I had the day off yesterday so I took a day trip out to Perdenales Falls State Park. The day started off slow with fog and a weak cold front pushing through but once the cloud cover burned off the fishing picked up. I caught quite a few small Guadalupe bass, my first large mouth at the park, and countless sunfish in between.

The highlight of my day was landing this big (for me) Guadalupe bass at the end. I saw him making a commotion in the shade and finally managed to set the hook on him. I have really grown to respect Guadalupe bass, they are quite wary and extremely strong fighters, he fought as hard as three pound largemouths I've caught.



Back to my question, in the morning although other fish were hunkered down, the carp were extremely active. They were rooting around in the shallows, and even jumping clear out of the water. I've heard the saying that a jumping carp is a sign of mating and they're impossible to catch so I'm content with leaving those be. However, I'm positive the ones rooting around on the bottom were feeding yet even casting directly in their path failed to get even a sideways glance from them. Do you all have any tips for catching carp on the fly rod short of baiting them? Is it purely dependent on their mood?

Lastly, if you haven't been I would highly recommend a trip out to Perdenales Falls, the fly fishing is great there, it's just a stone's throw from Austin, and the falls themselves are beautiful. On this trip alone besides the bass, sunfish, and carp I also saw catfish and the biggest long nose gar I've ever seen cruising along the river.

Thanks!

Great Report, I was curious about Perdenales Falls State park. Thanks for sharing

Nice post!

Fly fishing for carp is B A. Just keep at it. I got into several years ago. I got into them the first time out as I got lucky. It's really important to learn what they're eating. Take a look at Carp Flies a book out of Orvis.

http://www.orvis.com/p/the-orvis-beginners-guide-to-carp-flies/2ef7

You'll learn flies, strategies, etc. I've caught them in nymphs, dry flies, clauser minnows, hybrids, etc. They're an aggressive eating fish, most don't realize that. You just need to "match the hatch". Last time out, I noticed a bunch of small clam shells on the bottom of the river. I went to the Hybrid fly and rung up carp and buffalo. My go to fly is usually a size 16 prince nymph, when fishing Stillwater. Moving water I usually throw a hybrid or a tungsten head nymph of some kind. Areas around the country like Beaver Island in Lake Michigan, fisherman will throw giant streamers on sand flats. I can't say it enough, an accurate casts matters. Move the fly very slow across their nose.... good casts count; did I mention that. I rarely cast to multiple fish. I find multiple fish in an area spook. Just keep learning.
Here is another really great resource

http://carponthefly.blogspot.com

Good luck

J

I have found carp hard to catch, although I have caught a few by accident.

I cannot justify the time it takes while the same time could be spent chasing game fish and pan fish.


Just my opinion.

Bill

That is a marvelous rod handle.

What is the name?

Bill

Thanks for the advice guys, many of the people who I've talked said they didn't intentionally catch carp their first time, so that could be a big part of my problem. It worked for me with other species like the Rio Grande Cichlids - when I try hard to catch them, they won't bite but when I'm out fishing for other species, I end up landing them. I'll keep at it a bit at a time.



I believe it's called a half wells grip and the rod is an Orvis Recon. I really like the rod, it took me a while to get used to it. Having grown up with older stiffer rods in saltwater, I had to learn to let the rod do the work. Once I started letting the rod throw the fly instead of muscling it, it's been pretty perfect.

Carp are funny. You can have days were you cast at twenty, thirty fish. Good casts to fish that are feeding and have no idea your around. They just swim away when you drop your fly in front of them. Not really spooked, just, not interested. You begin to think your fly is bad. Then you make a cast to one more fish, a fish that looks and acts like all the rest. Except this one turns a pounces on the fly. Why this one and none of the others - who knows. But that's how it works sometimes. You just have to keep the faith and keep on dropping flies.
Some days you go out and cast to six fish and land five of them. I've had that happen also.

Nice post and nice fish. Good job.