Hey all, I went fishing for carp today with no luck. This is my first time targeting them in the early spring. I’ve only targeted them before in the summer and have caught a couple, by far my favorite fish.

I’d like to mention that I strictly target carp on the fly rod, but I’m open to using the spinning rod in the early season if it means I can catch one sooner than post spawn in late april/may.

I tried a carp crack fly, corn fly in multiple different weights, moss fly, dry fly, tiny worm dipped in hot sauce. Nothing.

Tried drag n drop as well as dead drifting. Seems that if I was even able to get a cast without spooking them, they still weren’t interested.

I was not only targeting commons, but also grass carp, smallmouth buffalo, and large suckerfish. No takers :(

The spot I’m at is not pressured. 3 mile hike to get there and only one other friend of mine knows of it that I’m aware. I have never seen a soul out there much less targeting carp.

So just wondering, why is it every single cast I made at them spooked them as soon as it hit the water? Are they normally like this during prespawn season? Just super spooky?

Normally in the summer when i fish for them they are aggressive and will chase stuff down when it hits the water. I hope they haven’t wisened up too much ☹️they are smart fish after all.

Water temps right at 60°