# Carp



## gmleath (Nov 10, 2014)

Looking for any help when it comes to chasing carp on fly. I typically fly fish for bass around Houston and red fish in Galveston and i have no idea where to start when it comes to carp fishing. What areas should i look for to fish and what kind of flies do y'all use for carp? All input is appreciated, thank you.

- Garrett


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## karstopo (Jun 29, 2009)

gmleath said:


> Looking for any help when it comes to chasing carp on fly. I typically fly fish for bass around Houston and red fish in Galveston and i have no idea where to start when it comes to carp fishing. What areas should i look for to fish and what kind of flies do y'all use for carp? All input is appreciated, thank you.
> 
> - Garrett


There are some guys that go after carp in the houston fly fishing group on Facebook. I believe someone guides on Braes Bayou in Houston. The concrete lined areas.

I've seen them in oyster creek in Lake Jackson. They have shown zero interest in the small variety of flies I used. I did get some bluegill, gar, and gaspergou takes. The place I went after them was a fly stealing Mecca. Low branches overhead, plenty of whatever underwater to loose your fly on. There is supposed to be a fly called a coffee bean fly which is literally a coffee bean glued to a hook. I haven't stooped to that level yet, but there are reports the fly is irresistible to carp. I saw someone on Facebook caught a carp on a pattern that looked to me like a chartreuse version of a San Juan worm. That might be my next move should I ever get after them again.


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## southpaw (Feb 25, 2009)

Where to look : Pick a bayou, literally any bayou in the greater Houston area (Braes, Buffalo, White Oak, etc), and walk down it. More often than not, you'll eventually come across some carp. Both grass and common.

Flies : Anything that looks like a bug, small crawfish or worm will catch common carp. The key is something that will land softly and get to the bottom quick. Here's a couple that I use

Trouser Worm









Some buggy concoctions I came up with



















Here's something I posted awhile back for someone who asked pretty much the same questions you are that'll give you most of what you need to know to catch common carp. I still haven't figured out the grassies

Carp aren't exactly predatory fish like a redfish. Redfish aren't real picky and they'll chase flies down that land in their general vicinity. Most of the time this is not the case with carp. In my experience I've found common carp have about 3 different modes. Cruising hunter/gatherer mode, cruising gatherer mode and ambush mode.

In the cruising hunter/gatherer mode they're cruising along at a moderate pace picking up vegetation, some small crawdads, tadpoles and I guess bugs. These fish are a little more aggressive and will chase flies. Cast it out a ft or two in front of the fish and they'll usually pounce it. If they don't see it, let the fly sit on the bottom and when the fish is close, give it a strip.

Gatherer mode carp are the most difficult to catch and unfortunately this seems to be the mode they're in the most. In gatherer mode, they cruise along slowly sucking stuff off the bottom and doing whatever carp do. Their heads are down and they'll sometimes be tailing. These fish don't want to chase flies, in fact try and strip a fly past him and he'll probably spook. For these you have to put the fly in line with the direction they're feeding. Cast it too close and it'll spook, but cast too far out and he may change his feeding line slightly. Once the fly hits the bottom don't move it. Let the fish come to your fly. If you're lucky he'll cruise right over the fly and suck it up. If he picks up your fly, set the hook immediately. As fast as he can suck the fly up, he can spit it right back out. If you can't see your fly, look for a subtle twitch in your line. When in doubt, set the hook. If he misses your fly, let him swim by then pick your fly up and try again. Repeat until you catch the fish or spook him

Ambush mode carp are by far the easiest to catch. You'll find the fish against steep banks that drop off into the water. These weirdos sit with their noses pretty much against the bank waiting for bugs or whatever to fall in. They'll hit anything that looks buggy and drops in the water near their heads. I usually find these guys after a bit of rain. If you walk up on one of these guys and he's on the same bank as you, implore the "teabag" method of casting. It's actually not a cast at all you just stick your rod out and drop the fly in front of it's face. If you see him from a distance, cast your fly anywhere near his head and close to the bank and he'll probably eat.


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## gmleath (Nov 10, 2014)

thanks for all the help Karstopo and Southpaw. I will definitely take everything said into consideration whenever i can find the time to go after carp.


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## Ficking (Aug 29, 2016)

southpaw said:


> Where to look : Pick a bayou, literally any bayou in the greater Houston area (Braes, Buffalo, White Oak, etc), and walk down it. More often than not, you'll eventually come across some carp. Both grass and common.
> 
> Flies : Anything that looks like a bug, small crawfish or worm will catch common carp. The key is something that will land softly and get to the bottom quick. Here's a couple that I use
> 
> ...


Thank you very much, I was actually searching for the same answer!


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## Ish (Oct 30, 2008)

carp tactics are fairly simple... but the execution of those tactics is not always as easy. 

-fish with a light tippet 
-use a loop knot so the fly will get down faster.
-use any fly that looks like a small crawdad and slightly contrasts the bottom
-use a sharp hook.
-get the fly on the bottom in front of the fish without spooking it.
-when the fish sees it, make the fly act like a small crawdad trying to get away.
-when the fish eats/you suspect it ate, don't strip-strike...simply draw gently on the line until you feel resistance, then angle the rod tip away from fish.

(if you strip-strike and the fish ate you could break the light tippet. if you strip-strike and the fish didn't eat, then you'll simply be yanking the fly out of the fish's field of view and/or spook the fish.)

if you spook the fish, leave it alone and leave other fish in that immediate area alone cuz the spooked fish will kick off some schreckstoff and all the other fish in the area will shut down. they aren't gonna eat, and all you're doing at that point is educating them...just making it that much harder next time.

move on and find more fish.

if your in a stream with current, move upstream cuz the current will carry the pheramone downstream and alert other fish down the way.


i don't waste time time casting at fish that aren't actively feeding, but that's just me.

good luck.


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