Grass Carp on Fly

 ***I haven't shared much regarding techniques for quit a while, my recent posts being more about the fish with which I am so enamored.  I'm going to start sharing more specifically what I've learned for the various species I've caught.

We all know fish in different waters can behave differently and have different preferences.  But I think overall this will give folks who want to try for certain species more info that can hopefully get them started off on the right foot, rather than going blindly.  We can all shorten our personal learning curve by first learning from the experience of others.***

This blog post is about Grass Carp.

Grass Carp on Fly

Grass Carp are not native to the United States, but they have been stocked widely, and in some cases have escaped the closed systems and have established breeding populations, especially throughout the Mississippi River and Missouri River drainages.

They are reasonably common in most rivers within this range, as well as in reservoirs and lakes.

Near my area of St Louis, MO, I tend to catch them during the warmest months of the year.  They seem to feed less and "disappear" once the water temps drop to 55-60F or below.  During the middle of the hot summer is a great time to pursue them with a fly rod.

In my opinion, there is a BIG difference between the triploid stocked Grass Carp in lakes and ponds, and the naturally producing ones in creeks and rivers.  I struggled for YEARS trying the catch the stocked fish on flies...managing about 5 in 10 years of trying.  I had plenty more Grass Carp on the line, but it seemed like they would capitalize on any weakness in my gear or some strange situation would prevent me from landing them.  But even more often, they would not eat anything I cast their way, or they'd spook way before I even saw them.  Frustrating!

Then I moved from central Iowa to Saint Louis, Missouri.  In the creeks around the area, I found naturally reproducing Grass Carp that were very in tune with their surroundings, and very hungry.  I discovered that if they were around, a fly hitting the water with a splat would make them turn and APPROACH the fly to see if it was something edible.  And they'd often hit it!  In 2021, I got after the Grass Carp a fair bit with the fly rod, and caught 167 in one year!  Most in one day was 18, and I caught double-digit numbers during 7 of the outings that year.  To date (January 2024), I've caught a total of over 250 Grass Carp on fly.  Crazy fun!

I feel it helps immensely if the water is clear enough for sight-fishing....where you can present the fly to an individual fish or spot, and see how they react.  But I've caught them in muddier waters, especially if I know they SHOULD be around.  I find them in and just below rapids, as well as near deeper pools.  Often they will be along shore feeding, but ESPECIALLY under overhanging trees.  That's where they will wait for food to drop into the water.  When mulberries are ripe, if you can find trees next to the water dropping fruit in, Grass Carp love that, as do Common Carp and even catfish.

I've caught some on topwater flies, but I've caught most on subsurface flies such as small woolly buggers and nymphs.  But BY FAR the most consistent technique I've tried is to use a 1/64th oz microjig with a #8 or #6 hook (I prefer Waspi Super Jig Heads, because they have a strong hook), tied with greenish Chartreuse chenille bodies with chartreuse marabou tails.  And I change depth as needed, but often fish these about 20" below a Fish Pimp brand Original size strike indicator.  The combination of the jig and the indicator hitting the water, many of the Grass Carp want to see if something good to eat just landed in the water.  I cast near, but not right on top of, visible Grassies, if possible.

I've heard folks claim that Grass Carp don't fight.  That has NOT been my experience at all.  They will fight as hard as I do....meaning, if I try to horse them in, they fight harder.  If I try to ease them in, the are more calm...until they get too close to shore!  Then they freak again! So, in my experience, Grass Carp are very good fighters...you'll LOVE 'em!  I've caught them on 5wt to 9wt rods.   In fact, my biggest one yet was on a 5wt.  That lighter rod probably helped protect my bad tippet.  I've had my butt handed to me using a 6wt... where I was putting as much pressure as I thought I could on the fish without potentially breaking my tippet, but the fish eventually just sort of quite fighting and sat in one spot in the current.  Humiliating!  I kept at it and DID eventually land that fish.  And it happened again where I felt totally undergunned, so I feel a 7wt or even an 8wt is probably the best wt rod for these Grass Carp.  I use a weight forward floating line, and tippet should be 12 lb Fluorocarbon. You can go lighter if the fish seem to be leader shy.  Sometimes they are, sometimes they aren't.  I VERY MUCH recommend using a landing net for Grass Carp, it can shorten a battle considerably.

