Carp Day – 2010

Posted By on April 11, 2010

Carp Day (4/10) found the flats of Ray Roberts in good shape with Spring in full swing. Males have already invaded the shallows to begin the spawning ritual and I saw a young female or two up with them. Another few days of warm afternoons and the back corners of the flats will be a hog-trough of splashing, frolicking fish.
They are obviously difficult to catch during the spawn but it can be done. The trick is to wade the outer edges of the flats (ignoring the noise in the shallows) and look for clearer water about 1-2 feet deep. Then it’s just a game of patience until you find a big, tailing female that’s in the mood to eat.
Spotted gar should be joining them in about a week or two to add some fun to the mix. Then, by Mother’s Day, IT’S ON!

Categories: Carp
Tags: , ,

About the author

Joel Hays has been a professional guide since 1990, and has guided professionally in Colorado and Texas.

Comments

Leave a Reply

You must be logged in to post a comment.

«     »

  • Sidebar 3

    Go to Themes >> Widgets >> Sidebar 3 to add the widget of your choice or edit "main_sidebar".php.

North Texas Fly Fishing Adventures with Joel Hays

Imagine wading through ten inches of clear water,trying to be as quiet as possible. Fifty feet ahead is a pod of large fish "tailing" on the flat. You strip out fly line, make the cast, and pull your fly in front of the lead fish. After agonizing seconds the fish spots the fly, rushes forward for a quick grab, and feels the hook. The silence is broken as the fish accelerates across the flat, quickly exposing backing on your screaming reel. Sounds like a great day on the coast, or even an exotic bonefish flat, right? Actually it's a great description of the usual day my clients have fishing for Carp on the flats of Lake Ray Roberts where many clients are blown away by the water clarity and the actual ability to sight cast along miles of flats. Big spooky fish in shallow water. They fight and tail like Redfish and can sometimes rival Bonefish in nervousness. This is an EXCELLENT WAY to hone your flats fishing skills and test your "eyes" where it's more about stalking the fish than simply stumbling upon them. You will be a better flats angler!