Fly Fishing for Carp - What to use?

I am new to fly fishing and I am interested in finding out what flies to use to catch carp. Also, what technique would you use to present the fly.
What kind of leader would be best to use?

Spend enough time here and you will find that question is like asking a leprechaun where his/her gold is. (No offense to any leprechaun, I only stereotype from my only knowledge of them from the FANTASTIC movie LEPRECHAUN!) I can tell you I have spent more time in failure attempting to catch carp than any other fish. It will take time and determination. So to the question what fly: dull not flashy, ugly, little wiggly, not too much or spook them, and small. I have used small foam crayfish also. As for technich I try to be sneaky, I have to cast past them and let them work to the fly. Some say "☺️Just cast I front about a dinner plate away Ohhh and be gentle!" Doing this I have smacked more carp in the head, back , or tail than I have caught. . That is lack of my skill plus old fly line. The leader for me is long. I spook more with short leader. Also I seem to cast a little softer with a long leader. Like 9ft plus tippet.

Now that I have said all this, maybe the true carp catchers will chime in and give you better advise. If your looking where to find them ; just about any creek pond river has them. There is also a great map on here from another member. Good luck.

Thanks DTheg.
I have found a place when I kayak fish below the dam at Lake Whitney on the Brazos that has a ton of carp. I have watch some videos of catching carp on a fly rod and it looks fun. When I was a kid my fishing buddy and I would take our old Zebco 33's with some homemade dough bait and spend the day at Denton Creek catching carp. One thing I learned as a kid was it was a slow process and the carp were easily spooked. Looking froward to landing one on a fly rod in my kayak. Beside the thrill of catching one on the fly rod I will get a little ride from them as they pull my kayak around the river.
Thanks again for the information. I will let you know how I do.

If you want carp then go to the spillway over at Aquilla. It has a ton of them.

The Orvis Fly Fishing Podcast is great a resource for new fly fisherman and there are several episodes on Carp.

The Long-Awaited Carp Podcast

Carpacolypse Podcast

Top Ten Carp Flies Podcast

Depending on how new you are to fly fishing, I would hone your skills on bass & panfish before targeting carp. My last 3 outings I have targeted carp and have yet to bring one to hand. It's shown me I need to improve my casting considerably and I have been fly fishing very hard for three years now. Their just so spooky. You have to be able to get a very accurate cast to them without tipping them off. It's very hard, also that's why it's so fun and rewarding. I've had two on and they pull like a redfish.

I agree that if you are new to fly fishing that going after carp is going advanced right off the bat - and that can sometimes work but most times is disappointing.

Maybe going after carp now and then and not exclusively at first would be a more funner approach. Go after bluegills and bass and catfish and have fun, then go pound your head against the carp wall - then go back to the funner stuff.

Eventually you'll catch carp but it won't be after a long long dry spell of catching nothing. I guess what worries me is that by going after just about the hardest fish there is to catch, and doing it right out of the chute, you might not enjoy fly fishing near as much and won't continue with it. And we need all the fly fishermen we can get.

Just my confused and rambling two cents...

One of the biggest things I have learned about carp fishing is that they don't all play the game right. You can be using a good fly, making good casts and using the right presentation to fish that are not spooked - don't even know your anywhere around - and they still won't eat. Sometimes you'll cast at fish after fish with no luck. Then, you come across that one fish that's ready to play the game right, make a decent cast, set the fly down in front of him and he swims over and sucks it up - just that simple. So, just because your not getting strikes when it seems like your doing it right, may not be your fault. It may just be finicky fish. You just have to keep shooting at them until you find the one that's ready.

Thanks to all for the information. I have gotten lucky in my fly fishing and have been catching some stripers, bass, crappie and bluegill below the dam at Lake Whitney from my kayak. I have seen so many carp and wanted to figure out how to catch one of them. From my carp fishing experience with a rod and reel as a kid I remember how fickle they were and how slow they were to bite. I will certainly keep fishing for the bass and stripers and do just a little carp fishing at a time. I have been fishing all my life and have just discovered fly fishing. Sure wish I had discovered it a long time ago but it learning to fly fish is like planting a tree. The best time to do it is 20 years ago or today. I am just glad someone showed me the "way" to a whole different kind of fishing! Thanks again for all the input!

