Dave Felce

Reels: Unlike trout fishing, the reel is a vital component of the carp fisher’s tackle, not just a line store. You’re going to be seeing a lot of your backing very frequently, and you’re going to be playing the fish off the reel. Drags need to be silky smooth and yet prevent over-runs, even at relatively light settings. High quality disc or cork drags are ideal. Personally I prefer cork, as they’re solid, dependable and user-serviceable. They’re also very smooth and the setting doesn’t appear to alter with heat/ friction/ speed of revolution or amount of line left on the spool, which some drags do. Pretty much you get what you pay for….. High capacity is essential. 200m is by no means excessive. And in case you’re wondering; yes, I do have a couple of flashy Abels and no, they don’t obviously appear to affect my ability to catch fish! But we’ll see why in a bit. 

Spotting carp before they spot you is a key element of the game, so good polarizing glasses are essential. Another key element is a VERY large net. The bigger, fixed frame salmon nets are very good, but they’re not the easiest to stalk with and certainly a pain when it comes to air travel. I found a brilliant net from Korum that folds in half. The barbel size fits in most large suitcases. Coupling this with a neat telescopic handle from Gunki gives me the versatility I need, whilst still able to handle big fish. 

Fish care is important. If you really MUST have that trophy shot, then please consider an unhooking mat. Better still, handle the fish in the water. 

2. Leader material, build up, length and knots

Carp are surprisingly unconcerned by the presence of fly line or tippet on the water, even in close proximity to the fly. But, as we’ll see later, they’re highly sensitive to noise and movement; so presentation is important.

My go-to leader is the Roman Moser All-Purpose Braided Dry Fly Leader. This gives excellent turnover and presentation, and is both durable and highly buoyant. The supplied tippet material is removed before use. Roman Moser tell me that these leaders test at around 30kg, but even so I’ve had one part on the initial surge of a large fish, which gives you some idea as to what you’re up against!

My choice of tippet material will probably surprise you; it’s fluorocarbon. But not just any fluorocarbon. There are certain properties I’m looking for which I consider useful, if not essential. 

Firstly, diameter. As I said earlier, wild carp aren’t especially tippet shy. But something to bear in mind is that we’re obliged to use relatively high breaking strain material, due to the size and power of the fish. At higher breaking strains, the difference in diameter between fluorocarbon and nylon becomes significant. Here’s some comparisons to consider:

Test                 Maxima (nylon) diameter                   Grand Max (fluorocarbon) diameter

5.5kg               0.32 mm                                                0.24

6.8kg               0.37 mm                              0.26

7.8kg               0,40 mm                                                 0.28

12.5kg              0.50 mm                                                 0.37

Not that I’d suggest a 12.5kg tippet, of course! But it just goes to show… So, the main reason for choosing fluorocarbon is to reduce the chance of a heavy splash as the fly lands.

I prefer a soft fluorocarbon, primarily as carp have highly sensitive mouths and will rapidly reject something that doesn’t feel right. I believe the extra suppleness also allows the fly to sit more naturally in the water.

Grand Max Soft Plus is therefore my go-to tippet material, but Seaguar Final Line is arguably even better, if you can find it. It seems to have just a bit more ‘give’. 7.8kg (0.28mm) is ideal as an all-round tippet and I certainly wouldn’t recommend that you go lighter than 5.5kg. Around 2m of tippet is a good starting point.

As far as knots are concerned, I use primarily the Trilene knot to attach both fly and tippet to leader. Tied correctly this is very reliable with fluorocarbon and the end of the knot is to a certain extent concealed within the eye, reducing the chance of rejection. The Rapala knot is also very reliable and does allow a pleasing amount of mobility to the fly. However, since surface flies are essentially fished static, I feel that there’s a risk carp will feel the slightly bulkier loop. It’s my first choice with nymphs and lures, tho’!

