Carping by Numbers

Well, the conditions were not the best to sight fish for carp but I had a personal best day on the water at least in terms of quantity.  It was partly cloudy and extremely windy with gusts up to 25 mph.  I took my canoe out to a lake I have been scouting recently and fished once for bass with no success.  The last time I was there, I noticed some serious activity on the back side of the lake.  Lots of cloopers and some real monsters tailing with reckless abandonment in about 8 inches of water ( is it still called tailing if more than half of the fish's body is sticking out of the water?).

I got on the water early and went straight to the back side of the lake.  The water was so turbid I could only see about six inches deep and I did not see any tailers near the shore so I resorted to casting to the bubbles, which indicate a potential carp rooting the bottom.  I started out with a #6 black back stabber with rubber legs and didn't get any takers for some time.  So, I switched to a #6 carp carrot with a bead head and that was the ticket.  The next set of bubbles had a hungry common that took my carrot and once boated, was a welcome sight.  After this fish the wind really picked up and the fish seemed to become more active .. maybe they felt safer with some disturbance on the water.  I noticed more fish tailing near the shore so I stalked into place as best I could with the wind pushing me around.  I managed to get a clear shot at a fish that was alternating between tailing and cruising and made a leading cast about 2' ahead of the slow cruising fish.  After the fly settled and gave it a short strip.  I felt the take before I could see it due to the water being so muddy and a great fight ensued.  

All in all I had 7 solid hookups and boated 3 common carp, which is a personal best for me in terms of numbers.  This trip was also the first time I have caught a carp while fishing from a canoe.  Stalking carp from a canoe I feel has several advantages over wading including: stealth, better positioning and no fear of sinking mud.  On the flip side, as steep as the learning curve is for fly fishing for carp, doing it from a canoe is even steeper.  I have found that instead of sitting down or standing up in the canoe that standing on my knees in the middle of the boat is a good compromise to both maximize both my ability to see the fish and cast to it and quickly alternate between maneuvering and casting.