Its not often a fly angler can pursue fish that frequently exceed 10 lbs (28"-30", as seen in the table below), and I feel learning how to fight and land big fish is a very useful skill when pursuing these and other bigger gamefish. Practice it! :) 

Grass Carp are very challenging and fun, a decent-sized one will impress you with it's strength!  I really enjoy catching them on flies.  Do some research, find some fish near you, and get after them!  Good luck! 

When you catch some, if you want to know what they should weigh, based on length and whether its a lake or stream fish.... here's a handy spreadsheet I created.  The formula for the lake fish (typically heavier) is shown at the top.  If you catch a Grass Carp longer than 42", you can use that formula to calculate the estimated weight.

Here's some pics of Grass Carp I've caught while flyfishing:

My biggest Grass Carp to date... 41.5", calc'd weight of 35 lbs.  On a 5wt with scuffed up 8 lb mono tippet!

The sour-puss face is due to a very hot day and overheating.

Early August 2021

 I've been mostly flyfishing for Grass Carp... (a.k.a. Missouri Mahseer, Backwater Barramundi, Veg Tarpon, Pruning Permit, Goliath Grass Grouper), with a few Shortnose Gar thrown in the mix.

I started off the year well with Grass Carp, so even though I "lost" a month when the creek was high and unfishable, I'm trying to see if I can get to 100 Grass Carp on flies in 1 year.  Or at least reach a "lifetime" total of at least 100 Grass Carp on flies.  As of August 11, I'm sitting at 71 for the year, and 92 lifetime.   The "lifetime" number should be obtainable.  The "100-in-a-year" number is going to be a big challenge to reach.  29 to go!

Bagworm:

The fish above and below (same fish) was a good one!

Snake skin sheds:

The Grass Carp below is currently my biggest from Missouri.... 34", calculated weight of 15 lb-19 lb range.  Heckuva fighter!

Fly Rod Grass Carp No. 6

I love catching these things, but I've struggled with it.  Its difficult, they are ultra-wary.  Anything that can go wrong HAS gone wrong...tangled lines, hooks pulled out, broken lines, straightened hooks, etc.
Its been 5 years since I caught my last fly rod Grass Carp!  I'm very grateful for finally catching another one.
I was flyfishing a new-to-me public pond, catching mostly tiny fish....small bass, bluegills, green sunfish, hybrid sunfish....when I saw a big splash near the opposite side of the pond as a bird flew over the water.  I thought maybe it could be a big bass, so I increased my pace and fished my way around the pond to that area.
It looked like someone had thrown peanuts or something on the water.  Over the next 20 minutes they seemed to absorb water, so I'm assuming it was pelleted fish food, or maybe pet food (dog or cat?).  I'm not sure if this was a random thing, or if someone periodically feeds fish/ducks or whatever?
Anyway, I soon saw what I thought might be a decent catfish to my right, but was probably a grass carp, swimming along under this food.  I tossed out the microjig & indicator I had been using.  The fish swam right over to the indicator and ate it.  I didn't react, and in a few seconds it spit it back out.  I then saw a grass carp to my left, and cast over by it.  It also ignored the food and ate my indicator...again spitting it within a few seconds.
Ok....so I removed the microjig and indicator and put on a floating yellow foam bug.  I tossed that around for awhile, while watching grass carp occasionally rising up to eat the food pellets.  3 or more Grass Carp appeared near where I had cast my fly...I was watching the fly (or so I thought), when my line quickly went tight and started taking off!   The "fly" I had been watching hadn't moved....it wasn't my fly.  This aggressive grass carp saved me from my own mistake and hooked itself!  As quickly as I could manage, I brought the fish close to the surface to make sure it was hooked in the mouth....it was!

