Surface fishing for carp

[no-one in particular]

This is just a thought as it has been on my mind and not very helpful but--. When I went to a day ticket lake three weeks ago which is mainly a carp lake I saw a lot of carp swimming about on the surface, they didn't appear to be feeding but' when I went the following week I packed a small fly rod with an idea to give it a try maybe.. However, when I got there 3 other anglers were there this time who were carp fishing with multi rods splayed out so I thought maybe best not to try the fly rod, I imagine it would have ****** them off considerably..
Reading this opening post where carp are not having the usual surface baits and problems with ducks etc, would fly fishing for them work. Also the owner had said something interesting the week before, he reckoned there were not many coarse fish in the lake once upon a time because the carp where feeding on their spawn but he had noticed in recent years they have been more interested in the fly hatch and he reckoned the coarse fish had increased because their spawn were getting a break.
Like my instance, I doubt there would be many instances where trying fly fishing for carp would be viable but I might just try to go back to that lake one day in the week when nobody is there and try it and it is just another surface fishing method after all.

 

[David Rogers 3]

That's an interesting thought - on one of my club waters recently, the carp were all completely preoccupied with feeding on small black flies that had been pushed into the SW corner of the lake by a stiff NE breeze. Unfortunately, although nobody to my knowledge tried fly fishing for them, it may have not have worked anyway. Trout anglers are all too familiar with trout becoming preoccupied with eating tiny flies that are too small to be imitated ("smutting", it's called, apparently) and I suspect that's what these carp were doing. As soon as the hatch was over and the wind changed direction, the carp all disappeared again!

 

[no-one in particular]

That's an interesting thought - on one of my club waters recently, the carp were all completely preoccupied with feeding on small black flies that had been pushed into the SW corner of the lake by a stiff NE breeze. Unfortunately, although nobody to my knowledge tried fly fishing for them, it may have not have worked anyway. Trout anglers are all too familiar with trout becoming preoccupied with eating tiny flies that are too small to be imitated ("smutting", it's called, apparently) and I suspect that's what these carp were doing. As soon as the hatch was over and the wind changed direction, the carp all disappeared again!

Hello Dave-i wonder if it would be worth a go anyway, whether they were feeding on flies or not, seeing them swimming about on the surface would a well presented fly of some description overcome their normal fear of surface baits and it would negate the problem of ducks and baits drifting about. I just fancied a fly, probably a wet variety might just turn their heads or even a dry fly. Just a thought but I might give it ago one day if the opportunity presents itself.

 

[David Rogers 3]

There are certainly anglers who do successfully catch carp using fly tackle - it's been used quite a bit on another club water of mine where the carp started to spook away from controllers splashing down near them.

 

[Molehill]

A fly rod, artificial fly (I tie my own "special dog biscuit") and a few chum mixers to catapult in. You will catch and have more fun, plus benefit of winding up all the boys in bivvies who have been blanking all day

The method is pretty deadly in the right hands.

 

[rich66]

I often see the carp at where I fish cruising to top and no one ever floats a bait out.
My lad keeps reptiles and I’ve thought about using a live cricket as a surface bait. Anyone ever tried it ??

 

[David Rogers 3]

Thinking about it, I'm sure I've never seen a carp take down a single struggling insect from the surface. The carp I was referring to earlier seem only to respond to these tiny black flies (I don't know what species they are) when they're around in vast numbers and they can just swim through them with their mouths open. Many times I've seen cruising carp completely ignore a single drowning daddy-long-legs, for example. Has anyone else seen carp attack a single insect on the top?

 

[no-one in particular]

Thinking about it, I'm sure I've never seen a carp take down a single struggling insect from the surface. The carp I was referring to earlier seem only to respond to these tiny black flies (I don't know what species they are) when they're around in vast numbers and they can just swim through them with their mouths open. Many times I've seen cruising carp completely ignore a single drowning daddy-long-legs, for example. Has anyone else seen carp attack a single insect on the top?

