Carp on the Frenchie

I've always been a big fly type of guy. But there are times when I often lean towards the small side: when looking for big smallmouth I like smaller nymphs more so than big streamers. But for carp my box is full of large flies, and the few in there that are under size 12 have not been used often. Today I was out looking for carp feeding between spawning times. Occasionally, when the conditions are right, carp spawn during the day. But often they spawn late and early, and feed during the day. That is what I found today. I found very quickly that they were not responding well to bigger flies. They often spooked at the mere sight of them. I always managed to hook up a smallmouth that was following the carp around though, and I got quite a few by casting behind cruising carp.

I decided to downsize, and I went way smaller that I ever do for carp: I tied on a size 16 Frenchie. I found a bunch of smaller carp feeding in a shallow sandy beach. They were only two feet out. I didn't even get off my bike. I found a good sized fish in a mix of three to five pounders and sure enough it took the little nymph. I horsed it in, I don't like to put too much strain on these fish during the spawn. It took me about four minutes.

The high wind and clouds made sight fishing a tremendous pain. I'm hoping that it will be mild enough in the morning for me to find a few giants tailing. One thing I do know... the Frenchie has earned a permanent place in my carp box.