Quarantine Carp on the Fly

 

Sometimes you just need to get out there and toss a fly, I’m pretty sure everyone can relate to that feeling especially these days.  We had a very calm day here in central Iowa, and my family and I made the drive to my Dad’s house to spend some time at the lake.  Unfortunately his boat isn't in yet, but that didn’t stop us from spending some quality time outside.  I‘ve got my paddle board strategically located in my Dad’s garage.  

 

 

I’ve been waiting for the water temps to raise enough to make the resident carp on the lake happy.  Fly fishing for carp from a stand up paddle board is unbelievable.  It’s by far the best way I’ve seen to sneak up to these spooky fish, present a fly, and enjoy the mayhem after the hook up.  I prefer to hit the water on a weekday, since the boat traffic is minimal, but what the heck, Sunday Funday.  

This day, i rigged up two of our fly rods.  I always rig up two rods on my board, mainly because I have 2 rod holders.  Imagine if I had 3 rod holders, my mind just exploded.  First, I rigged up Econ 101 906- 7/8 with 8 weight fly line and a giant black articulated sculpin for largemouth bass.

 

 

  Next I rigged up El Jefe 906-7/8 with 8 weight fly line and a Befus carp fly in a rust color.  This is my go to carp fly.  

 

 

The boat traffic and my timing didn’t make much sense to start out for bass, so I headed for the shallow coves in search of warmer water.  On the way to the coves, I found a few solid fish along the rock landscaping of some properties.  I find a lot of fish looking for food at this spot, had one solid follow, but the boat traffic made it too difficult to hold the board in place for very long.  When I made it to the cove, I knew I found good fish activity.  There were dozens of carp present.  It was time to get into position.  I positioned the board at the end of the cove, allowing the wind and waves to “park“ me next to shore.  Then we wait.  I had the 8 weight fly line out on the deck of my board, and began to load the 7/8 weight El Jefe.  This rod rivals the big dollar rods, it‘s light, smooth & accurate casting. It is actually composed of IM12 graphite, which you don’t see at this price point.  I can’t tell you how great this rod casts.  The shot presented itself within minutes, and I was hooked up.  You can tell the fish are still operating in mainly cold water because this one really didn’t act like it was hooked until I got it near the board and net.  Check out the YouTube video of this fight(link on the photo below), we got everything from the cast to release on video.  

 

 

Catching carp on a fly rod is a huge bonus to anglers all over the country that don’t have super close access to trout.  Do some research and find a place near you to get into this.  I can promise you, it’s an absolute blast!!!   As always, reach out if I can help you in any way.