One of the obvious disadvantages of fluorocarbon is that it sinks. However, this is outweighed by the positives outlined above. Bear in mind that we’re sight fishing to feeding fish here, so you won’t be casting your fly out blindly and leaving it to sit for long periods, ‘just in case’. We’re not bait fishing! Hence the reduced buoyancy is immaterial, especially as many of the fly patterns are themselves highly buoyant and won’t be dragged under by the tippet.

A fringe benefit of this set-up is that it’s highly versatile. If your target fish is feeding on the bottom, it’s a matter of a quick fly change to get you back in the game with a suitable sub-surface pattern. This may be complete anathema to the dry fly purist, but there’s no point carefully presenting grasshoppers and ants if your quarry is hunting crayfish or fry. Just saying……

3. Approach and stealth.

Okay, so this is the fun bit! But it’s closely allied with the next section. One of the most critical factors in carp fishing is: First Locate Your Carp. So quickly skip to Section 4 for a few minutes…

Back with me? Cool! So, a key component in fishing for carp is to see the fish before they sense you. Now you’ve read a bit about how to locate carp, it’s important that you appreciate that your approach is critical, not only in presenting a fly to them, but also ensuring they haven’t disappeared before you were even aware of their presence. A little knowledge of carp biology is helpful here.

Carp do NOT have poor eyesight. This is an urban myth. What IS true is that carp have a number of highly developed senses and they’re not dependent on sight to feed. That’s an important difference. In clear water they can see you and see things moving from a long way off. So, move slowly and think about your clothing. Wear clothing that breaks up your outline, not single blocks of colour. Think about your background. If the shore is flat you’re likely to be silhouetted against the sky, so a blue patterned shirt might be appropriate, as strange as it sounds. Crouch or kneel to present a lower profile. I had both my hips replaced a few years back and my knees are shot from a lifetime of hard-core mountaineering, so crouching is quite difficult for me. I’ll often creep into a position from where I can sit to make my cast. 

If movement spooks carp, they’re even spookier where sound is concerned. Carp have an anatomical structure called the Weberian apparatus, which connects the swim bladder to their auditory system. Essentially the swim bladder acts as a huge echo chamber, amplifying sound and vibration. It’s highly effective. If you stomp around like a fairy elephant it’s highly likely you’ll see no carp at all. Or maybe just the splashing as they depart in panic! To put this in some sort of perspective, I’ve watched a pod of carp gently ghost away after I dislodged a small stone whilst descending a slope over 100m away…..! So, wear soft-soled footwear (flats boots or gym shoes are ideal) and place your feet carefully with every step. Plan your approach route and use the terrain. Sandy / muddy shores are much less problematic than rocky / shingle ones. 

If you get this right you’ll be able to get close enough that super-long casts aren’t necessary, hence improving your chances of a non-splashy presentation. Get it wrong and you won’t need to cast at all.

Do bear in mind that if carp are feeding right in at the margin, then the best casting position may be from 5-10m back, casting across the ground. So plan accordingly.

A final point to bear in mind is that carp are rarely solitary. They tend to form small groups known as ‘pods’. Be very careful to check for all the carp in the vicinity before you choose a target, or inevitably an unseen pair of eyes or Weberian apparatus will spook everything for you. 

4. Reading the water.

Finding carp and working out what they’re doing takes time and effort. Put bluntly, there’s no point casting into likely looking places if you can’t see fish or signs of their activity, so you’ve gotta’ go looking for them.

Sometimes just looking, especially from an elevated position, will save you a lot of frustration. Learn to use bridges and high banks to look down into the water before you approach. Even from quite a distance you’ll soon spot carp feeding on the surface, with their backs and fins out of the water. Look closely at the margins, especially marginal plants, and look for movement.

Listen! Feeding carp are often fairly noisy, swirling and splashing. The ‘plop, plop’ of carp ‘clooping’ is very distinctive and can be heard from a fair distance. It’s a cast-iron indication that they’re feeding on the surface and, once you’re tuned into it, is guaranteed to set your nerves jangling! 

If you can’t see carp, move on….. 

