Five Tips on Fly Fishing for Carp

Carp are sometimes hard to catch as they are very smart, easily spooked, and hard to trick.  If you plan on fly fishing for carp, there are a few things you should know to increase your success.  This article will give you a few tips.

Flies

It’s best to use flies that imitate food that carp are used to eating.  You can use a fly that poses as a small aquatic organism such as a worm, small crayfish, or leech.  Flies that imitate mulberries and seeds from a cottonwood tree also have a higher success rate.  Carp also feed on the dragonfly, damselfly, and mayfly larvae, so flies that look like that are also useful.

Senses

When fly fishing for carp, you should know that they are extremely sensitive to smell and taste.  Therefore, you should use a commercial product to add scent to the fly.  Alternatively, you can take some mud from the river bank or bottom and rub it all over the fly.  It will do enough to help mask your scent although it’ll come off after your initial cast.

Casting

Speaking of casting, you should always cast your fly as close to the carp’s nose as possible.  They have tunnel vision when feeding.  This means that they won’t go off course to eat your fly if you don’t place it close enough.  You will have much more success only going after fish you have spotted as opposed to hoping one happens across your bait.

Spooking

As mentioned earlier, these fish are easily spooked.  Once you spook one of them, it will emit a pheromone to warn others of potential danger.  This means you usually only have one shot when fly fishing for carp.

Wind

Carp are usually found going into the direction of the wind.  However, this doesn’t mean that you should try to cast downwind to catch them.  If you try to fish going downwind, they will detect your scent quicker.  As you already know, they have a great sense of smell.  So, make sure you cast from behind them or from one of their sides.

These are a few tips on fly fishing for carp. If you’re relatively new, there are many fly fishing basics you need to learn. So, click here now to pick up a few fly fishing tips to get you started.