I fished Saylorville Lake from shore yesterday. Its a frustrating place to be with a fly rod most times. But, I found some actively feeding carp, and managed to catch 3. Each hit a different fly, but all flies were white/flashy like a small shad. The bigger two were 23" and 25".
I used the "pre-owned" flyrod/reel/line I bought from my friend Chad again on this trip...I've been giving his old rod a workout on the wipers and carp...its been performing very well! 
The fly below was unweighted. The other two flies were weighted with either a pink beadhead or lead barbell.
That rod is a 7 wt right? If I remember reading correctly. Seems it would be a perfect size for carp.
ReplyDeleteYes, a 7wt. It felt about right for this application. Although I couldn't stop the carp on their first run or two...I was in control of the fish after that. I probably could have gotten away with a 6wt, since these carp weren't THAT big. But I'm pleased with the feel of this rod. Which actually surprises me...I usually like a faster action fly rod. I looked down after one run, and had just two wraps of fly line left on the reel above the backing. :)
ReplyDeleteSounds like a great stick and it is doing well for you. I myself bounce between a 6 and 8 wt and it would seem a 7 would fit almost perfectly.
DeleteIf you are familiar with "John Montana's" Carp on the Fly blog...he uses a 7wt rod on the big 20 lb class carp he catches out of the Columbia River system. There may be times when you want a faster action rod (like I usually do)...but for carp I think this medium action rod may actually help protect the tippet from breaking when I put too much pressure on the fish. It still sets the hook just fine.
ReplyDeleteI've alway felt my 8wt was overkill on these fish, but I liked having the heavier leader/tippet. A 7wt is lighter and easier to cast than an 8wt. The line on this set-up is a bass bug WFF line, which enabled it to cast Clousers pretty well.
I have another 7wt rod, but either it is too stiff (fast action), or maybe I just don't like the line I have on it...but it casts horribly. That's why I bought this rod/combo (it is pre-owned). I'm happy with it!
Nice fish on flashy flies! We have carp in one pond that actively eat bluegill, bass, and sucker fry. When that occurs they are uber aggressive toward a fast twicthed in fly. Cool!
ReplyDeleteGregg