Sculpin Helmet Bunny Carp Fly

As you may remember I took a trip to Lake MI with Miles (aka I-spot-Em-I-Got-em.com) and Ty (aka Carp Aficionado) earlier this summer.  It was a great trip and we caught quite a few very very large carp.  The main two flies that we used were heavily weighted olive Jaime's Krazy Carpers and this small olive Sculpin Head Bunny fly.

The Sculpin Helmet Bunny (or SH Bunny) caught several very large carp in this trip but the one that stands out is this 34.5lb carp which was my new personal best by over 10lbs!

Now, this fly uses the "small" FlyMen fishing company sculpin heads.  While they have a new size head "micro" that is a little more generally applicable, (see the SH McLuvin) these "small" sized heads result in a fly that would typically be much too heavy for carp in many parts of the country.  On the great lakes however, you can expect to be fishing at range on big flats to slowly cruising carp in seek and destroy mode.  That is what you are hoping for at any rate!

In that kind of scenario a heavy fly can often be very helpfull because once you spot a carp you usually don't have allot of time to make a cast and get the fly down close to the bottom. Additionally these fish are often aggresively on the prowl for meat and meat is what this fly represents.

Now, notice that this fly is NOT 3 or 4" or even 6" long.

When we where there really massive flies were not necessary or even helpful and the carp were not interested in expending too much energy chasing them down.  The gobies we were seeing on the flats (one of the primary carp forages on the Great Lakes) were small, olive and rather helpless.  As a result we caught one carp on a fly longer than 3", but everything else was on 1.5 to 2" long flies presented on a slow strip or twitch and even on a dead drop once or twice!

So, if you are going to Lake MI you might want to take a few of these.  As a matter of fact, I strongly suspect that this fly in a couple of different colors and lengths might be all you need much of the time!

TYING VIDEO:

RECIPE:

• Hook: Tiemco 760SP (Special Point) Size 4
• Thread: Whatever - Thread is hidden.
• Tail: Hareline Black Barred rabbit strips - Olive Variant
• Body: Black Barred rabbit furr applied in a dubbing loop.
• Head: Fishmen Fly Co Olive Sculpin Helmet, "small"

NOTE:  Notice how I did not label this fly "McTage's".  That would be silly.  Mostly because this is the first basic fly virtually everybody thinks of when they see these sculpin heads the first time.  Heck, it is even on the sculpin helmet package! 

Lake MIchigan 2013 Day 3 (AKA The Winds of Change)

The cruel heart-less winds of change.  One day they bring treasure, the next they deliver heart-break.  Overnight the wind had changed direction and doubled in magnitude.

On the great lakes the winds are the carp Pied Piper.  They whimsically push around the warm water and where the warm water goes the carp follow.  In this case the wind was now cycling cold water across yesterday's miracle flat and it was a waste-land.  All we found was a couple of stray carp cruising through on their way somewhere else and this odd aquatic worm.

The smart move would have been to find a new flat in a new bay, but leaving the spot where you just had one of your best days fishing ever is extremely difficult.

Fortunately the area we were fishing was large and complicated.  Islands, long points, ridges, sloughs, and small offshoot bays all added up to some of the most complicated hydrodynamics you can imagine.  With enough time putting our boots on the ground we found a small section where the water in a small bay of super-shallow super-heated water was being pushed out into a shallow slough by the wind.  This water was a good 20 degrees warmer than water 30 feet away and that had drawn in at least some carp.  They were neither as large nor as hungry as yesterday's targets but beggars cannot be choosers.  These carp were also significantly shallower than yesterday's and that is Ty's game.  For the third day in a row Ty drew first blood.  And second blood and third as a matter of fact!

Between the high winds, long range and shallow depth I just couldn't seem to get the presentation right.  I never did get it right as a matter of fact, until I totally changed it up.  After switching to a smaller Sculpin-Head McLuvin fly and wading onto an island on the far side of the slough I had a pod of 5 fish swim right up to me in total seek and destroy mode.  Easy money.

  
And that was that.  We didn't know it yet but that spot and every other spot within wading distance in the area was done.  Believe me, we wasted almost the rest of the day inspecting it all and did not get another real shot.

Once again we had to change it up and we got in the car and dramatically changed spots.  I only wish we had done so sooner.

The day was nearly gone. Miles was slowly working his way down a bank and into the depths of a windblown bay ahead of Ty and I.  I had cast my fly in front of several shadows which seemed to be lazily vacating the area and had turned to essentially tell Ty they were onto us when my my rod was nearly torn from my hands.  The rare accidental semi-blind casted at carp.  Very rare.  Very very rare.

