Fly Fishing Insider Podcast
Carp on the fly is sight fishing in ankle- to waist-deep water with a nine-foot 8-weight, a saltwater-style line and 12- to 15-pound tippet. The fly goes four to six inches off one eye, never straight in front of the nose, because a carp has a blind spot directly ahead of it.
Matt Martin is one of the few guides in southern Ontario offering a dedicated carp-on-the-fly service, alongside trips for resident trout, lake-run rainbows and smallmouth.
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What rod, line and leader do you need for carp on the fly?
A nine-foot 8-weight is the best all-around carp rod on Great Lakes water, and heavy cover justifies stepping up to a 10-weight. Neighborhood storm water ponds holding three- to four-pound fish are fine with a 5-weight trout outfit. The line should be a warm-water saltwater taper - a redfish taper is the working choice - because it loads quickly and throws an accurate cast without much power applied. Start with a nine-foot 0X leader, stretch it to 12 feet on flat sunny days, and shorten it when wind and chop demand accuracy; tippet runs 12-pound minimum and 15-pound in heavy cover.
Where do you put the fly on a feeding carp?
Carp have a dead zone directly in front of the nose, so a fly dropped straight ahead of the fish will often go unseen even when the presentation is otherwise perfect. The target is four to six inches off one eye or the other, falling slowly. A weighted fly dropped on the fish will spook it, which is where the drag-and-drop cast comes in: land the fly three or four feet beyond the carp's head, immediately lift the rod to skate the fly back across the surface toward you, then let it sink into the feeding zone.
Which carp are worth casting to, and which should you leave alone?
Carp moving quickly in a straight line - singles or groups traveling from deep water to shallow or back - are not feeding and will not eat, no matter how many casts they get. Actively spawning carp will not eat either, and they are impossible to miss because they splash, roll and move the bulrushes from a hundred yards off. The fish worth casting to are the ones moving at a slow walking pace across a muddy flat, and better still, the ones sitting still against cover like a bass or a pike; a fly placed within six to eight inches of a stationary carp's face gets eaten something like seven times out of ten.
Do you trout set or strip set on carp?
Distance decides it. At 20, 30 or 40 feet a strip set is the right move, because it moves the fly only six or eight inches and gives the fish a chance to chase it down and eat again if the set came too early. Inside 15 feet - which is where most of the heavy-cover fishing happens - the fish is practically under the rod tip and there is not enough line on the water for a strip set to work, so it becomes a trout set. Getting inside 15 feet is worth the effort anyway: less line on the water, a softer entry and a much higher eat rate.
What flies do Great Lakes carp eat?
The forage on these flats is dragonflies, damselflies, mayflies, scuds, crayfish and round gobies, which arrived in the Great Lakes over the last 15 years and are now a staple. That means dull colors and small patterns - sizes 8 to 12 are the standard, with goby and sculpin imitations going up to a size 4 streamer hook for the small minority of carp that will actively chase. In spring, emerald shiners push shallow to spawn and carp feed on them, so a small zonker fished slowly on an intermediate line works on a fish everyone thinks of as a bottom feeder. In cold water use unweighted flies or the smallest bead chain and let them fall slowly.
How do you land and handle a carp?
Carp cannot be tailed the way a chinook can - grab the tail and it simply folds flat and slides through your hand. The reliable holds are the wrist of the tail at the caudal peduncle and a hand under the belly with the pectoral fins braced against thumb and index finger. Use a large salmon or steelhead net rather than beaching the fish, which strips protective slime in sand and rock, and let the fish finish tiring in the net instead of being fought to exhaustion. Fish barbless: carp mouths hold a hook well, but a barb buried in that blubbery tissue is genuinely hard to remove.
What conditions make for good carp fishing?
Sunny days and low wind, the same conditions saltwater flats anglers look for. Approach with the sun at your back so polarized lenses can cut into the water instead of fighting glare, and manage your shadow, which will fall out in front of you. A light ripple is not a disadvantage - it forgives a less accurate cast - but you have to be able to see fish, because this is entirely sight fishing and there is no reason to cast at water. Walk slowly, do not drag your feet and kick up mud clouds, and confirm there is no fish in front of you before each step.
Key takeaways
- Rig a nine-foot 8-weight with a redfish-style taper, a nine-foot 0X leader and 12- to 15-pound tippet; go to a 10-weight in heavy cover.
- Land the fly four to six inches off one of the carp's eyes - directly in front of the nose is a blind spot.
- Skip fast-moving and actively spawning carp; target fish cruising at a slow walking pace, or better, fish holding still against cover.
- Strip set beyond 20 feet, trout set inside 15 feet, and work to get inside 15 feet whenever the cover allows it.
- Match the local forage - dragonfly, damsel, mayfly, scud, crayfish and goby patterns in sizes 8 to 12, up to a size 4 for goby streamers.
- Never tail a carp; it collapses. Use a large net and cradle the fish under the belly with the pectoral fins against your thumb.
