Syracuse.com - Fly fishing for carp in old Erie Canal presents a challenge during the dog days of summer

[HuntingNY-News]

Sometimes just having the fish turn toward your fly is a moral victory, Dan Morgan said. Watch video

Ellen Blalock/The Post-StandardDan Morgan stresses the importance of accurate casting.

Dressed in a short-sleeved shirt, long pants and sneakers, angler Dan Morgan carefully threaded his line through the eyelets of his fly rod in a parking lot next to the Old Erie Canal, just outside of Chittenango.

“We’re going hunting this morning,” he said. “Hunting for carp.”

Morgan, a diehard trout fisherman with a catch-and-release philosophy, has backed off the local streams lately because they’re too low and warm, he said. He’s been spending a lot of time checking out the old canal.

“It’s loaded with fish,” the Cazenovia resident said as he began walking down the canal’s walking/cycling path.

“There’s a very strong large and smallmouth bass population, along with panfish. I’ve even seen northern pike, 30 inches and longer,” he said.

But it’s carp Morgan is after today.

“It’s a fantastic alternative (to trout fishing),” he said. “It’s very much like fly casting for bonefish in salt water. You’re looking for tailing fish (fish that are rooting around, feeding on the bottom) and you stalk them. You sight cast and present the fly to the individual fish.”

When you hook one, he said, they take off on long runs like a saltwater fish. He said he once hooked a carp that “got more than 150 yards into my backing.” His biggest carp to date out of the canal weighed about 25 pounds. Many are in the 15- to 20- pound range, he said.

Seeing the carp is the first step. Polarized sunglasses are a must.

“You can’t fish for them if you can’t see them,” he said.

Ellen Blalock/The Post-StandardA copper-ribbed hare’s ear nymph that Morgan uses to catch the carp.

The next step is to get close enough and make the perfect cast while avoiding all the overhanging trees at your back and bushes alongside the canal.

It’s no easy task. The water in the canal is low and clear. There seem to be lot more weeds than usual this summer, Morgan said.

He uses a 6-weight fly rod with a floating line and a 4X (6.4-pound test) leader.

“If the fish is tailing, I try to put the fly 3 to 6 inches in the mud slick in front of it, by its mouth,” he said. “If it’s cruising, I try to lead it by a foot or two. Casting accuracy is very important.”

He uses a copper-ribbed hare’s ear nymph (size 10 hook) that he tied himself, with dumbbell eyes on the top to make sure it sinks rapidly to the bottom. The extra weight on the fly also makes it “swim” upside down, which cuts down on the number of snags.

Ellen Blalock/The Post-StandardMorgan lands a nice 6-7 pounder.

Setting the hook is also a visual thing, he said.

“You have to keep your eye on your fly. You may see a little wiggle of the tail or something. There’s no pull, there’s nothing,” Morgan said.

“They’ll ‘Hoover it’ up, and spit it right back out. You have to time it just right.”

He stressed “it’s not child’s play. Sometimes just having the fish turn toward your fly is a moral victory.”

Morgan said the best time to fish for carp in the canal is the early morning or late evening. During the late morning and afternoon, the fish become skittish with all the traffic up and down the walking path, and they scatter at the slightest sound.

“Sometimes the shadows of the pole and line in the water can spook the fish,” he said. “once the sun starts reaching its peak, they tend to retreat under mats of vegetation or hugging far banks underneath the shadows.It’s difficult to see and make a cast to them.”

He recommended using a big fly. Otherwise, he said, you’ll have bluegills and sunnies constantly taking it before the carp get at it.

This particular sunny morning, Morgan walked more than a mile down the trail. Some stretches seemed devoid of fish, with the exception of a few bluegills and sunnies. Other stretches had a few carp. He “hunted” for nearly three hours.

At one point, he had a carp on, but it broke his line and took his fly. He had another take his fly, but only had it on for about five seconds.

Finally, he hooked a nice 6- to 7-pounder that took out more than 150 feet of line.

“Nice fish,” he said, as it ran along the far shore.

He carefully worked it through the weeds. He then walked down the rocky sides of the canal bank and netted the fish with his trout net. It barely fit.

After a few pictures were taken, Morgan released it and began looking for another.

“What I like about this is how incredibly challenging it is,” he said. “When they do turn on your fly, your heart goes right in your throat.”

Ellen M. Blalock/The Post-StandardNice fish.

More about Morgan

Dan Morgan works as social media manager for Project Healing Waters Fly Fishing, a national non-profit group that assists in the physical and emotional rehabilitation of disabled active duty military personnel and veterans through fly fishing and fly tying education and outings. For more on the group, see its Web site.

View the full article on The Syracuse Outdoors Blog