Orvis presents Carp Central

The secret is out, Orvis loves carp!

Well maybe it's not such a secret anymore, but it is true, Orvis gets it when it comes to fishing for carp on the fly. And now they want to help you get it too, with the help of CarpPro and their Pro Staffers Carp on the Fly, Fly-Carpin, Mr. P, and many others. Carp Central is full of instructionals and how-to's when it comes to carp on the fly. Check out what The Orvis Company has been doing with carp. This is a great site to lean on, it's definitely worth the look folks.

The Orvis Guide to Fly Fishing For Carp - by Kirk Deeter

Image courtesy of Stonefly Press

Coming soon, The Orvis Guide to Fly Fishing For Carp written by Kirk Deeter and published by Stonefly Press. CarpPro has hooked up a deal with Stonefly Press to take preorders now. Not only do you get from shipping buy buying direct from CarpPro, but they will throw in a free CarpPro sticker as well.

There is probably no one better suited for the task of putting together an all inclusive book on fly fishing for carp than Kirk Deeter. Aside from the technical understanding and know how of the sport that Deeter possesses (he is one of the fishiest guys I know), Deeter is able to effectively convert that knowledge and know how to text better than anyone else in the industry. How do I know that Deeter is legit, I fished side by side with him on Lake Michigan for several days and watched as he just about schooled me on everything from pinpoint distance casting into the wind to hooking up with fish. Deeter is the real deal.


Deeter lays it all out in his new book, secrets and all, in a manner that anyone can understand, whether new to the sport and genre, or a grizzled carp veteran like myself. Do yourself an honest favor and pick yourself up a copy of Deeter's book. Better yet, pre-order your copy at CarpPro now!

Spring Sucker Nymphing Tactics

Fly selection when working the spring spawning run can be critical. Hatches are very sporadic and light when they do occur and the pickings are slim, as there just isn't the diversity of emerging insects during early spring as you find later on in the season. Caddis and midge nymphs are always a safe bet to fish through out the year as they are always present. With early spring, however, I often think of the other March Madness, the stonefly hatch.


Staging fish aren't always interested in feeding, as they have one thing on their minds, spawning. And rarely do I find suckers feeding on the surface due to their subterminal mouths. So I fish low and slow. I like fishing tungsten weighted stonefly and drake nymph patterns like my Thunderbird, Boreal Bomber, and Fresh Pimp nymphs and bounce them along the bottom. Every so often a fish may take an emerging fly on the rise, at the end of the drift, but this is not typical during the prespawn phase. If you need more weight to reach bottom, throw on some extra lead. Suckers will hold tight to the bottom and will only feed if a fly is easy pickings. I like to utilize tightline nymphing during this time of year, as I can better detect the subtle takes. Bouncing the fly on the bottom using your rod tip will also add to the detection as well as help give your fly the appearance of a dislodged nymph tumbling along the bottom of the stream bed.



This isn't bobber fishing or fishing for stockers, this is a numbers game. Getting your fly in the zone is crucial, as are the repeated runs and drifts of your nymph. Fish may spook and get lined, but they'll quickly roll back into their hold in the current seam, jockeying for precious spawning gravel real estate. It is to your advantage that you can keep drifting your fly through the zone in the hopes of an eventual hook up.



Your ROI (return on investment) may be low but if your put your time in, you will rack up the numbers of caught fish.

Gar on the fly

Gars are badass. Having swam in North American waters for over 50 million years, these living fossils still have what it takes to live in the modern aquatic ecosystem unchanged. The only other native fishes to North America that can even hang with the gar are bowfins and sturgeons. Toothy mofos.

Longnose gar, Lepisosteus osseus, image courtesy of cornell.edu

The buzz on catching gar with a fly has been glowing as of late. Uncommoncarp's recent tango with the dinos, and countless photos of fly caught gars showing up on facebook et al. just add fuel to the fire. I need to catch me one. Before this season even started, I set off with hopes of catching a longnose gar this year. If the opportunity comes along, I won't pass up the chance at a shortnose either.

Catching a gar can be quite tricky; their extremely bony mouths can prove difficult to set a hook properly. Thankfully, fellow roughfisherman Carpstalker passed along some solid info regarding the pursuit of gar with a fly. Rope flies are the only way to go to ensure a solid connection between gar and angler. Fairly easy to tie too. Just get yourself a tippet ring or a split ring, some garland or tinsel and a nylon rope. Run a length of rope and tinsel through the ring eye and double it back. Tie in just behind the bend to form a head section and tie off. Pull the threaded section of nylon rope apart, so that the body is frayed. This is what will catch the gar: the gar's teeth will get caught in the nylon fibers. Be sure to bring a heavy duty glove and a stiff brush to help release the fibers from the teeth after catching a gar; their skin is sharp! Just be sure to keep a solid grip on these fish as they have a tendency to play 'possum on you.

The hot, dank steamy days of July are perfect for gar fishing in Minnesota. Fish float up to the surface in shallow vegetated bays like stacked cord word. Spooky, much care is need to stealthy drift upon a school undetected. I hope to harvest a specimen this season. I'm looking to dry a fish and bleach the skeleton for display, celebrating the mana and beauty of such a beautiful creature. Underappreciated.

Stillwater Refresher

A great refresher on stillwater fishing over at The Female Angle. Tips on the right gear, fly selection, and method to get you started. More on Technique from sister Adrienne to follow.

The Men In Black - an inside look

I'll probably catch hell from Mrs. Roughfisher for giving away my trade secrets for free, but I'm in a giving mood today, so here goes. The Men In Black (MIB) is a roughfisher swimming nymph gone undercover. These G-men have been kicking ass on the water so far this winter/spring and have been taking names. Definitely one of the first flies you grab to start the day and search the water. Let's take a look at how we roll:


Contraband list

• 2x heavy, 1x long, curved nymph hook, or stainless O'Shaughnessy hook
  
• 6/0 UNI thread, black
  
• bead chain eye, gold
  
• monoflash (or krystal flash), peacock
  
• zonker strip or hare, black
  
• black/peacock ice dubbing
  
• peacock herl
  
• glimmer flash chenille, peacock
  
• sili legs, black

Tie in the bead chain on top of the hook shank using a figure 8 wrap.


Tie in two strands of flash at the base of the hook, just above the bend.


Pinch a clump of rabbbit hair and tie in for the tail. Spin dubbing onto thread and dub a tapered body. I used a custom dubbing blend: similar to the Hare-line Ice Dub, but with antron added to provide body. My blend provides better built bodies than the Hareline product which IMO doesn't have enough filler in it.


Tie in 5 or 6 strands of peacock herl for a wingcase.


Tie in a strand of glimmer flash chenille for the thorax, and palmer two turns, counter clockwise. Tie in and trim tag end.


Hold two 1" pieces of sili leg material parallel to the top of the hook shank. Use two thread wraps to hold legs in place; straighten and even legs out.


Pull wingcase over bead chain eyes and tie off. Whip finish head, starting at the base of the bead chain eyes, and working your way toward the hook eye. Repeat. By whip finishing from back to front, you are covering the tag end of the knot with thread wraps. This will add protection to your knot and keep it from unraveling after use.


This pattern is highly versatile. You can fish it actively as a streamer, roll it on the bottom like a crawfish, dead-drift it like a stonefly nymph or hellgrammite (dobsonfly nymph), or swing it like an emergent stonefly, dobsonfly, or large mayfly nymph. Hold on to your rod grip lest some beast from the bottom rip it from your hands.


Now that you know the secret to tying these muthas, you better make it look good.