Fly Fishing For Carp: Tackle, Methods and Tactics

Every year more and more trout anglers are discovering how exciting fly fishing for carp can be. So, I thought I’d give a brief run-down of what I use. I’ve also gone into detail about feeding strategies which play a vital part in being successful on the water.

Rod, reel and fly line

I use a 9ft #8 weight rod which is shorter and more powerful than my trout rods. Then again, carp are usually a lot bigger than the trout I catch. A floating line with a short weight forward head is my preference. I use a Lee Wulff  ‘indicator line’ which loads my rod with just a short amount of line out. I mention this as most carp lakes do not offer many swims with unrestricted casting room. Another option is to buy a line one size larger that the rod’s rating. Your reel must be large enough to hold a 30 yard floating line and at least 50yds of 20lb backing. Do not skimp on the backing line. It’s not unusual for all your casting line along with several yards of backing to disappear on the carps first run once hooked.

Polarised glasses

These are essential. Without them cutting the surface glare you’re effectively fishing blind. This is incredibly hard as in most cases you need to see the carp.

Terminal tackle

Compared to regular carp fishing, fly fishing for carp is very simple indeed. The leader is your only terminal tackle. When trout fishing I usually use a leader of at least a rods length, often longer. For carp fishing I use a shorter 5-6ft leader which helps turn the larger fly over and aids accurate casting.

I use co-polymer nylon in 0.25mm – 15.4lb, this ultra-fine line is an edge when targeting surface feeding fish. Your line is very visible when on the surface. The last few inches of leader, just in front of the the fly, needs to sit in the surface rather than on top. To achieve this I use a paste known as ‘leader sink’ or Mud to degrease the material and hide the line from cautious fish. It’s less important when there’s some surface ripple as this breaks the surface tension and hides the leader.

Surface feed

To start with, buy some dog biscuits. ‘Chum Mixers’ are ideal and very successful. Also get some cat biscuits. By feeding a mixture of these biscuits trains the carp to feed on things that float. If you only feed one size of bait the fish quickly become very suspicious. The addition of cat biscuits adds variety in size, colours and shapes into your free feed. This gives you so many more options on flies you can use. I now use floating trout pellets in 8mm and 11mm. Being regular in shape this helps me keep my feed tightly grouped when catapulting them out.

Oily up baits

Using oily baits is a popular tactic to attract fish and to flatten off the surface ripple. This makes it much easier to see your fly but can cause problems. The oil increases the surface tension so your leader will be visible on the surface even after regular degreasing with ‘leader sink’, Fulling Mill Mud. I even carry a small amount of washing up liquid to try and sink my ‘tippet’, when ‘Mud’ fails. When this happens my last resort is to add a short 12-18” ‘tippet’ of 10.71lb [2x] Fulling Mill Masterclass fluorocarbon. Fluorocarbon is denser than co-polymer so will usually solve the problem. However, with the leader sinking it can spook fish if it comes into contact with their body. The result is often a foul hooked fish! Keeping the ‘tippet’ short and under tension is the best way to avoid this.

Feeding strategies

Before starting to fish you need to asses the fish’s behavior. Assuming you can see fish: are they cruising about or stationary? Basking on the top? How they are behaving will guide you in what to do next.

Cruisers

Cruisers are very catchable. Aim your cast a couple of feet ahead of them and draw your fly into their path. Often this will result in an instant take. If they ignore this tactic then introduce small amounts of floaters in the general area to see if they will stop and feed.

Baskers

These fish are lazing on the surface and not moving. Fire a few floaters just up-wind of them and watch what happens when they approach the carp. Often they will start to move without appearing to take anything, but eventually they will. That’s why feeding “little and often” is so important. Gradually the odd fish will sample a mixer.

If they show no interest, switch to smaller floaters and keep watching closely. Eventually you’ll see the odd fish lift ever so slightly, head tilted towards the surface. What happens next is you’ll see the surface dimple or bulge. Keep feeding and slowly lips will appear. Then you’ll see more and more and until the excitement spreads to the others. I’ve described what I call the “peanut effect” in more detail later in this article.

No surface fish

There are times when no fish are visible to start with. However, during the daytime in summer, carp are never far from the surface. So, position yourself with the wind off your back and feed a mixture of floaters. Again feed “little and often” until you see signs of fish. Try to gauge what size they are taking as this will influence your fly choice. Don’t be tempted to increase the quantity of feed as the fish will follow the food downwind. Try to drop the food slightly shorter once you see fish taking in an effort to draw them closer. This will help you target them more accurately and select the larger specimens.

