texasfishingforum.com logo
Main Menu
Advertisement
Affiliates
Advertisement
Newest Members
tghtlnz, El Chaleco, SteveCrow, fishnpaul, PrideNClass
119170 Registered Users
Top Posters(All Time)
hopalong 120,880
TexDawg 119,677
Bigbob_FTW 95,170
John175☮ 85,916
Pilothawk 83,272
Bob Davis 82,007
Mark Perry 72,410
Derek 🐝 68,318
JDavis7873 67,416
Forum Statistics
Forums59
Topics1,038,498
Posts13,947,184
Members144,170
Most Online39,925
Dec 30th, 2023
Print Thread
Texas Trash On The Fly #11145118 10/04/15 11:03 PM
Joined: Feb 2010
Posts: 1,344
2
2FlyFish4 Offline OP
Extreme Angler
OP Offline
Extreme Angler
2
Joined: Feb 2010
Posts: 1,344
More on the blog
http://2flyfish4.blogspot.com/2015/10/texas-trash-on-fly.html

Trash fish, rough fish, and non-game fish are some of the bleak references made in regards to carp. But for anyone who has chased them with a flyrod knows how much fun they can be. To me its all about stalking carp on foot. Closing the distance and delivering a well placed fly to unsuspecting fish. A few things that will put the odds in your favor to closing the distance. Don't step on sticks, there is nothing more that alerts a carp to your presence than a stick snapping under your foot. Don't wake the water, you'll want to move fast enough to cover some ground but don't move so fast your pushing water with each step. Don't get caught just looking at the water you can clearly see into. What I mean is generally you will be able to see clearly into water that is 5-10 feet in front of you. As you look further out visibility starts to diminish. As most the carp you will catch will be in the 20-30 foot range it is important to look for signs of fish out to 100 feet. Look for shadows, tails, and mud clouds from feeding fish. And one last suggestion, put your fly rod behind you. You'd be surprised how much a 9ft rod waving around distracts your eyes. Your looking for movement, flashes and other signs of fish. You don't need your eyes to continually be distracted by flashes, glare and movement from your flyrod. I move my rod to the side out of my immediate view. When you find feeding fish, slow down, its not uncommon to have fish just appear in front of you. Carp will routinely come out of hydrilla mats or other vegetation right in front of you. When the fish get to tight to you they are tough to catch. Normally if you can see their eye they are aware of your presence as well. A flick of a fly rod or any sudden movement will normally blow these fish out. Its best to remain still and let these fish get a little distance from you before making your attempt. There's a happy medium of about 20-30 feet that seems to be the sweet spot where you can see the fish and fly and detect the take while the fish is still unbeknownst to your presence. Which brings me to the next most challenging aspect of carp fish; detecting the take. At times carp will hit a fly with enough of a jolt to be felt. However most the time they will just swim over and suck the fly up. I won't lie, half the time I set the hook just because. Sometimes you see gills flare, their bright lips flash, or they bull rush the fly, or make a sudden movement towards the fly. Mother nature likes to throw her curve balls in with glare from the sun, ripples on the water and lake bottoms that make your fly disappear. Sometimes its hard to tell what is going on, all you have is your intuition to rely on. In my opinion its better to set the hook when in doubt. As far as flies go, anything buggy looking in size 6-8 seems to work best. Smaller is typically better from what I have found. You'll want a fly with enough weight to get down to the bottom quickly but not so heavy it gets caught up in vegetation and debris on the bottom. For sub 10lb fish a 5-6 weight rigged with 8lb tippet is a good all around setup. For larger fish you'll need to step up to an 8 or even 9 weight if fish are pushing high 20's. Other than that you just need to get out there and get a few fish under your belt. Once you've seen these fish take a fly a few times and observe their body language things get a lot easier. You'll have good days were the fish are very aggressive and there is no doubt when they eat the fly. Other days due to high pressure or just lethargic fish they just seem to sip the fly up and spit it pretty quickly. Those are the days you have to be on your game and have a little luck on your side.