As you mention it I have often seen a struggling insect swimming about and nothing goes for it. carp are very preoccupied feeders so a single fly would probably get ignored. More likely a lure type fly imitating a small struggling fish might get attention, I know chub become predatory especially early in the season but does that apply to carp. And is it fly fishing? Still I might have a go some time when appropriate, just be interesting to see what happens and satisfy my curiosity.

 

[barbelboi]

I’ve seen carp so preoccupied on the surface with larvae hatching in pits that they become completely oblivious to anything else during the period....The same goes with quite a few other species on ‘whatever’ is hatching at the time.

 

[keora]

I've read all the comments by forum members and I'll try them out when I next go carp fishing, probably in a few days time.

 

[john step]

Fly fishing for carp. Try a NASH BUG which are actually intended for zig fishing. I promise it works a treat.

 

[Philip]

Some really good suggestions above.

In my opinion probably the single most important thing when floater fishing (or any fishing come to think of it) is to try and get the fish preoccupied taking freebies first. I know there is a huge tempatation to cast straight away but the more time spent getting them onto the bait before casting the easier it will be to get them to take the hookbait after.

Second point..dont cast onto them ...drift a bait to them. Same for the freebies Use the wind or ripple if you can. Avoid casting at the fish or chucking bait on their heads.

Get them going on freebies first and then drift a bait to them and you will stand a very good chance.

 

[seth49]

It’s one of my favourite methods, very visual when you can see them either take or refuse the bait, I mainly like to freeline dog biscuits if possible, do use a controller sometimes if there at distance, but prefer to freeline if I can.

I use twenty pound proline braid which is green in colour, it floats well, but does tend to bow in side winds, you can mend it but a wind on your back is easiest, now I’ve started using a length of dark grey braid as a hooklength also twenty pounds bs, they don’t seem to see this as much, improved my catches anyway.

I find it’s best to cast out and leave it as long as possible, not retrieving till the last moment, constantly casting does spook them,

Now I’ve been super glueing the biscuit directly to the back of the hook into a groove I’ve cut , which works but you end up with bits of biscuit stuck to the hook, I use the flat round ones from the local market, the fish seem to like them.

Lately I’ve been putting a bit of glue on the biscuit and sticking a short piece of rubber band on this, I then nick the hook into this, lot easier and I can prepare a few at once, so far it’s working well, getting a lot better results doing this.

Hope this helps.

 

[bullet]

On a series of small day ticket lakes i used to fish, sadly now a syndicate I won't afford, they were extremely difficult to catch on floating baits, eating up all the loose offerings and ignoring or just nudging the hookbait, or sometimes spooking away completely.
Fly fishing for them, however, could be deadly. Deer hair 'dog biscuit' with mixer freebies.
The trick was not to cast out and just wait, but to wait until you had a cruiser mopping up and plonk your fly in his path as near to him as possible without spooking him.
Interestingly, they didn't seem to worry about the fly line unless, of course, it landed over them, but a floating leader was essential.
The only other way to reliably do any good was to find a quiet corner, and freeline a crust in the magins with your line over a bit of grass or reed so none of it was on the water.

 

[Keith M]

I also catch good carp (same crust size) on anchored crust. I hair rig the crust, and using a 3/4oz bomb cast out close to bushes or similar. The whole lot sinks but once you release the line the crust will float to the surface and you tighten to it. Either that or wind the crust down so it is some inches BELOW the surface and just wait for the carp to find it!!

I find that suspended crust seems to work best for me when there is a little wind ripple on the surface and when it’s presented just under the surface film. The ducks don’t seem to home in on it so easily either.
If your fishing with your crust on the surface using this method you can sink your crust whenever waterfowl start to get near with a couple of gentle turns of your reel handle and release some line to allow it to float back up to the surface again once they’ve passed.

