Monster Carp on the Fly

 

Giant Fly Caught Carp on a 37 Inch Net…WOW

 

Sometimes you just need to drop everything, grab your fly fishing gear, and head to the river.  Because you never know what you are going to run into.  That’s exactly what I did on this early October morning.  I had smallmouth bass on my mind, when this idea popped into my head, and an opportunity to fish our new El Jefe Salt 8 Weight Combo.  As you can see in the photos, I did accomplish my mission of locating one small smallmouth bass, but the conditions on The Raccoon River near Central Iowa were a little off this morning.

 

Raccoon River, Central Iowa

 

The water was extremely low.  The only flow was coming in from rain water from the night before via a small creek.  Normally at this spot, the water has a constant flow.  Today it was virtually standing still.  Very odd, but I made my way to the moving water and began swinging some hand tied streamers.  The line quickly came tight with this little smallmouth.  Good times, but this water flow was a no go for me.  It was time to move down the river where I generally find tailing carp.

 

Smallmouth Bass on the Fly

 

I hear it from all kinds of anglers and non-anglers.  ”You really fly fish for carp?”  Absolutely, these fish are incredibly underrated.  They are plentiful, powerful, and very difficult to catch...but if you present the right fly in the right way, they will eat.  Then, you will have your hands full!  

 

One of Jeff’s Favorite Carp Flys

 

When I slowly moved down the river, I could see the tails of feeding carp, and they looked large.  This was a good sign for sure and I was starting to get excited.  I positioned myself right on a point where I could look out and see all this action happening right in front of me, and waited until the right moment, and started my cast.  When the carp are tailing, you would generally try to land the fly a foot or so in front of their heads.  I was able to make a great first cast, and I watched this big head move towards my fly, I slowly stripped the line, and it became tight, and I gently strip set and lifted the rod.  Fish on.

 

Houston…We Have Backing

 

I’ve caught and landed hundreds of carp on the fly, but this one was instantly different.  This fish moved fifty feet to the far river bank in about eight seconds, and then decided to head down the river…”Houston, we have backing.”  This giant cleared all the fly line and started taking backing.  My drag was gently applying pressure, but definitely not stopping this fish.  As I watched my three hundred feet of backing slowly disappear, and could begin to see the bare spool on my reel, I knew it was time to chase.  I honestly thought this fish would stop with a little pressure, but it wasn’t happening so I began to chase it down stream.  Good news, it finally stopped its run.  This fish is used to going wherever it wants clearly.  At this point, I knew this was a special fish, and likely my personal best carp on the fly.  After fighting this fish for around thirty minutes or so, I was able to get my backing and fly line back on the reel.  Now I had to find a way to net this beast.  Remember friends, during times like this, it’s awesome to have a good friend with you on the net!  Finally, after so many passes, I was able to get this one head first in my 37 inch net.  I think I need a bigger net!

 

Giant Fly Caught Carp in a 37 Inch Net

 

What an incredible fight, what an incredible fish.  After a few quick photos, I was able to get a nice little video of the release and watched this giant swim off to recover.  This was my largest freshwater fish I’ve ever caught on the fly rod, and definitely my largest carp by a mile.  It measured around 33-34 inches long, and through a little research estimated it weighed somewhere between 20-25 pounds.  It’s difficult to find much larger freshwater fish that are so plentiful to target on a fly rod.  If you have never tried this, give it a shot.  If you need a point in the right direction or some help getting started, let me know, I’m happy to help!

 

That’s a BIG Tail!

 

Until next time, tight lines my friends!

Jeff 

 

Jeff Ditsworth, Owner of Pescador on the Fly with his Personal Best Carp on the Fly