Table of Contents
Acknowledgments vi
About the Author vii
Foreword Chris Hunt ix
Introduction 1
Part 1 Worthy Quarry 5
1 Why Carp? 7
2 Carp Are Difficult to Pattern 11
3 The Everyman Fish 15
4 A Tale of Two Fishes 19
5 Carp Biology 101 23
6 The Characteristics and Senses of Carp 27
7 Where Carp Live 33
8 How Carp Behave 37
9 Lakes, Ponds, and Rivers 41
10 What Carp Eat 47
11 How Carp Eat 51
12 On Weather and Water Conditions 55
13 Why Carp Are Hard to Catch with Flies 57
Part 2 Playing the Game 61
14 Gear: Rods, Reels, Lines, Leaders, Tippet, Waders, and More 63
15 The Approach 75
16 Finding Fish: Reading Water and Spotting Carp 79
17 Figuring Out Food 89
18 Picking the Right Fly 95
19 Fooling Carp: The Cast and Presentation 105
Part 3 Scenarios 113
20 Fighting Carp 115
21 Freeing Carp 119
22 Berry Fishing 121
23 How and Why I Blew It at the South Platte River Pro-Am Carp Slam 125
24 From the Experts: Their Best Tips in Their Own Words 127
25 Grass Carp 135
26 Carp Trivia 137
Afterword 139
Index 143
