Coming Out

[NJFred]

Yes this angler is coming out today. Well not exactly. A couple of years back I admitted the unthinkable to other members on this board. I have a hankering for Carp. A long time hankering for Carp. Carp on the fly that is.

Well I took the first step today to act on my impulses. I walked the banks of my local stream on a recon mission. Water pretty high and discolored from Wedensday's rain but.... but.... I saw a big ass tail swish completely out of the water behind a rock in the tailout of a pool!

This river gets way too warm for trout and is probably a bit too polluted for much of anything else for that matter. But the glorious carp can survive in pretty much any kind of water. A friend once told me you could hook one and if lucky enough land it, bring it home, hang it in a damp cellar by a hook through it's mouth and release it the following day unharmed! Tough bastards these carp are.

Well...my long time fishing buddy have plans to return tomorrow early AM... this time fully armed, locked and loaded. Stay tuned for the continuing saga of the quest to hook and land my first jersey Cyprinus Carpio!

[emerger]

Good luck....can't wait to hear how you do.

[klg neighbor]

A couple/few weeks back I took the canoe out to explore some water. Took my flyrod and a bunch of bass bugs just in case. Came across some tails and head sipping something off the top of the water and as soon as I saw the mulberry tree, I knew it was carp. I never hooked a carp on the fly so I dug through my flybox for anything that looked like a mulberry. The only thing I had was a reddish/pinkish salmon egg pattern. A few cast, a few missed hits, then finally hooked one. He towed me around that stretch of water with my 6wt bent in double. I didn't have a net with me so I had to ride it out until he tired enough to try a possible landing by hand. I have no idea how long it takes for a carp to tire out. I saw him several times, he was in the 20 inch range. He finally wrapped the line around some underwater branches and while trying to coerce him out and to run more, he broke me off. DAMN! Just then I heard "AW!" and some applause from a family of four also canoeing. They stopped to watch the whole battle.

Now I would have not been able to post that somewhere else since it wasn't trout, but since it was fly fishing I assume it can be posted here.

Anyway, carp are worth the pursuit unless you don't like the challenge of bring it in after you hook it.

[AKSkim]

since it was fly fishing I assume it can be posted here.

Your post is under view

If it is not here tomorrow morning, it did not meet the fly fishing criteria of NEFF.

ah, just kidding...

[Burtbords149]

I don't know if carp fisherman have secret spot syndrome but I feel like I can ask this. Where did you guys spot these carp. I live near the Passaic river and I feel like there should be carp there. Any hints as to where I should try. I would love to hook one of those things.

[Hllywd76]

Burt,

We fished in one. remember I said go down slow to the water. But it was way to low for them to be near the bank. I also kicked one walking out in the dark. The last time there were 5 carp mudding right there. Have another spot too. Much tougher based on the location of the bridge. Maybe up or down river. Close to the fly shop.

Hlly

[babyblue]

If you want a real challenge, go to the Tulplehocken Creek. I've caught 14 to 16 inch Carp sipping tricos. It's interesting to watch, they feed in a group moving steadily upstream. It's hard to miss them.

[NJFred]

Nothing to report. Got "Godzilla'ed" last night . Yes the best plans of men often are destroyed by nature. Line of Thunderstorms came through early AM. Water was already pretty dirty it could have only got worse.

Did get to sleep in which was nice.

However, the beauty of the stream is that it's only 5 minutes from home. Maybe some night this week! I also plan to bring a camera to document the adventuers!

Burt...The Passiac is rumored to be home to some of the largest carp in NJ. Have a look.

Blue... Carp sipping trico's sound fun. I've seen ducks sipping trico spinners right next to trout on the Saucon.

[Joe D]

Fred,

After reading the title of this thread I'm glad it was just about carp fishing... I was afraid it might have been a wedding announcement

Next time you're up fishing the D., check out the monster carp tooling around the main stem and WB... had a couple of bigger carp eating bwo's in the WB last week.

Then again, I've heard NJ is loaded with carp form the rivers you mentioned to the Paulenskill, and Delaware and a whole bunch of stillwaters too. Enjoy the action!

Carpe diem!

[Wbranch]

Carp often are sipping Trico spinners on the Tully. They eat the fly well and a 24" on 6X is a ball.

[Santo]

My pond at Donaldson Park in Highland Park have HUGE carp. When I mean HUGE I mean H-U-G-E!!! Upwards of around 40"+ with a girth of around 20"

These things are monsters and I've only hooked a few on a chance and landed one. Another great place for carp is on the D&R canal in new brunswick. Across from Johnson park there are 2 big pipes that push water into the raritan. Right there they sit and relax. I caught one there but it was only about 16"

From the raritan.

santo

[CR]

I used to live in Lincoln Park, NJ on one of those golf course-condo complexes. One spring when the entire area flooded, I was out walking on the golf course to see the flooding when I came across a guy fly fishing the third tee. It was completely under water - I don't know if it was the golf pond or the Passaic River that had flooded, but the guy was catching carp like mad. On the golf course.

Personally, I have never fished for them. As large as they can be, they are just too ugly!