After that Ty and Miles went on ahead to work the rest of the available shoreline while I stayed in the same spot.  After such a lucky fish I was really just considering my day done.  On a whim however I stepped out on to a large rock jutting out into deeper water.  Something about the change in vantage opened a window into the depths and I could several carp feeding heavily in waist deep water.  I was blown away.  Some of these fish were less then 10 feet from where Miles netted the fish in the picture above.  It was shocking.  It was also distressing because I could not seem to buy a take from these fish.  I put my fly right on them over and over and over with no love.

Finally I switched to a larger rust-colored fly with a massive (supposedly medium) sized sculpin-helmet and dragged and dropped it next to a large tailer in waist deep water that was only fifteen feet away.

The take was one of the best I have ever had. The fish absolutely destroyed the fly and from my elevated position I got to watch the whole thing.  It was an amazing moment and a really nice 22lb post-spawn carp.

So Day 3 started with a whimper, had a moment or two in the middle and ended with a bit of a bang when we finally got over it and moved on.  Yesterday's flat is always yesterday.  When today's flat is clearly empty it is time to move on.  Lesson learned, it will not happen next time.

Lake Michigan 2013: Day 2 (AKA "The Goods")

It was about 11:00 Saturday morning.  In the past day and a half I had suffered an eight hour flight delay resulting in an all-nighter, we had struggled for a full day to catch one carp (an awesome carp, but still only one), I had ruined my phone, and we had suffered a tic infestation.  A tic infestation of epic proportions including one disgusting specimen that had to be pulled out of my left butt-cheek.  Its a good friend that will do that for you without laughing.  Without laughing until he cries at any rate.  (click here for more details on Day1)

Back to "The Goods".  It was about 11:00 Saturday morning.  A dramatic shift in wind speed and direction had completely shut down our one productive spot from the day before.  We were inspecting our second spot (back in Lake Michigan) of the day from shore with a lack of optimism brought on by previous failure.  Then suddenly we saw it.  A single hell raiser jumped nearly out of the water far out in the massive bay. 

In small water I usually ignore such behavior.  At best it is irrelevant and at worst a bad omen.  In big water it is a very good sign though.  In big water this kind of behavior usually means allot of carp are in the area.  With any luck it means you have found a ton of carp, now you can start to identify where the positive targets are.

We waded in with a new-found enthusiasm and withing 15 minutes are trip was saved.  We were in the middle of a hard-packed mud flat with decent numbers of singles, doubles and triples cruising through with highly predatory body language. 

Once again Ty led the way and was quickly into his backing with another 20 plus pound carp.  As I was netting it I kept joking that Ty "only catches twenties".  It seemed incredible at the time that our only two carp in the net were both so large.. 

Now, I know people will be twitching to know Ty's magic fly at this point.  No magic my friends, no magic at all.  Just the right angler with the right presentation at the right time.  Both Miles and Ty caught almost all their Great-Lakes carp on a 1 to 2 inch olive Jaime's Crazy Karper similar to this one that Miles submitted to this years carp fly swap.

So there it was.  That is big water people.  You either have targets or you don't and there is very little in between.  Very shortly after Ty landed that carp I caught a "small" fifteen pounder.  I almost always consider 15lb a big fish.  At the time it was small, aint perspective a bitch?  Then Miles followed it up with his own personal best.  A beast weighing in at 29lb!

Needless to say I was feeling a little left out of the huge fish department when I stumbled upon a series of cobble bars snaking their way through the mud bottom.  It didn't take long to decide that I really liked that bit of structure.  Large carp would cruise up to the edge of these bars in a bad goby killing mood and I was there too meet them.  In no time at all I too had crushed my personal best with this 27 pounder.  
   

I know, I know.  That is a whole lot of grip and grins.  You have to understand though.  In the first five fish of the trip all three of us had beaten our personal best.  It was surreal and mind-boggling but believe it or not the best was yet to come because within 45 minutes I hit big. 

I had found a carp casually approaching a bar in water just slightly shallower than most of the fish we had seen so far.  I could see the carp from a long distance and I placed a 60 foot cast (massive for me) right on the edge of the bar 10 feet in front of and in the path of the carp.  It almost didn't work out.  With three feet left to go to my fly the carp started to veer down the edge of the bar and had I not given one small strip it would have missed my fly.  Instead it veered back, moved those three feet with an excruciatingly casual attitude and inhaled my fly (The sculpin helmet bunny shown below) from a good distance.

The first two runs were pretty lame and due to the range I really had no idea how big the fish was.   The third run was bone crushing and I had my first clue that this was something special.  My second clue came a couple of minutes later as I sat staring at my net and then the carp thinking "This is NOT going to fit".  Somehow it did though.   Sort of.  Kind of.  Not really.

Not only was this 34.5lb carp my second personal best in under an hour, in all likelihood I will never surpass it.

We all caught several more fish that day in the 17 to 22 pound range but eventually the wind shifted, the sun dropped and the best 5 or so hours of my fly fishing career was complete.  How good was it?  Well, for perspective I will typically expect to catch one or two carp around 22 pounds in my home waters a year.  Our two day, dozen fish average after the end of Day2?  22lbs!

