He says I am about to take all your line and take you for a ride lol. Fish were tailing all over on the trinity today. It is amazing how spooky these"trash" fish are. I really think they are way more skittish than almost any other fresh water fish that I have encountered. Only had one hour on the water today but had three hook ups and two landed. The first fish was only in the 6-7 lb range but went at least 15-20 yards into the backing like it didn't even know it was hooked. I was sight casting to mud blooms with a black and purple clouser. I was shooting it way past the tailing fish the stripping it fast enough to see the clouser under the surface. As the clouser aproched the fish I hit the brakes and dredged the bottom at a snails pace until i hit fish. Due to location didn't get any selfies but did get a shot of the reel after I finally got back to the main line on the first fish. All in all what a great time right in the middle of town with backing busters.

Very cool! I have never been able to get one to take a clouser minnow. The ones I throw at them may be to big though. I've never targeted carp with a clouser, I'm usually fishing for something else and come across a carp and give it a shot. Hasn't worked so far.
Good work.

We catch a bunch each year on clousers during the sand bass run. I ment to ask you if you fish any crawdad patterns for them?

Very cool.

Yes sir. Most of the carp I catch is on a very simple pattern. It's olive chenille body wrapped with brown saddle hackle with a red marabou tail. I've had several people tell me that my "strike percentages "would increase if I weighted the fly. But I've caught, I don't know, maybe hundreds of carp in the last seventeen years on that pattern. I'm at work now but I'll send you a pic when I get home. But, just like you described, strip the fly to within a foot of the the fishes nose then let it sink on a slack line. If the bottom is grassy I will let the fly sink to just above the grass then give it very short strips ( like an inch at a time). You will actually see the fish swim up behind it and you can see them suck the fly in. Plus, with the fly unweighted, you can drop it on them in very shallow water without the " plop " to spook them.

Can you post a picture of your fly here? I want to learn as well. Thanks.

when they are really aggressively feeding they will tear those Clousers up.

You bet. Anything I can do to help.

Robert - guess I'm just not lucky with a clouser. Same thing with Sheepheads on a clouser - zero.

Here is my "crayfish" pattern. Although, it is only a crayfish in color because I very seldom fish it on the bottom. As I said, nothing fancy and it's not weighted. I also noticed I described the colors backwards above. Sorry about that, I was in kind of a hurry. I started fishing this pattern in 1994 at Roberts ( mostly by accident but that's another story). If I have trouble getting them to take other flies I can usually tie this one on and catch a few. I don't know, maybe it's just a confidence thing. But it sure seems to work when others fail...

Thank you very much. Will tie couple of them to try out.

Well good luck Moon. I hope it works for you. Keep me posted.

I hooked 1 carp on a white clouser once because it was all I had.

I also made a bunch of tiny black clousers that have caught a ton of catfish and carp. Small and buggy no flash.
I know someone who swears by the foxy clousers for carp as well.


A clouser will catch anything.

robert, what size clouser is that?

Sz 6 about all I fish for sandies so it's what I have handy.

After thinking about your description of the fly thought it might look a little like a bugger. I have caught several carp on traditional trout nymphs as well.