Carp are quite happy in a number of diverse habitats, but there are certain features that they find especially attractive and that also lend themselves to the dry fly approach. Look for bays or inlets off of the main body of water. If you can find sun-heated flats, so much the better. Carp like to seek out warm (but not hot) water. 

Take account of the prevailing wind direction. Carp tend to gravitate to shallow, windward shorelines, not only because (in light winds) sun-warmed water is pushed there, but also because this is where food items accumulate, especially the surface food items we’re hoping to imitate.

Finally, look for vegetation. Carp love the shelter and feeding opportunities provided by reed beds and overhanging trees.

Unfortunately, there are no guarantees here. Just because a place looks ‘right’ it doesn’t necessarily follow that it will be holding carp. You gotta’ see ‘em! Only time spent on any given water will begin to sync you in with the specific intricacies and nuances of the resident carp. When you get serious about carp, you’ll find you spend far more time watching them (or looking for them) than casting at them. 

5. Casting ability which casts are essential.

Sexy loops and pretty ‘shadow casts’ that you’ve seen at the movies aren’t just irrelevant with carp fishing; they’re downright counter-productive. The MOST important thing is to get your fly in front of your target with the minimum of movement and noise. As we found earlier, carp can see pretty good, so any false casting will ruin your opportunities. To gauge distance and take account of wind, false cast away from the fish and then switch direction to your intended drop zone. Better still, don’t false cast at all if you can help it!

A really useful technique here is to use the surface tension of the water on the line to load the rod, in much the same way as you would with a roll cast. Once you get the hang of this you’ll find you can lift, stop (with a haul), redirect and shoot, all in one graceful motion; with no false casting necessary. Done well, you’ll find that it’s a remarkably good ‘stealth’ cast, with minimal disturbance to the water surface and allowing delicate presentation.

Another useful cast in your armoury is the bow-and-arrow, but not necessarily in the conventional sense. Many folks think of this as a means of getting a fly into tight pockets, and certainly it’s very good for that. But it’s also a great technique for casting OUT from within cover, such as under a tree. There are two versions of this cast: one where you start by holding the fly, which is rather limited by the length of your rod; the other where you hold a loop of line to begin. With this second version it’s possible to achieve in excess of 10m casts, with practice. Try it out in your garden or even your living room. You’ll be amazed how effective it is!

Far more important than learning any specific cast is to be able to make accurate, delicate casts from a variety of positions. Practice casting from sitting, crouching and kneeling positions. Then practice some more. 

Fish: Yes! Carp are predatory. This will come as a surprise to most readers, but it’s true. Even more surprising is that fry-eating carp can sometimes be taken on the surface. Quite often when carp are targeting shoals of small fish, a pod of carp will tear into the shoal causing stunned casualties to float to the surface, to be mopped up later. It’s incredibly exciting and even quite shocking to witness. But of course we can use this to our advantage if we’re prepared for it.

Seeds: A number of waterside plants have very fluffy, cotton-like seeds. Carp like to eat these very much and, where there’s a good fall of seeds, will often get quite fixated on them to the exclusion of anything else. Carp being carp, that doesn’t last for long, tho’!

7. Rise forms Can they tell us something?

Other than the obvious ‘clooping’ behaviour, carp don’t have a range of rise forms to indicate what they’re eating in the way that trout do. They’re either eating on the surface, or they’re not. However, taking time to observe carp gives us some clues about whether they’re likely to eat or not, based upon their movement and behaviour.

Top-feeders: More than likely ‘clooping’. The dry fly-fisher’s Nirvana. All you gotta’ do is work out what they’re eating, then present a suitable imitation. (“All….”  LOL)

Suspended fish / Baskers: Truly static carp are the most troublesome to call. They might be suspended mid-water or actually basking on the surface, often with their backs clear of the water. Whatever it is they’re doing, they’re not feeding. Like me, you’ll find it difficult to resist taking a shot; but keep your expectations low! More often than not you’ll just end up spooking them.

