Carp unlimited

[Woolly Bugger]

Big Fish in the Big Apple: Fly Fishing for Carp in Central Park

Within its massive 834-acre perimeter, New York City's Central Park offers a rare natural place for the city's 8-million residents (and innumerable tourists) to escape the chaos of urban living year round. Here, runners, cyclists, birders, and more pursue their athletic leisure within the park's car-free roads. Even climbers have Rat Rock to test themselves against a surprising number of problems.

Surprisingly, Central Park is also a haven for fishing. Home to nine bodies of water, anglers can chase after several species of fish from the modest bluegill to gargantuan common carp. While the vast majority of urban anglers can be found throwing bait and artificial lures on spinning rods, a dedicated few fly fishers have created a micro-scene for those in the know, targeting the slimy carp that call Central Park their home.

https://www.fieldmag.com/articles/fly-fishing-central-park-park-nyc

[trout-r-us]

When fishing Central Park, make sure to keep one eye open for Black Bears on bicycles. 😳

[Woolly Bugger]

Brood XIV

#25 -- ?? Gas, $2.69 Hot and sunny with just a light breeze

I missed last year's emergence, but I was determined to try and get after them this year. I heard reports of Eastern TN action. Rhody, had been hankering to get out on the water and we had tentatively planned a smallie float, but then we got some intel on the cicadas and changed plans.

I hadn't had the opportunity to try out my Epropulsion Spirit 1 motor (3 hp electric outboard) and really had no idea of its speed or range on the hooligan. We were going to put it to the test in our search for carp. Hurricane Helene made travel a little complicated as road closures and construction caused a longer trip and delays.

We met up in Newland for a breakfast biscuit and then traveled on to Hampton where I left Rhody behind as he was picking up lunch. I made it to the ramp and began wondering if Rhody was on the right road. He finally showed up and we got under way. 

We could hear bugs in the distance and were hopeful that we could find feeding carp. After motoring past the No Wake zone, I opened the throttle and was pleased with the speed, but that wasn't sustainable for the day, so I backed off to a point that the controls indicated 5 hours of batter at that speed. I took about a half hour to find a spot where there was a concentration of bugs and we saw a few carp and had some excellent shots, but they refused the fly, mouthing it several times before a full on refusal. Hook sets were fucked up and eats were missed. After a few passes, we decided to try and find some more cooperative fish, violating Rule #1, Don't leave fish to find fish! We did run into a few other hot spots but after traveling up, down and, around the lake we ended up where we started but by this time of the day the fish were feeding and we had better luck seeing and catching fish.

Didn't have huge numbers, but it was a great day, and mission accomplished!

8, 9, 10

[Fishbug]

 

[Woolly Bugger]

#25 -- ?? GAS $2.54 Rain, Cloudy, Windy, Partly Sunny, Partly Cloudy

It rained all the way past Boone, and I wondered if we were crazy for returning to the lake. Those missed shots haunted me. The skies began to brighten once I reached Sugar Grove, and I was relieved when I saw some blue patches outside of Mountain City.


Rhody showed up on time and we made our way across the lake to where the action was the other day. We had a few early shots before the skies clouded up and it was very hard if not impossible to see the target. We had refusals, break offs, and bent hooks, along with early hook sets. It really got slow and we decided to motor up to another spot that was reported to be lousy with cicada. That turned out not to be true. Back where we started we did a number of passes but the bugs weren't on the water and the fish weren't showing up.

I think it's pretty much over for this brood.

















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14+ miles 

[Fishbug]

Get em while you can....No more local broods till 2029