Coming Clean About Carp

Coming Clean About Carp

They stink. They’re ugly. They’re slimy. They’re absolutely gross fish. But no fish, in fresh or saltwater, will bring out the “next level” in a fly angler like the common carp.

I almost cannot comprehend the fact that they were introduced in this country around the same time that brown trout were brought to American rivers–and the carp were the prized fish, guarded under arms as a food source, while the browns were considered merely play things. Fast-forward a century or more, and there’s a “Trout Unlimited” because trout are a fragile fish, the piscine “canary in the coal mine,” whose higher purpose is to telltale the health of cold, clean water in America. 

Carp, on the other hand, have proven to be the supreme adaptors. We can’t kill them if we try, and we do. And yes, they’re a nuisance species in many places, often out-competing others (like trout) and can ruin a good thing.

But the angler in me adores and respects carp. Because they can sense, smell, feel and hear you–like no other fish on the planet. And in certain situations, they are the absolute toughest fish to master with a fly rod. They eat off the surface, but they don’t. They grub for crayfish, when they feel like it. You spook one, and it tells all the other fish around it.

Boot one fish, and you boot them all.

I have many friends who chase carp as a primary passion. For the most part, they are kind, fun-loving, interesting and wonderful people. But they’re also pretty damn twisted and weird. They’re going to love the fact that I just wrote that, because they also have well-earned confidence. Put it this way: The really good fly-fishing-for-carp anglers consider species like steelhead, trout and permit “easy” fish. And I am not just stating that for effect, because I can tell you that I’ve watched carp gurus absolutely own many bonefish flats and trout runs.

Here’s the bottom line. Hold your nose and go try to catch carp on a fly. It’s not a fad, and it’s not a marketing trick that revolves around the (very true) fact that carp are everywhere, and accessible to any fly angler anywhere in the United States. As you read this, for 90-percent of you, the closest fish that will eat a fly if you know how to show it to them, right now, is a carp. And they’ll demand A-game angling by way of casting, presentation, fly selection and so forth, like no other fish can. If you want to elevate your fly-fishing game to an elite level, you must at least dabble with carp now and then.