Carp Flies

Best Carp Flies

Fly fishing for carp is one of the most exciting things you can do with a fly rod! Carp can be found in a variety of waters stemming from the dirtiest of inner city rivers, to the cleanest and most pristine waters of the Rocky Mountains, to the clear water shallow flats of the great lakes. Since they thrive in all of these different environments, a fly angler must have a wide variety of carp flies in order to catch them.

Carp that live in dirty city water or public lakes and ponds, tend to eat lots of junk food. On the menu will be things like bread, corn, popcorn, and even hot dogs and candy. All of these things are brought to these public areas, and thrown into the water in order to entice fish and ducks into eating them. Carp take advantage of these situations and why wouldn’t they. It’s free food! They are just like people. If something’s free, they will take it. When fishing in these public places, you must have carp flies that will mimic these food sources. Carp flies such as our breadfly are perfect for these situations.

These fish can also be found in some of the finest trout waters known to mankind. Famous rivers like the Yellowstone and South Platte all contain these magnificent fish. As a matter of fact, most guides working these rivers will carry a box of the best carp flies that can be tied. One of our favorites is the Carp Crack, Brown Carp fly. Carp in these rivers tend to act a lot more like trout than carp, and will selectively feed on mayflies and other aquatic insects. Carp flies for locations like these can already be found in your trout fly box. Make sure to have carp fly patterns such as mayflies, caddis flies, and dry stoneflies. And when visibility is bad, we suggest the Spork, Rust Carp fly. It can be fished on a dead drift or stripped like a streamer.

When fly fishing for carp on the flats of the Great Lakes, carp flies need to mimic things like baitfish and crayfish. These fish grow big on these high protein food sources, and the best carp fly patterns will mimic these food sources. Here you will need to be stealthy and rely on your vision. Fishing here is like fishing for bonefish or tarpon in the Florida Keys. Anglers must search for fish, spot them, then make a long accurate cast in order to entice them into eating the fly. Carp flies for this area must also be tied with different amounts of weight in order to sink to the proper depths that these fish are feeding.

All in all, the best carp flies need to be region specific, and tied to be very durable.