I have been chasing these nasty basta..s 3 or 4 days a week since mid august...Not 1 has been kind enough to even attempt to sniff a fly. On the other hand I have had some great bass jump all over my flies. I can say this however about the carps and myself, I can spot a feeding carp better now than I could a month ago. My casting has improved by leaps and bounds not only in accuracy but power and distance as well. I think much like you, fishing for them from a yak has some super challenges that waders may not always have. Im even fishing from a Diablo and find there is still a lot going on standing in that boat trying to land a fly 40' on a dinner plate while its moving and your moving as well. Perhaps Il tie up some marsh mellow flies and dare them to suck one down lol...cant wait to expose some backing as im seeing some 20#plus fish...best of luck Cowtown.

Kent,
Thanks for the encouragement. Let me know when you get towed around in that Diablo by a 20 pounder!

Are they carp or are they buffalo? I only ask bc there is a big difference between the two in regards to how they respond to a fly.

It's pretty tough to land a carp at 40' in addition to the cast you also want to see them eat. At 40' they may have spit it out by the time you notice anything. Keep the line tight!

Just out of curiosity, what's the standard set up that most people use when fishing for carp? Obviously they're quite spooky, but seems like you need heavier gear to land them? What's a standard carp rod?....7 or 8 weight? Or do you guys like to go lighter? I presume floating line and flouro leaders. What strength tippet do you guys use?

I'm using an 8 wt with WF Floating, 1X mono 7.5' leader and about 4 ft of 2x flouro tippet, but as of yet I have not landed one so what do I know. The two I've hooked came unbuttoned, the tippet or knot didn't break.

Ok thanks just curious. Everyone talks about having to make delicate presentations when carp fishing, but I'd have a heck of a time doing anything delicately with an 8 weight.

I've caught exactly one carp on the river below Whitney dam and here's how I did it. A buddy and I were in a canoe fly fishing for bass. We'd "park" the canoe and get out to wade likely spots. I was back at the canoe, and he had a fish on, so I was sitting there waiting for him to wrap it up. I had my rod laid across the gunwales of the canoe and didn't even notice my fly was in the water. I was sitting there with a beer in one hand and a chicken leg in the other when the drag on my little 3-weight started screaming. I calmly placed the beer down and finished eating (yeah, right, I spilled the beer, the chicken leg fell in the water), and about 20 minutes later brought a big carp to hand. I was using a bead-eye Clouser on a 3-wt sink-tip with a furled leader and a 3-foot tippet of 4# Trilene. Not that any of that really matters...

I always encounter Buffalo on Denton Creek. What is the difference between how they respond and how a carp responds to a fly?

Those I have seen about 1/2 mile below the dam at Lake Whitney on the Brazos look like carp but there are some buffalo.

Carp really aren't that hard to catch. I would say 90% of the carp I catch are within 3 rod lengths. The trick is learning to stalk up on them and not spook them. If you know they are in the area go slow, take a few steps and look around for a moment and then repeat, you'll be surprised how many fish will swim by you un-alarmed. cast 3-5 feet in front of them, let the fly settle to the bottom as they approach twitch it a few times. more times than not carp are willing to play the game and as long as they see the fly they are willing to move to eat. on days they are real aggressive they will bull rush a fly. I've even caught my fair share blind casting the flats in gray light.

buffalo on the other hand are [censored] fish, their the only fish i could care less for. at times especially in the winter they will readily eat shad patterns. they rest of the year they primarily feed on algae as they are in the sucker family, but will occasionally eat a nymph. the majority of them won't touch a fly though and once hooked all they do is wallow on the end of you line and slime up you leader.

fly and leader and all that stuff really has very little to do with success when chasing carp at least in most of Texas.

1. you need to find fish that are actively feeding that you can see
2. be able too cast to a papper plate size area in front of said fish and hope they see the fly fall or strip into "strike zone"
3. you need to learn the fish behavior - they have tells when they are about to take fly gill fair, flash of white lip all that fun stuff.

good luck.

If they have a mud bloom they are Definitely on the hunt. I have caught a ton of them late In the sandbass run blind fishing with clousers. When I am targeting fish I pass by any fish that is cruising and just hit the ones plowing thru the mud. I like capt approach with a very lite fly when site casting to them they see the slow fall and attack. The plate sized target is spot on it's a very visual game. They see it fall it is often times fish on.