Carp seem especially attracted to wind-accumulated scum lines or scum-covered eddies where food becomes trapped and concentrated. When I locate these areas, I take a minute or two to listen for sounds of feeding, and watch for big bubbles and lips poking up through the scum.

Several years ago I located a big, foamy eddy below a dam in Texas where dozens of 3- to 5-pound carp were working. I used a 2-weight rod and size 18 parachute midge emerger to hook three before the rest spooked.

Dave's Favorite Carp Flies
1. Whitlock's NearNuff Crayfish(#4-8); brown, dirty olive, and tan.
2. Whitlock's Gold-bead Red Fox Squirrel Nymph with Sililegs (#6-10).
3.Borski's Super Swimming Shrimp (#2-4).
4. Whitlock's New Damsel Nymph (#8-10); olive and tan.
5. Clouser Minnow (#4-6); Foxee Red.
6. Bear's Hex Nymph (#4-6).
7. Dave's Aquatic Worm (#10); red, pink and brown.
8. Egan's Headstand (#8); rusty orange and chartreuse

Carp are richly colored and marked, somewhat like a cross between a brown trout and a golden dorado. Although easier to see than bonefish, they can be difficult to spot without clear water and sunlight, and you’ll most likely see their movements or shadows before you see their dark torpedo forms.

Carp feed in all depths of water but it’s easiest to present a fly to them in shallow water. Three feet or less of clear water is ideal because you can accurately observe them. In clear lakes we sometimes see feeding carp down 4 to 8 feet, but getting a fly to their level and close to their mouths can be difficult.

The best places to look for feeding carp are in 1 to 3 feet of water on flats, shorelines, stream inlets to lakes, the back ends of coves, river sloughs, scum lines, and under overhanging trees that are dropping seeds or fruits. I prefer bottoms composed of sand, gravel, and/or small rock rubble because these areas usually support the most diverse supplies of carp foods. Carp like to congregate under the sunken parts of fallen tree roots, trunks, and limbs. Though they are not actively foraging there, they regularly take carefully placed flies.

Carp cruising in 4 feet or deeper water, swimming together in a big circle, basking in the surface of sunny, calm water, or noisily splashing in tight pods near the shoreline, though tempting, are not often feeding and are usually a waste of casting time.

When Carp Feed
Carp feed most aggressively when the water temperature is 65 to 85 degrees. That’s usually from mid-spring to early fall. Noisy groups of carp congregate in shallow water during late spring to spawn. If you see this rampage, avoid it, as they are not the least bit interested in feeding. Carp prefer to feed in the early morning, late afternoon, or at night but those are also the times it’s most difficult to sight-cast to them.

I prefer to fish from midmorning to midafternoon on cloudless, sunny days when I can best see them. There may be fewer carp feeding, but I’ll catch more of them than when visibility is poor.

The exception to this is when carp rise to spent mayflies at dawn or dusk. Then, their heads and backs poke through the surface and make easy targets to put the fly close and to see their takes. John Randolph has often told me about the fantastic carp and catfish dry-fly fishing he’s had on the Susquehanna when the White Flies hatch after sundown.

Carp Flies
Good carp flies imitate favorite carp foods, do not scare carp on presentation, and can be fished slowly at the depth carp are feeding. There are three basic designs: bottom flies, swimming flies, and surface flies.

Most successful carpin’ is done with bottom flies that imitate the foods carp favor in their particular waters. The best designs are bonefish-type flies (#4-10), which make a low-impact water entry, sink promptly, and then hop, crawl, or swim along the bottom without snagging.

Crayfish flies are popular carp patterns. They’re certainly my favorite, especially my NearNuff Crayfish series. Next come the crab/crayfish/shrimplike, rubber-legged bonefish patterns, then aquatic worms and egg clusters.