Lake Hudson Carp Fishing!

Fun written all over it.

So, my friend Jay, who owns Jay's Flies on Facebook, and I went out to Lake Hudson this morning for a few hours to go carp fishing. I tied up quite a few prototype flies for today, got my gear all setup last night and got on the road around 7:30 this morning which was a lot later than I wanted.

So, Jay calls me and was wondering where I am as  he got there 20 minutes earlier than I did as he expected me to be there before him as I told him I would be leaving around 7 or so. After a phone call to clear things up, we finally meet, shoot the breeze while we set our gear up, and head on our way down to the beach. It's a gorgeous day out and there's no one out but one guy trolling for muskie with his boat. I'll spare you with the details as the first half of our time at the park was boring. We continued to chat and see a few carp but nothing came to the net much less get on our lines which is fine. I think the most exciting and heart stopping event was when Jay lost his fly box. He got it back, though, by the grace of God. It just fell out of his pocket. : )

So, we are walking back to where I caught my first carp ever on the fly to scout out the spot to see if there are carp over there again. The entire water level of the lake has been raised significantly from the last time I was there so there is but inches of shoreline around the lake instead of several feet which was very disappointing. So, going to my memorial spot was weird but I caught the carp in the exact spot I caught the last one believe it or not.

So, I start walking along the shore line seeing some carp possibly 5 or 6 lbs not that big. I am waiting for Jay as he was dropping unnecessary gear off at the truck. When he came back, we start pressing on. I stop as I see a massive carp literally a foot away from me. I drop my fly down and let it sink and now the carp is literally right by my foot. At this point, my heart is coming out of my chest, my palms are even more sweaty and I am shaking in excitement as the biggest carp I have ever seen is now about to be hooked on my line. What I didn't realize was that the leader was wrapped around the end of the tip section of the rod and when I set the hook, the carp ran into deeper water and took the tip section with him! I was scared that the rod broke but thankfully it did not. : )

The video above shows the fight. Personal best. Came in at 11 lbs and 26" despite the video saying 25".

We kept walking and I let Jay take point. We saw other carp and cast to them but sadly no other carp came to the net. I did have a 10" bass take my bloody leech but that was it for the fish. Overall, a great day despite us both being tired and Jay being extra tired as he has carpal tunnel. In the end, we all learned something and I gave Jay some of my flies. It was a much needed trip despite just 2 fish coming to the net.

Independence Day Carp!

Took this screen from the GoPro vid I took....Absolutely love this shot.

Today, I had one thing on my mind....carp. My fiancee is in the UP until late Friday and I needed to get out! I've been very frustrated the past few times I've gone carping as every time I've been skunked. I've SEEN the carp but no takers or they get spooked too easily. I went back to my favorite spot for carp, Metzger's Marsh. I really took a gamble today because I had some REALLY wacky looking flies in my box.

I headed out with little food in my stomach and very little sleep but I guess I'm used to both, which is a bad thing....Really have to change that bad habit even though I know better. For the first hour and a half almost two hours, I saw carp but hooked nothing but weeds. Now, I'll say this that Metzger's Marsh is a very unique fishery as there is, at least right now, a lot of aquatic plant growth everywhere which makes it a perfect habitat for carp to feed and sleep. I was literally stepping on, creeping up to, and dropping the fly upon the carp. It breaks every law of the 10 Commandments of Carping but that's what makes it amazing and unique. Your heart literally goes a million miles an hour because you're literally 3 feet away from a 10lb carp and you drop the fly on its nose, watch it go for the fly and set the hook. Fight is on!

After a lot of problems with the wind, I finally spot a target that I think is worthy of my goofy looking fly. It looked like a Halloween fly as it had a black tail, an orange dubbed body and 4 centipede legs coming out of the side with silver bead chain eyes on the front of the hook. So, like a wooly bugger a brand new fly tier would do. I was so embarrassed but guess what? It worked! In fact, the biggest carp I ever saw and actually crept up to took it. The problem? I didn't check my knot and set the drag a tad too tight so it took off and about 40 feet later, the fly broke off. I tied on an orange pan candy next which did the trick.

 

The  video above shows what kind of crazy conditions I was in. With the rain coming in, it, obviously, made the water even higher than normal. It was a blessing and a curse in that the water level was higher so the carp would congregate together as well as not notice me as quickly when I walked through the aquatic plants but since there was more water, the spots that used to be just up to my knees were now up to my mid thigh. Still made for a pleasant time. 

