Grand Junction Carpocalypse 2014 Tournament

Fly fishing for carp season is entering full swing and fly fishing for carp tournament season is too.  If you live in the area or are up for a road trip be sure and check out Carpocalypse 2014 in Grand Junction.

Now, several of the carp on the fly tournaments popping up across the country support a noble cause.  I like that. I like that allot.  Carpocalypse is no different.  Per Justin at Western Anglers:

"It's just a reason to get fellow carp fisherman together, have fun, win prizes, and drink beer."

Now THAT is a noble cause if I have ever seen one.

Carp Slam Registration Opens May 1st

Mark you calenders, Carp Slam registration opens May 1st - this is the announcement they sent out via email this week.  In case you are curious (and it is odd), they have to have a practice page for signing up because this thing sells out like a rock concert and I suspect some people have had hurt feelings in the past about not being able to figure out how to sign up in time.

HEADS-UP 

Registration for Slamateur Slots in this years Carp Slam 8 opens:

10:00 AM    May 1, 2014

Don't MISS Your Chance

To Fish & Learn with the leading 

Carp Fly Fishing Pros in the Nation!

   Denver Trout Unlimited has set-up a practice registration page for those who want to make sure they have the skills to land one of the coveted 15 open amateur spots in this iconic tournament. 

     

Don't let lack of practice spoil this opportunity for you. Try it TODAY to be ready for May 1, 2014 at 10:00 AM. 

http://carpslam.org/slamateur-practice-registration-page/

     On May 1st at 10:00AM go to  http://carpslam.org and have your credit card ready. Read the fine print on the practice page above.

We give a special "Thank-You" to all the past Carp Slam amateurs and volunteers. We thank them for helping the DTU Carp Slam raise funds for restoring the aquatic habitat of the Denver South Platte and "Trout in the Classroom" programs. We hope to see you all in this years tournament. 

Clem Rinehart

President, Denver Trout Unlimited

Bread Flies and Vegas. Baby.

I am headed back to Vegas next week for our annual World Poker Tour Amateur Championships and could use some advice. I found some carp there last year but they were in park with lots and lots and lots of duck feeders.  As a result they were totally fixated on sunken bread and unfortunately I did not have a single fly that looked anything like bread.   I am talking 3 hours of almost continuous shots to hard tailing fish without a single one even looking at the nymph patterns I had with me.  Totally exasperating.

Now, I know that various pale shades of egg patterns will do the job - and I also plan on having some indicators on hand so that I can apply Gregg Martin's methods but does anybody have any other advice on flies and techniques for bread fixated carp?

Its ON!

April can be boom or bust when chasing carp on flies on the front range.  The wild fluctuations in temperature, pressure and water clarity make it very very confusing.  The carp are here today gone tommorow.  Additionally, I rarely catch many big ones in April.  The big girls don't show up shallow on most of the stillwater's that I fish until late April early May. 

Get it right, however, and you can put up some pretty good numbers of feisty and fun juvies.  The end of this latest four day warming trend was perfectly aligned with my day off and I practically caught nearly as many carp as I did all winter in less than 24 hours.

After a long hard winter of duking it out for a couple of carp an outing it is a blast to just catch a bunch of carp with relative ease! 

New Video: A Better Way to Tighten Down the Improved Clinch Knot

Long-time readers of the blog probably know that I have been on a several year crusade against the improved clinch knot for connecting carp flies to tippet.  After significant effort and time I finally decided that the no-slip mono loop knot is the best alternate.

That being said, even I still use the improved clinch in a couple of scenarios.  Occasionally I am in such a hurry to get a different fly to a tailer that it is worth the risk of losing a pound or two of breaking strength to gain a second or two.  I am also using it on the top-side of a new super strong leader system I have been working on with a tippet ring, a bimini twist and a hand-shake knot.

Since knot even I  (pun intended) can completely abandon the improved clinch, I decided to put together a video showing improved clinch stalwarts how they might be able to squeeze a smidge more strength by tightening this knot differently.

Especially if you use flourocarbon, adjusting how you tighten down the knot can increase the strength of this knot dramatically.  Give it a shot.

Whip Finish Fly Line Loop Video

If you want or need to add a new loop to the end of your fly line to attach your leader to this is the best way. The resulting loop doesn't really float so this is not your best choice if you are drifting indicators to trout - but for most fly fishing for carp situations it is ideal.  The resulting loop has a low profile, gets through your guides easily and smoothly and is virtually indestructible.