I prefer to surface fish with freelined bread whenever possible though but suspended crust can be deadly in the right conditions.

Another method I’ve used on waters where the Carp are starting to wise up on floating crust and starting to break it up into small pieces before swallowing the smaller pieces; is to tie a clove hitch around a larger piece of crust with your hooklength and put a small piece of flake on your hook so that it looks like it has broken free of the crust and started to sink. This has worked for me quite a lot of times.
(NB: The clove hitch doesn’t cause any knots when the line comes free of the crust)

When I was into making my own boilees back in the 80s and 90s I used to often make some boilee cake for surface fishing by adding a few more eggs a pinch of baking powder and some extra sodium casienate and baking the resultant sloppy mixture in the oven until it had a slightly stiff cakey texture. I could cast this quite a long way without it coming off the hook and it also caught me a quite a few Carp.

I have also used floating lobworms by inflating the head of the worm with air using a syringe so that it floats with its tail dangling enticingly below the surface, but I only used this a few times when fishing close in on a local small river when I was after Chub.

After watching John Wilson catch Carp using a fly rod and using chum mixers on the TV a few years ago I went out and bought myself a fly rod and reel and some fly line to try it out but I haven’t yet used it, I might give it a try this season.

Keith

 

[Tee-Cee]

I also recall a form of cake mixture (was it Green's cake mix??) which, like Keith M's post above, needed a serious number of eggs to help it to float once baked. I very good alternative to bread and it did cast a fair distance...

Did it catch me a lot of carp - pass.

Too long ago but I did use a mountain of cheapo eggs...................



I think the bog standard Chum Mixer is underated considering how cheap it is if bought in large bags and it does keep forever. I buy mine from Jollies in High Wycombe...

For those who don't know; Tip a couple of handfuls into a plastic bag, add a couple of table spoons of water, seal the bag and give it a good shake, then leave overnight. Check next morning and if not soft enough add a bit more water, BUT NOT too much!

Always good to check a few with a hook as TOO SOFT and they will not stay on the hook for very long!

Can be frozen a few times.......

 

[JackGE]

I've read all the comments by forum members and I'll try them out when I next go carp fishing, probably in a few days time.

Try using a smaller hook, they definitely spook the fish. Yesterday I was floater fishing with bread and they were coming up to the bread and then darting away. Some carp got close into the side so I dangled just the hook in front of the carp and they shot off. I tear off some bread maybe 1 inch by 2 inches and squeeze the middle to flatten the bread (looks like a little bow tie) which also makes it tougher. I then just pass the hook through this tougher bread and flick it out, usually the soft bread either side of the hook fluffs up and helps mask the hook.

 

[john step]

Try using a smaller hook, they definitely spook the fish. Yesterday I was floater fishing with bread and they were coming up to the bread and then darting away. Some carp got close into the side so I dangled just the hook in front of the carp and they shot off. I tear off some bread maybe 1 inch by 2 inches and squeeze the middle to flatten the bread (looks like a little bow tie) which also makes it tougher. I then just pass the hook through this tougher bread and flick it out, usually the soft bread either side of the hook fluffs up and helps mask the hook.

Try coating the hook with white correcting fluid when using white bread as bait.

 

[Sketchy201313]

Ive been doing alot of surface fishing latly as its one of my goals for the year. Few things i do is 1 use fake baits. Have had a good results on the enterprise dog biscuits soaked in my choosen flavouring. 2 i also fly fish so ive taken from that to tapper my line i normally go 10lb mainline to 8 and then 6 to a hair rig and i coat that with a floatant. I also use a black or grey marker pen to colour my hooks i find that helps to stop spooking. Most importantly is to feed little and often the more there fighting for it the more they'll take the bait without any fuss hope this helps

Sent from my SM-G930F using Tapatalk

 

[Tee-Cee]

With all the top class answers on this thread someone could write a book on the subject. The OP must be dead chuffed with all the suggestions............