So, after some exploring and me spotting more carp, I finally found a group of active feeders. I was pumped! I walked through a bunch of top water algae, scared a few carp, which I thought was going to spook the feeders but thankfully didn't, and finally started to cast to some feeders. I saw a cruiser and cast to it but I thought I was casting to the head but in reality, it was the tail. It got spooked. Saw yet another cruiser and waited which felt like an eternity! I cast the fly right in front of it and watched it cruise right by it. I strip set the hook and the carp took off. Fish on! Video below is of the fight.

 

I was happy. Very happy. I hooked a carp, yet again, on one of my pan candy and I discovered the secret to carping in Metzger's Marsh: orange flies win the day! I walked back to the car exhausted, hungry, and very tired. Overall, a rough start but that's what learning is all about. To me, studying the water, the fish, hooking 2 carp, and landing 1 was great. It's always a learning experience anywhere I fish and Metzger's Marsh is a very odd fishery as it is difficult and yet easy as you can creep up to carp but they could be scared in an instant and that 15 minute slow stalk, keeping your eyes glued on that one spot that you last saw the carp can turn into a wasted time so to speak. Overall, I love it. I always go back because I know I get a challenge and reward out of every single trip to the marsh. 

What a great shot of the #10 orange pan candy in its mouth. Pan candy has proven to be a great fly for the pan fish and carp! How exciting!

Metzger's Marsh and Carp on the Fly

Good grief! The days are flying by! Despite my busy schedule, I *somehow* manage to fit in fly fishing. I'm kidding. I really replace my school work with fishing trips which I shouldn't do but I do! So, June 15, was one of those days.

My cousin came in to town because his girlfriend was doing a triathlon at Maumee Bay State Park on the 16th. So, my Dad, cousin, and I went to Metzger's Marsh to fish for carp. I thought it would be a good chance to show everyone the ropes about how to catch some golden bone! Of course things go a lot better in your head than they do in real time. First, there was a major delay in getting out to the swamp in the first place, I had very little sleep as I was tying about 40 flies for the swamp trip alone, and I was on call the previous night for work so it made life very interesting. In the end, everything went swimmingly up to the point where we were out on the water....

So, the first problem, which actually made things fun, was the mayflies. Mayfly season is right now and every mayfly and its mother are out. So, mayflies are everywhere. Hundreds of thousands of them are flying about, sticking to foliage and to us as we walk through the tall swamp grass.

Below is a short video of mayflies stuck to my body and backpack. It was nuts.

So, fast forwarding to the point where my everyone was out on the water, we all stalked carp for around 2 hours and I was the only one who caught a carp on the fly. It wasn't very big but at least it was something. I saw plenty of carp. We all did. The problem was, as I found out, we all were using too heavy of flies so they didn't sit on top of the muck which is what the carp wanted. I switched to my own variation of a Barry's Carp Bitter in olive which landed the one and only carp of the day.

What a nice fish to break in my Redington CPX 8wt.

Love this shot!

Overall, it didn't matter that we didn't catch more fish. We all had a nice time, it was beautiful outside, and no one was hurt. Life was good. Below is a short video of an okay release of the carp I caught.

My Dad left around noon and my cousin and I decided to stay for a little longer. We ended up stepping on carp and even netting some. It was pretty funny as the carp were just laying in the weeds or mud and sleeping and we'd put a fly up to their noses and they wouldn't move and then we'd net them but they always escaped before we could take any pictures. : )

Bowfin on the Fly!

#10 baby leech fly. Super simple and definitely works for bigger fish!

My summer class and my summer internship has sucked all possible time from me. So, to counteract this problem, I have scheduled myself around meeting with people for my internship by giving myself enough time to fish in between training for my internship and my meeting! GENIUS! Well, tonight was an excellent exception as my friend who I was to meet with regarding my internship asked if I came later so I decided to grab some flies and my 5wt rod and try to tackle some small carp or some bass at the Cedar Point Wildlife Refuge off of Yondota road in Oregon, Ohio.

I explored Maumee Bay State Park for a bit before hand and cast my rod but nothing was biting. Saw some splashes but nothing and the wind was coming at a bad angle that made casting awful but not impossible. I left the park and headed to the wildlife refuge and to my surprise saw some other cars. This place usually, or at least the times I have gone, has had no one present while I fished but since it literally just opened 3 days ago, I can see why people wanted to come. Well, it's quite a long way to get to the point where I can catch fish as I usually sight fish for carp on the bank as I can sneak up to the carp with ease because of the bank being quite high and the dam having a lot of cover. I stopped and chatted with a few bass fishermen that had some kids with them and continued on to talk to 2 other fishermen. As I was chatting with them, I saw something long looking like a bass to me at least swimming up to the surface. As it got closer, I noticed, to my surprise, it was a dogfish! I took my #10 baby leech off of my hook keeper and dropped the fly behind the bowfin and made it swim up to the fish. It took the fly no problem and I waited 2 seconds, which felt like an eternity, and then set the hook. It then began rolling and then dove into the weeds.