Re: Texas Trash On The Fly [Re: 2FlyFish4] #11145193 10/05/15 12:00 AM
Joined: Feb 2013
Posts: 1,448
C
Capt. Mac Offline
Extreme Angler
Offline
Extreme Angler
C
Joined: Feb 2013
Posts: 1,448
I pretty much agree with everything you said - except I do like to pole after them in my boat. Great read, and I like that photograph as well.


[Linked Image]
Re: Texas Trash On The Fly [Re: 2FlyFish4] #11146070 10/05/15 11:25 AM
Joined: Jul 2010
Posts: 75,646
banker-always fishing Online Content
Pumpkin Head
Online Content
Pumpkin Head
Joined: Jul 2010
Posts: 75,646
Awesome post. Thanks for sharing. cheers


[Linked Image][Linked Image]

IGFA World Record Rio Grande Cichlid. Lake Dunlap.

John 3:16

Sinner's Prayer. God forgive me a sinner. I accept Jesus Christ as my Savior !
Re: Texas Trash On The Fly [Re: 2FlyFish4] #11146312 10/05/15 02:27 PM
Joined: Apr 2014
Posts: 4,548
J
J-Moe Offline
TFF Team Angler
Offline
TFF Team Angler
J
Joined: Apr 2014
Posts: 4,548
Great write up and picture!!!

Re: Texas Trash On The Fly [Re: 2FlyFish4] #11146966 10/05/15 09:00 PM
Joined: Jul 2004
Posts: 12,156
LoneStarCarper Offline
TFF Guru
Offline
TFF Guru
Joined: Jul 2004
Posts: 12,156
for over a decade I have been telling people to go chase carp.


State Certified Piscatologist


Re: Texas Trash On The Fly [Re: 2FlyFish4] #11147374 10/06/15 12:38 AM
Joined: Sep 2012
Posts: 715
Cowtown Kid Offline
Pro Angler
Offline
Pro Angler
Joined: Sep 2012
Posts: 715
Thank you for the write up and the pictures on your blog. I am anxious to catch my first carp on a fly rod fishing out of my kayak. I am sure I will get a good tow down the river.

texas


Rick Irving
"The Cowtown Kid"
Kayak Fisherman and Real Estate Broker

Angling may be said to be so like the mathematics that it can never be fully learned. ~Izaak Walton
Re: Texas Trash On The Fly [Re: 2FlyFish4] #11156937 10/11/15 07:51 AM
Joined: Sep 2015
Posts: 18
K
kayakbuzzin Offline
Green Horn
Offline
Green Horn
K
Joined: Sep 2015
Posts: 18
Yep! Awesome read. Im just learning to fly fish and as well i chase in my kayak and wade. Im goin out on joe pool for the carp and bass. Maybe another lake some day soon.


My 85' 1.1 liter mazda tear that bass up!
Re: Texas Trash On The Fly [Re: 2FlyFish4] #11157449 10/11/15 07:06 PM
Joined: Jun 2010
Posts: 4,146
R
Robert Hunter Offline
TFF Team Angler
Offline
TFF Team Angler
R
Joined: Jun 2010
Posts: 4,146
You're as bad as me on that one particular shirt you like to fish in Casey lol.


[Linked Image] [Linked Image] [url=https://postimages.org/][img]https://i.postimg.cc/bsQJFvLj/
Re: Texas Trash On The Fly [Re: 2FlyFish4] #11159229 10/12/15 05:02 PM
Joined: Dec 2013
Posts: 621
C
chefmike Offline
Pro Angler
Offline
Pro Angler
C
Joined: Dec 2013
Posts: 621
Great post and I agree with all said.
Thanks for posting

Mike

Last edited by chefmike; 10/12/15 05:03 PM.

".........the wood rod casts beautifully, and through it you can feel the heartbeats of the small trout."
John Gierach.
Previous Thread
Index
Next Thread

© 1998-2022 OUTDOOR SITES NETWORK all rights reserved USA and Worldwide
Powered by UBB.threads™ PHP Forum Software 7.7.3