South Bay Carp

by Ed Hood April 29, 2014

San Jose and the Bay Area have long been know for their extensive opportunities in many facets of our lives: jobs and innovation are two that come to mind first. In the 10th largest city in the nation, at almost 1 million residents (San Jose), and the 5th most populous region in the country at almost 7.5 million (the bay area), great fishing is not one of the opportunities that many people believe this region offers.

No, we don’t live close to pristine mountain streams and have legendary trout fishing in our back door. This is the reality we must face to live in an area with all of the comforts of city living. However, I don’t know about you, but I can’t imagine too many places that will give you the opportunity to hook up on 5, 10, 20, 30-pound fish within a 15-minute drive from your work, school, or home… year-round. While the image of fishing a tranquil trout stream will forever be branded into the mind of those who do and do not fly fish as the only pure for of fly fishing (I love this setting as much as anyone else), fly fishing is being held back by this tradition. We live in a major urban metropolis, it’s time to get down and dirty. It’s time to ask yourself “how bad do I want to fish”? It’s carp time.

I bet you work somewhere around here… and I guarantee you can get a shot at 10+ pound carp on your lunch break.

With all of the great opportunities the bay area has to offer, you have to file “opportunity to catch huge fish” in that category. It doesn’t take much work at all to find big carp, it just requires you to swallow some pride, throw away the fly fishing ego, and just get out and do it.

…and I bet you live somewhere around here. I also guarantee you can get a shot at 10+ pound carp.

I hear a lot about how anglers wish their sight-fishing skills were better, or how they wish they could develop a better touch for delicate fly presentation, or how they want to get better at fighting big fish. The truth is, fishing for carp will make you better at these skills and will make you a better trout angler.

Urban carp fly fishing is beginning to take off in popularity. There are a ton of resources out there to get you started. I would recommend downloading one of Tom Rosenbauer’s podcasts: Carpe Diem: An Interview with Carp Expert Dan Frasier and Kirk Deeter’s Top Ten Tips for Carp. Those two podcasts have really helped me out on the techniques used for this type of fishing.

Also flipping through CarpPro magazine, a free electronic magazine, is also a huge help. The content is split between fly and conventional fishing. My buddy, Jared Hinkley of Isthmus Fly Fishing, wrote a fantastic article on urban carp fly fishing. While the article is written in Minneapolis, it could just as well have been written about any other city in the world. It’s a short read and well worth your time. It starts on page 58:

issuu.com/carppro/docs/issue_6?e=0/6113017

Don’t worry about gear. Just grab a 5-wt. or above rod, some 3x leader, and any nymphs, streamers, and dry flies, and just get out there. The next time you’re out walking your dog, just take a peek at any water you may walk over or next to. This area is loaded with amazing fish, many of them just have faces only a mother could love.

There were at least 100 carp in this spot, very few under 5lbs. twenty minutes from my house.

Carp are found in the most unlikely of places. Never assume carp don’t live in a given piece of water.

Just a solid, ~4lb. fish, right out your backdoor.

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