Would you kiss your mother with that mouth?

I asked one of the bass fisherman that was next to me how deep it was a few feet out. He said it was very deep and I then found out HOW deep it was. I took my wallet and other essentials out of my pocket as I didn't want to get them wet and had to meet with the client later. I got my net and for 5 minutes I fought the fish. It was buried deep into the weeds and that's when I found how deep I really had to go to get this fish. I took 3 steps and found I was in chest deep water not even 3 feet from shore. That's scary! I was thankful for the other guys there to save my sorry carcass in case I fell in. I kept scraping at the weeds underwater with my net to loosen the fish and the weeds and finally was able to pull the fish up enough to net it. I scrambled up to the bank and snapped a few shots and let it go. Too bad I didn't have my GoPro recording! I had it but never thought to even turn it on! All my concentration was on the fish. Oh well. Next time. : ) First bowfin on any rod to boot! : )

One of the bass fisherman was kind enough to snap a pic of me with my prize fish!

The fish came to be around 20" in length! Not bad for my first bowfin on the fly!

SMILE! :D

Tying Stone's Pan Candy

Earlier this year, my good friend Jon and I did a fly swap. I sent him a ton of steelhead flies and he sent me some top notch bass and bluegill flies. One of the flies that was in the package was excellent for bluegill and bass. I loved it so much that I modified it, asked him if I could use it as my own fly and he said yes because of the modifications I had made. I asked around to other fly fishing pages on the web and on Facebook to make sure I was not stealing anyone's ideas and when everyone responded with "No" or "Go ahead and use it! Great pattern!", I asked for a name. My friend Jon gave me a list of names that he thought were great and on my Facebook page, everyone agreed that it should be called the Stone's Pan Hammer. However, after me experimenting with other colors, I thought the only appropriate name would be the Stone's Pan Candy. Thus, the fly was born.

Colors from left to right: green, olive, orange, yellow, black, and white.

Here are the instructions on how to tie the Stone's Pan Candy. I will show you how to tie the Pan Candy in the sour apple flavor.

TMC 2488 hook in either size 10 or 12. Note: this is what it has been tested on. It may work on a bigger size so tie as you see fit.

140 Denier thread. Match the appropriate color thread for the color fly i.e. olive colored fly uses olive colored thread, etc.

Some UTC Vinyl "D" Rib. Note: make SURE it is is D rib and NOT round ribbing! It will say round rib instead of vinyl rib.

Once again, ice dub in appropriate color of fly.

Krystal flash in appropriate color of fly.

Natural grizzly hackle.

3.0mm bead chain eyes. It took me FOREVER to cut all these up in twos. There are over 200 eyes in there. It's excellent. : )

First, start with a hook in the vise and make a thread wrap down the hook shank to provide for a base for the fly material as well as the eyes.

Just behind the eye of the hook, tie in the bead chain eyes making sure you leave enough room in the front for a whip finish.

Wrap thread down the shank and prepare for the tail. I take a full piece of krystal flash and cut it evenly to make two pieces. This piece is good for two flies. I then take one half and cut them evenly to make 2 pieces. Then I fold it over itself again, cut it to make 4 pieces, and finally fold it over again to make 8 pieces. I then tie that in leaving a tail a tad longer than the hook shank.

Spread back the hackle fibers so they stand up. Tie in the tip of the feather.

Grab your vinyl rib and snip it so it looks like this. If you tie left handed, snip the vinyl rib the other way. Tie it in so the tapered end is covered and take the thread to the eyes.

Wrap the vinyl rib around the shank like you would chenille for a wooly bugger. Make sure you leave a tad bit of room behind the eyes for your ice dub and hackle. Snip it and wrap more thread to cover the tag end.

Wind the hackle so the vein of the hackle is between the grooves of the vinyl rib and wrap until you are behind the eyes. Tie the hackle with a few wraps behind the tag end and then a few in front to secure it. Snip it flush. 

Top view of how it should look after the hackle is snipped.

Finally, add some ice dubbin to your thread and wrap it 2 or 3 times behind the eyes and then make figure 8 wraps around the eyes until you see little to no thread in between wraps of dubbing. Don't make the ice dub look too bulky though. Just enough to cover the thread.

Finally, if there's a tad bit of ice dub on your thread still, do 2 wraps in front of the eyes to clear the thread to whip finish. Whip finish the fly three times or however many you feel is necessary. I always do it three times and wrap the thread 3 times for every whip finish. I feel it is secure without being bulky or hiding the eye of the hook.

Side view of the Pan Candy

Top view of the Pan Candy

Bottom view of the Pan Candy.

