Shouldering Carp on the flats.

 I spent the evening stalking carp at Riverbend Ponds.  I witnessed shouldering carp and many mudders.  Thinking this would be a nice repeat of some of previous trips I tried an egg pattern, but nope not this time.  Eggs were not on the menue.  Tonight it was a Merkin style Crab fly.  The carp were picky and spoked real easy, but I still had a blast casting to and casting on top of carp all night long.  I can honestly say I have mastered the art of putting the fly right on top of them! Oh well its great practice for Michigan and Beaver Island this July.

A Carp on the Egg, Greggs, Eggs!

A small video of the carp swimming back to the flats after taking an Egg pattern.  I hooked into 3 other carp but this guy had the best release.  All were taken on an Egg pattern.

Spinney Mountain Opening Day Success

This was my first experience attending the opening day of Spinney Mountain State Park in South Park Colorado.  Shoot I grew up in Buena Vista where the trip to Spinney would have been a quick 1 hour drive, but NO!!!, I had to start fishing the area when I live 5 hours away! Talk about doing things the hard way.

When Mike and I arrived we were expecting huge crowds and long lines at the park entrance.  What a pleasant surprise to only wait about 5 minutes before the gate opened and we were let in. I have heard stories about long lines and crowded fishing conditions, but with the opening being on a Monday and the weather forecast of cold and snow, the lines were short.

Most of the crowd seemed to focus on the dock and along the damn.  We had some success here but nothing really big.  We moved after about 2 hours here.   The weather held for a bit, just windy and cold.  South Park is known for one thing, Wind!  So far none of that.

We moved after some lunch to the damn side.  Wow, wind, snow, and lots of getting sand blasted.  But the move was the best thing we could have done.

 Up to this point this was the largest rainbow I have ever caught and landed.  He took a Barr's Slumpbuster in Black.  The fish were concentrated about 10 to 20 feet off the shore.  This guy missed the fly the first cast.  I was able to quickly cast back to his area and bam!  He slammed the fly.  Love that Slumpbuster.

Another bow on the Slumpbuster.   I lost this fly after making a huge rookie mistake.  For some reason I had it in my mind that these fish would be leader shy so I had on 5x tippet.  I was lucky to land the fish that  are shown here, but the next fish was big, really big.  He busted off the fly and took the tippet with him.  Damn!  After talking with a few other fly guys, I learned they all had on 3x.  Duh!  What a silly error.  Oh well, live and learn.

So some lessons for next year.  Bigger tippet, 3x at least, and tie up a huge number of black Barr's Slumpbusters.  And dress for the worst.  Its cold and windy out there in the Park!

I did switch to a large October Splender streamer and they also liked that.

 This guy was so cool. He borrowed all his gear from the guy in the background.  He caught fish after fish with a black wollybugger while his buddy never even had a hit.  When we finally left for the day the guy in the sweatshirt finally landed a nice size rainbow!  Way to go.

 Spin fishers were having luck with gold Castmasters and black Panther Martins.

He took the October Splender.

Mike and I hope to make this a yearly adventure.  If you can, get out to Spinney Mountain State Park and catch some hogs!!!

Lonny

Another Nice Carp on the Fly Day

 Flat at Riverbend ponds.  I have fished this area often, but only for bass.  Not anymore!  This flats was unknown to me until today and I think I have a new favorite carp flats.  The water temp was near 60 in the early afternoon and the water was shallow and crystal clear.  The other pond was the same as yesterday, 58, clear and full of suspending carp not interested in any thing I had to offer, not even Greggs Carp Eggs. Bummer, those eggs are my new addiction and I hope I can reproduce a few soon. Heck after talking back and forth with Gregg I think I might be able to produce a few crude eggs.  Thank you Gregg.

There were many many tailing carp, many jumpers and a few carp doing something I have not read about.  Every few minutes in this large group, a few would roll and scrape their sides on the bottom of the pond.  It was really easy to see their entire profile while doing the behavior but to be honest I have no idea what they were doing.  What do you think this behavior is?  What came to mind for me- maybe they had some type of  parasite or bug and they were trying to shake it off.  Or like McTage witnessed the day before, its just CARP BEHAVING BADLY! Here is his post. http://www.flycarpin.com/

Good times and get out and catch a Carp!
Lonny

First Carp on the fly for the 2012 Season.

Wow what a great day stalking carp at my favorite carp pond in Fort Collins.  With the local warm front passing through the Front Range of Colorado our local ponds are warming up fast.  Around noon when I started the temp was right around 55 degree's. Light breeze and the was clear to about 3 feet off the shore, otherwise it was silty. I positioned myself next to that big cottonwood tree on the left and did my best 'tree' impression.  Short after I was amazed to watch a 'flight' of 3 medium size carp fly towards the reeds, each one off the right shoulder of the one in front.  I was really thought I was watching a flight of P-51 fighters sent into patrol the flats for the bigger bombers in the rear.