After numerous splashes, bulldogging, headshaking, and back-and-forths, I landed it.  HOORAY!!
28" long, calculated weight of 10.5 lbs. Its the smallest one I've caught, but certainly still a fun and substantial fish.  I'm very happy to have finally caught another of these interesting fish!

Finally! Fly Rod Grass Carp #4!!

I finally FREAKING did it!!  After 2 seasons of not being able to land any Grass Carp (hooked yes, landed no)., I finally got fly rod Grass Carp #4 last night!  Total surprise, too.

My son had gymnastics last night, and my daughter went along for the ride.  After dropping him off, and the remaining two of us eating a nice healthy Taco John's dinner, I drove us to a nearby city pond.  My daughter stayed in the car to work on some schoolwork she had brought along.

I had 3 fly rods in the vehicle...a 5wt, a 6 wt, and a 7wt.  In general, this pond is good for catching some smallish panfish.  I had never seen a grass carp in this pond.  So, naturally, I selected the lightest of the 3 rods.  I was catching a few bluegills here and there, nothing major.  I was trying different fly patterns, hoping something would excite the fish.  I had put this fly on:

It was unweighted, and pushed quiet a bit of water, and sank very slowly.  It also made a good little "splat" when it hit the water.  I think all of this played a part in causing the Grass Carp to strike it.

I worked my way along the shoreline, and cast towards a small clump of floating algae that was floating about 30' off shore.  Something swirled on the fly.  I set the hook and missed, and suspected the fish was just a bluegill.  I immediately tossed the fly right back into that spot.  A fish lunged, grabbed, and darted to the side with the fly.  I set the hook, saw the fish, and knew right away I FINALLY had another Grass Carp on.  I was so excited!

Once I decided the fish was hooked well enough to stay on the line for awhile, I started trying to find a place to land the fish.  I had no net with me.  When a shore angler hooks a big fish and doesn't have a net or partner to help with landing the fish, the best situation you can hope for is some shallow water that you can drag the fish into so that it has to turn on its side.  Once on its side, it loses its advantage in the water, and can be landed at that point.  At this pond, the shoreline is limestone rip rap, which dropped almost straight off into knee-deep water.  There was just once spot that was a little bit shallower (but not shallow enough to "beach the fish")...where I could at least stand in the water and maybe try to land the fish while in the water. So, I got in the water.  The fish was constantly going back and forth.  I had collected some clumps of floating algae on my fly line, leader, and tippet.

 I checked the time on my phone.  I figured I was in for a long battle.  I was very skeptical that I would ever actually land this fish.  I continued fighting the fish.  Mostly it was the constant back-and-forth, with the occasional darting for deeper open water.  My daughter was in the car just 50' away, but since I was down the bank, standing in the water, she probably couldn't see what I was doing.  She was still working on her homework or reading a book.  I called her.  She answered, knew it was me, but couldn't hear me.  So, I just started waving my hand towards her, beckoning her to come to the shoreline.  She saw me, got out of the car and walked over.  I explained what was going on.   I told her I wasn't sure I could land this fish, and I wanted her to see it, and maybe she could take some video of the battle with her iPhone.  She did.  After 5-10 minutes, I told her the fish was tiring, but we seemed to still be at our stalemate.  So, she stopped taking video and went back to the car.

While she had been shooting video, I had been trying keep lifting the fish towards the surface and get its head up.  After my daughter got back to the car, I tried it again, and this time the fish let me KEEP its head above water.  So, I dragged the fish towards me.  It came, without spooking or thrashing this time, so I guided its head straight towards the rocks along the shoreline, and got its head up on a rock.  It still didn't thrash, so I dropped my rod in the water and grabbed the fish and carried it up onto shore.

No doubt about it, I was a VERY HAPPY GUY!

Chunky Fish.  It measured 30.5", with an (probably under-)estimated weight of 14 lbs.

After the photos, I got it back in the water to revive it, and within a couple of minutes, it swam out of my hands.

Hopefully I can get the videos added to this blog soon.