Cruisers: There are essentially two types of cruiser, but sometimes it’s difficult to tell the difference.   Cruisers that circle around bays, frequently changing direction or patrolling reed margins are almost definitely looking for food, so they’re ‘in play’ and well worth a cast. Sometimes you’ll see an individual carp or small pod moving purposefully in one direction. These are fish on a mission and are more than likely NOT ‘players’. But you’d have to be super-human to resist the temptation to cast at them! What have you got to lose? 

Current riders: For our purposes these are essentially a more specialised type of top-feeder, taking flies off the surface as they drift down towards them. If they’re feeding sub-surface, at least they’re feeding, so they’re definitely worth a shot with a dry on the off chance.

Tailers: The good news is that tailers (you’ll see the tails breaking the surface) are definitely feeding, more often than not sending up clouds of mud and silt to indicate their presence. The downside is that they’re engrossed with eating something far yummier than any dry fly you can throw, so at this point you’ll thank me for recommending a versatile set-up enabling you to switch to sub-surface patterns…. 

Watching carp eating / hunting will give you a pretty good insight as to how one looks when it’s a ‘player’. For example, I once muffed a shot at a feeding carp, dropping the cast at least 3 or 4m short of where I thought I needed to be. Ordinarily I’d have lifted off and re-cast, but something about the fish’s attitude made me pause. I just ‘knew’ it had seen that fly and that it was interested. Well, it took that carp a good five minutes to drift, almost imperceptibly, to within eating distance. When it finally took, it ripped me off into the backing in seconds and eventually bent the hook; but without having spent countless hours watching them I’d not have realised it was going to move in on the fly in the first place. 

At this point it’s also worth mentioning spawners. Both at the beginning and the end of the spawn period, carp can be aggressive, and even competitive feeders. However, at the height of the spawn they’ve only got one thing on their minds and you’ll rarely get an eat. Often you’ll find small groups or individuals sitting stationary in the margins, apparently just lost in the moment. Give them a break and leave them in peace.

8. Fly selection, size, shape, materials, which flies are essential, favourite fly.

Choice of fly is pretty much determined by what your carp are eating! Essential patterns for your box would be beetles, grasshoppers, suspender buzzers, floating fry, ants (!), in addition to more ‘standard’ dries such as daddy long-legs etc. Anything quite ‘buggy’. Hooks are an important consideration; they need to be strong and, ideally, with a wide gape. My favourite hook is the Tiemco 2499SP, which embodies all of the required qualities. They’re barbless and razor sharp, giving excellent penetration into the carp’s tough mouth. There are also some great hooks available from the bait fishing scene, so keep an open mind. For grasshoppers and fry patterns you’ll need something with a longer shank; The classic TMC 811S or a heavy streamer/nymph model is ideal. 

Patterns need to be tied on appropriately sized hooks. Grasshoppers and fry can be quite large, maybe 10 - 6. Beetles and ants 14 - 10. Bear in mind that with heavier hooks you will often be using foam to ensure buoyancy. For the smaller patterns it’s worth considering a bright ‘sighter’ of  fluorescent foam or yarn tied on the back of the fly, or at the head for buzzers. This will aid visibility considerably when your fly is floating static at a distance.

When actively searching for carp you obviously want to be locked and loaded, ready for action. My go-to searching fly would be a leggy grasshopper or maybe something generic such as the excellent Goddard’s Caddis, suitably ‘carped-up’ on a heavy gauge hook. The only downside to the caddis/sedge is that it’s also highly attractive to other species! Any number of times I’ve made the perfect presentation to a feeding fish, only to have the pumpkinseed from hell appear from nowhere and grab the fly just as the carp was about to eat….!!

9. Presentation and drifts.

Consider the location of snags and potential escape routes before you make your cast. Ideally you want a hooked fish to head directly out into open water. Almost invariably a hooked carp will run opposite to the direction of pull, so position yourself accordingly and be prepared to move if necessary. 

