Carp on the Fly Tactics by Urban Anglers USA
At Urban Anglers USA we like to call them the “Golden Ghost of the South Platte” but we will chase Carp just about anywhere in an urban environment. Carp can be found in ponds, lakes, and rivers so we recon the city always looking for great new spots. These fish are spooky, big, and above all give a surprisingly good fight!
They are a great way for anglers to put their casting, presentation, and patience to the test. This proves for many anglers to be a way to prepare for their next salt water fly fishing adventure and at the same time carp provide ample warm water fly fishing opportunities throughout almost all cities.

Urban Anglers USA Fly Pattern Recommendations
We have had success on some of the following patterns and always have some stashed in our packs for urban angling outings:
Carp Assassin or San Juan Worms
Carpin Toad
Backstabber
Near Nuff Crayfish and other Crayfish imitations
Near Nuff Sculpin
Barry’s Carp Fly
Various Wooly Bugger Patterns
Bead Head Prince Nymph (larger sizes)
Damsel Fly patterns
Various Bonefish flies

Urban Anglers USA Gear Recommendations
Lately we have been field testing the following gear and think these work well for carp on the fly:
• Fly rod size can range from 6-8 weight.
• Scott A4 7 weight has worked well for both still water and the rivers and has given us a range of species we are able to pursue in addition to carp.
• Redington Predator 8 weight is another great choice.
• The Waterworks-Lamson Guru reel has been a nice reel for us
• Another reel recommendation is the Galvan Torque T6
• If you are looking to get a lower priced reel the Orvis Clearwater has been working great for some of our crew as well.
• Rio Products lines and leaders are excellent. We prefer the bonefish leaders when stalking carp.
• A larger net helps to land carp and we love the FishpondUSA nomad net.

Urban Anglers USA Carp on the Fly Techniques
• When approaching your selected location whether it is a river or still water try to look for carp feeding in the shallower water. The carp will either be tailing or feeding in the shallows kicking up some mud.
• Once you have targeted the fish try to smoothly cast your fly past the carp and strip it in front of the carp’s face, so they can see it and most likely take it on the drop. A few small strips of the fly will have some action to trigger a strike.
• Giving the fly a tiny twitch (strip the fly line) can also kick up a little mud with certain fly patterns and the carp will hopefully become interested.

Good luck and be sure to hashtag #urbananglersusa and share your carp on the fly action!

Please practice Catch & Release in urban settings to preserve these precious resources for other urban anglers.