Well now the coarse season is upon us I thought I would try a bit of Carp on the fly

Nice afternoon with a bit of a breeze saw me trying to tempt some wily old Common Carp on the fly. A little bag of mixers, a couple of spun deer hair flies and 8' 8lb fluro leader on a 8/9 wt is all you need. My tactics are to find some active fish and cast directly in front of their nose. Two or more usually sees a bit of competition with less dominant fish allowing the bigger ones to come through and have first dibs. Occasionally I provide a few offerings but if you bisect their course quite often you'll get some interest without baiting. Now spawning is subsiding I notice they are more positive on the take and keeping low against the bank helps avoid suspicion. I rarely strike but just let the fish turn on the fly. Be prepared to give line quickly as even an 8lb leader can give on the take especially on a heavily weighted rod. I have found increasing the line strength during the afternoon will ensure you won't get a take but may pay dividends later in the evening where you targeting in the immediate vicinity of lilies. Be patient in the fight as even amongst the lilies the fish can be eased out. First fish a 5-6lb'er and second a near double figure fish that must of made an initial 40 yrd run down the lake stripping line enough to burn my thumb as an impromptu drag.