On pressured waters you’ll often see fish just appear directly under the bait. The first thing you’ll notice is a pair of lips as they gradually emerge from the murky water, followed by their head. The carp is now standing vertically on its tail, trying to breathe the bait in as it pumps its gills. I’ve had some success with these fish by using a Fulling Mill Hopper Popper. I use these in black which is a very effective colour. This fly has a buoyant foam head and its body sits under the surface, which is the key to its success. When the carp is testing the the fly, the hook is already in its mouth and as it turns away the fly catches hold before it has time to eject it!

As I’ve said, these fish are difficult and I believe are the result of angling pressure. Unlike trout, which are often taken for food, carp do learn from being caught and released. So, to be successful you have to keep changing your approach. Trying new flies and tactics all the time is what makes carp fishing so much fun.

The “peanut effect”

If the fish showing no interest in the 11mm pellets or dog biscuits I introduce some smaller floaters: cat biscuits or 8mm floating pellets. I’m aiming to create what I call the “peanut effect”. Let me explain. You walk into a bar and there’s some peanuts on the counter. You’re not hungry but you take one and the taste is too good to resist another, and so on. That’s what I’m trying to create by introducing smaller floaters. Once fish are taking I like to introduce a few larger 11mm baits and watch what happens next. Carp are greedy fish and they will often search out the larger baits once you’ve triggered the feeding response. If this happens I choose a suitable large fly. If they ignore the bigger baits then my imitation has to be scaled down to suit. 

Casting range

I’ve described how to get the carp feeding but I need them within my casting range. It’s not always possible to find suitable swims where there are fish. Once you’ve got fish feeding, I try to maneuver them into a position where I can reach them. Learning to roll cast will open up many more swims that cannot be fished by overhead casting and is worth learning.

Undercut banks

Something I almost forgot to mention: do not ignore fish in the margins. These banks are often undercut from where carp have been grubbing around. It’s quite possible for fish to literally be under your feet and unseen. Only their slurping or bow waves give away their presence.

The carp flies I use

I use flies produced by Fulling Mil. They are consistent in quality, reliable and tied on razor sharp, heavy duty hooks. The first two flies we’ll look at are the Bonio and the Close Copy Biscuit flies. These are essential when using mixers and other floating feed. What my friends and I like about these flies is the ability to trim them down so they sit “in” rather than “on” the surface. Too buoyant and the carp will often refuse them, trim them a little bit at a time and watch how the carp readily slurp them down. We always carry a few spares of each so when one gets waterlogged and difficult to see it’s just a matter of tying on a fresh one!

Fulling Mill Disco Biscuit are another very effective pattern which are available in three colours, white, tan and dark brown. Surprisingly we’ve found the dark brown to be the most successful. This could be because I’ve been feeding floating trout pellets which are darker than dog biscuits. Or, it could be they have a stronger silhouette on the surface when viewed from beneath. Whatever the reason, I wouldn’t be without a good supply of them in all the colours.

Here’s a “top tip from the super coach.” When I get a new batch of discos I trim the fluorescent floss off the back and super glue a slice of 7mm booby foam to replace the fluffy sight indicator. This additional foam adds a smidgeon of buoyancy which helps no end as this pattern is designed to sit low in the surface film, which carp find irresistible. I use fluorescent yellow and orange foam. Depending on the light conditions, one will be more visible than the other.

Finally I’ve included the Fulling Mill Popper Hopper in black. This is another faithful fly that has caught numerous carp for me when fish are being tricky and just mouthing the freebies. As I mentioned previously, the bulk of this fly sits below the surface with just the foam head visible above. Although difficult to see I’ve caught enough fish on this fly to persevere with it. Another “top tip” is to add a smear of ‘Gink’ gel floatant to the foam head. This helps it sit proud of the surface, which makes it so much easier to see. One other thing worth mentioning is the hopper popper is a trout fly that catches carp, the hooks are not as strong as the other flies I’ve mentioned so take it easy when playing carp.

That about wraps up this short piece on fly fishing for carp. If you would like try this exciting form of fly fishing and live in the South East of England, I offer a “one to one” guiding service.

Tight lines!

If you want to read more from Andy, check out his other fly fishing for carp article on our blog.

Andy Lush

Andy is a passionate angler who fishes for trout and carp. He offers a guiding service called The Friendly Fly Fisherman. You can contact him through his website: www.thefriendlyfisherman.co.uk

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