The ideal presentation is directly in front of the carp’s head, maybe around 30cm or so ahead. In practice that’s quite tricky to achieve, so a good tactic is to cast beyond your intended target, then slowly draw the fly back into position. However, the object is to leave the fly static in front of an approaching fish; do NOT retrieve! Generally speaking, a carp will signify its interest by altering its body position. Often you’ll see its fins stick out a little more, gills flare and so on. Sometimes they feign nonchalance, but invariably there’s some indication. If you’re not convinced the fish is interested, a good tactic can be to gently flick the fly line with your fingers, which has the effect of twitching the fly. Alternatively slightly lift the rod tip, very gently. Both of these actions must be done with great caution, as carp are very wary of movement, as I’ve said before.

A fairly unique presentation is when carp are in at the margins, feeding on invertebrates or terrestrials trapped in the back-wash from the shore. They’re often pre-occupied, but they’re also highly spooky, especially as they may have their heads clear of the water. Strange as it may sound, the best approach here is to cast directly towards the margin from a position further inland, as far away as you feel comfortable with. It means your line is laying across grass, rocks, mud etc., but it’s far better than being highly visible on the shoreline. You’ll need to clean your line frequently, as I said earlier.

10. Upstream or downstream?

Generally speaking, any which way you can! Although most of what I’ve described refers to still water presentations, it’s equally applicable to rivers. Your best chances are with slack pools to the side of the main flow or alongside vegetation. Bear in mind that immediately next to the bank there is a counter-current where the flow is in an upstream direction; carp often sit in these areas facing downstream. 

Probably the main considerations are the proximity of other fish and being able to see the ‘eat’. Casting upstream increases the chances of the line falling across the back of your target fish or its buddies. Better to position yourself slightly upstream of the pod and let your fly drift down towards the feeding fish. A little slack introduced to the cast will ensure a dead drift without skating, but remember to be prepared with your ‘strip n’ sweep’ or you will likely miss the take!

11. fighting fish.

Before you can fight your fish, you’ve first got to hook it! This is an area that causes a lot of frustration for novice carp fishers. Carp often feed using a ‘suck-blow’ action, and they can eject unwanted objects amazingly quickly. A standard ‘trout’ strike by simply lifting, no matter how quickly you can do it, is often just way too slow. A lot has been made of the ‘strip-strike’ approach, where the line hand pulls rapidly away from the fish in an effort to set the hook. The problem here is that, more often than not, the carp’s mouth is still open so you end up pulling the fly out anyway. The solution is actually a modified strip-strike, what I call the ‘strip n’ lift’ or ‘strip n’ sweep’; essentially a combination of the two. The strip element gives you the required speed, coupled with an enhanced angle which increases the chance of connection. Once you get the hang of it it’s highly effective; but your problems are only just beginning……

The next stage is arguably the most critical part of the fight. The speed and power demonstrated by carp in the fraction of a second immediately after the hook-set is not just awesome, it’s truly shocking and catches even experienced anglers off guard. Once the hook is set it is IMPERATIVE that there is some ‘give’ in the system, yet you remain in contact with the fish. If you just hold tight, invariably you will get snapped off. During the next phase, where the fish is heading for the horizon, your primary aim is to be playing it off the reel. Watch out especially for any slack coils getting caught on bank-side objects, knotting or even whipping up and over the rod/reel as the line speeds through your fingers. It’s actually worth considering a glove or stripping guard here, as line burn is a distinct possibility. Once the line is running off the reel, trust the drag to do its job. Put the rod to work to apply pressure on the fish yet absorb any head-shakes, sudden lunges. Wild carp are tenacious fighters, so be prepared for a number of further runs into the backing, even once you’ve got the line back on the reel.

If you’re in a tight, snaggy corner you’re going to need to stop the fish an awful lot quicker and to a certain extent it’s a case of ‘hang on and hope’! It’s at this point you’ll thank me for recommending a relatively heavy rig with plenty of in-built shock absorption….. (see section 1 for a re-cap)

Enjoy!