The Spookiest Fish

I am starting to think carp are the spookiest fish I have come across. You need to find one in just the right situation to be able to get the fly in their feeding window without spooking them. I think their eyesight only focuses on things within about 10 inches so you have a very small circle you need to land the fly in for them to see it. If they are cruising you need to cast ahead of them and drag it into their path and hope they react. If they are rooting in the mud you need to land it on the bottom less than a foot in front of their nose. If you do it just right and have a cooperative fish they will spot it, swim over, dip their nose down and then you set and hope they have it. Rooting fish are the most vulnerable because they are mostly stationary and are distracted and less likely to spook. Bunches of carp can be tough because if they are rooting they can stir up so much mud you can't see any of them and if one in the bunch spooks it can alert all the others. I saw a bass while carping, threw a fly 10 feet in front of him, he saw it and swam right over and grabbed it which was kind of refreshing after struggling to find and approach spooky carp.

My only other thought on carp right now is you are probably sick of me talking about them and posting pictures.

I caught this one yesterday. I have never done the rod in teeth shot and this seemed like the perfect opportunity to have some fun with it. That is a Sage LL 5 Wt from about 1987. Fun stuff.

http://i.imgur.com/oBJiq1L.jpg

I love seeing the pics of your carp. I've never got one on the fly... if I can find a good shallow place with em near home this'll be the year...

NK

Not sure I would say spookiest, but fly shy for sure. I've had them swim around and between my legs many times, but getting them to bite was the hard part.

Yes. That is about right. I have found they can be casually cruising near you and appear to be relaxed and undisturbed but they are on to your presence and won’t bite. You need to get the fly in front of them before they spot you. Some fish bolt when they spot you or act agitated but the carp can go about their business and ignore you as if they did not see you even though they did. I have seen smallmouth do that also - hang out near you but not bite because they saw you and know you are up to no good.

They sound like fun!

A 12" Bluegill is my nominee for the spookiest.

I met the spookiest fish I've ever seen today. Surprisingly it was a school of largemouth...

NK

John,

I don't argue about carp being spookie especially when that is your target fish. But they will surprise you some time when you're targeting some other fish, like striped bass.

Here are a couple of pictures of Jim May and I with carp taken on clousers while fishing for stripers. Both were taken while fully striping at speed in deep water in the Feather River and on the Sac.
Tony

https://i.imgur.com/nn0Nfu7.jpg?1

https://i.imgur.com/CP8rLWM.jpg?1

They must have been chasing bait or smolts. I have read that carp are very flexible in their diet which is one of the reasons they are so widespread. They can root in the mud for bugs, eat clams or crayfish or chase baitfish. They are kind of like wild pigs - they will eat whatever is available, they are super invasive and not really liked or respected by people but are big and smart and there are a lot of them.