Thank you Carp Spirits!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Lake Michigan 2013: Prelude and Day1

Last weekend I met Miles and Ty (THE Carp Aficionado) for our first fly fishing for carp pilgrimage to Lake Michigan.

In telling the story I would prefer to skip straight to the end of Day1 but I can't.  Triumph without struggle is like Superman sans Lex Luther.  

PRELUDE

On the way to the airport my phone was giving it to me from both ends.  On the one hand Miles and Ty simply couldn't wait.  They were starting the party early in the Detroit area.  The carp pictures showing up in my inbox (including a nice pre-trip 20-something pounder for Miles) were bitter-sweet torture that only a punishment-loving carper can enjoy.   

At the same time Delta Airlines was sending me a steady stream of emails.  It started innocently enough.  An hour delay here.  An hour delay there.  That is travel right?  Well, eventually my flight would be delayed almost 8 hours due to a mixture of mechanical issues and lack of stewardesses.    

I didn't end up getting on the road out of Detroit until 5:00AM the next morning.  The delay cost me a rental car, a full night of sleep, the first two hours of fishing and my first red-bull binge.

DAY1:

I finally met up with the crew around 10:00AM Friday morning in the far North-West reaches of Michigan.

We were starting in an area with countless bays, fingers and cuts - all of which were as empty as our rapidly fading delusions of grandeur.  Between the freakish wind direction out of the NE, the four degree cold front and lack of intel or experience with the area we appeared hosed.

We walked.  Then we walked.  Then we drove around a little.  They I think we walked a little more but that part is lost in a sleep deprivation haze.  By the time the day was nearly gone all we had to show for our trouble was two shots at surprisingly spooky carp and eight or nine nice small-mouth bass.  I would show you a picture but I didn't bother to take any.  Who reading this gives a damn about a 2lb SMB?

Now, we are a little slow but not stupid.  Eventually we loaded up and headed for an inlet in an Easterly opening bay.  We prayed to the carp spirits that lining up an on-shore wind with warm inlet water would set us up to finally find some carp.  And we did, or I should say Ty did.

Ty's new personal best 26lb beast of a carp saved the day and brought a sense of energy and purpose to the entire team for Day2.  Now, this begs the question: "If Lake Michigan is the fly fishing for carp promised land what does this fish mean for Lake Huron!?!?!?"

Flies For Lake Meeechigan

I used to have a recurring nightmare.  You know the one.  In this nightmare it is senior year of college and somehow you managed to completely forget that you were enrolled in some stupid humanities class, get an F and flunk out.  Coming back to you right?  What is up with the orange circus elephants and giant floating chocolate chip cookies in the sky in that dream anyways?  Or is that just me?

Alright, that may just be me but I bet you have had this one:  You are on your biggest travel trip of the year.  You have found the magic fly and for half a glorious hour all your hopes, dreams and aspirations have been met.  Your are a do-it-yourself fly fishing legend!!!!!!!  Except of course you only tied up one of those.  You see where this is going right?  Suddenly you break off the fly which brings on an unimaginable streak of bad luck complete with sudden cold fronts, red tides, rogue waves and instant collapse of the eco-system.  Most of which isn't even possible where you are fishing.

The whole thing is ridiculous of course.  I always come back from a travel trip with at least 3/4 of the flies I tied dry and un-touched.  Except when I don't.  Last year it actually happened.  On the first day of my trip with John Montana on the Columbia river I was in the middle of the hottest half an hour of carpin I have ever had when I lost the only Foam Trouser Worm I had with me.  It was a complete coincidence but from that moment on the luck on that trip took an about face.  An experience like that does a number on reinforcing my travel-trip fly prep paranoia.

This year I think I am going to do something a little different.  I have heard some studies that indicate that while lone humans are absolutely terrible at predicting the future, large groups of humans have an almost mystical ability to prophesy.  Therefore I am going to put the fly selection for my up-coming pilgrimage up the Lake MI coastline up to vote.  Of the prototypes I have put together so far which is going to be the hot fly?  Upper Lake Michigan, Michigan coast-line, mid June.

The Montage:

FLY A - Basic Bunny - Small Sculpin-Head, rabbit strip tail, dubbing-loop rabbit body.

FLY B:  Large Jaimee's Krazy Carpers with dubbing looped and brushed egg-yarn bodies

FLY C - small sculpin head, Light olive Puglisi brush body, Olive-Yellow rabbit strip.

FLY D:  Large and heavily weighted MMF's (Magical Mutha F@#!$%%).  Basically a bulky profile arctic fox clouser.  I have caught many many many SE Michigan carp on this fly.

FLY E:  Packed wool tube-fly.  Packed wool head, layered marabou tail.  VERY painful to tie.