These are so fun and so easy to tie and extremely effective. I am debating on adding pink to the arsenal of flies. I may add more colors as long as there's ice dub, rib, and krystal flash to accommodate for the colors needed. Stay tuned! I'm quite proud of this fly as it really does work. Very well. So far, I've landed almost a dozen each of bass and bluegill with this fly and 1 22" carp with a #12 green Pan Candy. Please critique as you see fit. I hope the instructions are clear as I assume everyone doesn't need every single step to be photographed in incredible detail i.e. I left out me wrapping the ice dub behind, around, and in front of the eyes as well as me tying in the vinyl rib and wrapping it. Feel free to ask any questions! Tight lines!

Sunday Afternoon Gold!

More carp on the fly action this afternoon after a great day at church! I got to my favorite carp spot on the Ottawa, the place I caught my last carp, at Harroun Community Park. As I was walking, I saw a gentleman spincast fishing for the suckers. Apparently he was eating them. I found the break through the trees where I go through to head down to the river and smelled something dead. Apparently somebody threw a carp on the bank. It was dead but it appeared to be freshly dead. I think they caught it and left it for dead, sadly. Was pretty upset about it but what can one do....

I fished for about 2 hours with a few interruptions. Saw plenty of suckers, about 8 or 10 carp (males swimming beside females to mate), and a few pike hugging the bottom where it was cooler water. Overall it was pretty slow but I got to test out my new Eagle Claw Featherlight that I converted into a switch rod! It was excellent as I was using a #12 fly and was able to whip that thing across the river with ease with just a flick of the handle. It really performed well with the two handles. It was really slow going. Started out with a #12 carp hybrid fly, snagged a carp by the tail or fin or something and didn't have the drag set low enough so I lost that 15 seconds into the fight.

It was really a game of chance here and I was losing. I kept tossing the fly to cruising carp, both male and female, whether they were loners or a pack of males following a female. In the end, I hooked into a nice female with a baby leech fly.

Once again, I apologize as I am unable to feature my Youtube videos directly into the blog post for some reason. Click here to see the underwater footage of the carp. It's pretty cool if I say so myself. : )

Edit: went back at 6 and fished for another hour and a half. Caught a 22" loner on an original fly of mine, the Pan Candy! Will be posting how to tie in the next few days. Click here to watch it! I even gave the carp a kiss. How sweet of me! : D

This female was 1/4" shy of 24"! Great fight especially on glass! Love this rod!

Kisses anyone?

My new girlfriend!

Fast Sinking Leech Pattern

This is a very classic pattern and everyone knows how to tie a wooly bugger. This was requested by a gentlemen on my Facebook page Stone's Flies. He asked me what I used to catch the carp and I told him I would give him a step by step process of how I tied the Deep Leech. I also tie this in olive, brown, and white the same way. Just as effective but for other fish as well.

First materials are as follows:

I use a size 6 2xl as I feel it's a good size. You can use something smaller but you need to use different material in some cases to match the hook size.

140 denier black thread. Smaller sizes I would use 70 but 140 is excellent as it's in the middle and can be used for even down to a size 10 or 12 in some cases.

Along with the dumbbell eyes, this gives it extra weight that it needs to sink faster.

Best size for the dumbbell eyes. I would go to a 3.5mm for a size 10 hook but you can stay at a 4mm for a size 10 if you want to make it sink faster.

Always get medium chenille. Looks better in the water.

Any marabou will do just as long as it's black. I just choose Cabela's brand since it's cheap.

Again, cheap Cabela's brand saddle hackle. As long as it's black, you're good. Wait....that came out wrong.

Put the hook in the vise. Duh.

Start by wrapping the medium copper wire around the hook shank. It's very important that you leave enough room for the dumbbell eyes behind the eye on the shank and leave some room at the end before the bend to accommodate for the marabou being tied in just as you would any other wooly bugger.

Secure the copper wire with thread.

Add the eyes to the top of the hook so the hook will ride hook up. Make sure you leave a bit of a gap just behind the eye to whip finish.

Tie in the marabou tying the marabou all the way up to the dumbbell eyes. I do this to give the fly more body.

Tie in the saddle hackle tip end first and spreading the fibers back.

Set the hackle aside and then strip a bit off the end of your chenille and tie that in next.

Wrap the chenille around the shank and up to the eyes. Tie it off and snip the remaining chenille off.

Wrap the hackle around the chenille making a few extra wraps at the head to give it more hackle fibers in the front. I've found it makes the body look better in the water. Tie it in, snip the remaining hackle off, and then whip finish right behind the eye of the hook and in front of the dumbbell eyes.

Simple as that. Classic pattern. Simple and super effective. KISS: keep it simple stupid. : ) Modify weights and experiment with weight as needed in streams and rivers.