Carp Fishing on the Snake...Part 1

How does one become an avid carp aficionado? 

It is really a good question, for me the answer is grounded in a basic human feeling called desperation.

Four years ago I was scheduled to go on a really cool bonefishing trip to the island of Mayaguana in the Bahamas. This is a place that is seriously off the radar being one of the southern most islands in the Bahamas archipelago.  I felt real lucky to get the invite to go on the trip as it was a exploration trip put together by Angling Destinations (AD)  for their DX (Destination X) program.  Long story short the day before I was to leave (with all of my gear packed and staged in my living room) I got a call from AD telling me that the guy who was scheduled to fly us into the island just went out of business (A bummer to say the least). There were no other scheduled flights into this island and that as they say… was the end of that.  I had been looking forward to this little adventure for months and was really primed to go get some big bones and maybe a shot at Tarpon, Permit or anything else that was swimming around the island.  So the next question became, what do I do now?  Since I had the time off and had my bigger rods ready to go I decided to try to replicate… (as best  I could),the salt water flats experience in Idaho.  I had been reading about some crazy guys in Colorado who were chasing Carp with fly rods and had been thinking, for some time, about giving it a go. I figured that there was no time like the present.  I know the Snake River around the Twin Falls/Buhl area fairly well and remembered some interesting inlets and bays that I figured would hold some fish.  Armed with my trusty bonefishing gear including 8wt rods, Crazy Charlie’s, and some new flats boots I was out the door. 

What happened next was really kind of interesting. I had no trouble locating Carp…let me tell you the Snake River is full of them, big ones, little ones and some really big ones. I had no real trouble finding a place that I could walk in and take some casts at Carp. After all the Snake runs the full width of Idaho at it widest point.  But, I did have some trouble getting the crazy Carp to eat.  One thing is for sure…Snake River Carp do not go nuts over Crazy Charlies…no matter what the magazine articles say.  I spent the next several days wading the Snake River and casting everything in my fly box at these 20lb-40lb fish.  Their normal reaction to my cast was indifference. They didn’t just kind of ignore it, they were totally oblivious to the fact that I was desperately trying to get something in front of them that they would eat.  I have a lot of flies and over the course of 3 days I tried most of them on these fish.  They didn’t look at it, nose it or eat it…they just swam by.  For me this was too much. I knew that people were catching them because I had read all the glossy magazine articles from our sports glamor guys…at that point I was hooked. I dedicated myself to figuring it out.

So the next question really is: Why should any one care about catching Carp?

Although I have several friends that put Carp fishing in the same category as worshipping the devil or maybe even something more dreadful. The answers to this question are really pretty rational if you take it from a fly fisher’s point of view.

Reasons #1 and#2, although I am not sure in which order,  Carp are big and Carp are strong. For a fly guy it doesn't get  much better; hooking into a 20lb plus ultra strong fish is…frankly, almost too much fun.  I liken it to hooking up with a tug boat.  Carp may not be the fastest thing in the water but you are going to play hell stopping them once they hook up with your fly.

Reasons 3 and 4  at least in my mind are:  Carp are highly intelligent and posses the ability to actually hear.  Carp have three types of hearing: an inner ear; an extremely sensitive lateral line sensor; and a Weberian apparatus. The Weberian apparatus is a linkage of bones called ossicles (small bones), derived from the vertebrae immediately following the skull, connecting the inner ear and the swim bladder which enables the fish to hear high frequency sounds and sense danger. This sensory arrangement allows them to detect sound vibrations in a lower and wider range than other fish. This makes them pretty hard to actually sneak up on…so stalking and stealth become a key part of the game
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Reasons 5 and 6 :  Carp are omnivores (eat both plant and animal matter) and Carp feed within a small feeding window. The good news is they have lots to eat (thus the big strong stuff above) the bad news is they can be highly selective and you need to put your bug right on their nose to get their attention.  

So there you have it. To successfully catch Carp you must be able to see and stalk, understand what they are feeding on, and present your fly within a 12 inch window (less is better).  Once you do all that you might get a hook up, if so,  your fish fighting skills and knot tying skills are going to be put to a serious test.

Good Luck and Good Hunting!