Carp On The Fly - Stalking Golden Ghosts

[@tiennguyen-qn9vw]

Wow great video ! Best video for carp fishing I never watch before! Thanks

[@carponthefly8282]

I’m glad you enjoyed the content. Thanks!

[@sonja9001]

Fantastic video. Your skill level is off the chart. Thanks for sharing!

[@carponthefly8282]

Thank you very much!

[@RLBadKarma]

I so enjoy your videos. For the last couple years, I've had to live vicariously through your videos. I've been sidelined by kidney failure and it's a very slow road back to getting something like normal. I can still feel the "power" radiating up through the flyrod grip. I love your use of the drone footage. It really shows the true game fish nature of these carp. Well done.

[@carponthefly8282]

I’m very glad to hear that you enjoy the videos and so sorry to hear about the kidney failure. I have a good friend who was the recipient of a kidney donation 3 years ago and I was witness to quite a bit of that struggle for him before and after the surgery. While I certainly don’t know what it’s like, I can appreciate it isn’t a fund process. I wish you all the best on your recovery. Thanks so much for watching and commenting.

[@ccogden3345]

Inspired me to go out and spook a few myself today. I agree something about "pre-spring" makes them more alert

[@carponthefly8282]

Maybe they are cranky because it is so cold. I definitely understand that feeling.

[@seanfalconer7182]

I love that you're in Utah.

[@carponthefly8282]

I love it too, except when winter appears unending.

[@seanfalconer7182]

@Carp on the Fly OmG!! I just got into SLC last night, and I didn't think I was going to make it to Brigham City!!!

[@carponthefly8282]

Yeah, this is insane. I think we ended up with like 18”. I’m so so done with winter.

[@averagejoerider6352]

I've been going after my local Carp for quite some time, boy are they spooky high alert fish. I was so stoked the morning I cast & hooked into one only to have my joyful moment of success be taken away by the fact it'd been foul hooked.. the fish measured a little under 28 in. Anyway my pursuit of the China fish continues!

[@carponthefly8282]

Enjoy the little victories and keep it up!

[@fp_nam]

great video I am jealous!!!!

[@carponthefly8282]

Thanks, it’s an awesome early season spot. Thanks for watching.

[@anthonygrady3733]

My friends use to make fun me for catching carp but now seeing these videos I’m trying to get back into the game & catch one on fly.. wish me luck 😅

[@carponthefly8282]

Good luck! I still get made of from time to time. And I love it. They can make fun all they want, and every time I am hooked into a tiny 5 pound Carp that fights hard than 10 pound bass or trout, or on the really special times when 20 pounds of rage and anger are screaming line out of my reel, I won’t think about them at all. And the next time they make fun of me I smile again and look forward to the next encounter with an amazing fish that so few really understand. Their loss really.

[@austintrenkamp8205]

Wow, im realived to see even you get turned down sometimes, not that i want you too but holly cow i haven't been able to fool one yet after running into a good amount about three weekends in a row while out bass fishing. The ones you got (three more than my record haha) were beautiful. Question if you have time, the ones ive ran into were cruising the actual shoreline, today they were looking at/maybe eating a couple baitfish since their were alot of big baitfish in this little cove, im not sure they were really eating the baitfish, but they were for sure cruising the lake in big circles in pods of about three to 8 fish. I noticed you said the ones to look for are "tailing", i haven't seen that yet, and here in the greater Sacramento CA area the places ive seen them werent necessarly shallow (bullards bar reservoir and the Sacramento Delta). I dint really have any carp specific flies yet, i tried a few wolly buggers, leeches, and baitfish imitations and boy i am not getting any mercy, i had one on for a sec but in all honesty i think i may have foul hooked him but luckily had barbless hooks so it popped out pretty quick, he might have eaten it but I definitely didnt see him eat it due to muddy water, depth and a sinking line because i thought i wasnt getting in the face with the floating line. Dont beat yourself up writing an essay but do you hapoen to have any tips on what i was doing wrong by the horrible description i gave of my attempts or any recommendations. Dont feel bad of your to busy. Great videos, really appreciate it 👍

