Fly fishing for Carp was unheard of until quite recently. It’s an exciting way of crossing over the increidble sport of catching any fish on a fly rod, with a really hard fighting fish like the carp. It really only lends itself to sruface fishing for carp when either a large fly imitation like a daddy longlegs is readily taken by carp or, an imitation dog biscuit is used and fished amongst biscuits that are being fed to the carp. It can be quite tricky as many carp fishing fisheries are beautifully wild and overgrown which makes casting a fly tricky but, a well executed roll cast will get you amongst fish in even small swims with no space for a back cast. So if you’re a trout fisherman, and the summer heat is putting down those Rainbows and Browns, try your luck at Carp fishing.
Fly Fishing for Carp
- Tackle should be a 6-8 weight fly rod, a floating line, an 8-12lb leader and either a daddy longlegs type fly or imitation dog biscuit tied from deer hair.
- Fish on a warm sunny day, and look in quiet corners of the lake, often in the margins for fish basking on the surface.
- Get the fish feeding confidently first by feeding dog biscuits or floating trout pellets. Use the little and often approach and watch for the fishes’ reactions.
- In tight swims use a roll cast to reach feeding fish and not get snagged in bankside bushes and trees.
- Hold on tight! A carp of any size caught on a fly rod is a superb experience.
Join The School Of Fish for a lesson during the summer and we can target surface feeding carp.