Paul Arden wrote: ↑Sun Apr 23, 2023 5:18 am
They also eat algae.
The urban bayous here are infested with schools of mullet, probably the same species that inhabits the salt marshes on the coast. With full respect for their euryhaline abilities, they're annoying AF in the bayous if you're targeting carp. They're constantly on the move, usually near the surface, and they're incredibly skittish. Every motion above and below the water causes them to spook, which in turn spooks every other fish near them.
That said, some of them get fairly large - well over 20 inches - and they jump and pull hard if you do manage to hook one. They generally don't take flies or bait, but the bigger ones will occasionally tail in the shallows where they seem to be focused on eating moss or algae. Naturally, we started trying to tie flies to imitate algae, which turns out to be quite difficult. They have small mouths, so a #10 is about is big as you can go even for the bigger fish. The fly has to get down to the bottom quickly and stay there, despite some moderate current. It's critical that you're able to see it once it's down there, so when you're at the vise you find yourself guessing about which shade of green will both look natural enough but also be visible. And you have to fish it dead, with some slack - you can't keep a tight line to it - but you also have to be ready to trout strike if you think a tailer has picked your algae patch to munch. It's actually quite stressful fishing.
I've never cracked the code myself. I had two other local buddies who were also actively working on this, but they've since moved away. If somebody has figured out how to catch them consistently, I'd love to hear about it. This is a target-rich environment, to say the least.
Actually, there is a way to catch them consistently: occasionally the juvenile fish will school up and gulp at the surface. It's quite something to see - hundreds of little rubbery mouths sucking air, or maybe eating something we can't see. We've seen it both in freshwater and in the salt. Whenever they're doing that, you can toss a small dry fly in the #14 range into the middle of them - really anything that floats will work - and eventually one will take it. Once they do, it's a pretty impressive ride - their first runs are strong for their size (14 inches, give or take?), and they're very acrobatic. Also, those schools will usually stay formed even when you take a few fish out of them, so you can repeat this tiny miracle until they go away.
For me it's a novelty, but it's spectacular for beginners. They don't need to stalk carefully or cast particularly well, and they don't even always need to strike quickly. It's forgiving and repeatable compared to anything in the carp or saltwater world. But me, I want one of those big ones - I'm sure they'd give bonefish a run for their money in terms of fight, particularly since you're fighting them in current - and they jump!
Paul Arden wrote: ↑Sun Apr 23, 2023 5:18 am
And yep carp anglers in the UK are a different breed.
There's a thing in the eastern US called "paylaking". Have you heard of this? I haven't done it myself, but my understanding is that it's an American descendent of UK carp fishing that got started in the Carolinas but now exists all over Appalachia. It takes places on private lakes which have been stocked with enormous carp, and the tournaments can be extremely competitive - prize money in the thousands (USD) surely with wagering on the side. The lake gets sliced up into segments ("pegs", I think they're called), and which area you get to fish is determined by a drawing. Gear seems to be similar to eurocarping setups with rod racks and bite alarms, and the real magic lies with the baits, both the composition and delivery technique.
Like I said above, it's not my thing - too many people and too little casting involved - but I'll admit that the idea of figuring out how to "bait your swim" with just the right boilie recipe and feeding style / cadence to create a feeding frenzy that pulls every carp in the pond into your area, effectively shutting down everybody else....well, I can see the appeal.