[@carponthefly8282]

I’ll do my best, but without seeing the fish it’s hard to say exactly what is going on. There are really 2 types of cruising fish, and it really comes down to speed, if they are cruising and they aren’t stopping at all or aren’t moving side to side a bit, they likely aren’t actively feeding. These fish may sometimes still eat, but I would not put much energy into them. It is very frustrating and you almost have to have the fly drop perfectly past their face to trigger a strike. The slower cruisers are good targets. Again you need to be accurate with a drag and drop and get the fly in front of them as they cruise. But these guys will usually at least move a little bit when the fly drops by them. Now, if you think your fly is passing by them, and you are fairly sure they haven’t seen you, then change flies. Try larger, try smaller, change colors. Size is probably the bigger thing to change. I have 2 places I fish near by. One I can throw 3-5 inch flies and they trigger strikes, another I have to throw flies less than 1/2 inch. That is at least where I would start. Good luck.

[@austintrenkamp8205]

That was super helpful 🙏👍, really really appreciate it Carp on the Fly!

[@HalfInsaneOutdoorGuy]

Great video! question. Why do some have a lot of scales and others do not? is it a fighting thing?

[@carponthefly8282]

No, it is genetics. Though they can lose scales, generally they will regrow fairly quickly. These carp are generally classified as Leather Carp or Mirror Carp. Leather have very few scales and their skin has a leathery look. Full Leather Carp have no scales at all. I have never caught a full leather, they are quite rare. Leather Carp and Mirror Carp are both genetically different, but can be hard to tell apart when they aren’t on the extreme ends. Though generally if there are very few scales or no scales they are leather carp. Mirror will usually have more scales up to and including fully scaled mirrors. Full mirrors are my personal favorite variety of carp. They are usually brighter in color, more golden and have larger scales with more contrasting black and gold colors. Absolutely beautiful fish. Good question. Hope that makes sense.

[@austintrenkamp8205]

Well explained 👍

[@harleysmith3895]

Any particular water temperature youre looking for before you head out for the first time in spring?

[@carponthefly8282]

Well that is kind of 2 questions. I’m willing to go out and try as long my eyelets aren’t freezing. So the real answer is it depends. Most carp literature will say the water should be around 50. And 50-75 is the range you really want. However, there are couple things to keep in mind. Carp can thrive in water colder than that and warmer than that. If the water in a particular body of water is regulated by either being a tail water or spring fed, then you can fish those no matter the time of year for the most part. The Carp will adapt and be very successful even in very cold water. Also look for warm areas in otherwise cold water. When the sun starts shining just after ice off, the shallow flat areas will warm pretty fast and even though the entire body of water is very cold. The carp will move into these areas and start feeding.

[@scottswingley3878]

What flies do you recommend for carp?

[@carponthefly8282]

My 2 favorites are the backstabber and Carp Maul. There are a lot that will work. This is a video from a class I did recently that covers the topic in more detail if you are interested. kzbin.info/www/bejne/mp-Zqp93m92Njpo

[@barns.flydrift]

what net are you using?

[@carponthefly8282]

PLUSINNO Floating Fishing Net for Steelhead, Salmon, Fly, Kayak, Catfish, Bass, Trout Fishing, Rubber Coated Landing Net for Easy Catch & Release, Compact & Foldable for Easy Transportation & Storage-VB a.co/d/9IwykMc I got for backpacking where weight really matters. Nothing fancy, but very light.

[@greysonconley7629]

What reel do you use?

[@carponthefly8282]

I am currently using the Sage Spectrum. I have used the Reddington Behemoth, Lamson Waterworks and Piscifun Platte. Everyone of them worked well, the Platte landed me thousands of fish, before the bearing finally failed. I like the Spectrum the most, and Behemoth 2nd for bugger fish. The drag on the spectrum is crazy smooth and can be full drag to off in one rotation. Really a great reel.