I tied on a huge orange crawdad pattern from the fly swap and after two cast lost it in the tree!  Damn.  Wondering if this was just to big I went for something I have never tried before, an egg from Gregg Martin. Gregg states "Eggs are nice in that they land softly and present a very visible piece of possible food. Carp often go far out their way to investigate them on the bottom or even suspended in the water column. I normally fish these to either poorly seen or unseen fish under an indicator. I do not think they are taken for an egg, as I catch most fish where they never see such a thing."  I am a solid believer in Eggs now!  I watched this guy suspend in the current.  I cast past him and pulled the egg over him slowly and then when the fly was just past his nose I let the egg settle and was rewarded.  I watched the carp swim forward and suck in the fly!  How cool was that?  Thanks  Gregg, you made a convert of me.

                                                                 Greggs Carp Egg

 Well by the end of the day the water temp had climbed to 58 and more carp were coming up closer and closer to the shore, but alas I had to run off for dinner. I did land two and lost 2 more. I can't wait for this weekend as the weather is supposed to continue to warm.  Hope to post more pictures soon.

Lonny

Carp Sighting, first of 2012.

I had a few minutes after work before I had to be home so I drove down to my favorite carp pond to see how the pond looked after the recent warm weather.  As I drove the first thing I noticed were the trees!  Where were the trees? It seems the City had come in and removed all the Russian Olive trees thus opening up the entire shore and bank.  Wow this was going to be a new challenge this year. Where am I going to hide?

Getting over my shock, I strung up my fly rod and walked down to my favorite area. Hiding my shadow in the later afternoon sun in the few remaining trees I saw Carp! Many, many Carp!

Getting my shock and excitement I sat and studied the scene before me.  I remember reading and article by Dave Whitlock in the September 2008 issue of Fly Fisherman, where he listed the common behaviors of carp and your chances of catching a carp based on that behavior. 

Ok what was I seeing here?  Jumpers, two of them, poor chance of catching them!

Basking or daisy chaining groups- another poor chance!  Moving around a bit I tried to cast to a few that I felt were tailers, excellent!  No dice.  Was I that rusty?  Did I really loose all my skills? Was my bug to big?  Was it that solar flair mentioned in the morning news?

Sitting back and letting the carp settle back down after my shotgun blast of a cast into the middle of a group of baskers I just sat and watched and reflected.  This was the beginning of a new season, a new adventure.  I am armed with new flies from that cool Carp Fly Swap.  My favorite pond has a new haircut and I am fresh from the sleep on winter.  I am excited, I am refreshed, and I am ready for the new year of Carp on the Fly!!!!

A few new Carp flies for the 2012 season.

I recently participated in my first fly swap with a bunch of gentlemen from around the web who are carpoholics like myself. Not knowing what to expect as this was my first fly swap, I stuck with a pattern I have tied up many many times; Jay Zimmermans Backstabber in purple and black. This pattern is buggy, easy to tie and the carp here in Northern Colorado really seem to love them as well.  I tie them up in purple and black, orange(really more rust) and brown, and pure white. The pure white must trick them into thinking the fly looks like a cottonwood seed that coats the lakes and ponds in the spring.

Check out Jay's Blog and how to tie up your own Backstabber at  http://coloradoflyfishingreports.blogspot.com/2010/06/best-flies-for-carp.html 

His site is an incredible treasure of tips and tricks and I highly recommend paying his site a visit.

Anyways.  I received my flies from  http://www.flycarpin.com/p/fly-carpin-2011-carp-fly-swap.html and all I can say is WOW!

Flies from the 2012 Carp fly swap.

Well after doing a quick study of the flies I received there tends to be a common theme to carp flies. Tie them so the hook point, put in some type of 'eye', tie them smaller than you think, expect if you fish in Michigan. That huge fly in the front belongs to Kevin at http://www.indigoguideservice.com/Guides/Kevin/.  Wow that thing is huge!

Looking at all the cool new flies got me thinking and I put together a few bugs based on what I saw in the fly swap.

 I really like these guys here.  A bit heaver eye in yellow and some Bobcat hair for the tail and dubbing.  Thin skin on the top to push those hackle feathers creating what look like legs.

 Getting into the soft hackle is something I have never done before but now that I look at it this is how I think the fly should appear.  I wonder if some marabou would work great here? This guys is really my favorite of the new bunch and I think I will use him often.

 I experimented with the thin skin on top, and below, with the thin skin at the 'bottom' of the fly to see how it would ride.

Although it appears that the thin skin on the bottom would make the fly legs more buggy near the hook point, I think I prefer the thin skin on the top.  Dang, I cant wait for the ice to break up and try these out on some real carp.

All this would have not been possible without the origination and perseverance of McTage at  http://www.flycarpin.com/p/fly-carpin-2011-carp-fly-swap.html   Thank mate, I appreciate it and look forward to the next fly swap.

Let me know what you think of the flies.
Lonny