frequently undertaken early in the century. Few were entirely successful, however, as the carp was simply too adept at reproducing and thriving in our polluted waters. Conceding to the fish’s permanence, carp removal programs began in the 1950s to concentrate instead upon the control of carp populations and their migration into gamefish waters. Generations of anglers tried to remove carp and leave them on the banks, but this proved useless, and became illegal in states like Minnesota in the 80’s. A steady, or hopefully increasing, market for carp and carp products could today provide the prolonged check upon their population that State removal programs have been unable to due to limited resources. Most State agencies, in fact, have favored State-regulated commercial fishing to removal programs since the early 1980s.

Today, carp are viewed in many different ways and subject to varying opinions – depending on region, watershed and who you’re talking to. The decades old reputation as a “poor fighting trash fish” still hold true for many anglers around the country – but small pockets of carp enthusiasts are growing all over the nation. They continue to expand their range and are very harmful to many ecosystems – but they also fill voids in many watersheds where native species have disappeared due to pollution and habitat loss. Love them or hate them – one thing is clear – carp are here to stay. Their dominance in many watersheds, and their ability to tolerate a wide range of environments, leaves anglers with many questions the future of carp in North America.

Reproduction

• Males spawn at 3 years of age
• Batch spawner, releasing its adhesive eggs over vegetation
• Eggs hatch 3-4 days after fertilization
• Female carp can release up to 2 million eggs

Gamefish Facts

All tackle world record: 75 lbs, 11 oZ
Can live: up to 15 years

The species is tolerant to a wide range of environmental conditions
native to temperate Eurasia, boundaries of the native range are obscured by a long history of transplantation by humans now occupying every continent except Antarctica. Every US state but Alaska. The expanded range of Common Carp in the U.S. has occurred via numerous sources, including intentional stocking as food fish and ornamentals (for example, Koi), escapes from aquaculture facilities, use of juveniles as baitfish, and invasions of adjacent water-bodies by existing populations.

In 1653 Izaak Walton wrote in The Compleat Angler, “The Carp is the queen of rivers; a stately, a good, and a very subtle fish; that was not at first bred, nor hath been long in England, but is now naturalized.”

In Europe, even when not fished for food, they are eagerly sought by anglers, being considered highly prized coarse fish that are difficult to hook.
It is the fastest-growing angling market in the UK and has spawned a number of specialized carp angling publications such as Carpology,[29] Advanced carp fishing, Carpworld, and Total Carp, and informative carp angling websites, such as Carpfishing UK.

Carp are omnivorous, and their diet varies depending on what is available. hey consume a range of small food items such as molluscs, crustaceans, insect larvae and seeds. These food items are sucked up (along with mud and water) from the bottom and filtered out using the gill rakers.

Sources:
USGS, NPS.GOV, Wikipedia